Third Church Sermons

We are nearing the end of our Advent sermon series on the mothers of Jesus with this look at Bathsheba. Typically, people look at this story from the perspective of David, but we’ll be looking at it from the perspective of Bathsheba, and what her role in Jesus’s lineage tells us about the hope of his coming. WARNING: This week’s text tells a story of rape, deception, manipulation and murder. These topics may be difficult for some individuals, including young children or victims of sexual assault or violence. Please listen with caution if you find yourself in that audience.

This week, we continue our study of the Mothers of Jesus - a look at the five women mentioned in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. In the Book of Ruth, we find the ultimate outsider and we find ancient echoes of what would become Jesus’ most famous words - the Sermon on the Mount.

This Sunday we’ll continue with our Mothers of Advent series by looking at the next mother in Matthew’s genealogy, Rahab.

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent! We begin again a new cycle of the Christian year, retelling the most important story of our lives. Advent means “arrival.” We look back on those who waited for the coming of the Messiah, and we look ahead as those who continue to wait for his return. This Sunday we are excited to begin a new Advent series called “The Mothers of Jesus.” We’ll be looking each week at one of the five women who are named in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew chapter 1, and what each of them tells us about the mystery of the incarnation and the grace of God. Our pastoral resident Elisabeth Hayes put this series together, and she’ll be preaching the first message this Sunday on Tamar.

This Sunday is the last Sunday of the Christian calendar year, which has historically been called "Christ the King" Sunday. On this day we celebrate that Jesus is King over all nations and all creation, and that he will one day come to reclaim his Kingdom forever. It feels especially fitting this Sunday as we have been working through our series on 1 and 2 Samuel called “Longing for the True King.” We’ll finish the series this Sunday in one of the most significant chapters of the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 7.

* This sermon was co-written with Rev. Kevin Germer, Christ Presbyterian Church, Richmond

Sermon Sources:

- Tim Chester, 2 Samuel for You

- Robert Alter, “The David Story”

- Walter Brueggemann, “1 and 2 Samuel”

- “The Promise of David,” Sermon by Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian Church 12/14/2003, logos.com

- “The Ineluctable Love of God,” Sermon by Rankin Wilbourne, Pacific Crossroads Church, 5/2/2010

This Sunday we’ll look at the climax that we have moving toward since 1 Samuel 16, when the young shepherd boy David was pulled from the fields and anointed as the future king. David takes a fragmented collection of warring tribes and pulls them together as a united Kingdom. We’ll look at what this tells us about the unique kind of unity that God creates for his people.

This Sunday we’ll continue the story of David the King. Pastor Fakhri Yacoub will be preaching on “A Merciful King,” looking at the remarkable way that David chose to show mercy in his role as King rather than behave like the kings of the nations.

This Sunday we continue with the story of the kings of Israel. The story takes a surprising turn when just after David defeats Goliath and experiences great success in Israel, he is driven into the wilderness by Saul’s jealousy. We also look at what this says to us about our own Christian experience.

* This sermon was co-written with Rev. Kevin Germer of Christ Presbyterian Church, Richmond VA

Sources:

- Tim Chester, 1 Samuel for You

- Rankin Wilbourne, “The Cave, The Community, The Sacrifice,”Sermon preached at Pacific Crossroads Church, 4/18/2010

- Robert Alter, “The David Story”

This Sunday we’ll continue in the story of the monarchy as the spotlight now swings to the king-elect David. In 1 Samuel 17, he is confronted with his first challenge, and it’s a big one: a giant of a man named Goliath. We’ll see this week how this same theme of God’s upside-down Kingdom gets played out in this story- that God’s deliverance is not based on sword or spear or any other human conventions, but that God delights in using the small to bring down the great, using the seemingly weak to turn the table on the so-called strong.

This Sunday we’ll traverse into the next great chapter of the history of the monarchy in Israel: we will meet the young man named David. This is a new chapter in what has been a sad and disappointing beginning in Israel’s monarchy, and it speaks of the hope that God always brings out of hopeless situations. God always sees beyond what we see- and this chapter invites us to see with the eyes of God.