I Samuel 16 || The Unlikely Choice

Eternal Church

I Samuel 16 || The Unlikely Choice

September 15, 2024 • Jacob Collins • 1 Samuel 16

This week we renew our 1 Samuel series “The Problem with Crowns,” picking up the story where we left off; Saul is out as Israel’s king, and God says he has found Himself a new and better version. He sends Samuel on a dangerous mission to identify and anoint a new king, even while the old king is still on the throne. Samuel thinks he’s found the right guy, but God tells him not to trust his eyes. He tells him, “The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

What is God looking for in a king? What is he looking for that everyone else (and even Samuel) seems blind to? And what are we supposed to learn from this dramatic scene to help us follow Jesus?

Can’t wait to pick back up this Old Testament scroll and see how God uses it to speak to us in fresh new ways!

More from 1 Samuel | The Problem with Crowns

1 Samuel 31 - 2 Samuel 1 || An Unlikely Ending

November 24, 2024 • Josh Leftwich • 1 Samuel 31, 2 Samuel 1

David was no stranger to grief. The Psalms are full of his accounts of grief, sorrow, and lament. This is to be expected of a man who lived the kind of life that David did. But what about the people of God today? How are we to respond to hurt in our lives? How are we to respond when people who have hurt us experience their own hurt, pain, or even death? As we prepare to close the book on this journey through the writings of Samuel, I encourage you to turn the page to 2 Samuel 1 and look at how a man after God's own heart responded to the news of the death of Saul, the first king of Israel.

1 Samuel 28 || An Unlikely Story

November 17, 2024 • Josh Leftwich • 1 Samuel 28

This weekend we return to the story of Saul, the first king of Israel. Chapter 28 invites us into the final hours of Saul's life and one final act that will ultimately define Saul's legacy. This is a strange story that includes an overwhelming army, a desperate journey into sorcery, and a theological conundrum about forgiveness, repentance, and rejection.

1 Samuel 27, 29-30 || An Unlikely Kingdom

November 10, 2024 • Josh Leftwich • 1 Samuel 30, 1 Samuel 26, 1 Samuel 27, 1 Samuel 28, 1 Samuel 29

"Then David said in his heart…" These opening words of 1 Samuel 27 introduce a time in David's life when he relied on his own wisdom and chose a path that seemed right to him, but it led him further away from the identity God had given him. Only through God's relentless grace will David be reminded of who he truly is and the purpose God has for his life. As we prepare to dive into God’s Word, take a moment to reflect on areas in your own life where you've relied on your own wisdom and strayed from the identity God has given you. Come ready to worship and be encouraged, knowing that God is a giver of grace and a restorer of the brokenhearted!