season 04, 04.14 | Desperate times + desperate measures

Saul and David are both desperate at this stage of their cat and mouse game, and both men turn from their true selves and compromise their character as the days wear on them. David has a wandering eye and Saul dabbles in the occult, both signaling the desperation their fear and anger has led them to. What do we do when life gets tough and your emotion leads us astray?

season 04, 04.13 | not like us

David and Saul are locked in a game of cat and mouse, chasing one another around the desert and seeking to gain the upper hand in the ideological, and sometimes, physical battle to be in control of Israel. They are both preparing for what might be next, but they also both believe that God is on their side. The impossibility of this clashes greatly in tonight’s narrative, and we ask what’s next for Israel and what’s next for us?

season 04, 04.12 | friends in low places

Things begin to intensify between David and Saul after David's heroic defeat of Goliath. We'll explore the way fear is often weaponized against us to further division and violence and chaos. We look to the powerful examples of Jonathan and Michal, as they chose to reach across difference and demonstrate the way God's favor and protection often comes to us in the form of friendship.

season 04, 04.11 | simpler days

Tonight the well-known story of David and Goliath is brought to new life as we consider all that we've seen happen in 1 Samuel that has led us to this epic tale. As we get to know a teenage David, we are inspired by his boyish and somewhat simple faith. We ask ourselves how we might recover some of his childlike belief and audacious hope in the impossible in our own lives. 

season 04, 04.10 | the heart of the matter

The war rages on. As Saul’s questionable choices put him in the doghouse we see the rise of his eventual replacement, the man after God’s heart. But getting to this understanding requires some critical thinking and application for us, leading us to ask: does God see us for who we are like he does David? And why is this good news for us?

season 04, 04.09 | call to arms

Saul is king, the people got what they said they wanted. Now, as he begins his military career, we see quickly what kind of person they have ended up with. As Samuel and Saul start their ideological clash against a backdrop of war and death, there are a lot of things to ask about and to decipher – but the main question is: what do we make of all this violence and terror and how should we live differently now in 2024?

season 04, 04.08 | better call saul

We've experienced so much rejection, disappointment, and inconsistency from the commitments in our life, that we often struggle to believe God is unflinching in his commitments. As we trace Saul's rise to power in chapter 9-12, we find more evidence of God's unwavering commitment to his people. Tonight we remember we belong to God and why that's good news for our life.

season 04, 04.07 | be careful what you wish for

Most of our life is motivated by our desire for security. It's not a wrong or bad desire, though it's who and what we believe can provide us with a sense of assurance and stability that becomes problematic. It's this very motivation that prompts the people of Israel to demand a king here in chapter 8. Tonight we explore what kingship meant then and what Jesus' Kingship means now today for us. 

season 04, 04.06 | who can be against me?

Does God decide who wins wars? What about football games? These kinds of questions that arise out of our reading of 1 Samuel 4-7 as the Israelites and Philistines clash in a series of wars, some that the Israelites win, and some that they lose. Where is God when we lose? What does it mean about us when we win?

season 04, 04.05 | call me maybe

The boy Samuel that has grown up in the unruly environment of the Temple under Eli and his sons heard from God directly for the first time in chapter 3. He is “called” – but what does that mean and how does God speak to us today and “call” us today?

season 04, 04.04 | holding out for a hero

It's no secret there's a growing distrust and cynicism of pastors and Christian leaders. We have come to expect a little and a lot of those in service to the people of God. As we'll see, ancient Israel had good reason to be skeptical of leadership based on tonight's passage from 1 Samuel chapter 2. We'll talk about pride and perspective and what it means to look for threads of God's redemptive hope amidst corruption and darkness. 

season 04, 04.03 | hannah’s prayer

Who do you believe God to be? How we answer this question will inevitably effect and shape how we live. Hannah's prayer in chapter two gives us a powerful picture of who she believes God to be. We explore tonight the way God is incomparable, transforming, and victorious and what those characteristics mean for our lives and how we live.

seson 04, 04.02 | hannah’s grace

Tonight we're introduced to Samuel's parents, Elkanah and Hannah, and learn of their difficult beginning. Hannah's remarkable faith, clarity, and resolve put her in the company of other great women of the faith who despite their culture's condemnation and judgement maintain profound hope and demonstrate the kind of trust in God we seek to have. Inspired by her, we ask how our own view of struggle, sin, and punishment should change in light of Jesus?

*This message talks about spiritual abuse and infertility, please listen mindfully.*

season 04, 04.01 | everyone did as they saw fit

Who will be your king? This is the guiding question behind 1 Samuel. Stuck in selfish living and only pointed inward, the people demand a king. Well, the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for”. This book traces the consequences and searches the motivations of that very request. Tonight, we examine what 1 Samuel and the teaching of Paul centuries later tell us about how to be citizens and Christians in our world today.