We’re  continuing in our series in the first three chapters of 1 Samuel. If you’re just joining us, it’s probably best to begin with the first post in the series, last Wednesday. Today, we come to the outworking of Hannah’s song: where her little story and God’s big story intersect. It’s a famous one – a… Continue reading Hannah’s Song – Part Five (1 Sam 3)

We’re  continuing in our series in the first three chapters of 1 Samuel. If you’re just joining us, it’s probably best to begin with the first post in the series, last Wednesday. God the great reverser As we saw yesterday, God is the great rescuer. Having been rescued, we become part of God’s rescue plan. But… Continue reading Hannah’s Song – Part Four (1 Sam 2)

We’re  continuing in our series in the first three chapters of 1 Samuel. If you’re just joining us, it’s probably best to begin with the first post in the series, last Wednesday. God the great rescuer As we saw last Thursday, Hannah’s song connects her story with God’s story: the story of God the great rescuer,… Continue reading Hannah’s Song – Part Three (1 Sam 2)

Use today – and the weekend – to catch up on any readings you’ve missed. If you’re up-to-date, read through the situation described in 2 Samuel 2:12-36 about Israel’s disastrous leadership situation. It forms the background to what we’ll look at on Monday.  

Yesterday, we began a series in the first three chapters of 1 Samuel. We looked at Hannah’s story (read it now to catch up if you missed it) and noticed that God cares about more than just ‘the world’ in general. He cares about us as individuals. But, of course, there’s also the other side of… Continue reading Hannah’s Song – Part Two (1 Sam 2)

We begin a new series today, in the first three chapters of 1 Samuel. As humans, we have an inbuilt desire to connect our own, personal story to a much larger story. To see where it is that we fit. To understand how the narrative of my life finds its place amongst the life of… Continue reading Hannah’s Song – Part One (1 Sam 1)

This is the final part in our three-day look at the David and Goliath story. We’ve seen how the battle was really about defending God’s honour. David was the only one zealous enough to want to defend it, and confident enough in God’s power to attempt it. Today, we look at the final part of… Continue reading Defending God’s honour – part 3 (1 Sam 17)

Yesterday we began our look at the well-known story of David and Goliath. We saw that it was primarily a challenge to God’s honour and reputation. Yet David was the only one to really see it that way; the only one who was zealous for God’s honour. 17:26 David asked the men standing near him,… Continue reading Defending God’s honour – part 2 (1 Sam 17)

So far in 1 Samuel we’ve seen Israel ask for a king like the other nations had, so they could be like everyone else. So God granted their request, and gave them Saul. Indeed, he was the kind of king they asked for, being more concerned about what other people thought than what God commanded. So the… Continue reading Defending God’s honour – part 1 (1 Sam 17)

Today is the final part of a three-part look at the rise and fall of King Saul. If you’re joining us now, you’d be best starting with the first in the series. Yesterday, we saw Saul listening to the people rather than God, and suffering the consequences. Yet God was gracious, allowing him to remain king. He… Continue reading The rise and fall of King Saul – part 3 (1 Sam 9-15)