Archive for November, 2008
November 30, 2008: David and Jonathan
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 18:1–30; 20:1–42.
Key Points
- Just as God filled Jonathan’s heart with love for David and David’s with love for Jonathan, so Christ fills our heart with God’s love, enabling us to love our neighbor.
- Law: Hatred and envy shatter ties, even the closest of family ties. They turn a mother against her daughter, a father against her son, as they did Saul against Jonathan. This, in turn, spawns murderous thoughts, if not murder itself.
- Gospel: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy” (1 Corinthians 13:4). Jonathan’s love for David and David’s for Jonathan was the love of God within their hearts spilling over into each other’s lives. We love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19), giving us His Son: love enfleshed.
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November 23, 2008: David and Goliath
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 17:1—58.
Key Points
- As David slew the giant Goliath, so David’s greater Son—Jesus—slew the jeering Goliaths of sin, Satan, and death with the weapon of His own death.
- Law: The enemies that face Christians are hardly pipsqueak rivals easily trounced. The devil is a roaring lion, not a hissing kitten. Danger and death await the believer who belittles these foes. Beware.
- Gospel: We do not fight our adversaries alone. In fact, there is one who fights for us: Jesus Christ. With His word of truth, He fells them as easily as David downed Goliath with a sling. His victory is our victory. “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). More than conquerors are we, for we are kings and queens with the King of Kings Himself.
November 16, 2008: Saul Becomes King
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 8:1—10:27; 11:12–15.
Key Points
- Though God lets us have our own way at times, His is the way of forgiving and saving, which He did for His people of old and for us today.
- Law: “Be careful what you wish for,” we’re often told. This is very good advice for sinners, since we wish—indeed, we crave—the very things that lead to our undoing. We “Israels” clamor for our own “Sauls,” no matter how much God warns us that we are like thirsty travelers begging for salty water.
- Gospel: The Lord knows what we need, both in terms of discipline and in terms of grace. As a loving Father, He upholds us, even when we bear the painful consequences of our own choices. He forgives us our faults and sustains our hopes. For in Christ, we are His children, beloved beyond words.
This Week’s Podcast – It’s Late!
Our sincere apologies to our listeners, as events have consipired to make this week’s podcast significantly later than previous weeks.
The audio is ready and the show notes will be going up first thing tomorrow morning.
The following week’s podcast is on-schedule and should be posted automatically over the weekend. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Thanks for listening!
November 9, 2008: Samuel
The text for this lesson is 1 Samuel 1:1—3:21.
Key Points
- For the sake of Christ, God, who is ever eager to forgive us and grant us His grace, calls all to repentance through preachers such as Samuel.
- Law: The Lord’s holy people often appear to out-sin the most ungodly pack of sinners imaginable. There is more than a little of Eli and his sons in all of us. Time and again, selfishness suffocates sanctity.
- Gospel: The Lord’s people are holy because they are the Lord’s. Holiness is not an achievement but an endowment. He calls all to repentance through preachers such as Samuel, ever eager to forgive for the sake of Christ, who was born of a woman very much like singing Hannah of old.
