2 Samuel 21: 1-14; The Gibeonites Avenged

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let me begin by saying this (David handing people over to be killed) is not the way to handle a situation. That being said I think there is an important message in this story: it is never too late to make amends. It has been a while now since Saul has been killed and David been made king in his place. But David still rights a wrong that was committed by Saul. Sometimes we may think it's been too long to fix something that went wrong. It has never been too long, it is never too late. No matter how long it has been, if there is a wrong, go and reconcile yourself to your brother or sister in Christ. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 20: Sheba Rebels Against David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is not very hard to imagine the kind of life David is living now: one of fear. David fears that his entire kingdom, all of his power and prestige, is going to be lost. David was slightly obsessed with his earthly kingdom and did all within his power to preserve it. How nice it is for us to have a heavenly kingdom, a kingdom which will never end, a kingdom which we will never lose. I pity David because he could not see the good news of God that he, too, was going to get a heavenly kingdom. That is the good news we have. Let us always work, as Jesus says, to store up treasures for ourselves in heaven, where our true kingdom lies. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 19: 1-8; Joab and David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Joab is, if you will, the anti-David. David sometimes tries very hard to be gracious and merciful. In this case David would like to mourn for his son whom he has lost. Joab, however, wants David to forget about Absalom and honor his army. Joab continues to fill David with nonsense and sinful thoughts. We all have angels in our lives, but we also sometimes come across people who try to lead us away from the will of God. When we come across those people it is important for us to listen to God. God is always speaking to us, he is always telling us what he wants from us. Our part is to listen and not let our judgment be clouded by what others say. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for August 31, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday is from Joel 2: 18-27, in which the Lord, through Joel, gives Israel an idea about what is going to happen at the end of the world. The Sermon is titled 'The Day of the Lord,' and will focus on Joel's message of the end of the world and what that means for us. I hope to see you Sunday. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 18: 1-35; Absalom's Death

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Absalom did not repent. Judging by the way in which David mourned for his son when he died, I think we can safely say that David would have welcomed Absalom back had Absalom repented. Before we can follow Jesus we must repent; before we can call ourselves disciples we must turn from our old life into a new life with Christ. When we do that we are welcomed. Had Absalom done so I'm sure things would have turned our differently. But we have the good news from Jesus that if we repent and turn to him we will have a new life in us, we will the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If you have not completely turned around to follow Jesus I invite you to do so now and accept the new life that he offers. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 17: 1-29; Ahithophel's Advice

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Absalom is bent on revenge. He has one mission in mind: find David and kill him. Absalom sounds a little bit like Saul here. In fact, the whole story of David has now gone back to what it was in the beginning: that of David being the underdog, trying to escape and enemy who is trying to kill him. The story of David sort of reminds me of the journey of faith. Sometimes there are obstacles that get in our way and try and slow us down, like Saul and Absalom; sometimes we lose our way and sin, like David did with Bathsheba. But no matter what happens on our journey of faith, there are two things we can be sure of: one, God will always be with us; and two, God will always take us back. As God was always with David and always loved him, so God will also be with us and will always love us. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 16: 5-14; Shimei Curses David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Let him curse, for the LORD has told him to." At this point David has made his peace with the Lord's punishment. He has now recognized that he has sinned against the Lord, and he recognizes that he is being punished for what he has done. The theology of the Old Testament is sometimes diifficult to hear, but what we can learn from David here is that we all ought to recognize that we have sinned against God. Paul, in his letter to Romans, writes, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." It is important for all of us to recognize that we need Jesus in our lives; we need Jesus to save us. Like Paul, and like David, we have sinned against God, and we need to be like David and recognize that, that we might grow in our faith and service to God. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 15: 1-12; Absalom's Conspiracy

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We see David's punishment continuing here a little bit. David's son Absalom is going to kick David out of the kingship, and all because David had an affair with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. I would like to take this time to once again say how blessed we are to have salvation. We are so blessed to be saved from all sin; we are so blessed to not have to worry about divine punishment. Thanks God for sending Jesus into this world to, among other things, die on the cross to forgive us of our sins. By the blood of the lamb we are saved. Thank God for that. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 14: 1-33; Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"And the king kissed Absalom." In church this morning we talked about how God takes us back. No matter what we do God will always love us and will always allow us to come into his presence. In other words, God has bestowed his grace upon us. David bestowed his grace on Absalom. Absalom, the son of David, killed Amnon, also the son of David. Killing is bad enough, but it is even worse when it is your brother, and it is even worse than that when your brother is also the son of the king. What Absalom did was bad, and David would have been justified in having him killed. But David did not have him killed. Instead, he welcomed his son back and continued to love him. This is how God treats us. No matter what we do or where we go God will love us and will always welcome us back. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 13: 1-39; Amnon, Tamar, and Absolom

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amnon had some trouble discerning what the Lord wanted of him. Thankfully, Jesus has made it clear what he wants from us. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, 'be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect.' In reading the Bible we can find crystal clear instructions of what we are supposed to do. We have no excuse for living outside of God's will, for God's will is laid out for us in the Scriptures. Read the Scriptures, and live the life God wants you to live. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 12: 1-31; Nathan Rebukes David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank goodness for the grace of God. David was punished in a horrible way for the sins he committed against the Lord. Prior to Jesus there was no universal forgiveness for sins, and there was a great deal of punishment for those who sinned against God. But the good news for us is that we have been forgiven for our sins. Thank God that he sent Jesus because we no longer have to worry about divine punishment being visited upon us for the sins we commit. Jesus did many things in his ministry here, but all of his words, actions, etc. revolved around saving us from sin. Thank God our Father that, through the ministry of Jesus, we have been saved from sin. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Evening Serivce

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This Sunday, August 24, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. we will have our evening worship service. The music will be led by John McCarty and Kate Snyder. I will be preaching on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, which can be found in Luke 18: 9-14. I hope you are able to make to this time of worship and praise. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for August 24, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday comes from Hosea 11: 1-11, in which God judges his children for all the wrong they have done, but in which God also promises to always be with his children. The sermon is titled "I'll Take You Back," and will focus on the fact that no matter what we do or where we go God's love will remain forever. I hope you all are able to make it. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 11: 1-27; David and Bathsheba

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is where things start to go wrong for David. Up to this point he has been gracious and kind; he has faithfully followed all the Lord has commanded him to do. But now David has forgotten himself. He has decided that he is above everything, even the will of God. This story, one which we all know so well, is a reminder that no matter how powerful or 'great' we become we are never so big that God's law does not apply to us. We are faithfully called to follow and worship God. And in that call there is also a call to holiness, a call we must follow if we are to call ourselves disciples. Remember always to follow God's will. No matter how good we think we are, we must always strive for the perfection into which Jesus calls us. God bles you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 10: 1-19; David Defeats the Ammonites

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm sure if Hanun would have listened to God rather than his 'advisers' everything would have turned out differently. What he should have done was listen to God who, I'm sure, was telling him David's men meant no harm. Hanun failed to quiet his own voice and listen for God. As a result, his people were subdued by David and Joab. One of the hardest things to do is quiet our minds and listen to God. After all, we are smart people. Look at all the things we have made, look at all we have accomplished. It is sometimes easy for us to think we don't have to listen to God. When we think that, though, bad things happen. We all need to be better about listening to God rather than to ourselves. God is loving and wise. We are in good hands with him. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 9: 1-13; David and Mephibosheth

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Again we find David living out the kind of love God wants us to have for one another. It was common practice, in David's time, for the victor to have all of his enemies, and all relatives if his enemies, killed. Most people in David's place would have had Mephibosheth put to death. Instead, David shows him grace and mercy. There is a power issue here. It is easy to forgive when you have no power to do anything else. David had the opportunity and power to kill Mephibosheth, but he chose not to. He had the opportunity and power to make his enemy suffer, but chose the way of grace. We sometimes find ourselves in a position of power over people; times when we can take revenge for the wrongs that have been done to us. In those times we need to remember the grace of David and show mercy to all of God's children. We need to forgive, not just when we cannot do anything else, but in all times and in all situations. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 8: 1-14; David's Victories

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"King David dedicated these articles to the LORD." The Lord did many great things for David, which has been obvious ever since David came into Israel's story. David was truly blessed by God with more than he could ever imagine. And David never forgot where these things came from. The 'articles' mentioned in our passage are the spoils of war, and David dedicated those to God. The good things that God gave to David, David gave right back. David knew that none of the amazing things he experienced would have been possible without God. This is something we all need to keep in mind. We have been given so much, and it is important for us to remember where all of those blessings have come from. Dedicate your blessings to the Lord, honoring God and remembering it is He who blesses us. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Vacation

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I will be leaving for vacation this afternoon, August 14, and I will return Sunday evening, August 17. I will not be posting on the blog during this time, but will resume on Monday when I am back in the office. I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed weekend. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for August 17, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Melissa Snyder will be bringing the message for this Sunday. Her Scripture text will be from Galatians 5: 22-25, which we all know as the fruits of the Spirit. Her sermon is titled, 'Patience is a virtue.' I hope you are all able to make it to worship this Sunday. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 7: 18-29; David's Prayer

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is why David so often called 'a man after God's own heart.' Yes, David goes on to make several big mistakes during his time as king. But at his heart, David is a man of great faith, which is shown in his prayer. He recognizes that he is the Lord's servant; he recognizes that he would have nothing without God; he recognizes God is great and powerful. David's prayer is a prayer we should pray quite often ourselves. It is a praise prayer; it is humble; it is faithful. David really is a man after God's own heart, and we should be as well. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 6: 1-23; The Ark Brought to Jerusalem

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the eyes of Israel, God lived on the Ark of the Covenant. He sat, as we're told in this passage, between the cherubim located on the top of the Ark. God was, in the eyes of Israel, limited to this one place. One of the great things about Jesus is that he has made us see that God is everywhere. Jesus, in his ministry, has given us the comfort of knowing God is with us wherever we go or whatever we do. The Ark of the Covenant may be out there somewhere, but the Holy Spirit, or God's presence, is everywhere. God is not limited to one place, he everywhere. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 5: 6-16; David Conquers Jerusalem

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"And he became more and more powerful, because the LORD God Almighty was with him." Through David we can see that God can do amazing things no matter the circumstances. David was the youngest son of Jesse. To us today this may not mean much, but the youngest son often did not get treated very well in David's time. David was hunted by Saul, who had the backing of the Israel army. He should not have survived being hunted by Saul. David was the underdog, he should not have amounted to much. However, the Lord God Almighty was with him. And because God was with him he was able to great things. Never underestimate God and what he can do in the lives of those who love and serve him. God did great things for David, and he will do great things for us as well. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 4: 1-12; David and Saul's Family

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

I think David, and the rest of the folks in this passage would have benefited from hearing the greatest commandment, 'to Love your neighbor as yourself.' David killed, or had killed, the person who brought him the news Saul was dead; then he killed, or had killed, the people who killed Saul's sons. If David had heard the greatest commandment maybe he would not have killed these men and so many other people. David sometimes serves as a reminder of what not to do. We're not supposed to kill or harm in any way our brothers and sisters in Christ (which is everyone). No, we are to love. That is the will of Jesus, it is the will of God: that we love one another. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 3: 6-21 Abner Goes Over to David

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

'By my servant David I will rescue my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and from the hand of all their enemies.' God has made many promises to His children. Throughout the Bible we can find times in which God promises something. We can also find the times in which God has come through on those promises. God keeps this promise he made to the people. David does many great things as king. While all God's promises are good, the most notable of these promises is the promise of salvation which has come true through Jesus Christ. God made the promise to Israel that he would save them from sin, and he has done that. Through Jesus God has saved us from sin. When God makes a promise, and He does make them, we can be sure that he will come through with his promises. We can take God at His word. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 2: 1-7; David Annointed King over Judah

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Once again we find David putting himself in the Lord's hands. "Where shall I go," David asks. He does not know where to go, he does not know what to do, but he knows that God has a plan for him; he knows God will take care of him. Throughout David's life we find him putting himself in God's hands, trusting and knowing God will take care of him. Here is our lesson: to put ourselves in the hands of the Lord, trusting and knowing that he will take care of us. In the Bible we have all the evidence we need that God will take care of us, and we can believe what the Bible says. Put yourself in God's hands; he will take care of you. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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2 Samuel 1: 1-16; David Hears of Saul's Death

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

David is sometimes a little different than we are, but I think this particular way in which he is different is a good thing. David is living out the commandment that Jesus will give later: to love our neighbor as ourself, which does include our enemies. David and Saul were enemies, but David loved Saul anyway, because that is what we are supposed to do. There are times when we should not imitate David. But this is a time in which I think we can and should imitate him. Saul, his enemy has died, and David mourns for him. 'Love your neighbor (even your enemies) as yourself,' says Jesus. That is precisely what David did, and that is precisely what we should do. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Congregational Vote

This is a reminder to all members of Mt. Lebanon Christian Church. This Sunday there will be a congregational vote on whether or not to call Pastor Josh as the permanent/called minister. Please make sure you come to the worship service for this important vote. God bless you.

Evening Service

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We will be having our Evening Worship Service this Sunday evening at 7:00 p.m. If you cannot make it to Sunday morning worship, or would like to worship twice I invite you to come. This Sunday the music will be led by John McCarty and Kate Snyder. I will be preaching on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Following worship we will have fellowship time, which will include s'mores. I hope to see you then. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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Sunday Scripture and Sermon for August 10, 2008

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Scripture passage for this Sunday is John 19: 16-30, in which Jesus is sentenced to death by Pilate and is crucified. The sermon is titled 'Salvation' and will focus on John's idea of salvation. I hope you are all able to make it to church. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 31: 1-13; Saul Takes His Life

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Saul's entire life, at least his life as Israel's ruler/king, is a tragedy. For his part he tried to do the right thing many times, but in the end God chose David to be king. I must confess that I have always felt a great deal of sympathy for Saul. With his death, though, comes a new beginning for Israel. David is the beloved king of Israel, one who brought prosperity to the land. While it is sad to read about Saul dying, especially in this way, we must remember, too, that God was still doing great things for Israel, namely David. We may be going through a very sad and difficult time, but in those times we have hope knowing God is at work in our lives. Remember that when you face trials and tribulations. No matter what is going on, God is always at work, for something good, in your life. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 30: 1-30; David Destroys the Amalekites

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Usually, when there was a battle, only the ones who fought in the battle were the ones who were allowed to take the plunder. So, the ones in David's army who do not wish to split the plunder are certainly within their rights. After all, they did all the hard work, so why should other people get the benefits of that? David, though, says that everyone gets a share. No matter how insignificant the job of those left behind might seem, they still receive the same blessings as everyone else. Paul tells us that there are many callings. God has called some to be preachers, some teachers, some elders, etc. Paul also tells us that each person is necessary for kingdom work. As such, each receives the same blessings. God loves all of us equally, and gives us all the same amount of blessings. No matter what our calling may be, God loves us all the same, and blesses us all the same. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 29: 1-11; Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

We get the sense here that David's time is coming, that God is simply keeping David busy until his time comes to be king. David probably does not see it that way, but I think we can look at how David is coming and going and see that God is waiting for the right time. We are back to trust then. David needed to trust that God was going to make him king, that God was going to come through with his promises. We need to have that trust as well. Sometimes, like David, we are forced to wander about, not really knowing what is going to happen. In those times we need to trust that God is still with us, that he is guiding and directing our path; we need to trust that God is going to do something good in our lives. God's ways are not easy to understand, but we need to trust in him. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 28: 1-25; Saul and the Witch of Endor

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of 1 Samuel is, among other things, about making peace with the will of God. I think it's been pretty clear for a while now that God does not want Saul to be king anymore. Saul, however, cannot really accept that, so he continues to hunt David, call up the spirit of the (dead) prophet Samuel, etc. Saul needs to make his peace with the fact that God does not want him to be king; he needs to make his peace with God's will. To be fair, it is sometimes very hard to make peace with God's will. We don't always like what God has in mind for us, and so we sometimes try to fight it; we sometimes try hard to make our own will happen. At all times we need to accept the Lord's will. Though it is sometimes not easy, though it is sometimes not what we want, we need to make our peace with God's will and accept what he has planned for us. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 27: 1-12; David Among the Philistines

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

David loses one of the things he is most noted for: his trust in God. David, fearing for his life goes to live with the Philistines. We can all understand David's fear. From his point of view it's only a matter of time before Saul kills him, so he must go and hide. But David is forgetting something very important: in all situations we are supposed to trust in God. No matter what happens to us we are supposed to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, knowing that he will take care of us. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 26: 1-25; David Again Spares Saul

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

"Then Saul said to David, 'May you be blessed, my son David; you will do great things and surely triumph.'" We see Saul beginning to understand that God has favored David. For all this time he has been hunting David and trying to kill him, but now we see Saul start to make his peace with the fact that David is the chosen one. We all reach that point in our lives where all of a sudden everything is crystal clear. That clarity comes from paying attention to God. We all need to listen a little better so that we are always following God's path. Saul's problem was that he was not listening to God. If he had listened a little more maybe he would have been happier. If we listen to God a little more we will all be much happier in our lives and journey of faith. God bless you.

Pastor Josh
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1 Samuel 25: 1-44; David, Nabal and Abigail

Grace and peace to you from our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the beginning David seems like he would make a pretty good king. He is very kind, and he certainly showed Saul mercy when he spared his life. At this point in the story we look at David and see someone who is going to become a great king, someone who is a great servant of the Lord. But somewhere along the way David lost it. Pretty soon now he is going to begin to abuse his power a little and do some things that God is not happy about. It is sometimes hard to keep the momentum going to continually live a life of faith, but that is what we need to do. David lost his momentum; he got caught up in the power and the wealth. We ought to not be like that. We need to remember to always work hard to live the life God would have us live. Though it is sometimes hard to keep the life of faith going, that is what we need to do. God bless you,

Pastor Josh
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