7–13 August 2016. 2 Kings 23–24 (click to read). When people come to the English Ministry, they notice that during the service we have a special prayer: the Communal Confession. It’s a time when we admit that we haven’t always lived up to God’s expectations. We confess those failings together, and then hear God’s promise […]
31 July – 6 August 2016. 2 Kings 11–12 (click to read). In English, we say: “Time flies when you’re having fun!” When everything is going well, time goes by so fast. Of course the opposite is also true: a boring class (or sermon) seems to drag on forever! When we go through dark times […]
24–30 July 2016. 1 Kings 19–20 (click to read). The prophet Elijah is about to find out that in life things are never easy or uncomplicated! In chapter 19:14 we read that he only wanted to do something good for God – but it all went so wrong! In his zealous passion for God he turned […]
17–23 July 2016. 1 Kings 9–10 (click to read). In the book of Kings, one of the morals that the writers want to teach us is that sin always has it’s price. Sooner or later, God’s punishment catches up with people. That’s what happened to Saul and David, and that’s what’s coming for Solomon too. On the […]
10–16 July 2016. 1 Kings 1 (click to read). In the ancient world, people believed a king’s power to rule was linked to his sexual abilities. That’s one reason kings and rulers had so many wives. So 1 Kings opens with a serious problem: David is now so old and weak, even his sexual abilities […]
Bonus Devotional Text, July 2016. 2 Samuel 15 (click to read). King David’s story began with so much hope. Finally here was a king who was listening to God, defending justice, and doing what was right. But how quickly it all fell apart. David becomes an adulterer and a murderer, and the sin in his life […]
3–9 July 2016. 2 Samuel 4–5 (click to read). In 2 Samuel 5, David finally becomes the ruler of both Israelite kingdoms, Judah in the south and Israel in the north. It’s the start of a new chapter in Israel’s royal history. But what type of king will David be? Will he be like many […]
26 June – 2 July 2016. 1 Samuel 26 (click to read). When people do horrible things to us, straightaway we start to think how we can get back at them. How can we make them suffer for hurting us so badly? Sometimes people even think that taking revenge is what God wants them to […]
19–25 June 2016. 1 Samuel 17 (Click to read). Over and over in this world we see how the strong survive and succeed, and how they do this at the expense of the weak. Strong nations attack weaker nations; strong armies fly into other countries and randomly bomb and kill families and children; big companies use […]
12–18 June 2016. 1 Samuel 7–8 (click to read). Today when we think about good judges, we think of someone making neutral decisions, someone not biased one way or the other, someone who doesn’t get involved. But the great judges in ancient Israel weren’t like this. Instead of simply making neutral decisions, the great judges […]