The king is dead; long live the King (about the kingship in Israel)

Dying in darkness

Bible Readings John 13:18-30; 1Samuel 28:4-19; 1Chronicles 10:13-14 Introduction What is hopelessness? What is despair? One can reach a point when nothing seems to be positive, everything is dark and deep, distant and impossible. That’s depression. But there is another form of hopelessness and despair. Paul writes to the Ephesians: Remember that at that time…
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Living dangerously

Scripture Readings Matthew 10:32-39, 1Samuel 19:1-23 Introduction My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, The first salvos of the war of the evil against God were fired in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and so plunged all creation in sin. But God promised ultimate victory over his enemy: And…
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Jesus Christ: King of Rival?

Bible readings Matthew 6:19-24 1 Samuel 18:1-16 Introduction Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, We are still in our series, “The king is dead; long live the King”. In this series of sermons we learn that all earthly kings are human beings; we can not put our trust in any earthly leader. and Even…
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Choose your man!

Bible Readings Hebrews 11:32-40 2 Samuel 17:8-11, 32-37, 45-51 Introduction There was nothing usual about the Philistine, called Goliath, the champion. He was the go-between for his people who represented them and dictated the terms of engagement: Choose a man and have him come down to me. If he is able to fight and kill…
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The shipwreck of partial obedience

Scripture Readings 1 Samuel 14:31-45 1 Samuel 15:17-23 Introduction Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, Friends of ours had a hobby farm. They had milking goats . These animals were fairly expensive. We arrived for a weekend visit, only to find everyone in pandemonium. One of the goats was terribly sick, lying on its…
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Victory, but not by the king

Bible Readings Psalm 2 1 Samuel 13:16-14:14 Introduction My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, The high school I attended was a blip on the radar compared to some city schools. But we had a very good rugby team. Spurred on by an enthusiastic local crowd of fellow students, and an even more passionate…
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The King after God’s own heart

Bible readings Acts 13:16-25; 1Samuel 13:1-15 Introduction My dear brothers and sisters, it’s only the expression on the faces of little girls when mom catches them out with make-up all over their faces sometimes which helps to not dish out punishment straight away. It’s another story when a parent finds a toddler with a permanent…
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Grace, forgiveness, restoration

Bible Readings 1John 1:5-2:6 1Samuel 12:6-25 Introduction Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, Of all the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ I relate very well to the one of the wayward son. This parable is about four lost things: a coin, a sheep, and two sons. The headings added by some translators are…
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The King appoints a prince

Scripture Readings Hebrews 2:5-18 1Samuel 9:15-10:1 Introduction Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, There are times when I am so disappointed in myself that I abhor myself. I then wonder why God still puts up with me. Why would He still bother? Why still give room for Australia to live, to enjoy what we…
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Who is King?

Bible Readings Revelation 19:11-21 1Samuel 8 Introduction You’ve heard it said, and maybe you have said it too, “Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have our Lord in Person with me, so I can talk to Him personally, instead of praying to the unseen God?” If people asked about the God I worship, it would really…
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