In 1 Samuel 18-20, David is the general who goes up against Saul's enemies - the LORD's enemies. After Goliath we hear about David's victories in 18-5, 18-14-16, 18-27, 18-30, and 19-8.--And Saul is not blind to who David is. By the end of chapter 20, Saul understands full well that David is the Lord's anointed -20-31-. But Saul is jealous and wants to see his own line follow him as king.--What is interesting is that Saul's family -and all Israel- sees more clearly than Saul. They see that the LORD is with David, and that is enough for them.--If we are going to keep our Messianic theme here - since the king is the Lord's anointed one -meshiach- - then we need to see that loving David, protecting David, and making a covenant with David is all about loving Jesus, delighting in Jesus, and protecting Jesus - and by -protecting- I mean defending and maintaining his kingdom - rather than seeking our own kingdoms...

-Sung Psalm- 116---Preaching the gospel is a great and glorious thing - but Paul says that they were pleased to impart not only the gospel of God - but their own souls---How do you impart your soul to another person------When we are joined to the life of the Son of God - when the Holy Spirit - the Third Person of the Holy Trinity - joins us to the life of God - then we are joined to one another as well.--And so not only do we impart to you the gospel of God - but also, we impart to you our very souls.--Very imperfectly. With much weakness - much frailty - and with much sin and repentance- - we impart to you our own souls.--This is how Paul and Silas and Timothy walked among the Thessalonians. And this is how we, as your elders, seek to walk with you...

What is the point of the story of David and Goliath-- You often hear sermons focus on -what is the Goliath in your life---- Is cancer your Goliath-- Unemployment-- Lust----God was with David. God will be with you- So go out there and slay Goliath-----Another favorite is, David defeated Goliath when he was young - so the church should value young people---A third -application- is that David followed his heart, therefore if you are a man after God's own heart, then you should follow your heart too.--There is something tragically absent from all of these approaches to our text.--Christ...

-Sung Psalm- 103---Have you ever felt as though God has forgotten you-- I think that everyone feels that way at times - even Zion, the city of God, says, -The LORD has forsaken me- my Lord has forgotten me.---Those of you who have borne children will understand something of what Isaiah means- -Can a woman forget her nursing child-----If she forgets for even a little while, there is soon a reminder---But the LORD says, -Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you.- -v15---God will not forget his people. It may feel like it sometimes- God does not promise that everything will turn out the way we want it to---But he does promise us himself...

The story of 1 Samuel 16 is a story of two strange visitations at Bethlehem - the first being the coming of the Prophet Samuel to anoint David- the second being the messengers of King Saul to take David to the king.--And at the heart of the chapter - at the heart of the two visits - is the movement of the Holy Spirit - rushing upon David, even as he departs from Saul.--We saw last time that the LORD rejected Saul as king because Saul does not fear God. Saul fears the people. A king who fears the people will not - in the end - lead them to do what is right in God's eyes.--Oh, he may do a few things right- And our author is a faithful author who points out many things that Saul does right. But if your central failing is that you fear the people rather than God - then you will not lead well.--The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...

-Sung Psalm- 115---In 1 Thessalonians we will hear about how Jesus is the one who delivers us from the wrath to come. Nowadays we don't like to talk about -the wrath to come.- That doesn't sound very nice.- -True. So let's not talk about anything that doesn't sound nice- Let's not talk about the war in Ukraine - that doesn't sound nice. Let's not talk about global warming - or abortion - or human trafficking - they don't sound nice.--God says that there is wrath to come. That he will judge each one according to his deeds. And those who turn aside from the living and true God have rebelled against him.--Isaiah 44 describes the process of idolatry. An idol is anything that we trust to deliver us. As verse 17 says, -He prays to it and says, 'Deliver me, for you are my god-'---The idolater knows full well that the piece of wood is not actually a god. But the idolater is seeking to worship his god through that piece of wood.---He feeds on ashes- Isaiah says, -a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand--'---Idolatry is fundamentally built on lies. When we worship something other than the living and true God when we think that something else can deliver us - we are deluded-- -What is your situation right now-- What is it that you are counting on to make your situation better----I know. I'm the same way. I know the right answer - -Jesus-- But then - in the moment - I've got a better answer, 'cause Jesus is taking too long...

We cluck our tongues at Saul, shocked that he did not obey God. God had been perfectly clear. He had given Saul a direct, specific command. And yet Saul thought he knew better than God.--Have you ever thought that you knew better than God-- Has God really said that . . . -- Wouldn't God prefer it if you did this instead----Saul's rebellion is especially poignant because it is based on such good intentions. His first error, which we saw last time, was that he offered the sacrifices, instead of waiting for Samuel. He was worshiping God---His second error, which we are looking at tonight, was that he did not totally destroy the Amalekites, but brought some of their flocks for a sacrifice. Again, he was worshiping God---We see this over and over in scripture. The Israelites tried to worship Yahweh through a golden calf. But God was not pleased---Ananias and Sapphira tried to worship God but lied about the percentage they were giving. But God was not pleased---If you would worship God - then you must hear his word and do what he says...

-Sung Psalm- 71---Today we turn to 1 Thessalonians - one of Paul's earliest epistles. Written to a church that was only a few months old, Paul had been hurried out of the city due to threats from the Jewish community, so he is eager to communicate with this fledgling group of believers. --And partly because Paul only had a short time in Thessalonica, this epistle gives us a glimpse into what Paul thought was most important for the church to know. He seems to think that some of his teaching and some of his conduct may have been misunderstood - so he writes to the church, seeking to correct the misunderstandings that have been reported by Silas and Timothy. --At the heart of his concern is to encourage the Thessalonians to continue in -faith, hope, and love- - a triad that will play a key role in Paul's writings for the rest of his life...

Saul of Tarsus was of the tribe of Benjamin. He was some sort of relation to King Saul. And certainly he was named after King Saul.--It is always important to pay attention to biblical names. Saul defeated Nahash the Ammonite. Do you know what -Nahash- means-- Serpent. King Saul has crushed the head of the serpent---And yet, King Saul apostatized. He had a high calling. He was called by God to be his servant in going before the people of God, and deliver them from their enemies. Now his namesake has been called to be God's servant in preaching the gospel to the Gentiles. --I said last week that the narrative of Saul of Gibeah in Benjamin is either the story of the redemption of Benjamin, or a bitter irony as Benjamin goes from bad to worse.--Do you think that Saul of Tarsus was unaware of this bitter irony-- The story of the redemption of Benjamin is found in Saul of Tarsus. When Saul of Tarsus says in Philippians 3 that he is of the tribe of Benjamin, and comments in verse 13, -Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,- I cannot imagine that he was ignorant of his namesake's failure to press on...

Our final Psalm in our journey through book One of the Psalter is Psalm 41. If you read it simply as an individual lament over sickness and trouble, then you will struggle over how to sing it. After all, few of us have enemies who would rejoice over our death. And -hopefully- few of us are wishing that God would raise us up, so that we can repay our enemies for their malicious betrayals---If you read Psalm 41 as a generic individual lament, then Psalm 41 sounds like a mean and nasty song that Christians shouldn't sing.--But Jesus said that Psalm 41 is about himself and Judas. That line about -my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me- - Jesus says in John 13 that this scripture was fulfilled by Judas.--That's why Psalm 41 has the title that it does- -To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.---This song should be sung in corporate worship- and this song should be sung in the voice of David...