An Unwavering Walk
The Life of Samuel & the Bounty of Obedience
Kings, Witches & Ghosts
October 19, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
Not too many people in the Old Testament have a postmortem appearance. Samuel's life on earth had ended, but he had one more cameo before leaving us for good. This scene sounds more like Halloween than Holy bible. What can we learn from that moment when the king, the witch and the ghost come together?
Favor and Forfeiture
October 12, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
It’s an amazing thing to receive an anointing from God. It’s an awful thing to lose an anointing from God. It’s the rarest thing to watch these two things happen in the same handful of verses. Listen and learn. Decide which part of the equation you would rather live in.
The Underbelly of Leadership
October 5, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
Committing to being a leader is a tangled blessing. Leadership roles are some of the most misunderstood facets of God’s Kingdom. To the casual observer, Kingdom leadership can look glamorous, privileged and immensely rewarding. Yet for nay who have faithfully lived out a call to leadership, there is a sobering acknowledgement of an underbelly. Samuel shows us the cost of leadership. All of us should know the cost before we assume the reward.
When It Is Time To Step Aside
September 28, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
If the second Coming does not occur in the next 75 years, the following will happen to everyone reading these words: your prime will come, last, begin to fade, and then disappear. The window for us to accomplish our life’s purpose is closing. For many, it may be close to shutting entirely. This message magnifies the grace with which Samuel stepped aside and passed the baton to the next generation. We don’t have any choice about IF this moment occurs in our lives. We do get to decide HOW it will occur. Hopefully, we will all operate in gratitude, grace and deep trust. Samuel did.
Honoring God's Choice
September 21, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
Sometimes, as we are faithful to do the mundane things we are assigned in life, God will ambush us with a promotion in the Kingdom. Saul was out chasing his daddy's donkeys when God sent Samuel to go and anoint him as the first king of Israel (1st Samuel ch. 9-10). Keep chasing your own assigned donkeys. As you do so, trust that God is working up something bigger on your behalf.
Shepherding Stubborn Souls
August 31, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
Sometimes Kingdom leadership involves allowing followers to choose unwisely. Shepherds do not drive sheep, they lead them, and stubborn sheep have to occasionally learn for themselves why they should trust the godly counsel of their leaders. Not even God chooses to resist every sinful desire of His children.
Turning Things Around
August 24, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
For a group of people to get things right with God, it usually requires a leader who will say all the tough words that result in the right action. Even then, things can get dicey. Does God come to the aid of those who have been dodging Him? Listen and learn the answer.
Conceived in Prayer
August 10, 2016 • Jeff Lyle
She was just a mother who desperately wanted a baby. God made her wait until the timing was right for her baby to become Israel’s leader. Listen to another example of God’s glorious work being conceived through desperate prayer. Prayers like mine. Prayers like yours.