David messed up... big time. He wanted to know how people he had fighting for him, and he took a census. That seems like a reasonable request until we consider that God is the one who won the battles for David. The victories that Israel benefited from were not a result of the might of the people but the will of the Lord. So when David became ... [Continue Reading]
The Seven Checkpoints: Authentic Faith
The latest sermon from LifePoint Student Ministry. Inspired by Andy Stanley and Stuart Hall's book by the same title, The Seven Checkpoints is a way for students to evaluate their relationship with God. In this first message we are challenged to have a faith that extends beyond life's circumstances. Download authentic_faith.mp3 ... [Continue Reading]
In a pit with a lion… (2 Samuel 22-23)
Back in October I wrote a blog entry in response to my time at the Catalyst Conference and a workshop session led by Mark Batterson of National Community Church. As I came back to the passage Mark shared today in the reading from 2 Samuel, I was reminded of David's mighty fighting men who accomplished great feats. One man in particular, Benaiah, chased a ... [Continue Reading]
Did David forget? (2 Samuel 19-21)
Did David forget what happened on the day Samuel anointed him to be king? Did he forget that great day when he killed Goliath with a simple sling and a stone? Did he lose sight of the victories that the Lord brought him; victories that were not of his own strength? Did David fail to remember that when he offered to build a house for God he was told ... [Continue Reading]
Deep sorrow (2 Samuel 16-18)
I appreciate the humanity of David. Sometimes when we look at heroes from the Bible there is a tendency to see them as larger than life. Not so with David. In fact, I'm not sure if there is any other character in Scripture who shows more emotion. How would you feel if your son killed another one of your sons? How would you feel if ... [Continue Reading]
God can ‘ t be controlled (2 Samuel 13-15)
In the sad aftermath of David's sin there are a number of tragic circumstances that came up: His daughter, Tamar, was raped by her half-brother, Amnon Amnon was killed by his half-brother, Absalom Absalom tries to form a coup to take his father's throne The last tragic circumstance forced David to flee from Jerusalem for protection, and as he left, the priests ... [Continue Reading]
The nature of true repentance (2 Samuel 11-12; 1 Chronicles 20)
What is true repentance? Is it saying you're sorry? Is it confessing sin to God? Or is it more than that? A friend of mine and I were discussing repentance one time, and he commented that the problem with genuineness of repentance is that the individual receives the benefit of his or her sin. For instance, a high schooler who lies to ... [Continue Reading]
Good intentions (2 Samuel 10; 1 Chronicles 19)
When my brother was younger he worked for a guy who used to say, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I'd like to think that Hanun's advisors (the princes) had good intentions in the advice they gave to their leader, but their advice was dead wrong. Unfortunately it's not enough for a person to have good intentions with what ... [Continue Reading]
Dining with the king (2 Samuel 8-9; 1 Chronicles 18)
I can't imagine what Mephibosheth must have felt like when he was called into David's presence. Surely he must have thought that his life was at stake and that the new king was going to exterminate the former king's offspring to prevent any potential overthrows of the throne. But Mephibosheth did know the nature of the promise made between his ... [Continue Reading]
A paradox of leadership (2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17)
There is a very interesting paradox of leadership that exists and is visible in and through David: notoriety. David was not at all concerned about making his name great; he was concerned with pleasing God. This wasn't the case with Saul. Isn't it ironic that Saul, the one who cared so much about being remembered, was forgotten and that David, ... [Continue Reading]
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