Come Alive (Audio)

Nahash, king of the Ammonites, passed away and when King David heard about it, he decided to send several of his trusted servants to comfort his son, Hanun. Under the influence of some pretty bad counselors, Hanun completely misinterprets David's intentions and mercilessly humiliates the delegation of well-wishers that he had sent. Misunderstanding and misinterpretation can lead to serious confusion, humiliation and shame. How do you handle misunderstanding? In today's message, Pastor Mark will give us wisdom and counsel from the Scriptures to avoid and diffuse misunderstanding and minimize it's casualties.

After having been established as king over Israel, David sought out any descendants of Jonathan, Saul's son, and found he had a son called Mephibosheth that was lame in his feet. Instead of treating him like a threat to his own leadership, he showered him with blessings, grace and honor - seating him at David's table, and treating him like a son. God has done the same for you. You are lost and powerless without God, and yet He has sought you out, offered you forgiveness, exalted you to a high position of honor; even adopting you as His own. In today's message, Pastor Mark will stir your heart to gratitude for God's love for you.

In 2 Samuel chapter 9, you find one of the most touching and revealing glimpses into the heart and mind of King David. Having settled into his kingdom, David looked for any descendents of his dearly departed friend Jonathan and found a son that had been tragically crippled in infancy. David could have justifiably viewed him as a threat to his own rule, but instead treated him with kindness and generosity. In a truly remarkable display of grace, David brings him into his home and treats him like royalty.

In today's message, Pastor Mark will show you how God reveals His own grace for us through the kindness of David towards Mephibosheth.

If you've accepted Jesus as your Savior, you should know that God has called you to a life of victory. Your life will have conflict. We are engaged in a spiritual battle, after all. But your challenges should be characterized by victory as God enables you to conquer areas of your life for God's glory. That means that as you yield those areas to God's authority, God is able to exalt Himself in those areas. 2 Samuel chapter 8 shows you that if God can enable David to defeat his enemies on every side, God can enable you to do the same. In today's message, Pastor Mark will encourage you to expect God's spiritual victory in your life again.

2 Samuel chapter 8 speaks of one sweeping victory after another for King David's newly established kingdom. The enemies of God's people are defeated in droves as David strengthens Israel's security against the antagonistic nations around them. God was fulfilling His promises to David and to Israel through these victories. A life of service and commitment to Christ will always highlight the faithfulness of God and of His word to man. In today's message, Pastor Mark will encourage us to trust in God's faithfulness, even when we can't see His fulfillment yet. Are you still trusting God to keep His promises to you today?

The Christian has the privilege of personally knowing God to be so welcoming and approachable. We can stop and ask His counsel and opinion at any given time! It's always such a humbling joy when God says, "yes;" but have you ever asked God for something and clearly understood His response to be a definite, "No?" That's a challenging position to be in. Through the life of King David, God has given you a window into how a godly man ought to respond to receiving a "no" from the Lord. In today's message, Pastor Mark will guide us through this season of David's life, marking the signs of God's loving grace along the way.

Your life is made up of so many different kinds of experiences. Sure, there are times of when your Christian walk will feel a lot like an epic battle for your life; but there are also times of rest and calm, momentary breaks and lulls in the storm. It's important that to have a guideline and standard to know how to handle the times of rest as well as times of warfare. King David was a great man and a renown warrior; but in 2 Samuel 7 his gives you an illustration of how to handle the challenges that come with regular, uneventful seasons of life. In today's message, Pastor Mark will teach us to guard our hearts against the pitfalls of the commonplace.

David had it in his heart to bring the ark of the covenant into the city of Jerusalem. After an ill advised attempt that ended in tragedy, he finally seeks out in the Scriptures how to go about God's work, in God's way. As he obeyed the Scriptures and acted on God's will in a manner that reflected God's heart, God's people were able to celebrate and rejoice in God's presence. As David danced before the people in joy, his wife Michal chastised him for being undignified and embarrassing her. In today's message, Pastor Mark will teach us to be careful not to extinguish the fire of passion that others feel for the Lord.

We will never go wrong if we direct our lives by the commandments and principles taught to us in Scripture. After a misguided spiritual decision ended in tragedy, David struggled with the consequences of his ill informed plans to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Finally, David gave voice to a question that should have been asked long before, "How can I bring the ark of the Lord to me?" When was the last time you stopped to ask God how you should act? In today's message, Pastor Mark will encourage us to seek God and make sure we know God's heart before we act presumptuously on His behalf.

After proving himself in battle, David turned his attention and heart to the spiritual state of the nation of Israel. He undertook the enormously meaningful task of bringing the long abandoned ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. Although his intentions seem wonderful, the way he goes about it leaves much to be desired in the eyes of the Lord. It's a shame that David didn't first ask God how He wanted things to be done. The ends don't justify the means with God. He also very much cares about how we go about doing His work. In today's message, Pastor Mark will remind us to go back to the Lord and get our instructions from Him.