I must say that I love the Old Testament.  There are just so many stories that relate to our lives.  The story of Elijah and his contest with the priests of Baal is a dramatic example of the power of the Lord over all the earth.  He is the supremeContinue Reading

Due to Ahab’s wickedness (1 Kings 16:33 – 1 Kings 17:1) the Lord sent a famine throughout the land of Israel.  After a time, Elijah is sent by the Lord to a widow that lives north of the land of Israel near Sidon in Zarephath (F1 on the map: GreekContinue Reading

The narrative of David’s downfall in 2 Samuel 11 is given with such detail and in such a matter of fact manner that it is impossible to miss the point.  David made a series of decisions that brought him and those around him misery.  There were several switchpoints in thisContinue Reading

The story in 2 Samuel 6 of Uzzah steadying the ark, although well known amongst adults in the church, is not known by our youth.  When asked if they had ever heard of Uzzah steadying the ark, my students responded that they had never heard the story before. To understandContinue Reading

The showdown between David and Goliath has many relevant parallels to the youth of the Church today.  In many ways Goliath represents the temptations and trials of the world.  He also represents the demands of the world that we must meet.  The author of the text goes on to illustrateContinue Reading

The Downfall of Saul See also: This house is your wedding present Saul’s decision to leave the path of righteousness is taken one step at a time.  At each moment of decision he falls deeper and deeper into jealousy and rage as his power slips from his fingers.  The authorContinue Reading

1 Samuel 13 relates the story of Saul making an unauthorized offering.  After waiting seven days for Samuel to come and make the offering, Saul went ahead and performed Samuel’s duties.  The text suggests that Saul felt pressure as the Philistines were gathered against him and some of his menContinue Reading

1 Samuel 10:27 tells us that the children of Belial spoke harshly of Saul.  Said these individuals, “how shall this man save us?”  We read that they “despised him, and brought him no presents.  How Saul deals with these individuals is applicable to the youth. We read that Saul “heldContinue Reading

1 Samuel 9-10 teach us that even in the exercising of our agency in unwise ways, the Lord will do all He can to help us to be successful. The Israelites chose to have a king, against the counsel of Samuel.  Despite this poor choice, the Lord did all heContinue Reading

The first book of Samuel opens with the story of Hannah and her feelings as she struggles with infertility.  But there is more to the story.  Hannah is married to Elkanah, who has two wives.  The other wife of Elkanah, Peninnah – is adversarial towards Hannah.  The text seems toContinue Reading