Pastor's Pen

  Pastor’s Pen… Of all the figures who crossed the stage of Old Testament history, it is the many sided David we see most clearly in triumph and tragedy, and faith and failure. Of the initial time we meet him when Samuel visited his home in Bethlehem, throughout the course of 50 years, high drama was never absent from his life. David's name is mentioned over 1000 times, more than that of any other biblical character-- more than Abraham, more than Moses-- even more references to David then to Jesus. He is frequently mentioned in the New Testament, and an in-depth study of his life will provide us with valuable lessons in terms of what it takes to please God today.    If you haven’t already done so, let me encourage you to read from 1 Samuel 13 through the rest of that book, through 2 Samuel and the first two chapters of 1 Kings. By doing so you will have gained an overview of the entire life of David, and will be well prepared for our series.    As always, thanks to all who help san

  Pastor’s Pen… Before we move into our series of biographical studies on the life of David, I felt it would be appropriate for us to examine some of David's best known and most helpful writings. Last week we began with his most familiar writing, Psalm 23. From his background as a Shepherd caring for sheep, David wrote of his close personal relationship with the Great Shepherd and His care for us.  Today we explore another of David's masterpieces, Psalm 37. How do we handle a crisis? How do we respond when life isn't going our way? Certainly 2020 has brought its share of crisis experiences to us, and I'm convinced there are lessons David learned during crisis points in his life that can help us deal with the crises we face.    If you haven’t already done so, let me encourage you to read from 1 Samuel 15 through the rest of that book, through 2 Samuel and the first two chapters of 1 Kings. By doing so you will have gained an overview of the entire life of David, and will

  Pastor’s Pen… This weekend we are beginning a series on one of the most significant individual in Scripture, King David. It is a life dominates a significant portion of the Old Testament, on his days as the neglected youngest of Jesse's sons to court musician for troubled King Saul, to being labeled public enemy number one by the angry King, to leading a band of motley followers, who finally being crowned King of the 12 tribes of Israel.    Before we begin our series of biographical studies, I felt it would be appropriate for us to examine some of David's best known and most helpful writings. We begin today with his most familiar writing, Psalm 23. From his background as a Shepherd caring for sheep, David writes of his close personal relationship with the Great Shepherd and His care for us.    I want to express special thanks to John Royal for his timely ministry from 1 Samuel 15, a passage which “sets the table” for a study of David’s rule over God's people Israel. As I

  Pastor’s Pen… As I announced last Sunday, Kathy and I will be away this weekend representing the ministry of The Worship Channel in one of our supporting churches (of which FCC Wylie is one, thank you!)   John Royal will be preaching for me the Sunday, and I know you will be blessed by his ministry. John will be preaching on “ The Pretender ,” and his text will be  1 Samuel 15 . If possible I would encourage you to read that chapter prior to services Sunday.  I love it when the Holy Spirit leads different preachers who preach in sequence regarding what to preach on, and I believe the Lord has led John to this passage. The reason is, the following Sunday I will begin a biographical  series  on the life of David, who went from ignored as the youngest in his family and shepherd boy to slayer of the giant Goliath to court musician to fugitive on the run from King Saul to Psalmist and ultimately the one chosen by God to be King over Israel.  If you feel so inclined, I would encourage you

Pastor’s Pen… The famous playwright Oscar Wilde once said, “I can resist anything…except temptation!”   The temptation has been a problem for the human race ever since Adam and Eve began a careful examination of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. In Numbers 20 Moses was tempted to exercise his anger at the Israelites by striking the rock a second time, when God had told him explicitly to speak to the rock. In 2 Samuel 11 David yielded to temptation when he observed Bathsheba bathing on a nearby rooftop. In Matthew 4, Jesus resisted three temptations launched by Satan, to turn stones into bread to satisfy hunger after a 40 day fast, to foolishly leap off the Temple in order to create a spectacular rescue, and to bow before Satan in exchange for being granted rule over the kingdoms of the world-- which was ultimately His right as God’s Son.   In Matthew 4:3 Satan is identified as the tempter. The problem is, when we hear his name, what often comes to mind is a Halloween costume,