1 Kings 2: Solomon the Lion of Judah
Thanks to Guy McKenzie for preaching this week. Please accept our apologies for the missing audio. Introduction: As we discovered in 1 Kings Chapter 1, the book of Kings is theology cleverly disguised as exciting history. And as we read on in chapter 2 we will find that it does not disappoint, the thrilling tale of intrigue, mystery, and murder, only gets more absorbing. I am preaching through this book, as it is written, as a thrilling piece of redemptive history. So before we begin we need to remind ourselves just where in redemptive history this chapter fits. The...
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1 Kings 1: Solomon the Merciful
Thanks to Guy McKenzie for preaching this week. Please accept our apologies for the missing audio. Introduction: The book of kings is categorized as a history book, but this does not mean that it is not full of theology. So while this book is a thrilling tale of intrigue, mystery, and murder, it is so much more than this. The golden chain of salvation runs through this exciting story and while we would rightly shy away from too much allegory, that is searching for the hidden meanings in the text, we can easily discern that many of the of...
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Psalm 62: Who do you trust?
Introduction: Our Text for this evening is Psalm 62. Turn there with me now. Let me ask you as we begin: Have you ever felt betrayed? Have you ever felt like someone you were counting on has let you down? We all experience this at different points throughout our lives, don’t we? You can, I am sure, think of the particular people and the particular situations, which left you feeling disappointed and betrayed. There are questions that we are forced to answer as we process those sorts of situations. What do we do when we feel betrayed? In what do we put our trust? Where do we...
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1 Kings 5 – Preparation for the Temple
Introduction: Do you know the seven wonders of the ancient world? The Great Pyraminds of Giza, the hanging gardens of Babylon; the statue of Zeus at Olympia; the temple of Artmeis at Ephesus; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Colossus of Rhodes and the lighthouse of Alexandria. Only the pyramids are still standing. What are the new seven wonders of the world? The Great Wall of China; Christ the Redeemer statue; Machu Picchu; Chichen Itza; the Roman Colosseum; the Taj Mahal. Now what is the most important building that has or ever will been built? Solomon’s Temple. 1 Kings 5 gave a...
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1 Kings 2:1-11: David’s Final Advice To Solomon
Introduction: Archibald Alexander in his classic, Thoughts on Religious Experience, gives this advice to the elderly who are approaching their deaths: ‘Let not the infirm and the aged say that they can now do nothing for God. They can do much; and for ought they can tell, more than they ever did in the days of their vigour. It is a beautiful sight to see men laden with fruit, even in old age. Such fruits are generally more mature than those of earlier days; and the aged saint often enjoys a tranquillity and repose of spirit, which is...
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1 Kings 1:11-53: The Crowning of Solomon
Introduction: Resistance to the true king, this is the tale of human history and the central struggle in the text before us. As usual we see sinful men used of the devil to promote themselves like the antichrist into the place of the true king. We see resistance and subterfuge attempting to gather strength to overthrow God’s will to have His ruler in place. The ruler of the people of Israel is not merely a political position, it has been identified in promise and prophecy as the seat from which the nations will be ruled and satan overcome. It...
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1 Kings 1:1-10 : The Self-Exaltation of Adonijah
Introduction: Kingmaking, self-enthronement, pride, self-exaltation, these are the sins that meet us as we begin the book of 1 Kings moving from the reign of David to the reign of Solomon. We are at a crucial point in salvation history. David becoming King has fulfilled an important prophecy given to Judah by Jacob, and is giving substance to the longed for deliverer promised from the foundation of the earth—the seed of the woman promised in Gen. 3:15. Just after the fall of mankind into sin God promised a deliverer who would destroy satan and his works. With David having...
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2 Samuel 24: David’s Census
INTRODUCTION: Different sins afflict different people at different times. In our youth we are tempted by everything that is new, by the lusts of the flesh and the world of experience on offer. When we are middle aged we are tempted by comfort and materialism as we settle down. What are the sins of old age? I cannot speak from experience but it appears as if we have one of those sins exhibited before us in 2 Samuel 24 when David counts the fighting men. Pride. When we come to the end of our lives and we look back...
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2 Samuel 23:8-39: David’s Mighty Men
INTRODUCTION: David is the great king that God appointed to establish Israel in the land and subdue the enemies of God’s people. But the scriptures are written in such a way that we could never idolise David and hero-worship him. As we come to the end of David’s life having just looked at his death bed speech, the narrative goes on and looks at those who supported David, his mighty men. David would be nowhere without them. God did not do it through David alone. It is more evident when you compare the other accounting of David’s men in...
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2 Samuel 23:1-7: David’s Last Words
INTRODUCTION: In death all our masks are stripped away. Any appearances of power are taken away as we impotently die; all apparent beauty disappears in rot; our deathbed tends to bring out of our hearts what we have been putting into it our whole lives and we are revealed. Some die full of fear and terror; others self-deceived think they have nothing to fear; but many a Christian has died what was called a good death. We don’t hear much about these anymore. In part this is because we die in old age homes away from family and friends,...
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2 Samuel 22: The Deliverance and Exaltation of the King
INTRODUCTION: Imagine for a moment that you are in your old age, in the closing years of your life and you decide to write a song to summarise the Lord’s working in your life. What would that song look like? One could divide the verses into the different eras of your life, such as, childhood, teenage years, young adulthood, middle aged, elderly, etc. Or one could do a before and after song, before and after your conversion, from dark to light. Psalm 18 is special amongst the Psalms because it is not a situational psalm that reflects just one...
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2 Samuel 19: 9-43 The King’s Gracious Return
INTRODUCTION: In Christianity there are two types of happily ever afters. There is the final happy ending where Jesus will return and all enemies will be put under foot. All evils will become undone and there will be no taint to our eternal joy. And then there are happy endings under the sun. These are resolutions from conflict that bring about good but not ultimate good. These are the sorts of victories that you and I enjoy as Christians whether it is in our sanctification, church growth or preaching the gospel. We make head way but we are harassed. ...
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2 Samuel 18:1-19:8: Judgement on Absalom
Introduction: Love made a god becomes a demon. This is a paraphrase of a point C S Lewis makes in his book The Four Loves. When we love something too much, when we make a god of it, we turn it into a terrorising demon in our lives. Central to the books of 1 and 2 Samuel is the notion of God sovereignly causing His will to come to pass, the same is true of 2 Samuel 18:1-19:8 as we see God judging Absalom. But there is always a side story as we have documented the sins or obedience...
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2 Samuel 16:15-17:29: The Fall of Ahithophel
Introduction: God fulfils His promises; or God works all things together for good, these are phrases we often hear but don’t always have an accurate picture about how God works it all out. The fall of Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 16:15-17:29 is a great portion of Scripture which demonstrates in great detail how it happens. Contrary to the Christian movies and their soft edges the way things actually pan out in reality while under God’s control have a very different feel to them. We will see that God does bring His purposes to pass, but it isn’t pretty and...
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2 Samuel 16:1-14: David’s enemies – Part One
Introduction: If I had to ask you what is one of the most destructive weapons at man’s disposal; what would you name? Over and over again the bible names the tongue. James 3:6, ‘And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.’ This verse tells us that the tongue is truly a weapon of mass destruction. It creates a whole world of unrighteousness, it stains the whole body, it sets on fire one’s...
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2 Samuel 15: Absalom Steals the Throne
Outline Absalom’s plot David’s retreat Introduction There are certain times in your life that you reveal who you really are. We are often able to wear a mask, but there are times when that mask is stripped away and the real us is revealed. When we are alone with no one to act for or impress we are ourselves as we really are. When things are going well and we have everything we want, is God still our priority or was He merely a means to an end? But the most revealing times are times of difficulty. When everything...
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