Over the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at different components that Jesus fulfilled and accomplished as a king. Last week we looked at the king’s arrival, this week we’ll be looking at the king’s message, next week, we’ll look at the king’s mission, and we’ll conclude on Christmas Eve with the king’s kingdom.

This is the sort of fanfare you’d expect for a king: You’d expect the streets to be lined, and thousands of people waiting where he will deliver a speech to the people.

And yet, the greatest king to ever set foot on the earth didn’t have a reception quite like that. In fact, very few people knew of his arrival and some of those people were shepherds.

The good news of the promised King’s arrival is the greatest source of joy for all people.

Isaiah 9:6-7 isn’t a prophecy about a random child, it’s a promise of a righteous and eternal King who will bring peace, justice, and stability—qualities that stood in sharp contrast to the fear and instability surrounding Ahaz during his reign.

What Ahaz and most of us for that matter often forget is that the things that consume so much of our time and attention, our immediate circumstances are the least of our problems. Humanity’s primary problem is spiritual - we need salvation from our sin.

And that’s precisely what Isaiah told Ahaz. Don’t put your trust in an army, put your trust in the child of promise, Jesus Christ.

This Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. John Carroll preach from Matthew 6:5-15.

In our passage, we’re reminded that Christians are called to serve and obey the Lord. In fact, it’s exactly what Samuel told the people of Israel in verse 14, “If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.”

On Sunday, we were honored to have Dr. Jonathan Master, President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, preach at Providence.

Providence Presbyterian Church has formally become a “particular church” in the eyes of our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America. The difference between a “mission church” (a church plant) and a “particular church" is a particular church has elected, ordained, and installed their own ruling elders and deacons.

Once ruling elders and deacons are ordained and installed the church moves from “mission” status to an organized particular church. However, the ordination and installation process is conducted in a worship service by the presbytery.

On Saturday, November 9th, pastors from churches across the Blue Ridge Presbytery participated in a service to ordain and install Providence’s ruling elders and deacons.

We were also honored to have the President of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Dr. Jonathan Master, preach for us during this service.

Verse 13: “...today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” You see there’s a clear parallel that you and I must consider: Just as the people of Israel were dependent upon their king to save them, so you and I are dependent upon a king to save us.

We’re totally dependent upon Jesus for our salvation! We must rely on Jesus Christ.

One of the things that the Reformation did was restore a proper understanding of God’s grace. As I’m sure you can imagine, there would have been mass confusion over God’s grace. Is it something that can be bought?

No doubt, God’s grace was misunderstood during the time of the Reformation, but God’s grace continues to be misunderstood today. Fewer people seem to think it’s something that can be bought, but other misunderstandings have taken its place.

Hopefully, Romans 11:1-6 now makes a little more sense. Because it’s precisely what the Apostle Paul is doing in this portion of Romans 11 - he was helping the church in Rome better understand God’s grace.

This morning we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in Israel’s history: the coronation of Saul as the first king in Israel. It was supposed to be an exciting, joyous day in Israel, because they finally got what they so desperately wanted: a king.

The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that every detail of your life and of this world is under the sovereign control of God Almighty.

Which is exactly what we see in our passage. It’s another ordinary day for Saul, but God’s providence is quietly working behind the scenes.

God's providence is evident in the anointing of Saul as Israel's first king, reminding us that His holy will is not restricted in any way by human expectations.

The people of Israel have collectively decided that all their problems will be solved if only they had a king. And as we’ll see the problem wasn’t necessarily that they requested a king, but rather what the request suggested: they’d rather depend on themselves than depend on the Lord. They wanted to be self-reliant. They wanted to be totally independent - and that was the problem!

The great puritan writer, Thomas Watson actually wrote a short book called The Doctrine of Repentance. In it he wrote:

“When a spring of repentance is open in the heart, a spring of mercy is open in heaven.”

If you truly repent of your sin and turn to Jesus, you will experience the grace, mercy, and forgiveness of the Lord. There is a direct correlation between repentance and mercy.

For several weeks this summer, candidates for elder and deacon went through Providence’s Officer Training program. Take a look at what was involved in Pastor Jake’s latest article.

You’d expect Israel to know what to do with the ark of the covenant. But really that’s just a symptom of a greater problem: no one knew how to approach God almighty.

It’s absolutely critical that you and I know how to approach God almighty. This passage plays out in three parts: first you must approach God with humility (vv. 1-12), second, you must approach God reverently (vv. 13-19), because, lastly, God is holy (vv. 20-7:2).

The Lord is the key to true lasting satisfaction and one day your idols will be broken into pieces and prostrated before God almighty. And this is precisely what our passage teaches us: God is greater than any idol.

When the ark of the covenant was captured by the Philistines, it was understood that God’s glory had departed from Israel.

And so this passage unfolds in three parts: First, we read the devastating news (vv. 12-17), then we read of Eli’s tragic death (vv. 18), and how all of those things pointed to the departure of God’s glory (vv. 19-22).

Which is what we just read in this passage: the Israelites have a superstitious faith in the ark of the covenant rather than God. The ark of the covenant was the Israelites holy lance. If they just carry this thing into battle, they would be guaranteed victory.

When superstition replaces our faith a few things happen: First, our trust is misplaced (vv. 1-3), second God simply becomes a means to an end (vv. 4-10), because lastly, we then deny God’s sovereignty (v. 11).

So the leadership goes, so the church goes.

Our passage this morning highlights the corruption, evil, and utter disregard for the Lord that was taking place in Israel.

And of course, this passage highlights the leadership vacuum in Israel, and how corruption, immorality, and a disregard for the Lord flourished.

We see several things from this passage: First we see corrupted worship (vv. 11-21), second we see God’s anger kindled (vv. 22-25), and yet, even in the midst of corruption and evil you and I can rest that God is still at work (vv. 26-36).