Searching for a King

One of the things I miss most about the US is being able to go to church in English. Even after years of speaking Spanish, it's still slightly mentally exhausting to listen to the sermon and music in a language other than English. Which is yet another reminder to me of the importance of one's own "native language"- or "mother tongue."

Thanks to the world wide web, I can listen to sermons online from the church I went to in college, Summit Church, in Durham, NC. If you are in the triangle area and looking for a church, you should check it out. And if not, you can still listen to the sermons online or read the PDF versions.

So, I am reading through 1 Samuel and was excited to find that Pastor JD at Summit is going through a series from this book, called "Searching for a King" in 1 & 2 Samuel as well.

I just read the notes from the first sermon in the series, and it was so good, I wanted to share.

Here's my very brief summary:
Hannah is deeply troubled because she is unable to have children. She takes action and prays for a son, and has Samuel. In the same way that she is yearning to have a son (especially because in that time and culture having children ensured the income, security, and future of one's family.) In the same way, Israel was searching for prosperity, security, and success- and was looking for these things in a king to lead the nation. Today, we search for prosperity, security, and success. We try to find these things in a perfect marriage, a huge house, a big family, successful career, a perfect appearance, etc etc etc.

In the notes, the questions are asked, "What is the "king" that you seek? What thing must you have for life to be good?"

Well at first I thought of one thing, but nothing else really. Then I read on where it said that "Most of our hurt and disappointment comes from seeking another "king" besides God...Where you are disappointed; hurt; worried; stressed.....these are like smoke from a fire, that you can follow back to the places where you are seeking other kings besides God."

That came like a punch in the stomach. Then my list grew to a whole page in less that a minute.

Ultimately, these things (prosperity, stability, and a "good life") can be found only in God, our creator. And we must first realize that God is the king we are seeking.

Here's one last exerpt:

" The point of Hannah's story is that the one who has God has everything. God is significance and stability. If a loving, all-powerful God is in your life, you don't need the approval of others. If a loving, all-powerful God is in your life, He will take care of you in the future."

If you want to read the whole PDF, click here. Or, you can also listen to the sermon while you are making/eating lunch, going for a walk, whatever...or watch the video.

To listen to the sermon or watch it as a video, go to this link, and then scroll down to the sermon entitled "Search for a King- Samuel: 1-2". To the right of the title you can click to listen or watch.