We were designed by God to be givers – not takers. Our time, our talent, our treasure – everything that we have and everything that we are – is meant to overflow in blessing to the world around us.

We are a blessed people, and we believe that God has blessed us so that the blessing might overflow to others. One of the ways that we 'overflow' is through our giving.

This morning we are going to see how God can, and has, used ordinary people like you and me.

When we do what is right in our own eyes, when we determine that there is no ultimate authority over us – that there is no King whose righteous standard we must uphold – then we distort justice in order to protect us and ours.

The author of the Book of Judges handpicked this "darkest hour" in Israel's history to illustrate how VILE – how DEPRAVED – Israel became when everyone was left to do what was right in their own eyes.

In today's passage Luke presents us with three confrontations where the Pharisees questioned Jesus based about the Law. In each of these interactions, Jesus provides an illustration to correct and teach the Pharisees.

For the final five chapters of Judges, the author steps out of the timeline that we have been following, and has hand-picked two stories that illustrate and summarize what Israel looked like when there was no king.

There is much for us to learn from Samson's final chapter which is one of the most tragic and memorable stories in the entire Old Testament.