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Scripture: 1 Peter 5:8
A. Scripture uses vivid language to describe Satan — not a cartoon character, but a real and fearsome enemy
B. 2 Corinthians 11:2–3 — Paul warns believers that as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, their minds may be led astray from sincere and pure devotion to Christ
A. He distracts
B. He diminishes
C. He distresses
A. The object of our faith: Jesus Christ
B. The shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16)
C. The ordinary means of grace build up the shield of faith
D. Closing exhortation — Jeremy Walker quoting Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Scripture: 2 Samuel 4:1-12
Scripture: 2 Samuel 4:1-12
A. The passage opens with weakness on every side: Ish-bosheth's courage fails (2 Samuel 4:1), and Mephibosheth, the only remaining heir of Saul, is a crippled five-year-old (2 Samuel 4:4)
A. Recab and Baanah present themselves as courageous in contrast to Ish-bosheth's failed courage, yet the text deliberately repeats the account of their deed (vv. 6–7) to underscore that they are in fact cowards — attacking an unsuspecting man asleep in his own bed
A. David's response mirrors his response to the Amalekite in 2 Samuel 1 — those who bring him the heads of his enemies expecting reward are themselves executed
Scripture: John 12:27-36
Scripture: John 12:27-36
A. The cross of Calvary is the supreme display of God's glory
B. Grace and glory are inseparable
C. The doctrine of divine simplicity illuminates the cross
A. Christ is the embodiment of God's glory
B. Christ is the one man who perfectly glorifies God
C. Satan's strategy is always to divert from the cross
D. Christ glorifies God as the representative man, the Last Adam
A. Seeing the glory is not the same as receiving it — faith takes possession of the gift
B. Faith itself is God's gift — salvation is entirely his act
C. God's glory in salvation is the overflow of his joy
Scripture: 2 Samuel 3
Scripture: 2 Samuel 3:6-12, 26-30
A. Abner grows stronger while the house of Saul grows weaker
B. Abner is exposed as a political opportunist, not a true theologian
C. Application: Abner-like behavior tempts all of us
A. Joab's motive: vengeance for his brother Asahel, killed by Abner in battle (2 Samuel 2)
B. Vengeful rage produces tunnel vision and foolishness
C. Application: "Vengeance is the Lord's" — this truth liberates us
A. David's demand for Michal before meeting Abner (2 Samuel 3:13-16)
B. David's covenant with Abner
C. David's response to Abner's murder (2 Samuel 3:28-30)
A. Ecclesiastes 7:16 — "Be not overly righteous"
B. Jesus perfectly embodies this principle — wise as a serpent, innocent as a dove
C. Application for Christians in a season of wickedness
Scripture: Galatians 3:10-14
Scripture: Galatians 3:10-14
A. The law demands perfect, complete obedience
B. No fallen person can keep the whole law
C. The witness of the Old Testament confirms this
A. Christ redeemed us from the curse by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13)
B. The penal substitutionary atonement of Christ
C. Christ's active and passive obedience
A. Faith in Christ is the only way to justification
B. Justifying faith is persevering faith
C. Faith is also the way of sanctification
D. Faith holds the promise of glorification — "shall live"
Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:12-32
Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:12-32
A. Abner and his army are the aggressors, moving south toward Judah to attack the Davidic kingdom (2 Samuel 2:12-17)
B. The contrast between Saul's kingdom and David's kingdom is stark
C. The church, like David, is often simply minding its own business and loving its neighbors, yet is treated as the aggressor
A. Asahel, brother of Joab, is killed by Abner while pursuing him after the battle (2 Samuel 2:18-23)
B. The Gates of Hell will not prevail against the church, but the assault brings real pain
C. What suffering believers need most is empathy — not over-spiritualized language, but brothers and sisters who say, "That hurts. That's painful," as Job's friends should have done
A. Abner, after being pursued by Joab and Abishai, attempts to blame-shift and portray himself as the victim (2 Samuel 2:24-28)
B. This pattern repeats throughout redemptive history
C. This pattern continues today: the church is cast as the villain in popular culture, while the servants of the kingdom of darkness are portrayed as victims seeking justice
A. The passage is bookended by the defeat of Abner's forces and the victory of David's servants (2 Samuel 2:17, 31)
B. The first 300 years of church history illustrate this hopelessness
C. Satan's two weapons — accusation and bodily harm — are both rendered hopeless in Christ
D. Conclusion: Fight on, Christian soldier — amidst pain, loss, slander, and darkness, believers are more than conquerors through Christ, the seed of the woman and the head crusher
Scripture: Galatians 3:1-9
Scripture: Galatians 3:1–9
A. Paul opens with astonishment that the Galatians have been "bewitched" — their eyes taken off Christ crucified
B. The content of preaching is Christ and him crucified
C. Christ crucified is the climactic moment of all of redemptive history
A. The Spirit's power in conversion (Galatians 3:2)
B. The Spirit's power in sanctification (Galatians 3:3)
C. The Spirit's power in miracles (Galatians 3:4–5)
A. The shocking claim: those of faith are sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:7)
B. The gospel was preached beforehand to Abraham (Galatians 3:8)
C. A christocentric hermeneutic governs all of Scripture
Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:1-11
Scripture: 2 Samuel 2:1-11
A. David pauses to inquire of the Lord before acting, even when his kingship seems obvious
B. The place of inauguration — Hebron — carries deep redemptive-historical significance
C. The tribe of Judah carries its own redemptive-historical significance
A. David commends the men of Jabesh-gilead for their loyal burial of Saul (1 Samuel 31)
B. Jabesh-gilead faces a decision that mirrors the call of the gospel
C. God's call is to channel gifts, zeal, and character toward the right king
A. Abner makes Ish-bosheth king over all Israel in opposition to David
B. Blind loyalty, though outwardly commendable, leads to foolishness and opposition to the true king
C. The unanswered response of Jabesh-gilead is a challenge to the reader
Scripture: Galatians 2:14-21
Scripture: Galatians 2:14-21
A. Paul, like a good physician, diagnoses the problem before offering the remedy
B. Paul identifies a universal need: justification before a holy God
A. Paul addresses the anticipated objection of the Judaizers (Galatians 2:17-19)
B. The law's true function is to drive us away from itself as a means of justification (Calvin)
C. The universal human tendency toward self-justification
D. The means of justification is personal, Spirit-worked faith (Galatians 2:16, 2:20)
A. Justifying faith is not vague — it has a specific, personal object: Christ Jesus (Galatians 2:16, 2:20)
B. This person is the man Jesus
C. This person is the Son of God
D. This person loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20)
Scripture: 2 Samuel 1:17-27
Scripture: 2 Samuel 1:17-27
A. David mourns the news of Saul and Jonathan's defeat reaching the Philistines (Ashkelon and Gath)
A. David curses the mountains of Gilboa — the site of Saul and Jonathan's death — calling for no dew or rain
A. David records this lamentation in the Book of Jashar — also referenced in Joshua 10:12-13 — a record of Israel's military heroes
A. The daughters of Israel are called to weep for Saul; David reserves his own weeping for Jonathan
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