Wrath in the Old Testament
If you’ve spent any time reading the Old Testament, you’ve probably hit a wall at some point. Maybe you grew up in church, but as you got older and began to pay attention, certain stories started to feel less like Sunday school lessons and more like moral dilemmas.
Hard Mode Pt 2 - God Goes Ahead of Us
we’re continuing our Hard Mode series. We’ll be in 1 Samuel 16 if you want to go ahead and turn there in your Bibles. Note - on house Bibles. We’re taking time in our study of 1 Samuel to talk about how God uses trials and difficulty to train and forge us into the people who can engage his call on our lives. We’re looking at these series of narratives that deal with David’s life after he was anointed king, but before he actually took the throne. These stories tell us of years of David’s life when he clearly knew God’s call on him, but was still living in obscurity and difficulty.
Hard Mode Pt 1 - What the Lord Sees
We're starting a new series today that I'm calling Hard Mode. Yes, that's a video game reference, but I think it's helpful. We're going to spend this chunk of 1 Samuel talking about the movement in Israel from Saul's reign as the first monarch to David's reign as the second monarch. We'll be focusing on this incredibly awkward in-between time where Saul is still physically reigning as king, but God has rejected Saul's kingship and anointed David as his replacement.
Earthly Kings Pt 4 - The Lord Regretted Saul
We are finishing out our little micro-series within 1 Samuel today: Earthly Kings. We've been talking, we've been zooming in specifically on the reign of Saul, the first king of Israel. There's a short section of the book that focuses just on Saul and his failed monarchy, his poor leadership.
Earthly Kings Pt 2 - Nothing Can Keep the Lord From Saving
We are continuing this series in 1 Samuel that we're calling "Earthly Kings." In this chunk of First Samuel, we're looking at the early monarchy period—specifically King Saul's reign before David enters the scene. The reason this particular piece is important is that we see really clearly how this has worked out.
You Can't Experience Forgiveness If You Won't Confess Your Sin
I have a certain child who shall remain nameless for the purposes of this blog. And we have the same conversation every single time they get in trouble. Every. Single. Time.
Discussion Questions 05/17/26
Pastor Sam talked briefly about the cliche of the hero who swoops in in the nick of time.What's your favorite movie or book scene where the hero arrives just in time? Why do you suppose this storytelling device resonate so deeply with people? When have you hoped for this in your own life?
Earthly Kings Pt 1 - You Have Done Foolishly
The solution to the empty promises of earthly kings is really to put our faith in the true King, in Jesus. And I know that's the churchy kind of thing you expect a pastor to say, but I want you to hold on to that truth. There's power in that truth. And we're going to be coming back to that idea over and over in these next few chapters, considering the life of faith and what it means to actually look to our real King.
Building Shrines
I think most Christians, when we read about ancient Israel building statues to Baal and we think similar to: "Man, what a bunch of idiots. They literally saw God part the Red Sea, and they're out here worshiping a statue with a cow head? Come on." Right? I mean, from the hindsight of several thousand years and a renaissance or two it can just seem silly to think of asking a statue to help you succeed in life.
Discussion Questions for 05/10/25
This week, we described Israel's sin cycle (forgetting God, chasing idols, experiencing consequences, repenting, and being restored). Where do you see this pattern playing out in your own life? How about in the broader culture?
New Days Pt 6 - Here is the King you’ve Chosen
I think there's this reality that every single one of us lives our lives in this broken and cursed world. And whether we've had it happen or it's currently happening, the reality of the curse leaves all of us—at least sometimes—longing for a reset.
New Days Pt 5 - Renew the Kingship
Before we get into our actual passage today, I want to give us just kind of a quick recap. It's been a little while since we've been in 1 Samuel, and we are ending one of the series that we've been going through. We broke this book up into sections of chapters and themes that go together, and we're ending this "New Days" series today.
Discussion Questions for 05/03/26
In 1 Samuel 11, we see Saul go from the guy hiding in the luggage to boldly leading Israel into battle. What do you suppose caused this dramatic change? How do you thunk the Holy Spirit's work in Saul compares to how the Spirit works in believers today?
More Than Chemicals
we’ve been subtly trained to believe that the physical world is the only world. Even though research is showing that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are increasingly more open to spiritual realities, our overarching culture is still build on the assumed naturalism of the modern world. We’re told that our consciousness is just a series of chemical reactions in our brain, that our mind is just a biological fluke, and that when the body stops, the story ends.
Discussion Questions for 04/26/26
When you hear the word "Spiritual," what is the first thing that comes to mind? Is it something peaceful, something mysterious, maybe something that feels other or unrealistic?
Who Am I? Pt 3 - Your Spiritual Vitality Matters
It feels like we live with a lot more cultural pressure to find a fulfilling, clear, and unique definition of ourselves than maybe our parents and grandparents did before us. Even though these sermons have been somewhat heady, we've had some of the best discussions in our groups the last couple of weeks—digging into how we understand our relationship to our body and how we understand the way our mind works and our mental health.