Death inevitably strikes a universal fear in every human heart. It doesn’t matter what century or the geography all people are fearful of death at some time in their life. Those who witnessed Christ’s death that Friday, when Jesus was crucified, felt the biting sting of death. They saw and heard Jesus speak his last words. Then they saw him breathe his last breath and fall limp as he hung on the cross. At that moment, the despair of death filled the hearts of Jesus’ followers. Perhaps you have been struggling with sadness, and the pain is weighing you down like a load too great to bear. So it was for the disciples, but their sadness was changed to joy.
Scripture Text: Luke 24:13-35 

We have all had problems we could not solve by our own strength or knowledge. Such was the case of the Philistines in 1 Samuel 6. The problem is summed up in the first sentence of the chapter: When the ark of the Lord had been in Philistine territory seven months,
The fact that the ark was in the land of the Philistines was a problem for both the Philistines and the Israelite's.
God had promised to deliverer Israel from her enemies, but that promise was conditional. It required the Israelite's to be faithful to Him and they had not.
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 6:1-21

Human beings play games—dysfunctional games with each. When we don’t know how to fix our problems we relate to each other in dysfunctional ways. We also play games with God. We know God is powerful and we believe He is in charge but we resist letting Him be in charge of our life. We prefer our way to His way and we rely on our strength and ingenuity to His power. But, that choice has its consequences.
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 5:1-12

It is not uncommon to want God's power. Some believers can misunderstand and misuse the power of God.  If we want to see God’s power it will always be through repentance and humility.
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 4:1-21

Learning to express our appreciation for the people, experiences, and things in our lives that matter is a skill worth learning. Its more than a skill—its an attitude. If we acquire this attitude we will learn to enjoy  simple pleasures, such as watching the sun rise, feeling a cool breeze, or taking a stroll, worshiping with our church family, and most of all knowing that God is there with us, no matter what is going on in our  lives. Knowing that he speaks and we can hear his voice.
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-20

As we open the book of 1 Samuel we immediately are given two contrasting world views, one from Hannah and the other from Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli. Hannah's perspective of the world is turned upside down by God's power, but the second view of Eli's sons was a humanistic view. There are several lessons in this story for us that will challenge us in our walk with God.
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 2:27-36

In Philippians 2, Paul points us to the ultimate example of humility. He points us to true humility, and true servanthood and shows us what it’s like to live like this.
Scripture Text: Philippians 2:1-18 

In the Gospel of Mark, we see a story of two unique individuals with opposite backgrounds. Both of them are in desperate need of Jesus. The contrast reveals to us the wideness of Christ's love and mercy.
Scripture Text: Mark 5:21-43

Corruption is more and more evident in many of our leaders today. And, since there doesn’t seem to be equal justice under the law, we become cynical of the integrity of our leaders. It often appears that they get away with their corruption.First of all, let’s remember that we all come with a sinful nature, and we have a proclivity toward corruption. The pull toward dishonesty is powered by greed and power. It’s in our nature. What difference does having God in your thinking make in how you see the world? It makes all the difference in the world.
Scripture Text: 1 Samuel 2:11-26 

There are several reasons why the Old Testament stories are so powerful and meaningful.
First, they are about real people who have real problems.
Secondly, they display the entire panorama of their behavior and attitudes.
Thirdly and most importantly, the stories show us, God. They show us who He is and what He can do.
In this message we will see how God is omniscient and omnipotent, but at the same time, He is concerned with his people. As we learn what God did for his people Israel, we can believe what He will do for us in our situations.
Scripture Text: Exodus 14:15-31