trouble begins

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Yesterday we finished a sermon series on women in the Bible. On Wednesday Lent begins with a prayer vigil from noon to noon Thursday and a short and simple Ash Wednesday service at 6:45. In Lent we face our mortality, we reflect on areas we need to improve on, and we follow Jesus' journey to the cross. The theme for our Lent sermon series is "Facing the Darkness." We start on Sunday with a reflection on difficult relationships. If you have any questions or thoughts or particular areas you'd like to reflect on under that heading, I'd love to hear from you. 


We begin with a classically difficult relationship: the relationship between David and his father in law, King Saul. Our story picks up after David has killed Goliath and has become part of the royal entourage. As we'll see, David immediately connects with Saul's son, Jonathan, but Saul feels threatened by David's success. Behind the scenes we know that God has abandoned Saul and has chosen David to be the next King of Israel, so Saul's fears are actually well founded.

God bless,
Sam

1 Samuel 18:1-12

When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. ²Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. ³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. ⁴Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. ⁵David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

⁶As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. ⁷And the women sang to one another as they made merry, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” ⁸Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?” ⁹So Saul eyed David from that day on.

¹⁰The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; ¹¹and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice. ¹²Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.

relationships and the Spirit

Good morning brothers and sisters,
Today's reading shows that while Jesus often got in trouble for "breaking" the commandments, he actually felt strongly about the commandments. In fact, for Jesus, faithfulness to God went further than following the commandments. True faithfulness means getting our inward thoughts as well as our actions in line with God's will. That's only possible if we work intentionally on our relationships with others and with God. We are called to create space in our lives for the Holy Spirit to shape us more into God's image. Open yourself to the Spirit today. You'll be amazed at what God can do in your heart over time.

God bless,
Sam

Matthew 5:21-26

21“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire.


23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.