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).

Hannah simply prays to express her thankfulness to God. Hannah’s prayer of thanksgiving is a poetic summary of chapter 1 and as she looks back on her life, she sees God’s goodness, faithfulness and blessings.

Her prayer of thankfulness breaks down into three parts: First, Hannah expresses praise to God simply for who He is (vv. 1-2), second, she thanks God for what he has done (vv. 3-8), and lastly, she looks forward with hopeful anticipation to what God will do (vv. 9-10).

Not only does Hannah make a heavy vow to dedicate her son to God, she actually follows through with it. And the passage that we’re looking at this morning breaks down simply into two parts: Hannah’s faithfulness to God (vv. 24-26) and God’s faithfulness to Hannah (vv. 27-28).

Prayer is not a useless spiritual exercise. It’s not a pointless ritual that God commands - no there is real power in it, which is why we should do it.

And that’s precisely what we see in this passage.

God completely breaks Hannah down to the point where the Lord was all she had. 1 Samuel 1:1-8 describes how the Lord was stripping everything away from Hannah.

There’s three aspects to the Lord’s work in Hannah’s life: first, we’ll look at her dysfunctional family (vv. 1-3), second, we’ll look at her provocation and pain (vv. 4-6), and lastly, we’ll look at her husband’s ineffective comfort (vv. 7-8).

This is the end of Paul's letter to Timothy, and he's highlighting a few key points that he's already addressed, he’s reiterating a few key points before he signs off. He’s charging him to apply what he’s already told him: to pursue righteousness, don’t become lured by the love of money, and flee from false teaching.

Paul addresses contentment in position, contentment in the church, and contentment with status in these 10 verses.

This past Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. Doug Hart preach from Psalm 111.

This past Sunday we had the privilege of having Rev. Doug Hart preach from Psalm 110.

Last week, the Presbyterian Church in America’s 51st General Assembly took place in Richmond, Virginia.

Charlie Nave, a ruling elder on Providence’s temporary session, wrote a helpful recap for our congregation to share the highlights and most important takeaways from this year’s General Assembly:

In verses 17-25, Paul outlines for Timothy what the church’s relationship is supposed to look like towards the godly elders who lead them. And so, Paul’s instructions break down into three parts: first, Paul says good elders should be honored (vv. 17-18), but secondly, that doesn’t mean elders are above church discipline (vv. 19-21), which lastly, reiterates a point he made earlier - that choosing elders is a serious task (vv. 22-25).

The longer days and flexibility of summertime provide a great opportunity for extra reading.

Summer is also an opportune time to get out of your normal genres and dive into books outside of your comfort zone, like biographies or classics.

With that in mind, I’ve rounded up some faith-based books for summer reading. This selection includes both books I’ve recently read and those I hope to read this summer.

I’ve organized them into four categories: contemporary, biographics, classics, and children.

This past Sunday, we had the privilege of having Rev. Taylor King preach from 1 John 2:28-3:3.

In 1 Timothy 5:1-16, Paul is giving Timothy advice on how to pastorally handle the various relationships and circumstances within the family of God. Particularly how to say hard things to the various demographics within the church, and to care for the growing ministry towards widows within the Ephesian church.