Biographies are great. A glimpse in the life of others can inspire us or fill us with pity for the hard life they endured. ‘The life of Samuel’ will likewise teach us things about the man himself. However, from his miraculous beginning this last judge as well as prophet of God will point beyond himself. Samuel served God in a difficult and rebellious time. God’s people demanded a king thought he Lord their God was their king. Their hope would turn into disappointment. As such, these events point us to the ultimate king who was still to come, Jesus Christ, our prophet, priest and King. Is this God our King?
Life of Samuel
The Birth of Samuel - Jim Crooks
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Sunday, June 28, 2020
Four perspectives on conception
1. A loving husband who is faithful in the worship of God but has succumbed to the cultural practice of polygamy is blessed with a surprise.
2. A dutiful and patient wife, who knows God is sovereign, silently prays in the place of worship and has her spirits lifted and her prayer answered.
3. A resting priest comes to a wrong conclusion but recovers.
4. A sovereign God hears and hatches a grand plan.
In the last judge of Israel (1 Samuel 7:15) we have one who was born as a result of prayer on the part of his mother and was given a dutiful example of worship by his father. The priest in charge of the tabernacle located in Shiloh could get things wronged he is to be the boy’s tutor but wasn’t very good at discernment. The brief narrative forms the very beginning of a transition for the nation of Israel whom God has loved and has protected. The story has greatest significance when viewed from His perspective.
The Call of Samuel - David Knowles
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Sunday, July 5, 2020
God is a God who speaks to his people, this core belief lies at the heart of our faith. God is not made by human hands sitting silently on a shelf or in a corner of a temple. The Lord God of this World speaks and in doing so calls people into relationship and into service. This well known story of the call of a young man who was already serving God into deeper and more challenging service, ought to cause us to think through just what god might be saying and calling us to do and to be.
Samuel the Judge - David Knowles
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Sunday, July 12, 2020
It's always hard to admit when you get it wrong, especially so it seems when you need to admit before God that you have let him down. Fortunately God always listens to the repentant heart openly confessing sin and failure and delights to forgive. Today's passage tells the story of national repentance. Israel having spent over 20 years far from God and resisting His will eventually through the words of Samuel see the need to lament their sin and come back to God. Samuel as he guides the nation into repentance and faith provides a great model for all hearts that seek to repent and come back to God
1 Samuel 8: 1-22 - Demand for a King - Alastair Chalmers
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Sunday, July 19, 2020
We've all heard the saying "be careful what you wish for!" It's a warning that the nation of Israel needed to hear and it's a warning they get from God in 1 Samuel 8. In this chapter we see the folly of humanity and how willingly we exchange the wonderful things of God for transient things of this world. This passage challenges us to see how good God is, how broken we are and how much we need Jesus, God's true King.
1 Samuel 10: 17-26 - The king fails - Ken Knowles
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Sunday, July 26, 2020
Saul’s Coronation
And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
Saul was chosen by God and anointed to be Israel’s king. He was everything that the people expected in a king, having foolishly rejected God himself. Yet when the moment comes for Saul to be made king, he’s nowhere to be found. Do we look upon Saul and see something of our own response to God’s call? What should we learn from Saul’s decision to hide from the task God had prepared him for? Where will we be standing, when God comes to crown his faithful servants?
Farewell Speech - 1 Samuel 12 - David Knowles
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Friday, July 31, 2020
Saying farewell from a job you have held for a while can be a difficult experience. 1 Samuel 12 contains Samuel's farewell speech to the nation of Israel including its new young King Saul. It contains words of great wisdom and challenge to King and nation on how they must live. They are words for us today as well, a strong challenge to live our lives wholeheartedly in service of our King Jesus.
The need for a new king - Alex Warren
(Audio Only)
Morning Service, Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Who is your King? Are you living for yourself or is Jesus king over your life? The tragic failure of Saul leads us to ask ourselves this important question. Saul disobeys God and by doing so betrays his rejection of God's commands. God therefore is going to replace Saul with a better king - David - who points us forward to the greatest King, Jesus. In this passage we see through Saul's failure: (i) the importance of obedience, and how Jesus has obeyed God's commands on our behalf; (ii) the need for true repentance, and how turning to Jesus brings forgiveness of sins through his death for us and (iii) the challenge and comfort of a God whose plans do not change. He will definitely judge sin, but he will also save and keep safe all who trust in Jesus as their saviour and king.