Scripture
– 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 NKJV
Then
Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. And
Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel
mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over
Israel.
Now
the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have
rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am
sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among
his sons.”
And
Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
But
the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to
the LORD.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you
shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
So
Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the
town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
And
he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves,
and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and
invited them to the sacrifice.
So
it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s
anointed is before Him!”
But
the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical
stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for
man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
So
Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither
has the LORD chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said,
“Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass
before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” And
Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There
remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And
Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he
comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes,
and good-looking. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel
arose and went to Ramah.
We
were welcomed by many from before we got out of my truck. After a brief look
around we found our seats and were greeted there also.
The
modified arch ceiling is paneled with lighter wood and offset by dark wood
beams. The acoustics were better than I expected but there was a higher-pitched
noise, maybe from the instruments, that made it hard to hear the singing.
I was
delighted to see a cross on the chancel wall and to be greeted by a Marine
brother along with others who thanked me for my service.
I noted
that the Prayer of Illumination was offered before the Word was read. We were
tripped up again by “It is Well With My Soul” …it still brings difficult
memories.
The
message Dare Mighty Things “Hope” pointed
out how much better we are at looking back with our blessed hindsight to see how
God worked. How can we lack so much heart in the moment? With 22 suicides per
day in the Veteran community, we need to take up our call to be messengers of
hope. To me, the best line in that regard is: “If we can’t do that, we should
close our doors.”
I was
reminded of a funeral home visit where I never spoke a word, don’t even think I
said hello. I held the widow’s hand, got her tissues and water, and later
overheard her say that what I said meant the most to her that day. Bring your
message of hope; speak if you need to.
I was
glad to meet the speaker’s family; his children won my heart early on. I wish
we could have talked more of Malawi mission trips.
My
breathing has gotten to the point where I will have to look for air-conditioned
sanctuaries, it’s too hard to breathe without it.
So
glad the church is in the process of examining itself, getting clarity about “who
do we say we are/who are we?”
Jan’s
thoughts:
Numerous
people stopped to welcome us with warm handshakes and introductions.
For
some reason it was difficult to understand those who spoke toward the beginning,
although by the time we got to the sermon, the issues seemed to have been fixed.
The
well-populated praise band led mostly contemporary songs, which I enjoyed
hearing.
The
sermon was presented by Ed Sutter of The Soul Shop and Westminster Presbyterian
Church in Pittsburgh’s South Hills. The summer series begun by the installed
pastor is called Dare Mighty Things,
and the topic of the day was hope.
According
to their website, www.soulshopmovement.org, the mission of The Soul Shop is:
To
train leaders to equip congregations and communities to minister to persons
impacted by suicidal desperation:
A. Persons
who have experienced loss
B. Persons
concerned for family/friends
C. Persons
engaged in suicidal thinking
D. Second Day
people (people who have walked through the dark night of suicidal desperation
and survived to see a Second Day)
He
spoke of small moments ordained by God that we often miss, when we are called
to preach good news and hope to someone desperately in need of them. We are divinely
appointed to preach light to those sitting in darkness and be messengers of
hope with our presence, our conversation, and encouragement.
We
often shun the idea that God could use us in such a big way, but God uses the
small moments, the ones we do not even think about. He orchestrates these very times
and uses them to accomplish His good plans. Ed pointed out that our words need
not be perfect, they only need to be after God’s heart.
I
encourage you to check out the link above. You never know how God may use you.
Our
prayer for this church:
Father,
we pray You will be with this congregation through their exam (it’s an open
book test and the book is right in the pew). Bless them to know how to be Your
church. Amen.
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