Sometimes the hardest thing to do in life is to forgive someone that has wronged you. Saul was hunting David down trying to kill him, yet David honored God by not killing Saul and by forgiving him. It has been said that unforgiveness is like drinking poison, hoping the other person will die.
As Pastor Eric continues his teaching through the Book of 1 Samuel, he'll be encouraging us to be merciful towards others because of the mercy God has shown us. God has not only given us mercy but grace as well. Grace is being given something you don't deserve, and mercy is not getting what you do deserve.
Would your family members and closest friends say that you show unconditional love and kindness? Today, Pastor Eric will be challenging us to be known for our love toward one another as well as our forgiveness toward even our enemies. As Christians there's no better way to preach Jesus than by first being a good example.
As Pastor Eric continues his teaching series through the Book of 1 Samuel, he'll be exhorting us to love our enemies and to pray for those that persecute us. Jesus was betrayed, hated, mocked, and crucified yet Jesus prayed to the Father and asked Him to forgive them. Jesus is the perfect model of love and we should imitate Him!
No matter what trials you may be going through, no matter what kind of wicked direction the world begins to take, God is still sovereign and on the throne. Today, Pastor Eric will be encouraging us to seek the Lord and to keep our eyes fixed on Him instead of focusing on our circumstances.
No matter what trials you may be going through, no matter what kind of wicked direction the world begins to take, God is still sovereign and on the throne. Today, Pastor Eric will be encouraging us to seek the Lord and to keep our eyes fixed on Him instead of focusing on our circumstances.
As Pastor Eric continues his teaching series through the Book of 1 Samuel, he'll be reminding us that God desires to answer our prayers when we pray according to His will. David asked the Lord for direction, and God answered his prayer, but it was up to David to actually walk in the right direction.
One of the most important things to remember about God concerning His sovereignty and will, is that His ways are not our way's. Today, Pastor Eric will be teaching us that because God is all knowing with infinite wisdom, we can trust in Him. We run into problems when we lean on our own understanding.
Have you ever been misunderstood or wrongly accused? Have you felt hopeless or defeated? Do you feel like give up or giving in? God has not forgotten you. In today’s message, Pastor Dave brings us hope through the example of Paul who also found himself was waiting for answers and promises from God.
As Christians, we have the protective covering of the Lord over us when we walk according to His commands and will. Today, Pastor Eric will be exhorting us to remain under the covering of God's protection by obeying His commands and by having a healthy fear and awe of Him.
Have you ever been persecuted for your faith in Jesus? Pastor Eric will be encouraging us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves because the world is only getting more antagonistic towards us. Don't allow the enemy to discourage you from standing up for the Lord at school, your job, or even among your own family!
Did you know that almost everything God commanded the children of Israel to do, pointed them toward Jesus their Messiah? Just as manna was sent from Heaven to nourish the Children of Israel, Jesus was called the Bread of Heaven to nourish our souls.
Have you ever been persecuted for your faith in Jesus? Pastor Eric will be encouraging us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves because the world is only getting more antagonistic towards us. Don't allow the enemy to discourage you from standing up for the Lord at school, your job, or even among your own family!
Our nature is selfish and self-focused. When Jesus commands to love your neighbor as yourself, He calls us to shift that same love from us to others. Pastor Eric will teach a great example of loving others: the friendship between David and Jonathan. When your focus is not on you, but in others, it changes your relationships!
Today, Pastor Eric will teach about this beautiful friendship between David and Jonathan. When King Saul was looking to kill David, his faithful friend Jonathan comes to help him scape, and protects him against Saul’s plans. Their love and loyalty are a great illustration of Jesus’ great commandment: to love your neighbor as yourself.
As we study the interaction between Jonathan and his father, king Saul, we will learn about actions that can bring CHANGE in any difficult situation: like holding each other accountable, and not sinning against the brethren. However, Pastor Eric will teach that above all things, in order to see change, we have to be under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
How do you bring CHANGE in bad environments, or difficult situations? Pastor Eric will teach today a few key answers to that question, like presenting the TRUTH, and speaking well of others. These actions have the power to change hearts and transform a situation, like when Jonathan convinces his father, king Saul, not to kill David.
In difficult seasons of life, there is a time of mourning, but there is a time to get up and keep moving forward. In today’s study, Pastor Eric will teach us examples in the Bible when God told the people that the mourning was over, and it was time to go forth. Samuel was sad about the fall of Saul, but God tells him to move on: it was time to anoint the new king!
Saul is in a place of rebellion and tormented by an evil spirit. He brings David in to play the harp over him, and relieve him from that torment. In sight of king Saul being in such dark place spiritually, Pastor Eric will teach us strategies we can adopt, when someone we care about is falling away from the Lord.
God doesn’t want our “religious good gestures”; He wants our hearts and our obedience. Today, Pastor Eric will teach that Saul’s disobedience grieved the Lord. And Saul not only sinned; but he also did not repent. God receives a repented heart. If you disobeyed, own up to your sin and receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ!
God has a plan, and He uses PEOPLE to complete His purposes. He has a mission for us, and if Jesus is our MASTER, we have to do as He says! We will learn today that Saul did not follow exactly what God had told him to do. Pastor Eric will teach that selfishness produces disobedience, which gives birth to consequences…
Do we take credit for God’s accomplishments? As Pastor Eric shares in his message, it is easy in good times to feel like we are accomplishing so much. We must be careful though to realize that nothing is successful without God at the forefront much like Jonathan did when he stepped out in faith to defeat the Philistines.
Do we sit waiting for God’s promises to come to us, or are we actively seeking after Him? Pastor Eric shares in his message how Jonathan took actions to fight the Philistines while his father Saul sat waiting. Much like Jonathan’s example, our recipe for success comes from stepping out in boldness.
We live in an impatient society. As Pastor Eric shares in his message, this causes us to struggle with the concept of waiting on the Lord. In the Bible, Saul’s impatience leads to his eventual sin. We can learn from this example in our lives by striving to wait on the direction and wisdom of the Lord.
Why does it feel like the closer we move towards God, the harder the enemy attacks? Pastor Eric shares in his message that being a threat to the enemy means we are taking action for the Lord. Much like Jonathan fought against the Philistines, we are called to be bold in our beliefs while relying on God’s power, victory, and authority.
To avoid the dangers of battle and confrontation, we often try to compromise our actions. As Pastor Eric shares in his message, the church lets the world permeate its values in order that it might look more attractive to outsiders. But letting the enemy in even slightly opens the door for him to take over completely.
What happens when we compromise the truths of God? In his message, Pastor Eric shows how our fear of the enemy can lead to compromise in our beliefs. If we choose to give in, we are buying into lies and deception planted by the enemy, when we should be standing on the promises of the Bible.
Pastor Eric shares in his message a comparison between Samuel anointing Saul as king and God anointing us through sending His son Jesus. Just as Saul was set apart for God’s purpose, we are all set apart if we choose to take Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and should therefore be challenged to live our lives as such.
Why does God place so much importance on humility? Pastor Eric speaks of this very trait in his message today while addressing the story of Saul being anointed king by Samuel. When we deny ourselves and humble ourselves before the Lord, He can do amazing, unexpected things with our life and circumstances.
The world is good at telling us lies. In fact, it is so commonplace that we may even fail to see them as lies anymore, but rather internalize them as the truth. Pastor Eric reminds us in his message that God has chosen us as his children, and He wants to shatter the failure that we feel by replacing it with love and grace.
