Redeemer Church of Waterford

God's Ultimate Plan for Israel

How ought Christians - especially American Christians - to respond to the attack on Israel and Israel's response, which has led to war between Israel and Palestine? TECHNICAL NOTE: During this sermon Pastor Paul spoke about a private meeting and off the record conversation he had with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in 2008. Because Mr. Netanyahu specifically requested the conversation not be recorded, we have removed Pastor Paul's comments about that meeting from this recording.

Moody Blues and the Spirit of God - Part 2

We have seen that the Spirit of God has departed from Saul and in its place God has sent an evil spirit which has "troubled" Saul. What is this "evil spirit" and how do we reconcile what we know about God as loving and compassionate with what the text says about GOD sending an evil spirit? What is this evil spirit and why would God send it?

Moody Blues and the Spirit of God - Part 1

What are we to make of God removing His Spirit from Saul and sending an evil spirit to Saul? Can we lose the Spirit of God once we have received it? Does God have evil spirits with which he torments people?

God's Sovereignty Over Human Sin

As we come to the narrative in 1 Samuel which tells of Samuel's anointing David to be King over God's people in the place of Saul, we pause to reflect upon the sin and its consequences which leads up to this moment and which Samuel is mourning when Chapter 16 opens. Though it originates in the depraved hearts of sinners, and sinners alone are responsible and accountable for it, God is sovereign over human sin.

Christian Unity vs. Christian Conscience

The unity of the church is threatened when the conscience of the believer begins to take precedence and gain influence where there is no clear command of Scripture on non-essential issues. Romans 14:1-15:7 is the Apostle Paul's word of exhortation to the believers in Rome to let our love for one another guide our attitude toward those who hold a different perspective from our own on matters of conscience.

Only a Boy Named David

If you know anything at all about David, you know that David was "a man after God's own heart." But what you may not know is that the phrase "a man after God's own heart" says nothing at all about David's character and integrity and everything about God's sovereign will and purposes.

A Man of God's Own Choosing

What does it mean that "God looks on the heart"? Not what we think it means. Samuel announced to Saul that the Lord had rejected him as king and "sought him a man after his own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14). Later, the Lord told Samuel that "the Lord sees not as man sees...the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). It is GOD's heart - God's will, purpose, and intentions - that is in view in the choosing of David - not the character of David.

The Lawful Children

The Chosen Children

What is the Meaning of This?

What is the meaning of the Lord's Table? When we come to the table, we must do so in recognition that all that happens at the table is the action of the Lord Jesus through His Holy Spirit, and that we come by faith to fully participate in the body and blood of Christ, and to experience union with fellow believers, and to renew the covenant that God has made with us in Christ at the cross.

Reputable Repentance

Confronted by Samuel with his sinful disobedience to the Lord's command to "utterly destroy" the Amalekites, King Saul offers "reputable repentance" in response. Saul is more concerned with saving face with the leaders of Israel and his people than he is with recognizing the seriousness of what his disobedience has done to God's reputation, as well as his own relationship with the Lord. Saul says, "I have sinned, yet honor me." Saul wants a repentance that allows him to admit he's done a ba...

Reckless Disregard

Saul's reckless disregard for the word of the Lord lead to an obstinate contradiction of the word of the Lord and ended in a fatal rejection of the word of the Lord. This is the downward progression every person takes who has no regard for the word of the Lord. They go their own way, and the way that seems right to a man is the way that ends in death.

The Problem of God's Retribution

How do we reconcile what we know of God's mercy and forgiveness with his command in 1 Samuel 15:3 to "utterly destroy" the Amalekites, a command which includes not sparing even women, infants, and young children? This is the problem of God's retribution, and it has been a stumbling block to so many, causing them to see God as capricious and vindictive. But a closer look at the text reveals quite the opposite.

Strolls the Pretender

Israel is looking for a leader. God is looking for a leader. The leader Israel wants is a king like all the other nations. The leader God wants is a man after his own heart. 1 Samuel 14 is a study in contrasts between these two leaders in the persons of Saul and his son Jonathan. Jonathan displays a heart of unflinching trust in God while Saul displays all the outward forms of religious ritual, but has a heart that is far from God.

Strolls the Pretender, Part 2

Having considered the characteristics of Saul's behavior in 1 Samuel 14:24-46 which lead us to define him as a spiritual pretender, we now consider what effect that pretentious behavior had on the people of Israel.

Saul Sitting, Jonathan Slaying, the Lord Saving

The Book of 1 Samuel has as it's underlying theme leadership. When it opens, there is no king in Israel; every man is doing that which is right in his own eyes. There is a vacuum of leadership. God is looking for a leader, and so are the people of Israel. But what Israel is looking for in a leader and what God is looking for in a leader are in stark contrast. And no place is that contrast more on display than in the person of young Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14.

"We Are the Lord's"

How do we guard the unity of the church when we have differences of opinions on non-essential matters where the word of God has no clear commandment either for or against? It is not our personal convictions which guide our response to others, but the reality that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. "We are the Lord's" and must make it our aim to please Him.

A Disobedient Fool in King Saul's Court

The story in 1 Samuel 13 serves as an illustration of what happens when we we allow our circumstances to determine our responses rather than the word of God. Saul finds himself in dire straits, and he ignores God's command to wait for Samuel to give him instruction, and the result is a lack of clear direction leading to foolishness.

Coram Deo: Before the Lord

In 1 Samuel 10, 11, and 12 the phrase "before the Lord" recurs several times. It is a reminder to us that we live every moment of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the glory of God.

Renewing the Kingdom

In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel summons all Israel to Gilgal where a courtroom scene unfolds. First Samuel is the defendant, and then the nation of Israel. Samuel is acquitted. Israel is condemned. But there's a surprise ending to this drama.

The Body of Christ

The Body of Christ must function as a single unit, with our shields interlocked, as a living organism. In this text in 1 Corinthians, Paul lays out four truths which should be an encouragement to our church: 1) The Unity in Christ 2)The Diversity of Gifts 3) The Necessity of All 4) The Intentionality of God

A Solemn Assembly at Gilgal

The question on the minds and lips of the people of Israel is the question everyone of us must answer: "Can this man save us?" Saul's victory over Nahash the Ammonite is an Old Testament portrait of the greater victory of Christ Jesus the Lord over our enemy, that old serpent, the devil

Seeking a Savior

The people had a Savior in God, whom they rejected (1 Samuel 10:19). In His mercy, God gave them a savior in the king they demanded (1 Samuel 9:16) whom they also rejected (1 Samuel 10:27). And now the people are confronted with the tyrant from Ammon, Nabash, and they immediately go in search for a man who can save them (1 Samuel 11:3), all the while God is at work in His mercy to Himself once again come to the rescue of His rebellious people (`1 Samuel 11:13).

Surprised by Gibeah

In 1 Samuel 8, the people have asked for a king "like all the nations around them." In 1 Samuel 9, a young man who thinks he is searching for his father's lost donkeys has actually found the Prophet Samuel with whom he has a private audience where he learns that God has chosen him to be Israel's first king, but he will NOT be a king like other kings, much to the dismay of some "worthless men." As we come to know obscure young man from the least of all the tribes of Israel, the most shocking...

God Save the King

On May 6, 2023 the world witnessed the Coronation of King Charles III. When the crown was placed upon his head, the gathered congregation in Westminster Abbey shouted, "God save the king!" In the providence of God, the series we began in 1 Samuel more than six months ago brings us to 1 Samuel 10:24 on this day after the coronation of King Charles where another congregation gathered for the coronation of the first king of Israel. They were the first to shout, "God save the king!" But there ...

Don't Argue Over Opinions

The Apostle Paul assumes that within any local congregation of believers there will be "weak" believers and "strong" believers. But what is the standard by which a Christian is weak or strong? And what is the basis upon which we are to "welcome" or receive one another when we differ on nonessentials?

The Matter of the Kingdom, Part 2

In 1 Samuel 10:17, Samuel calls the people of Israel together at Mizpeh. The last time he called them to Mizpeh (1 Samuel 7), he prayed for them as an intercessor. This time he will preach to them a three point sermon as their prophet/pastor: what God did for them, what the people did in response to what God did for them, and what God will now do in response to the people. The sermon seems to have Saul under conviction, because when it comes time to introduce him to the people as their firs...

The Matter of the Kingdom, Part 1

At the end of chapter 9 of 1 Samuel, Samuel has a private conversation with Saul to show him the word of God as it relates to "the matter of the kingdom. We are not privy to the details of that word, but what follows in chapter 10 are three encounters Saul will have in one day which will serve as signs validating the word of God spoken to him by Samuel.

The Strong and The Weak

There was an issue in the church at Rome which threatened its unity. There was a group in the church who, because of conscience and personal conviction, wanted to refrain from certain foods and "esteem one day better than another" (14:2, 5, 21). This group was described as weak by the majority of the congregation who had no qualms about what to eat and what days to observe. How are we to respond to others in the church who don't share our personal convictions on issues which the Bible has n...

Saul Still Hasn't Found What He's Looking For

Saul has been commissioned by his father to crisscross the land in search of lost donkey's, unaware that God is ordering his steps in a way that even he will find unimaginable. While we are going about the mundane routine of our lives, God is always at work in mysterious ways to bring us to His eternal purposes for us.

He Lives By the Power of God

When the Apostle Paul says that "Christ lives by the power of God," he wants his first-century readers to see the distinction between the worldly power on display in their polytheism and the power of the one true and living God who raised His eternally generated Son from the dead. Is your faith resting in worldly ideas of power, or in the power of God?

Crucified in Weakness

As early as 480 years BEFORE the birth of Christ the Persians had introduced a novel form of punishment for slaves and criminals which came to be known as crucifixion. The cross is the ultimate expression of weakness. And weakness is the badge that all followers of Jesus wear so that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

Saul Searching: Lost Donkeys and the Providence of God

1 Samuel 9 is a vignette of sorts which introduces us to the protagonist in the story of 1 Samuel, the man who will eventually become king, Saul the son of Kish. This chapter is a story within a story: the story which is visible to us and seems to concern only a mundane search for lost donkeys; and the story which is invisible to us, the story of God's providential ordering of the steps of Saul to Samuel and to the throne.

The Exaltation of Christ - Step 2

A Solemn Protest

The people have asked for a king, but the kind of king they will get is not the kind of king God desires for them to have. In 1 Samuel 8 the leaders of Israel are looking for national security in the person of a human king rather than in the covenant promises of Yahweh.

Cast Off the Works of Darkness

Technical issues affect the quality of this recording. In view of the second coming of Christ, the believer is to "cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light." What are the works of darkness? What is the armor of light?

Give Us a King! (Part 2)

We must never respond to our difficult circumstances without regard to God. Samuel's response to the leaders' request for a king is an example to us of how to properly respond to our difficult circumstances.

Give Us a King!

Chapter 8 begins a new section of 1 Samuel which runs through chapter 16. Here in this chapter we are face to face with the anxious circumstances which led the leaders of Israel to approach Samuel with a demand for a king like all the surrounding nations. This story illustrates for us what happens when we let our circumstances dictate our responses without regard to our faith in God.

The Day is at Hand

Did the Apostles believe that they would live to see the Second Coming? If not, why did they say that the day of the Lord's return was "at hand" and "near"?

God's Gracious Provision of Effective Leadership

There are five characteristics of Samuel's leadership which made him a faithful and compassionate shepherd of God's people, leading them back to a prosperous and vital relationship with God.

Law and Love in Our Relationship to Others

If "love is the fulfilling of the law," does love replace the Old Testament law (the Ten Commandments or the Mosaic Law)? And is there a contradiction between what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:3-4 about "the righteousness of the law being fulfilled in us" by the Jesus Christ condemning sin in the flesh and what he says in Romans 13:8-10 about love fulfilling the law? Can I become righteous simply by being loving?

Here Comes the Judge

In the comparison of the pathetic spiritual condition of Israel in chapter 4 with the revived spiritual condition of Israel in Chapter 7, God is painting for us a portrait of true revival. The theme of 1 Samuel is leadership, and here in chapter 7 God gives the nation of Israel a faithful shepherd in the person of Samuel to remedy the failed spiritual leadership of Eli, Hophni, and Phineas. When the Bible says Samuel "judged" Israel, that word "judged" doesn't mean what you think it means.

The State's Responsibility to Protect Life - Part 2

In this examination of the phrase, "he bears not the sword in vain," we uncover what the Bible says about capital punishment in the context of the state taking a life in order to preserve life.

The Gospel According to Samuel

The Book of 1 Samuel is God's answer to the leadership crisis at the end of the Book of Judges. Here in chapter 7 of 1 Samuel, God gives to the nation of Israel the leader they need to bring them to a place of repentance and renewal of their relationship with him. And it all begins with the Gospel according to Samuel.

The State's Responsibility to Protect Life - Part 1

If Not the Levites, then Who?

After a 7 month exile in enemy territory, the people of Bethshemesh are surprised to look up from their working in the wheat fields to see the ark of the covenant of the Lord making its way back to them on a cart driven by two cows. But their rejoicing soon turns to lament after the Lord strikes dead 50,000 of the Levites for their mishandling of the ark. In the wake of this terrifying sight the people ask, "Who then can stand in the presence of this Holy Lord God?" If not the Levites - th...

The Agents of the State as Ministers of God - Part 2

The Agents of the State as Ministers of God

Three times in Romans 13, the Apostle Paul describes government officials as "ministers of God." In what sense can secular agents of the state be said to be ministers of God? How does their role as ministers of God obligate them to serve their constituents? And are we obligated to pay taxes when secular agents of the state use our tax dollars for evil purposes?

Christmas Surprises

How did Jesus come into the world, and why? Christmas is always filled with surprises. And the answer to how Jesus came into the world, and why is just as filled with surprises.

The Believer's Relationship to the State

Who are the "higher powers" the Apostle Paul refers to in Romans 13:1? Are they the same as the invisible "principalities, powers, and rulers" he frequently references in his other letters? Or are they human governing authorities? If the latter, is he commanding that believers be subject to secular governments in everything those governments decree?