Bread of Life Fellowship

Chapters 9-10 of 1 Samuel narrate the identification and inauguration of Israel's king Saul. Saul was a man of impressive height and charm, fulfilling the physical expectation of a monarch. But he was also a poor shepherd as he failed to find his father's lost animals. When he and his companion gave up on their search and turned for home, they -happen to- run into Samuel. Samuel was given the special revelation that Saul would be the man chosen to govern Israel. When he was alone with Saul, Samuel anointed him and shared a very specific prophecy of events that would lead to the Spirit of God coming upon Saul in power. Curiously in verse 9 of chapter 10 it says, -God gave him -Saul- another heart.- What are we to make of this statement-- Many jump to the conclusion that this means that the Lord regenerated Saul. What do you think-- Was Saul a child of God-- Why or why not-- How would you defend your claim-- Whatever change happened in Saul's life, in the end, his life was a complete disaster. How can one's doc

Job feels that God has become his enemy, but God's loyalty to Job proves otherwise.

Job's responses to his friends reveal that he indeed has faith in God, but that Faith is mingled with many doubts.

Job's friends try to help him but they operate from a retributive understanding of the world. Only by trusting in the sovereign God do we truly grapple with the question regarding the suffering of the righteous.

We left our story with a cliffhanger ending- 1- the nation of Israel devastated from a defeat at the hands of the Philistines, 2- Eli's sons killed in battle, 3- the ark captured, 4- the death of Eli and 5- the birth of his grandson, Ichabod, meaning -the glory has departed.- With no ark and no leader, it seemed as though Israel was defeated and Yahweh essentially handed over to the enemy. --Chapters 5 and 6 of 1 Samuel detail the story of the ark in exile in Philistia, telling of the superstitious religion of the Philistines and their false god, Dagon. After the symbolic defeat of their false god on Dagon's home turf -5-1-5- and being struck with devastation and disease -5-6-12-, the Philistines did everything they could to rid themselves of ark- at last, it returned to Israel accompanied by two cows and a peculiar guilt offering -6-1-6-13-. Israel rejoiced that the ark was back in their hands at Beth-shemesh -6-14-18-- however, this alone was not enough to restore the nation. Instead, the Levites of Beth-sh

What is glory-- On the eve of the day when much of Christendom pauses to remember the birth of Jesus, we seek to answer the question by tracing the history of God's glory through the Scripture, taking off in the Garden of Eden and landing on Jesus Christ. The glory -in Hebrew, kavod- of God appears and disappears throughout the Old Testament at key moments in the history of Israel- but it finally comes to rest upon Jesus Christ in the incarnation in Bethlehem, where the eternal Son of God took on flesh to dwell among us. As common as the story of Christmas has become, few consider the exchange and appearance of glory that came to earth on that -Silent- and -Holy- night. --Christmas is about the coming of Christ into the world. It's about the Son of God, who existed eternally with the Father as -the radiance of his glory and the exact representation of his nature,- taking on human nature and becoming a man -Hebrews 1-3-. It's about the birth of a baby by a virgin conceived miraculously by the Holy Spirit, so t

Job breaks the silence with a lament about his life. Though he would rather die than be alive, Job holds on to hope.

At the end of chapter 2, three friends come to visit Job in his affliction. Although these men become miserable comforters, this gesture is an example for all of us to follow. Their sacrifice of love and entering into their friend's plight points us to our God, a necessary attribute to hold on to during times of suffering.

Job 2 gives us a glimpse of the battle between God and Satan. Sometimes, the world seems to be under Satan's control, but God is the one who is ultimately in charge.