Genesis 4, 1 Samuel 1, Matthew 20:20-28, Luke 1:26-56. 2 John: Mother’s Day Haikus.

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries on Mother’s Day, 08 May 2022, by Sarah-Grace and Heather Ramsay

 

Today is Mother’s Day. Now, I actually I looked up whether it is Mother apostrophe ‘S’ Day (the day of one particular mother) or Mother ‘S’ apostrophe Day (a day belonging to more than one mother) or whether it is Mother no apostrophe ‘S’ Day (a day to celebrate mothers in general). Apparently, it is the former - Mother apostrophe ‘S’ Day (the day of one particular mother) – so, I encourage everyone who is able to today, to honour your particular mother and make her feel special.

 

We love you mom!

 

In the Bible there are many amazing women. A few of them who are mentioned specifically for their role as mother. For our time today, we have haikus about some of these particular mothers from the Bible. One from the New Testament, one from the Gospels, one from the Old Testament outside the Pentateuch and one from the Pentateuch and as a bonus we will also have a haiku about Mary the mother of Jesus too. Our first Mother Haiku is from Genesis in the Pentateuch:

 

EVE

Today’s Mothers’ Day

The first mom we have is Eve

For 2 sons she grieved

 

The Bible doesn’t tell us too much about Eve as a mother. We do hear about her struggles and interactions with the serpent and her husband a little bit. It is a very sad note for her that when the Bible says death entered the world because of her and her husband, its first two casualties were indeed her eldest two children. Her one son killed her other son and thus she lost both children because of it. Being a mom isn’t always easy. Being a mom can be very sad at times. We, like many people, are sorry when it is us who cause our moms and others to be sad.

 

Dear God please forgive us for the times that we have made both You and our mothers sad.

 

The next mom we have is also from the Old Testament; She is from the book of 1 Samuel.

 

HANNAH

Sam, my first-born child

Of the two books named for him

Only one he’s in

 

Fun fact: Samuel isn’t even in the book of 2^nd Samuel.

 

Hannah first shows up in the Bible as a wife who desperately wants to be a mother. She wants just to be a mother so much that she promises God that when He gives her a child, she will give him right back to God. God gives her a child and when the child is old enough, she brings her son – the boy who will later become the prophet Samuel - to be raised serving in the tabernacle of God by the High Priest. God blessed her son and raised him up to be the last ruler of Israel before the time of the kings. God blessed Hannah, this mom, by giving her many more children to love and to rear. This mom was blessed by God not only by having her child but also in seeing how God blessed her whole nation through her son.

 

Mom, like Hannah, you have made sure that we were raised in the Church – knowing, loving, and serving God. Thank you. To all of the moms and dads here who have dedicated their children to God, Thank you. To all the moms, parents, and other family members who are desperately praying for their children like Hannah did, even when they are far away, may the Lord answer your prayers.

 

Let us pray: Dear God we pray for all the children and families represented here today. We pray that our loved ones will all come to know and to love you and to know they are loved by You. Amen.

 

MRS ZEBEDEE

James and John’s mother

Thought her sons like none other

Made others wonder

 

Mrs. Zebedee was quite a lady. There was no holding her back. She marched her two adult sons right up to Jesus, bowed down in front of the Lord and asked that they both be held as more important than the others. When the other disciples heard about this, they were quite upset that James and John would let their mother do this but Jesus calmed everybody down, using this moment to teach about serving others rather than looking out for yourselves.

 

Moms continue to look out for their kids even after they have grown up and left home. Moms try their best. Like with all of us, sometimes it works out and sometimes maybe it doesn’t; sometimes, maybe like with Mrs. Zebedee, it causes a few extra little problems that would not have happened if mom didn’t try to help out. But moms love us and they try to help however they can. Thank you, mom, for loving us. Thank you everyone here for the love you show to one another – your family, your friends, and others.

 

Let us pray: Dear God. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the opportunity to love one another. Please help us to always love unselfishly, caring for You and others more than ourselves. Amen

 

Our 4^th of 5 specific mothers on this Mother’s Day comes from 2^nd John in the New Testament.

 

KYRIA ELECTA

Mother of children

Physical, spiritual

Early church pastor

 

2^nd John says it is addressed to a specific mother and her children. Her name ‘Kyria’ translated to English from Greek literally means ‘Lady’ and her other name ‘Electa’ literally means ‘chosen’. Thus, the NIV reads this letter as written to the chosen lady. Kyria Electa was chosen as one of the first Christian pastors. She encouraged her children - those who have come to faith through her and presumably her natural born children as well. John sent her this letter of encouragement and it is neat because he concluded this short letter by sending greetings from the children of another woman pastor/teacher in the church.

 

God has used and is using many mothers and others in many roles in His church. Mothers especially are great teachers of their children. In times gone past before daycares and kindergartens moms were the primary teachers of the next generation. It is my hope that we would all be encouraged as Kyria Electa to continue to teach and care for one another.

 

Let us pray. Lord God, we pray that we will faithfully care for and teach those you give us to teach and we thank You for the many people You have provided and continue to provide to care for and to teach us. Amen.

 

Our next mother today is from the Gospels. She is probably the most well known and most often represented mother in artwork in the history of the world. The next mother we have today is Mary.

 

 

 

MARY

Mary Did You Know

That your son would save us all

Everlasting life

 

Mary was chosen by God to give birth to the Son of God and raise Him and care for Him. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her to see Him grow and do the things He does. I can’t imagine what it would be like for her to realize and respect her son as the Lord. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for her to see him upon the cross. He loved her so much: He entrusted her care to his friend even while He was upon the cross. I can’t imagine then what it would be like for her to know of His resurrection and eternal life. I can’t imagine how humbling it would be to see what God has and is doing through her little boy.

 

Moms, dads, and families are often proud of their children. They are very happy when they see how God uses them. God used Mary’s son, His Son, to accomplish so much in this world and the next. Mary’s son is also the Son of God and He was conceived, born, lived, died, and rose again so that we may all live forever more.

 

On this Mother's Day, let us all take Jesus up on that offer and let us all serve Him both for now and forever more.

 

Let us pray: Dear God on this Mother’s Day, we thank you for our mothers and others who love us. We pray for those near and dear to us. We pray that You will be with them and care for them; Lord we pray that we will know that You are near us and those we love in times of trouble. Lord, we thank you for loving us for now and forever more.

 

Amen.

www.sheepspeak.com

www.facebook.com/salvogesis

 

 

Psalm 116:3-4, 2 Samuel 18:6-8, Isaiah 2:4: 2019 Remembrance Day Address

Psalm 116:3-4, 2 Samuel 18:6-8, Isaiah 2:4: Remembrance Day Address to the Port Alberni Community by Royal Canadian Legion Branch 293 padre, Captain Michael Ramsay, 11 November 2019.

This year we mark the 80^th anniversary of our Nation’s entry into the 2^nd World War and this, just 21 years after the conclusion of the 1^st World War. We remember the veterans of those wars and other conflicts today. We remember the peace that soldiers and others died still longing for. We remember.

We remember: at 11:00 on this day 101 years ago church bells rang out celebrating peace after 4 horrible years of war in which 888 246 fatalities were suffered by the military of the British Empire of which Canada was an integral part.

When World War One broke out Canada was a country of just over 7 million people. Many left their family and work here to serve in the war there. 619 000 Canadians served in WWI and 66 976 never returned. That was almost 1-out-of-every-5 boys aged 16-24: meaning that in a community the size of Port Alberni now, 170 people would have been killed in the war. If you lived in Canada then, you would know more than one person who did not return.

Last year, on the centennial of the end of WWI we shared here many stories from the Alberni Valley of young people who served, lived, and died as they left their families, their communities, and their lives behind to march out of our homes and into the horrors of war.

Today in the Scriptures we read briefly about the horrors of a war in which there were 20 000 casualties, one of which was King David’s own son. Lest we forget the tragedies of war.

And in the Christian faith, of which I am a minister, we remember Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, who laid down his life for us all.

Eighty years, two months and 10 days ago today, on September 01, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, on September 03, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany.

When Britain declared war, Canada had not been an independent nation very long, and even that independence was only partial. Canada was determined to defend our family and friends but to do so independently; so on September 9^th, 1939, Canadian parliament approved war on Germany which was declared by Prime Minister Mackenzie King, in a letter to the King, the following day.

Many of us have friends and family that left our community and our country to offer their lives up in service for us. My grandfather served and my grandmother’s brother, who left the family farm to serve overseas, never did speak of the day they were surrounded by the enemy. We who have not served can’t possibly even imagine what he and others experienced on that day.

A couple of members of The Salvation Army in Port Alberni today were young children in Europe during the war. They remember scarcity like I have never seen: sharing food with their animals, making shoes out of corn husks, and coming home to see the roof blown off their barn. They remember hiding in the mountains and never knowing if family members were alive or dead. Lest we forget.

Port Alberni contributed to the war effort. There are many who served. There was David Ramsay. He was a Flight Lieutenant who by his enthusiasm and leadership, set a splendid example to all crews. He was awarded the Belgian Cross of War in 1940 and on April 28th, 1944, he perished in the war. He was 23 years old.

There was also Jim, Jack, John, Joe, Leo, Leonard, Nick and Dorothy Schan. Seven brothers and one sister (4 were connected to Pt Alberni) all enlisted in the military during the 2nd World War. No family is believed to have contributed more soldiers to Canada's war effort.

And then there was Edward John Clutesi, born to be hereditary chief of the Tseshaht First Nation, instead in August 1944, in France, at 26, he gave his life for us.

In 1942 HR MacMillian built a plywood mill here to support the cause. It was important for munition boxes and camp materials. Over 80% of the mill workers were women who served our country in this time of war right here in our community.

There was the Army camp here too. Our community of only 7000 people helped support this camp of 1500.

There was the Fisherman's reserve – which had a fleet of 100 landing craft - some of which were posted right here in Port Alberni. The idea was that if Japan invaded they could answer the call.

Many people across this country did answer the call. One million served in the Second World War at home, in Europe, in Asia, and around the world; more than 100 000 Canadian, Newfoundland, and 1^st Nations service people sustained causalities and 45 000 lost their lives.

I have family members, as do many of us here, who served in both world wars. I have family and friends, as do most of us here, who have served in Canada’s military and our conflicts since: in Korea; Afghanistan; the Gulf War; in Peace Keeping including Lebanon, Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti, Sudan, and other places. Today we remember all of Canada’s Veterans, serving and retired, and commemorate our fallen men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces, RCMP, Peace Officers, Merchant Navy, and Reserves. They will not grow weary as we grow weary; they will not grow old as we grow old. Today, we honour them, their families and their losses.

It is said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Today we are wearing poppies as a pledge that we will never forget our veterans who offered their lives in service to God, to King and to Queen, and to Country, in service for us. Let us not forsake them. Let us not forget. Lest we forget. Lest we forget.

Let us pray.

Psalm 116:3-4, 2 Samuel 18:6-8, Isaiah 2:4: Bells of Peace

Presented to Royal Canadian Legion Alberni Valley Branch # 293, dignitaries, and members of the public on the occasion of the community Remembrance Day Ceremony marking the centennial of the end of the First World War, 11 November 2018, by Captain Michael Ramsay, RC Legion Padre.

Today at 11:00 we marked the 100^th anniversary of the end of WWI. We remember the peace that soldiers and others died still longing for. We remember.

                   

We remember: at 11:00 on this day 100 years ago church bells spontaneously rang out across Europe celebrating peace after 4 horrible years of war in which 888 246 fatalities were suffered by the military of the British Empire of which Canada was an integral part. This sad number does not include our allies, our rivals, innocent civilians and others. Our family members and our countrymen lived, served, and died in this, the ‘Great War’, the ‘war to end all wars’, the ‘First World War’.
  

When World War One broke out Canada was a very small and sparsely populated country of just over 7 million people. Most were farmers, fishermen, foresters or involved in other primary industries. Many boys and young men left their family and work here to serve in the war there. I have read stories of bankers and teachers and minors and scientists and athletes and farmers and very young people from across this country and Newfoundland who put their jobs, their careers, their parents, their girlfriends, their new wives, their young children, and their whole lives on hold until they returned home from the war - only many never did return home from the war. They were never to be seen again by their wives, their children, their brothers, their sisters, their mothers, their fathers.
  

Almost 7% of the total population of our country – 619 000 Canadians served in this war and 66 976 Canadians never returned. That was almost 1% (0.92%) of our country's whole population and it was almost 1-out-of-every-5 boys aged 16-24: meaning that in a community the size of Port Alberni now, 170 people would have been killed in the war. If you lived in Canada then, you would know more than one person who did not return.

Canada contributed greatly and sacrificed much in the First World War. Our soldiers’ many achievements on the battlefield culminated in three months of victories that led to the end of the war: this was known as “Canada’s Hundred Days.”

Canada’s efforts at Vimy Ridge, Passchendaele, and elsewhere earned our army the reputation for being the best troops on the Western Front. Because of this Canadian soldiers were given the responsibility of being at the forefront of the attack. This earned faith of our allies came at a great price. In the last 100 days of the war alone, our Canadian soldiers suffered usually more than 100 casualties each day.

During the last 100 days of WWI, Canada’s 100 Days, more than 6,800 Canadians, First Nations, and Newfoundlanders were killed and approximately 39,000 wounded. And just 2 minutes before 11am on November 11^th, 1918. Just 2 minutes before the world would the end ‘the war to end all wars’ and our service people would be able to come home to their families that missed them and love them, 2 minutes before 11am, Nov. 11^th 1918, Canadian Private George Lawrence Price was fatally shot in the left breast. He did not return home.

Here, in the Alberni Valley, of the only 1600 people who lived here at the time 116 of them – more than 17% of our population – signed up to go overseas in just the first few months of the war alone.

We know about Cyril Woodward who was only 15 when he enlisted.

We know about the Redford boys - 3 brothers who enlisted from our area.  Edward, 29, was wounded in a non-combat incident with a shell that killed 2 of his companions. His brother William, age 19, was wounded in combat and sent home and their brother Douglas at age 20 was killed in action – never to see home again.

And then there is the poet Charles Samuel Bannell from the area. In November of 1916 he enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and less than a year later, on Oct 30th, 1917 he was killed in action.

And we know About George Bird Jr. He attended the school in the basement of the Watson home on Argyle St. He was a member of the swim club, played soccer; enjoyed hiking, fishing and hunting. He worked at his father’s mill until he got a job as a clerk at the Royal Bank of Canada in 1907. Then, November 25, 1915, at the age of 24, George Bird Jr. enlisted the military. He took part in the capture of Vimy Ridge and other significant battles of the war and a year and a half later, on June 5, 1917 he died of wounds sustained in battle.

There are many stories from the Alberni Valley and around the world of the young people who served, lived, and died as they left their families, their communities, and their lives behind to march out of their country and into the horrors of war.

Today in the Scriptures we read briefly about the horrors of a war in which there were 20 000 casualties, one of which was King David’s own son.  Lest we forget the tragedies of war. Let us not forget.

And in the Christian faith, of which I am a minister, we remember Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, who laid down his life for us all.

Today, on the centennial of the conclusion of the First World War we have shared some stories of the many young people who lived, died and served from Alberni Valley. But the First World War was sadly not the last world war.

When the second World War broke out, Canada was a country of 11 million people and we sent more than one million of our family members to serve in the military and of those more than 100 000 sustained casualties; 45 000 gave their lives. Many of us have friends and family who marched out of our community and our country to offer their lives up in service to us. My own grandmother’s brother who left the family farm to serve overseas never did speak of the day they were surrounded by the enemy in the war. We who have not served in that way can’t possibly even imagine what he and others experienced on that day.

My own grandfather returned home to Canada from California where he was working when war broke out so that he could serve God, King and country in the Second World War. He signed up with a number of his friends. I believe he was the only one of them that signed up together that day who lived to see the end of the war.

I have these cards from my family members who served in both world wars. These are some of my treasured possessions. This one from April 2, 1917 says:

Dear Sister, Just a line to let you know that I am alive yet, and hope to continue the same. Tell Albert when he gets time to drop me a line. Bye, Bye, Love from Frank.

These are some of my cherished possessions. I look at these and I remember my family. I remember all those that risked their lives for us. I remember. I hope I never forget. I hope my daughters never forget. I hope we never forget. Let us never forget their sacrifices and let us not sacrifice the peace that they won for us. Let us not forsake them and let us not forget them.

This evening at dusk across this country, Bells of Peace will be ringing. They will be ringing to remember the people who gave their lives while still hoping for peace. They will be ringing as we remember how the church bells rang out across Europe on this day 100 years ago celebrating the peace that we had been praying for.

Today we remember our brothers and sisters, our parents, our grandparents, our great-grandparents, our comrades-in-arms; all who are veterans lived and some died so that we would not have to live through the horrors of war again.

It is said that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. This evening the bells of peace will be ringing out across this country reminding us of the terrible price of war. Today we are wearing poppies as a pledge that we will never forget our friends, our family, our loved ones, and our veterans who offered their lives in service to us. Let us not forsake them. Let us not forget. Lest we forget. Lest we forget.

Let us pray.

2 Samuel 7: David's Kayak.

Presented to 614 Warehouse Mission 2:30pm service, 
10 September 2017.

This has been a weird summer for us. We didn't have any real family vacations. The older girls were both working. Rebecca was working out of town at Jacksons and Sarah-Grace was working at day camps; so we mostly just had Heather who we tried to keep busy through some great summer camps and lessons. We did try to make to most of our time together. The older girls and I went down to Buffalo to see G'n'R and Live in concert and just the other weekend we saw Alice Cooper and Deep Purple here in Toronto.  Susan, the younger two girls and I went to see the Martyr's Shrine where Father Brebeuf and the others were martyred. That was really interesting. Sarah-Grace and I were going to go to an Argos game and Heather and I did go to a Blue Jays game. It was actually quite a full and busy summer on top of Karaoke nights and the rest of things around here.

There were a couple of big corps events as well. Yesterday was the Cabbage Town festival here and Friday we went to see the Niagara Falls and early in the summer we went to see Howard fall out of a kayak. It is a good thing we weren't anywhere near the falls when Howard falls into the water. I may share about this story a little more in a little bit but I should probably get onto today's topic.

Today we are chatting a little bit about covenant. Covenant is a topic that I know a little bit about with my book and a number of articles that have been published on this topic.[1] However, I must confess that, like the Apostle Paul, I have spent much more time looking at God's covenant with Abraham than I have His covenant with David.[2] Today we are going to look God's covenant with David. Who can tell me what is a covenant? And what does the word 'berit[h]' (covenant) literally mean? (bound).[3] In our passage here today God binds David, Jacob, and all of humanity to Himself in an important covenant.[4] Bruce Birch writes that "this chapter is the most important theological text in the books of Samuel and perhaps the entire Deuteronomistic History.'[5] Let's take a look at how that works.

First it is very interesting: When the chapter opens, we have the king sitting in a palace of some sort. He must be a little board. It says he has a rest from his enemies and later we read about some of the other stuff he does when he is board but today he starts off pretty good. He must have been thinking about the Lord as, Verse 2, 'he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

           3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

Have you ever had a moment when you say or do something without thinking and then, oh oh...? Have we ever just answered someone quickly without thinking about it or - worse - has anyone ever involved someone else without checking first. Think of the stereotypical husband in the old days before cell phones who invites his friends over for dinner without checking with his wife first. Think about the wife who lets the kids or someone else borrow a tool or something else of dad's without checking with him. Have we ever been in a spot where we answer someone quickly without checking or without thinking. This is what the Lord's prophet does here when, verse 3, 'Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.”

Verse 4 records that that night the Word of the Lord comes to Nathan and says, basically, 'why didn't you check with me first!?' and then He opens up on Nathan like a steadfast wife; He says, you tell  David this and you tell David that and then tell David one more thing. You ask David this and you tell David the other thing.  You ask David, Verse 7, ' Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ The Lord then talks about all the things He has done for David and all the things He has done for Israel. He doesn’t need David to build Him a house. God makes that abundantly clear and God doesn’t want David to build Him a house and Nathan should just march right back there and let David know that. God has been fine without a house until now and he will continue to be fine without a house.

Nathan before God here must feel a little like Howard on our kayaking trip this summer. No sooner had we gotten on the river, out of sight of the kayak rental place and all their equipment when ‘snap’ Howard’s paddle breaks in two. That cannot be a good omen. If this were a Shakespeare play you would know that something bad was going to happen to poor Howard before the trip was done – and you wouldn’t be wrong. We set up Howard as best we could but he was an inexperienced kayaker in the current; he really was up the creek without half a paddle. More about this later. But in the end God took care of Howard and God took care of Nathan. (And God took care of David)

After God finishes the exchange with Nathan about all of this, God has one more thing to tell him. The one more thing He has to tell Nathan is that God is going to build a dynasty for David and this is interesting – in the Hebrew there is a play on words that actually exists in the English translations as well. The word ‘house’ can mean a building or a dynasty: for instance, our current monarchy is from the House of Windsor, formerly the House of Hanover, meaning the family dynasty of Windsor. It is the same in Hebrew: David says he is going to build a house (a temple) for God but God says no, He is going to build a house (a dynasty) for David. This part actually reads a little bit like a love letter between two young people.[6] I don’t know if any of you have managed to keep any old love letters from years gone by or if you have even just noticed young love in action. I think we have all seen young people just in a new relationship, right? This exchange reminds me a little bit about that: 'No you’re the cutest and I am going to build you a big house of love'.

                  'No you’re the cutest and I am going to build you a big house of love'.

                  'No, no, no, you are… '

David wants to build a house, a palace for God but God will not except it from David. Instead God is going to build a house, a dynasty from David that will last forever.[7]

God loves David. David, after all, as 1 Samuel 13:14 and Acts 13:22 say, David is ‘a man after God’s own heart’. Now, you may stop me at this point and say, ‘hold on there, Captain! It’s all fine and dandy to say David is a man after God’s own heart but we’ve skipped ahead in 2 Samuel and we’ve been reading about him over the past few weeks and David doesn’t always sound like a great guy. He’s a horrible father! His kids seem to hate him. He commits adultery with Bathsheba, murders her husband and then has her come live with him and his other wives and their kids. He seems to treat a lot of people poorly and after his own son tries to overthrow him it seems that it is only by the grace of God through the (maybe even deplorable) actions of his nephew Joab that he and his house even exist at all. And I remember we read the other week that God said about David, 2 Samuel 12:9-10, “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? … Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ David is a man who got into all kinds of trouble; so how can this be the same man who loves God and who God loves in this way? Good question. Let me try to explain it this way…

Going back to the kayaking trip, after Howard’s paddle breaks and things are looking a little shakey for the trip, we set up Howard as best we can but he is an inexperienced kayaker in the current and, in reality, he is up the creak without half a paddle. He makes it for a while then he hits a rock in the fast moving current. He capsizes and his boat fills up with water very rapidly and drifts downstream as it begins sinking quickly. Howard doesn’t know what he is doing and most of the people on our trip don’t know what they are doing either. I am the only experienced kayaker there and we are all floating downstream very quickly as Howard crashes on the rocks and abandons ship as his craft begins to sink. I send Rob back to keep him company while I try to empty the kayak of water mid-stream with Sam as the two of us are being carried downstream farther and farther from Howard. I can’t empty his kayak in the water. It is too full. Sam and I guide the boat to the river bank whereby I get out of my kayak, then lift Howard’s water-filled kayak over my head and dump it out. I’m exhausted. This is a lot of work. Then Sam and I have to paddle upstream, against the current to try to get the kayak back to Howard so that we can try to put him back in his boat. And...until now Howard has been sitting nicely on a rock by Rob who has been keeping him company. All we need to do is pull Howard’s kayak up to the rock and he can climb in easily. I’m exhausted and I am just thinking that it is great that we can just load Howard in his boat from a rock rather than –in our exhausted state- drag Howard up out of the water when Howard decides to jump into to water  and swim to us! We do eventually get him out and no one is the worse for wear and we have a great story and a lot we have learned from this experience.

This is like David. His staying home when kings go off to work was when his paddle broke. He made subsequent choices and experienced the consequences of those choices that must have exhausted him and those around him but God like Rob, Sam, and I did not give up on him. God metaphorically paddled all the way upstream; even though David must have seemed like he was exhausting God by jumping in the current of sin. God never gave up on David. David’s actions had some serious consequences and he broke more than just a paddle but God loved him all the same and God fought against the current to be faithful to His covenant - in spite of all the strange moves David made. This is very important. The scriptures, Romans 3:3-4, ask us, “What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness?” The answer is of course not. Once God commits to a covenant He will be faithful even if we are faithless. This is the whole point of covenants and this is how God saves us through them. God will never abandon a covenant before it has been completed. He is faithful even when we are faithless.[8]

And this is good news. Anything less would be a works-based salvation, salvation achieved by our own merit, skill, and ability, and as the Apostle Paul points out that is an impossibility. None of us can achieve salvation on our own. We need God to save us. None of us can pull ourselves from the fast moving current by ourselves; we all need Jesus to do it for us – and he has through the cross and the empty tomb. God promised David that He would build an everlasting dynasty through him and He does. Jesus is the heir to David’s dynasty and Jesus reigns forever; so no matter how many times the devil may tempt David or you or I to sin that will not nullify the Word of God.[9] There is nothing that will ever cause God to break His promise of salvation for any of us – the only question is whether we will avail ourselves of that salvation or not, whether we will be pulled back into the kayak of salvation or whether we will choose to drown in our sins. And no matter what sins we have committed in our lives, make no mistake, it is not too much or too late, while we still have breath in our body we can still let Jesus lift us into that kayak of eternal salvation.

This is what the passage we are looking at today is talking about. God is faithful to his covenant (and still offers each of us the opportunity for eternal salvation) even when David is not; God is faithful to his covenant (and still offers each of us the opportunity for eternal salvation) even when Israel is not; God is faithful to his covenant (and still offers each of us the opportunity for eternal salvation) even when we are not. No matter what we have done, God has his arms out ready to accept us into His salvation.

In our passage today, it introduces us to everlasting life by saying that the Lord’s kingdom will last forever, and it will be ruled by David’s successor, Jesus, for all time and nothing can change that. The only question for us today is, do you and I choose to drown in the quickly moving current of all the temptations and sins of our world or do we accept the eternal joy of that salvation by riding peacefully down the river of eternal life in the kayak of Christ? It is my hope that each of us will choose Christ.

  

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Questions for further exploration listed below.

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[1] Captain Michael Ramsay. Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today. Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army. For more info: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Praise-The-Lord-For-Covenants/155941614427110?v=info

[2] Cf. Michael Ramsay, 'Covenant: When God is Bound...a look at Genesis 15:7-21'. Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 52, December 2007 – January 2008, p 5. On-line at http://www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_052.pdf

[3] G.E. Mendenhall. "Covenant." In The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by George Arthur Buttrick. (Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1962), 715. Cf. also M. Weinfeld. "berith." In Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, edited by G. Johannes Botterweck. (Stuttgart, W.Germany: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1975), 253.

[4] Cf. Michael Ramsay, "Berit[h]" Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 40, December 2005 – January 2006 pp 16-17.

[5] Bruce C. Birch, 'The First and Second Books of Samuel' in New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 2, ed. Leander E. Keck, et el. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998), 1254.

[6] Cf. Gbile Akanni and Nupanga Weanzana, Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), '2 Samuel 7:5-15:Nathan's Prophetic Declaration', 387

[7] Cf. Bruce C. Birch, 'The First and Second Books of Samuel' in New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. 2, ed. Leander E. Keck, et el. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1998), 1255 and Gbile Akanni and Nupanga Weanzana, Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), '2 Samuel 7:5-15:Nathan's Prophetic Declaration', 388

[8] Captain Michael Ramsay. Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today. Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army. This is the thesis statement of PTL4C: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Praise-The-Lord-For-Covenants/155941614427110?v=info 

[9] Cf. Gbile Akanni and Nupanga Weanzana, Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), '2 Samuel 7:1-17:The Promise of a Dynasty', 387

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Questions for further exploration

       I.            Life

1.      What is something you noticed about God this week?

    II.            Text

2 Samuel 7

Leader's note:

·         This passage is the record of the Davidic Covenant. It, along with the Abrahamic Covenant, points to the Good News of Salvation through Jesus Christ. Jesus, descended from David's line (house) will rule eternally.

·         There is an interesting play on words both in HB and in English in this chapter. The word for 'house' can mean 'building' or 'dynasty' / 'family line'. Ie: the house of Windsor (formerly Hanover) is our current Canadian Monarchy. In this passage then David wants to build a house (building) for God but God says instead He will build a house (dynasty) through David.

1.      What happened in this story?

2.      Re-read 2 Samuel 7:1-4:The king lets Nathan know what he intends to do, 7:1-2, (presumably for either feedback or approval); Nathan replies, 7:3, 'Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the LORD is with you.' That night, 7:4ff, the Word of LORD says something very different.

a. Do we ever speak without thinking and then afterwards have to back track?

b. Nathan is a prophet of God; David is God's annointed king. They both made an error here: what was it? How could it be avoided?

c. David seems to have been led astray by good intentions; what were his good intentions? Do we ever fail to consult God because our intentions are good and are plans seem good - like here building a temple/house for God?

d. Nathan made the assumption that because 'the LORD is with David' that whatever he had in mind was good; do we ever blindly accept or reject things because of where/who they come from?

e. Even when we have good plans, they may be wrong; even when others have good plans they may be wrong; how can we be sure that what we are doing is what God wants us to do?

f. Give an example of when you listened to and obeyed God.

3.      God has done a lot for David, 7:5-7; God has done a lot for Israel, 7:8-11. List some of those things from the text. God has done a lot for us; what are some of the things God has done for you?

4.      2 Samuel 7:11-16 (along with Genesis 12:1-3) is one of the most important pericopes in the Old Testament.

a.  what strikes you about these verses?

b. Verse 16 states that "your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever" Who is the member of David's house (dynasty; his ancestors) who will sit on the throne forever?

c. Do you serve Jesus who is the ruler who rules forever? Are you a citizen of the Nation/Country/Kingdom of God? Do you want to be?

If you have never prayed to dedicate your life to God and to serve Jesus forever, you are welcome to pray: Lord Jesus please accept my life in service to You. Please forgive my sins and please come into my heart for now and forever more. In Jesus' Name, amen.

2 Samuel 13 Questions: Peace

Questions

      I.        Life

1.    What is something you noticed about God this week?

    II.        Text

Re-read 2 Samuel 13

Leader's note:

·         David was Amnon's, Absalom's (peace), and Tamar's Dad. Absolam and Tamar had the same mother. Amnon had a different mother.

1.    What happened in this story?

2.    Genesis 4:7b reads, "...sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” Amnon knew that what he was doing was wrong; it seemed to powerfully desire him and it consumed him. Do we ever get tempted to do bad/wrong things and feel powerless to avoid that sin (addiction can be like this)? What can we do when we feel sin desiring to have us?

3.    Amnon immediately knew what he did was wrong and he hated his victim, his sister Tamar. He refused to try to make it right. Do we ever blame others instead of taking a look at ourselves and seeing how we can try to resolve the issue at hand? What can we do instead? Give an example of when you took responsibility for something you did (intentional or not) and God used that for good.

4.    Absalom hated Amnon. Absalom had a legitimate grievance against Amnon - Amnon raped his sister! He spent two years plotting his revenge against his brother. His actions against David, his dad (who it seems did nothing to right the wrongs done to his own daughter), led to Absalom's and others' death. I see lots of hate in the media today against a lot of different people. I even see people hating people for hating people. Are we ever tempted to 'hate' for a 'good cause'? How can hate be overcome?

5.    Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. N.T Wright writes, “Think of the best thing you can do for the worst person and then go ahead and do it.” Jesus tells us plainly, pointedly, repeatedly, lovingly, ‘love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.” Forgive as you want to be forgiven. Give, as you want it to be given to you. What are some practical ways you can show forgiveness?

6.    Unforgiveness is a self-inflicted wound. The person you hurt most by not forgiving someone is yourself; the other person may not even know that you have something against them or why you do. God wants to free you from the bondage of hate an unforgiveness; Is there someone in our lives who we have yet to forgive (don't tell us who they are!)? Ask God to help you forgive anyone you need to forgive.

Click here to read related sermon: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/11/2-samuel-13-18-taking-matters-in-his.html