Forge Church

Samuel has grown in stature and responsibilities as he ministers to the Lord in Shiloh. One very early morning, pre-dawn, he is sleeping in proximity to the wall that separates him from the Holy of Holies, where the Ark resides. He is ripped from sleep by a voice calling his name. He leaps up...3 times, and runs 3 times to Eli, who finally gets it that God is at work. Samuel rises to face the LORD, to receive a prophetic message, and to be ushered into a relationship with the God he did not know until that moment.

Samuel is growing up, serving the Lord in the Tabernac;le. However, he is surrounded by the presence and influence of wicked men....in the Tabernacle. As we zoom in on his growth, and zoom out to see what God was going to do with the sons of Eli, we see the consistent track record of Samuel to grow in stature and righteousness that was visible to all the people. Then God steps in to prophecy the end of Eli's sons and his family line as priests.

Ist Samuel is one of the most illustrative books in the Bible...Samuel wants us to know of his roots. This podcast out of chapters 1 & 2 introduce us to the child, Samuel. But behind family squabbles and deep pain, God is at work to begin something new in Israel.

1 * 2 Samuel are one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. When the Septuagint translation into Greek dealt with that text, it was divided into 2 books. The man Samuel probably wrote ch. 1-24 of 1 Samuel, and later, David, Nathan and Gad added their writings. Isaiah is perhaps the compiler of these writings, producing the books of Samuel. God placed the man in the late period of the Judges, and is himself to be a Judge, a prophet, a kingmaker, and a priest.

James wants his congregations to know how to "be" Church the right way. He begins with trials, then leads them through ways to manifest the presence of God in their midst....from prayer, to singing, to confession, to restoration....and more.

James rails at wealthy landowners who have defrauded the destitute workers of their wages. using prophetic language to detail God's judgment on them and their wealth. Then he turns to instruct his assemblies how to respond to trials.....with patience, with perseverance, being careful to not fall into complaint against one another. In fact, he said do that latter exercise....no complaint....first.

James moves to interdict reports coming in from the scattered assemblies that practical atheism and self-made independence was spreading due to successful merchants. These men had planned, traveled, established, bought low and sold high, and made a profit. Now they were boasting about it, and James comes back with his challenge: Did you even think about God in your planning? Where is the "If God Wills" humility? And in so doing, James crawls right up into our 21st Century culture with the same questions.

James is addressing BIG issues in the scattered churches he oversees. Quarrels and fights up to and including murder have set chaos loose in the midst of the congregations. His corrective words are Old Testament Prophet with a flame thrower....hard words to hear. There is a shift in the middle, where James begins to layout a way back to fellowship with God by Holy Spirit for those who have been seduced to love the world. Such are some of us.

James oversees many assemblies, scattered through Synagogues in the easter part of the Roman Empire. His congregations are struggling with the tongue, and now his focus is on wisdom, its source, and its application. That wisdom may be bitter and filled with strife, or it may be from the Father in Heaven, filled with purity, peace, and humility. We need to choose what and Whom we draw on.

James is deeply concerned about speech....by the teaches in his congregations and by the influence of the tongue set on fire by a world view that is unrighteous. Drawing on familiar marketplace illustrations and Palestinian images, James teaches his flocks that the tongue can be so out of control as to be fired by hell, doing vast damage. Our own culture of criticism, innuendo, fake news, and slander is right up to date with James' warnings, and we have great needs for Holy Spirit power to be in control of our own tongues.