Even before the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Americans had become used to the “holy war” Islamic radicals were waging against the West. It comes as a surprise to some then when they read passages like 1 Samuel 15 where God commands his people to wage a holy war against Gentile nations, like the Amalekites. But our discomfort with the term or even the prospect that God commands it should be shaped by the purpose and place of holy war in the work of God to redeem the world. This week, we turn to the next sad chapter of Saul’s life when, because of his partial faithfulness, God rejects him fully and finally as king. That sad episode is set within a context of God’s hatred of sin and absolute determination to make a a holy people for himself. Get ready for some heavy lifting this Sunday at Redeemer.

We could make an argument that gratitude is the fundamental quality of the Christian life. In gratitude, we live in response to God. In gratitude, we love God. In gratitude, we give our ourselves to God as he has given himself for us.

When it comes to our giving habits in the church, we can miss the role of gratitude in our giving, and thus wrongly communicate our affection to God. On Sunday morning, we will explore two keys regarding giving from Paul’s charge to the church in Ephesus through Timothy. Firstly, we are called to contentment, and secondly, we are to imitate God in our habits of giving, who has given us everything to enjoy.

While we can face challenges in each, in practicing them, we take hold of that which is life, and avoid the trappings of a love for wealth, which can lead to ruin.

Does your religious practice look more like Saul’s or more like Jonathan’s? Do you think by making good choices and adding extra rules, you can somehow ensure God’s favor? Or, are you freely confident in God’s power, control, and love? This week, we turn to another sad chapter in the story of Saul. But the counterpoint to Saul’s superstitious religion is Jonathan’s biblical faithfulness: an example for us, for our families, and for our church.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism and the brother of the famous hymn writer Charles Wesley, once said, “there is no little sin, because there is no little God to sin against.” This week, we turn to 1 Samuel 13 and a puzzling incident in the life of King Saul. It seems, at first glance, that Saul’s sin is little and that Samuel makes too much of it. But Samuel says Saul’s sin has provoked the Lord to look for a new king. How should we understand God’s expectations and God’s judgment, especially when we honestly consider our own faithlessness in big and little ways? The answer stretches from Genesis to Revelation, from King Adam to King Jesus. Join us this Sunday to discover why!

For nearly all of Samuel’s life, he has fulfilled two roles for the nation of Israel: he has been God’s prophet to the people and he has been a judge, the political and military leader that gave order to Israel’s civil society. But now that Saul has been anointed and proclaimed and made king, it is time for Samuel’s responsibilities to change. The time of the judges (stretching back Othniel in Judges 3:7) has come to an end. Now it is the time for the kings to reign. At this momentous turning point in Israel’s history, Samuel preaches to them and his sermon is frightening and accusatory. It appears that Samuel is finally getting to say all the things he wants to say to a nation he believes has treated him unfairly. But the surprise isn’t in the tone of the sermon. The surprise is found in the good news Samuel preaches to those who can’t seem to do anything but evil. Join us this Sunday as we hear the gospel from Samuel.

Last week, we returned to 1 Samuel and saw God’s hidden hand of providence bringing Saul to Samuel who told him that he would be the new king that Israel had demanded of God. This week, we go looking for the king. Where is he? Why hasn't this momentous occasion in the life of Israel made any difference? Where is the hero the people longed for, the prince who would save God’s people? Every earthly kingdom—even the one God himself ordained in Israel—is a pale reflection of the eternal King and Kingdom to which you and I belong in Christ. This week, we see how Saul (in his failure and his success) whets our appetite for a King who will finally and forever be victorious over all our enemies.

As we return to the book of First Samuel, we are introduced to one of the most intriguing characters of Scripture: King Saul. But when we meet Saul, he is not yet king. Instead, he is on a journey to find his father’s lost donkeys. Along the way, he meets the prophet Samuel whom God had told the day before that he would meet the man God had chosen to be Israel’s king. The story of Saul is more than just history, it is an example of God’s hidden hand in all of our lives: moving, directing, and even overruling events to achieve his purposes for us and for the world.

As we conclude our summer series through the books of 1st and 2nd Peter, we reach Peter’s final plea. In the last verses of his second letter, Peter asks what kind of people should we be, knowing that the Lord is coming again to remake the heavens and the earth in righteousness? The motivation for Christian living isn’t found in pragmatism (“try Jesus and your marriage will be better!); it is found in the cosmic lordship of Jesus Christ. Join us this Sunday as we conclude this sermon series with Peter pointing us to our only hope as exilic people: the Jesus who directs and guides history itself to its final, glorious, and eternal end.

Our minds are a collection of thoughts, feelings, and impulses that correspond in varying ways to the truth of the gospel. Peter identifies his purpose in this passage as "stirring up the sincere mind" of the believers he is addressing (3:1). This Sunday we will explore four ideas from our passage that stir our sincere minds in Christ. Those ideas include: remembering we are beloved people; responding to the prophets and commands of Christ; understanding the place of scoffers in the world and our relationship to them; and finally heeding the character of God as it relates to his relationship to time.

Peter’s main point in this second letter is to warn the church about false teachers. The remaining verses of chapter two contain one of the most frightening descriptions we may ever read of a person. As Peter paints the picture of the false teacher, however, we also come to see our own complicity in their destructive ministry. What hope is there if we are naturally drawn to our own damnation? Join us this week as we see not just a portrait of our sin but also, ironically, of the Savior who will rescue us.