In this sermon, Pastor Keith Ryoo covers the coronation of an apparent hesitant King Saul, Israel’s first monarch, and Israel’s complete and total rejection of God as their sole ruler. God permits Israel to have a king, despite the dire warnings of the obvious pitfalls of such a governmental system....
1 Samuel 8 ends with Israel foolishly asking for a king “like all the nations” and the Lord telling Samuel to give them the king they wanted. In chapter 9 we are introduced to Saul and how he is anointed to be Israel’s king. In this sermon, pastor Mitch reminds...
Chapter 8 begins the next major section of the book. It also marks a turning point in the history of Israel. Here we discover how God’s people came to be a nation ruled by kings. But this all came about as they experienced yet another crisis of faith. Once again...
In chapter 4, at the battle of Aphek and Ebenezer, Israel was twice defeated (by Yahweh) before the Philistines. As a result, the ark of the covenant was captured; the Glory departed from Israel. This is why the priest Eli’s daughter-in-law named her son Ichabod, “no glory.” And while Yahweh...
In chapters 5-6, we follow the exiled ark of Yahweh as he continues to gain victory over his enemies and eventually returns to his place among his people. And while this story is certainly a cause for us to rejoice, it is a cause for us to rejoice with trembling...
1 Samuel 4 describes the fall of Eli’s house. Samuel will take over as priest-judge in Israel, but Yahweh must first carry out his purpose of judgment against his corrupt priest-judge and a godless nation. This is why a new “character” takes center stage in chapters 4-6: the ark of...
In this sermon, pastor Keith shows us from 1 Samuel 3 that God is always at work to fulfill his purposes through the ministry of His word. From God’s word being rare and Eli’s eyes growing dim to all Israel knowing that a prophet is risen in Shiloh, God provided...
In this sermon, pastor Matt shows us that, despite corruption in his house, God is always at work to fulfill his purposes. He will provide for the needs of his people both in purging judgment and in preserving mercy
In chapter 1, God answered Hannah’s prayers for a son—a son whom she vowed to give back to Yahweh all the days of his life. Now, in chapter 2, we hear another one of her prayers, and it’s a psalm of thanksgiving. As we saw last time, Hannah’s story is...