Are we pursuing what is good, beautiful, and true in our lives?  

In 1 Samuel 25, we see Nabal, an independent, self-made and self-interested man reject a request for generosity, insulting David.  David doesn’t take it well and is ready for violence.  Nabal brings out the worst in David.  

But Nabal’s wife Abigail intervenes, showing us that beautiful living calls us back to God.  Abigail sends gifts and offers humility and grace.  She recognizes David’s authority and brings down the temperature, de-escalating the situation

How can WE live more beautiful lives?

• Identify our Nabals (what draws out coarseness, hatred, anger in our lives?)
• Seek out Abigails (spend time with those who remind us of God’s beauty, goodness, and truth)
• Live like Jesus (keep studying Jesus’ life, reflecting Jesus’ love)

Beautiful living is God-centered and other-focused.  Let’s live more beautiful, Jesus-shaped lives.  

Maybe the comfort and security that we all crave is actually spiritually dangerous for us. 

In 1 Samuel 24:4-7, we see David in a cave in the wilderness of En Gedi showing great restraint and honor to Saul when it would have been so easy to justify taking his life.  Because of his faith and trust in the Lord, David acts with forgiveness and mercy. 

Forgiveness transforms the forgiver. 

AND 

Forgiveness sometimes transforms the forgiven.

There is no guarantee that the people we forgive change but responding with goodness, mercy and love is not about ignoring the actions but refusing to become evil in response to those actions. 

Are you harboring bitterness, resentment or hate in your heart?  How can you make things right this week?  How can we follow the example of David and the Son of David by doing everything in our power to make things right?

In 1 Samuel 17:57- 18:5, we see David go from a solitary man to a man with a friend. 

Today's technology has us more connected than ever but at the same time, we have become more isolated than ever before.  We are experiencing what some have called a "friendship recession." 

What can we learn from David and Jonathan? 

-Before David was friends with Jonathan, David was friends with God.  God should be at the heart of our relationships. 

-Friends give and help encourage and correct us on the right paths. 

We have so many choices for how to spend our time, but can we go out and inconvenience ourselves to risk friendship?  We need friends more than ever! 

David was "a man after God's own heart," willing to join his heart with God and with others. 

Who will you reach out to this week?

In the story of David and Goliath, we see that fear had become the common currency of Israel.  They become immobilized by the taunts of a single man.  Enter David.  Eugene Peterson says of Israel- they have a "failure of imagination." But David has a God-dominated imagination. 

We also have a problem imagining that God can use small things to accomplish big things.  Saul has a Goliath-drenched imagination.  But David has the Spirit of God.  He goes out to fight Goliath  proclaiming the Lord's name. 

"... It is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands." 1 Samuel 17:47

The Lord will deliver us as well.  We will have opposition, but it is God who saves.  We can't let our weak imaginations limit what God does in our lives.

As we continue our series in 1 Samuel 16, we see that Saul's lack of leadership had consequences.  In today's passage, Samuel went out on priestly business to anoint a new king.  At first look, he thought he might be replacing one obvious choice for another, but as Jesse's sons came forward, we see that God is looking deeper than we do. 

"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Too often, we judge a book by its cover.  But God sees the heart.  If you've ever felt unseen, know that God sees. you and knows you.  He looks at your heart, sees the deep places, the complex places.  He sees all our sinfulness and yet the hope of the gospel is that there just isn't enough darkness in you to chase away God's love.  God sees your weakness and he knows your flaws and he's ready to do a good work in you.

It's amazing what the Spirit of God can do with willing hearts!

The story of Saul's son Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14 shows us that faith requires overcoming paralysis and taking a step.  We can always put off decisions to serve and obey God, but faith requires action.  Faith ultimately requires us to jump in and be ALL IN.  

Faith has its own arithmetic. In 1 Samuel 14:6, Saul rightly remarks that "The Lord is not limited to saving by many or by few."  Jonathan + God = MORE than enough.  God changes the math.   

It can be easy for us to be discouraged and lose hope, but this is the day the Lord has made.  This is the day for us to jump all in and be all in for Jesus.  

Sometimes things and events are not what they seem.  In 1 Samuel 9 we see that a story of lost donkeys actually turns out to be the appointing of a king!  

Sometimes God sets up divine appointments for us.  Sometimes God is doing something we can't even imagine.  Ultimately, God has bigger things in mind than you becoming just a little bit better version of yourself- God is all about heart transformation.  

Pray this week:  Lord what are you doing with my day?  What are you doing in my life?  

Keep your eyes and ears open for God's presence and God's nudges and divine appointments where we can learn, serve, and love today. 

What would you do on an ideal day?  This week's sermon explores 1 Samuel 7 as Jeff preached from his office on a livestream while the FBC Shreveport campus was covered with snow and ice!  

If we let politics lead and shape us, if we barter for blessings, or if we treat God like a vending machine, we may be putting God in a box.  He doesn't belong to us, we belong to Him.  Do we obey only when it's convenient?  Is there something you've been holding onto and trying to justify?  The way to measure is through Jesus and His teaching- to love God and love others.  Jesus came to bring us transformation, to be our Lord and our King.  

In our second week of looking at the book of 1 Samuel, we take a look at Samuel's calling.  He didn't recognize God's voice at first, but came to understand that God was indeed calling him.  Like Samuel, when we're in close proximity to God and God's people, we can hear our own callings better.  The timing may be difficult, but even imperfect people can help us boldly live out our callings. The question is not if God still calls, but the question is how will we answer?