SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 15 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: But Ittai replied to the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be.” [2 Samuel 15:21] This kind of loyalty when things are going well (like when David was winning…
reconciliation
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 14 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. [2 Samuel 14:14] In describing the character of God, this woman gives voice to the good news, the…
Chuck’s story (Part 1)
Last Sunday I began the story of Chuck, the homeless man who collects treasures in his shopping cart. Below is part 1 of this story. Each week I will add a new chapter to the story, with the hope that we can become treasure-seekers like him. I saw him downtown pushing a grocery cart loaded with…
overcoming evil with good
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 13 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: “Don’t, my brother!” she said to him. “Don’t force me. Such a thing should not be done in Israel! Don’t do this wicked thing. [2 Samuel 13:12] there’s no doubt about it, we live in a pretty messed up world. Things are not as God intended them to be. Here we see how selfishness…
an ‘ouch’ moment
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 12 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! [2 Samuel 12:5] Nathan works David into a corner, and gets him to face his own sin head on, and to realize the judgment he deserves. This is normally…
watch and pray
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 11 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful. [2 Samuel 11:2] David happens upon this tempting view: a beautiful woman bathing. At this moment, he is tempted. This is not unusual, he…
the way of Jesus
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 10 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: So Hanun seized David’s men, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away. [2 Samuel 10:4] Sent on a mission of peace and blessing, the ambassadors are seized and publicly ridiculed. This is of course what happens to Jesus as well:…
guess who’s coming for dinner?
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 9 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: And from that time on, Mephibosheth ate regularly at David’s table, like one of the king’s own sons. [2 Samuel 9:11] Guess who’s coming for dinner! You may be surprised. It seems that David, unlike other leaders of his day, is not out to kill the former heirs to his throne, but welcomes them…
when God is with us
SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 8 OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: So the Lord made David victorious wherever he went…. So David became very famous. [2 Samuel 8:6,13] God works within this sinful world. He directs the outcome of human affairs, using sinful humans – for better or worse – to restore His kingdom. Though David is uniquely God-focused, he is still a man of…
what I was trying to say
This morning I talked about 2 Samuel 7, and the theme that I attempted to unfold was: WHEN GOD SAYS NO, HE HAS SOMETHING BIGGER, BETTER IN MIND. Anyway, I just so happened to check out a Rob Bell dvd called ‘Kickball’, and I think he says it better. So if you missed the message this morning,…