The blessings we experience in life have been handed down to us from God. In fact, the blessings we experience in our lives are signs of God’s grace towards us more than the result of our own efforts.

James reminds us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” In our passage this morning we’re reminded that God’s hand of blessing protects (vv. 17-19), empowers (vv. 20-27), and grants us success (vv. 28-30).

Jealousy and envy are silent, deadly sins that consume you from the inside out, which is exactly what we see in our passage. Saul’s jealousy of David began as fear, turned into anger, which then led to attempted murder. If you’re taking notes, we’ll see that, first, jealousy distorts our perception (vv. 6-9), second, jealousy steals our peace (vv. 10-12), and lastly, jealousy separates us from God (vv. 12-16).

On Facebook, friendships are effortless, curated, and often shallow. You can have hundreds or even thousands of friends, yet still feel lonely. You can “like” a post without truly knowing the person behind it. And at any moment, with just one click, you can unfriend someone if they say something you don’t like.

But when we open Scripture, we find a radically different vision of friendship. Biblical friendship is not built on convenience, appearances, or mutual interests, rather it’s built on love, sacrifice, and commitment. Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” True friendship isn’t about how many people are in your circle—it’s about who is willing to walk with you through life’s highs and lows.

Isn’t that what we just read about Jonathan and David? Jonathan’s friendship with David wasn’t based on convenience because Jonathan was willing to risk everything for David. According to the Scriptures, true friendship is about sacrificial love and loyalty.

The story of David and Goliath should shape the way we think about spiritual warfare. It should shape the way we think about maintaining faithfulness in the midst of adversity. But more than anything, this story should shape the way we view, reflect, and understand the gospel itself. David’s victory over Goliath foreshadows Christ’s ultimate victory over sin, death, and Satan himself.

We must approach this famous story asking ourselves that very basic question: What does it tell us about God?

When you approach this passage that way, you’ll quickly realize that it tells us a lot about God. Just in the introduction to the story of David and Goliath we learn that God is displaying his strength, power, and superiority over any false gods that may lead us astray.

When passages are challenging like this one there is at times a temptation to chase rabbit trails while overlooking the overarching message. Despite the theological complexity of this particular passage, the overall message is quite straightforward: a life that rejects Jesus Christ and lives apart from his holy presence not only leads to spiritual emptiness, but can also lead to pain and suffering in this life.

At various times, we’ve all sized someone up, made assumptions about their character, only to learn that our assumptions were completely wrong.

We have a natural inclination to judge people based on outward appearances, but as our passage reminds us this morning – God does not judge people based upon their outward appearances, but upon their heart.

We’ll see three things this morning: first, man looks at outward appearance (vv. 1-6), second, God looks at the heart (v. 7), and lastly, we’re reminded that God often equips the overlooked (vv. 8-13).

Confession is a powerful thing—but only when it is genuine.

Many people believe that saying “I have sinned” is enough. They assume that if they admit their wrongdoing, everything is made right. But true repentance is more than words—it is a forsaking of sin, a turning of the heart towards Christ, and a sincere pursuit of obedience to Him.

Imagine a person who gives generously to the church, volunteers for every ministry, and sings loudly in worship—but at home, they neglect their family, harbor secret sin, and refuse to submit to God’s Word. From the outside, they seem devoted, but their heart is far from God.

This is exactly what we see in the life of King Saul in 1 Samuel 14:47–15:23. Saul was a man who started with great potential, yet he consistently failed where it mattered most: in obeying God.

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Legalism is the act of putting a human tradition in the place of God’s law and making obedience to that tradition the grounds of salvation.”

Saul bound everyone to his vow as if it came from the lips of God himself, and then he performed several religious acts in an attempt to earn favor with God. As interesting as it may sound, Saul too is a legalist.

Our passage teaches us three things about legalism: first, legalism places heavy burdens on God's people (vv. 24-30), second, legalism will drive you to sin (vv. 31-35), and lastly, legalism leads to division (vv. 36-46).

We’re briefly pausing our study on 1 Samuel to celebrate the Sanctity of Human Life. On January 13, 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation designating January 22 as the first National Sanctity of Human Life Day (January 22, 1973, was the day the U.S. Supreme Court legalized abortion-on-demand in all 50 states).

On the third Sunday in January, churches around the country celebrate God’s gift of life, commemorate the many lives lost to abortion, and commit themselves to protect human life. As many of you know, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs decision on June 24, 2022. However, it didn’t outlaw abortion; rather, it made it a state issue.

So in light of that, Rev. Doug Hart preached on the Sanctity of Human life this Sunday morning from Genesis 1:26-31.

The central theme of Jonathan and his armor bearer’s story isn’t about military conquest and personal bravery. It’s a story about God and how he fought for them. After all it was the Lord who threw the Philistines into a confusion and caused them to turn their swords on one another.

And so, from this passage we learn about how the Lord fights: first, we must remember that victory does not come through human strength. Second, we’re reminded that if God is for us, who can be against us? And lastly, in the moments of doubt, remember that the battle belongs to the Lord.

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul finds himself in a pressure cooker situation. The Philistine army has gathered in massive numbers—chariots, horsemen, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore to prepare for war. Saul’s own men are trembling with fear, and many of them are running away. And as his men are fleeing in droves, and the Philistine army is looking more and more ominous, Saul is forced to wait for days on end for Samuel to offer the sacrifices to the Lord.

And of course, we know what happened: as the pressure continued to build Saul decided the best course of action was to defy the word of God and offer the sacrifices himself, and in doing so, he exposed his heart. And we learn several things from this passage: first, we learn that Saul did not wholly trust the Word of God, second, we see that Saul believed it was his own efforts that would protect him, which of course exposed Saul’s weakness as king.

So what Paul teaches us here in Philippians 4:2-9 is not how to deal with false teaching, but rather, how to deal with the petty, insignificant, disagreements that inevitably arise within the church. But he doesn’t stop there. He goes on to give life advice for promoting the peace and purity of the church.

Paul gives us three directives in this passage: The first remedy for handling a petty disagreement in the church is to seek unity in the Lord (vv. 2-3), second, we should pursue joy and gentleness in our interactions with one another (vv. 4-5), and lastly, we should focus on the true, lovely, and excellent (vv. 6-9).

Royal births throughout history have been marked by magnificence and celebration. Bonfires were lit, bells rang, and nations feasted when heirs to the throne were born. Yet, the birth of the greatest King—Jesus—was marked by an entirely different kind of celebration. Shepherds, not dignitaries, heard the first royal announcement, and their fields became the setting for angelic praise. This was not the start of an earthly kingdom; it was the inauguration of God’s eternal and heavenly reign.

You would expect kings’ missions to further their own wealth, power, and accomplishments in order to make their own name great and once they’ve reached the pinnacle of greatness to stop and revel in it.

Which is why Jesus fulfilling the office of a king is so different. His mission wasn’t to build his own wealth or increase his power. His mission wasn’t to take lives, but to lay down his own life in order to save his people from their sins. Jesus’ mission as a king was primarily spiritual in nature.

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.