The Hallows Church

Sometimes history sounds more like a chapter out of The Lord of the Rings then real life, and we find one such account in our study of 1 Samuel this week. Join us this Sunday in person or via our YouTube livestream as we study together 1 Samuel 28–Saul's interaction with the witch of Endor and consider how the gospel addresses our fears.

Mark Smith | West Seattle Expression

Sometimes history sounds more like a chapter out of The Lord of the Rings then real life, and we find one such account in our study of 1 Samuel this week. Join us this Sunday in person or via our YouTube livestream as we study together 1 Samuel 28–Saul's interaction with the witch of Endor and consider how the gospel addresses our fears.

Wallingford Expression | Andrew Arthur

Last Sunday, we looked at Jesus’ final words in the Gospel of Matthew and affirmed the fact that we are worshipping, missional, spiritual people.

In reliance upon the Holy Spirit, we rally around the crucified and risen Christ. He is the point and purpose of all that we as a church are and all that we seek to do in this city. Jesus has commissioned us to make disciples of all nations, which means we are committed to discovering the difference Jesus makes in all of life and helping others do the same. His grace intends to touch and to transform every area of life.

Today, we are stepping into Acts 2, which provides us with the seminal description of what the church was about after being birthed in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. This passage provides a blueprint for all churches everywhere as to who they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be about, ours included.

At our opening Sunday gathering of our Hallows Wallingford Expression, Pastor Andrew walks us through "Who We Are" Part 1 through the lens of Matthew 28:16-20.

Life in the real world is rarely black and white. Everything outside of

Eden is colored with shades of grey. One of my favorite features of

the Bible is that God’s Word does not shrink back from depicting the

complexities of life in the real world. All the heroes of the faith get

their hands dirty. No one makes it through this life clean.

After a string of narratives depicting the faithfulness and

righteousness of Israel’s future king David, we come now to a

narrative that shows him in different light. A passage revealing that

even David can’t keep his hands clean in a fallen world. We may be

inspired by parts of his story, but we must not idolize him. He may be

good at times, but he certainly isn’t God. David is like us in that he’s a

sinner. He’s trying to navigate life in the real world, which isn’t easy.

Let's talk about faith.

When faith is depicted as one dimensional, a cop-out, or an excuse, we are simply not talking about faith. Faith is multidimensional not one-dimensional. It is both acting and receiving: experiencing God’s greatness and showcasing His grace. In this Sunday's scripture focus, we see Saul regress from his recent commitment and David respond with faith rather than fury. As the chapter unfolds, we are shown what it means to live by faith rather than act impulsively or impatiently. Together, we'll discover that multidimensional faith enables our lives to turn into a showcase of God’s grace.

Notes on sermon: Stephen Searles, our Church Planter in Residence, preached at our Edmonds Expression this week. Please check back in later this week if you'd like to listen to the sermon by Pastor Mark Smith at our West Seattle Expression.

In today’s study of 1 Samuel 25 with Pastor Andrew Arthur, we meet a character who would have been a passenger on a ship of fools. His name is Nabal (his name literally means “foolish”). He epitomizes human folly. Scripture sets him in contrast with his wife, Abigail. Whereas he represents human folly, she serves as a conduit of divine wisdom. By God’s grace, she comes to prevent Israel’s future king, David, from getting on board the ship of fools. Both Abigail and Nabal give you and I powerful reminders of the reality of living that we can choose to live by divine wisdom and human folly.

Sermon Outline

A Profile of Human Folly: Nabal

-He elevates accomplishments above character.

Mark 8:36

-He lives under the illusion of independence.

Psalm 14:1

Isaiah 32:6

-He treats this life as all there is.

-He self-destructs under divine judgment.

Proverbs 1:7

A Conduit of Divine Wisdom: Abigail

-She exercises discernment.

-She restricts folly.

Proverbs 4:5-6

-She encourages faith.

-She makes peace.

Matthew 5:9

A disturbed conscience is a gift of grace. Yes, you heard that right. Why? A disturbed conscience reveals when our attitudes or actions are not corresponding with faith in Christ and provides us with an opportunity to correct course. Ignoring the gift of a disturbed conscience is dangerous. Over time, it may harden and callous until all sensitivity is lost. To avoid such a dehumanizing outcome, let us learn to acknowledge when we are wrong, God is right, and resolve to act in accordance with what we believe. This is what David does in 1 Samuel 24, which we will be exploring in this Sunday's worship gathering during our teaching portion.

A person’s faith will not last a lifetime apart from being encouraged.

Encouragement is needed to dispel fear, strengthen trust, and infuse courage as we face various challenges. In those moments, we move toward others to move others toward God.

How can we encourage one another? We encourage one another of God’s promises and assuring one another of God’s provision, both of which are ultimately fulfilled and found in Christ.

In 1 Samuel 23:15-29, Jonathan seeks David in the wilderness to encourage his faith in God. By reminding David of God’s promises, he prepares David to recognize God’s provision when it comes. God would then deliver David from Saul’s hand in a surprising fashion. David’s mortal enemies, the Philistines, attacked Israel and distracted Saul. David escaped! David would later celebrate the fact that God’s providence serves His promises (Psalm 54; 2 Samuel 22).

Considering the death and resurrection of King Jesus, we too benefit from how God’s providence serves His promises. Our greatest enemy is death. Yet, faith in Christ means death cannot defeat us; instead, it can only deliver us into the eternal presence of God. Hence why Paul declared, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:54-55). Death now serves as the most surprising source of encouragement in the world! When it moves toward us, it will only succeed at moving us toward God.

We’re back to 1 Samuel this week with our guest preacher, Daniel Englehart. Daniel and his wife, Stephanie, are former church planters in residence with The Hallows Church and were commissioned out to start The Mountain Church in South King County in 2015. This morning, Daniel will help us study and explore the next passage in our series detailing a situation in which David rescues a city under attack–a people that ultimately would be willing to betray their hero.

Note: We apologize for the less than standard audio quality as we had to use our backup recording because of technical difficulties.