Tag: David

Build this house

This week’s #FaithrootsPodcast on 1 Chronicles 17. Arks, Temples, Priests and Kings in a post exile Judah Key dates 721BC fall of northern kingdom to Assyria 597BC exile to Babylon begins 587BC Jerusalem falls to Babylon/Nebuchadnezzar 538BC Cyrus proclamation and return from Exile begins David’s idea (v1-2) Concern for the ark of the covenant Nathan… Continue reading Build this house

Returners of the lost ark

1 Chronicles 15 The Ark returns (1 Chronicles 15) The Ark still matters …. Correction (v1-15) A house and a tent[1] Levites only Holiness important (“consecrate yourself” v12, v 14) Getting it – why the Lord “broke out”  Worship (v 16-28) The Levites’ responsibility is not just for carrying the Ark but for the worship… Continue reading Returners of the lost ark

Favour

The next part of our #WhatMatters series In Chapter 13, we’ve seen the Ark of the Covenant stay at Obed Edom’s house and he is blessed.  Will the absence of the Ark of the Covenant from Jerusalem and David’s care deny him blessing? Rather than move to the conclusion of the account with the ark… Continue reading Favour

Leaders at risk

These reflections were prompted by a conversation with my dad who has been reading through 1 Samuel over the past few weeks.  We were talking about Saul and his response to David’s popularity, his jealousy when David is praised for killing more Philistines than him. On one level, there’s some practical questions.  How should a… Continue reading Leaders at risk

We miss the radical teaching of the Bible when we impose the wrong thought categories

I think fundamentalists and liberals tend to make the same mistake about the Bible. They read it through the same modernist lens.  They miss what the Bible is saying and so they miss its applicability to contemporary life. Let me give two examples to help with our thinking. First of all, let me return to… Continue reading We miss the radical teaching of the Bible when we impose the wrong thought categories

Is it always wrong to run?

It’s a classic sermon challenge “What are you running away from?” It’s a good challenge. Often people are on the run. Shame, guilt and fear are the primary causes of running. We are afraid that our shame and guilt will be exposed, we are afraid of enemies, of mocking, of abuse. But, I remember being… Continue reading Is it always wrong to run?

Leaders set the tone

Here’s another article dug up from the old Faithroots sight which I think is particularly poignant for now. I’ve seen memes about the many pressures on pastors at the moment and they are true. Church leaders have faced their own personal battle stories in coronavirus. Then there are the challenges of responding to the events… Continue reading Leaders set the tone

What I want for my enemies (reflections on Psalm 110 part 1)

How do we respond when people falsely accuse us, slander and gossip about us behind our backs, isolate us and attack our characters?  Psalm 109, helps us to give voice to the way that this makes us feel. There is the desperate cry for justice. David utters these words against his tormenters Appoint a wicked… Continue reading What I want for my enemies (reflections on Psalm 110 part 1)