With David ascending to the throne as King over the tribe of Judah, and Ish-bosheth (son of Saul) installed as King over the remaining eleven tribes, the scene was set for a showdown…but not the kind of showdown you might have been expecting! Led by the two opposing army generals, (perhaps in some attempt to prove their young men were better), a fight ensued between young men from both sides with the end result, needless death and bloodshed (who would have seen that coming?) But God’s Word is God’s Word and even a passage like 2 Samuel 2:12-32 has much to teach us!
Month: September 2017
It’s the 500th anniversary of the Reformation! Join us for a celebration..!
it’s not every day that you can celebrate something that has a 500th anniversary! Certainly not in our young country Australia, anyway…But this year, 2017, marks the 500th anniversary of one of the greatest movements in human history. You can read about it here, but even better than that join us here on October 29th at 4:30pm when we along with other churches in Bendigo gather to praise God for what we have come to know by His grace!
‘The king-elect who made it to the throne (well, almost)! (2 Samuel 2:1-11)
After the death of Saul, 2 Samuel 1:1-11 tells us that David was crowned King of Judah. Judah and not yet all Israel. After years on the run from Saul and with the promise of God in his mind that he would one day become King of the whole nation, how David responded to this next step is informative. Was he going to be a King who would take control of the nation by force or was he going to be a King who relied upon God to establish him? And what of the rival king, Ish-bosheth, son of Saul? Again, how David responded would be crucial!
Yes, our stance on ‘same sex marriage’ is No
Later this week when the postal plebiscite papers reach our letter (and post office) boxes, we are all going to have the option of contributing our opinion on the proposed change to the Marriage Act 2004.
While some Christian leaders (even in Bendigo) have come out in support of the ‘Yes’ vote, we must respectfully disagree and put it out there that we cannot agree with the proposed change.
And why is that? You can find out our reasons here in a document prepared by the Presbyterian Church of Victoria’s ‘Church and Nation Committee’. It’s not too long and it expresses right where we stand!
‘The King-elect’s lament over the death of the King’ (2 Samuel 1:1-27)
The book of 2 Samuel continues the story of 1 Samuel, where in chapter 31, King Saul met a grisly end by his own hand. 2 Samuel opens with the news of Saul’s death reaching King-elect David. It may be that the news-bearer presented the report on Saul’s death to David in the hope of some reward, but all it achieved was distress and grief to David and a swift execution for the news-bearer! Why such a response from David? And why such distress? And why such a poetic lament for Saul after all that Saul did for David? And what can we learn from David’s response to the news of Saul’s death?
‘A Clean Heart’ (Psalm 51)
Guest speaker, Rev. Ian Brown, preached from Psalm 51. King David was slow to recognise his sin (2 Samuel 11) until confronted by the prophet Nathan (2 Samuel 12) but some never do – and deceive themselves (1 John 1). David repents before God who is both just and merciful – sin is dealt with through Jesus (Romans 3:23-26). What is our response to God forgiving our sin?