Participants in various Disciple Bible Study groups share how they've been changed through their walk through Scripture, community, and life together. If you're interested in being a part of our next round of Disciple Bible Study Groups, tell us and we'll let you know when the next groups are forming.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Love Your Neighbor
(30 Minute Listen)
Debbie, Randy, and Isaac talk about the perceived disconnect between the Old and New Testaments.
Listen in your device's podcast app – Apple version here and Android version here or use the desktop-only player below.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: God Stories (Disciple Bible Study)
Randy and Debbie Reese are Co-Directing Pastors at Calvary UMC
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
(5 Minute Read)
Read Psalm 137:
By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy.
Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
“tear it down to its foundations!”
Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who repays you
according to what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who seizes your infants
and dashes them against the rocks.
The idea of home is moving and mysterious. It names a place as well as a longing. The concept of home pulls together the past, present, and future—where you came from, where you live, and where you trust you will always be welcome. Home means safety, belonging, wholeness, identity, rest, togetherness, and dependability. Home helps us to know who we are.
So as “citizens of heaven,” how do we take up the ancient songs of Israel, for whom home was an earthly location? In the words of Augustine, "God is our homeland; to him we must fly.” This doesn’t mean escaping everything else but rather learning to dwell in the presence of God always and everywhere—to commune with him precisely in and through his beloved creation. Because of the work of Christ and the Spirit, heaven is arriving. Our home is always already here.
But on our journey into God, we sometimes experience spiritual exile and homelessness, in which we feel disconnected, displaced, and dispersed. In life and prayer, God seems absent and we feel far from ourselves. The world around us seems emptied of his presence. In these seasons, the songs of Israel can be a great comfort to us—even though they might not answer our doubts and desperations.
It is also important to remember that this is a communal prayer. I am not an isolated individual struggling to find a home. I am a part of a pilgrim people, the Church, who look forward for the fulfillment of all their hopes in the New Jerusalem.
Pray Psalm 137 again, translating Israel’s longing for Jerusalem into your desire for the presence of God. Pray that the sighs and songs of his people would be heard, even from Babylon where we feel far from our home in him. Pray that we would never forget him. Pray that Christ, our Rock, would shatter every little insignificant thing born in your heart that separates you from God’s presence.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Deeper Dive Podcast
Nick Chambers is the Director of Spiritual Formation at Calvary UMC
This week we'll be exploring Ezra 1:1-4, Neh 8:1-3:
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”
And now from Nehemiah:
all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Each Sunday you can find the live stream here or watch the archive here.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: 'Teach Us to Pray' through Ezra 1:1-4, Neh 8:1-3.
(5 minute read and reflect)
Ezra 1:1-4:
In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing:
“This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
“‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the Lord, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem, and may their God be with them. And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.’”
Nehemiah 8:1-3:
all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.
Question: How does a community collect 4,660 pounds of fresh produce to give to those who can’t afford to buy them in the stores?
Answer: One bean at a time.
Have you ever noticed what the most expensive items are in the grocery store? Other than the obvious things like meats, it is expensive to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables. If you are trying to feed a family on an income that barely pays the mandatory bills, it’s understandable that you would save money in the grocery store by purchasing items that are less expensive and stretch further…..usually highly processed foods.
In our ‘Who Is My Neighbor’ post about Home Sweet Home Ministries a few weeks ago, we told you that we donated 4,660 pounds of produce to Home Sweet Home’s Food Co-Op in 2016. Pretty incredible, right? But that food didn’t just appear at Calvary’s doorstep to be delivered to those in need.
It started with a vision in Fred Nimke’s heart…...a desire to use some of Calvary’s property to feed others. This is truly a ministry of hard work, dirt, and lots of time. I grew up on a farm and my brothers and I can still remember the dread of hearing my mother in the garden in the very early hours because we knew we would have jobs of breaking beans or shelling peas later in the day. If only it were that easy. The servants in Calvary’s Community Garden will soon be preparing the ground, planting seed, weeding, watering, building trellises, planting, weeding, watering, weeding (do you see a theme here?)....and finally…...harvesting one crop after.
Now let’s move to the other end of this process…….the shoppers at Home Sweet Home’s Food Co-Op. This is much more than a food pantry where people can come in and pick up food when they need it. This system invests in those using it and requires the participants to give back by volunteering somewhere in the community or Home Sweet Home for 2 hours per each shopping trip they make. This builds a community of reciprocity in which people know they are not just recipients but active participants in the process.
I learned never to tell my mother that I was bored in the spring or summer…...there were always weeds to be pulled in the garden and I wasn’t interested in doing that! I am so very grateful for the many people at Calvary who find time to get down on their knees in the dirt and pull those weeds, water the garden, and complete so many other crucial duties in our central Illinois hot and muggy summers…...all for produce that will be given to folks we may never meet.
What a great way to honor our neighbors throughout Bloomington/Normal as we partner with them to provide affordable fresh produce.
Thank you, planters and weeders alike!
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: A Light to My Path
Debbie Reese is the Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC
(5 minute read)
Read Jeremiah 7:1–7:
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.
One of the most consistent clarion calls of all the prophets is to care for the powerless. Here in Jeremiah, God actually makes his presence among his people contingent on whether or not they practice justice and eliminate oppression. He calls us to replace severity with mercy, shrewdness with generosity, security with risk, apathy with compassion, and fear with hospitality.
This call is so essential to the heart of Christianity that James tells us this: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). These two things are not as separate as they may seem. In fact, if our impulse toward holiness leads us to withdraw from the task of caring for others in need, we fail on both fronts. Purity is not a matter of personal piety; it is a social matter of justice and peace. In a world of war and oppression, the people of who bear God’s image are commissioned to communicate an entirely new socio-political reality on earth. While the world operates on power and privilege, the people of God are always and everywhere called to care for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. This is what it means “to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” This is not something extra appended onto “the real gospel" of “saving souls.” Our care for the poor and powerless is the very condition of God’s presence among us.
The prophets constantly wrap up Israel’s idolatry and rebellion against God with the their failure to establish justice and peace in their society. When we reject our neighbor, we reject God—and vice versa. To teach us this, God himself became poor and powerless, so that maybe we could finally learn to see him looking back at us in the faces of refugees, social outcasts, the homeless, addicts, and orphans. God arrives at the margins—not to pull the outcasts in but to call out the safe, secure, and “normal."
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Who Is My Neighbor?
Nick Chambers is the Director of Spiritual Formation at Calvary UMC
Joe Landon talks about how he sees God in the process of making art – and how conversation around that art brings people into conversation about faith.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Love Your Neighbor
(30 minute listen)
Randy, Debbie, and Isaac talk about a wide range of issues (you'll have to listen to find out :-)
Listen in your device's podcast app – Apple version here and Android version here or use the desktop-only player below.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: God Stories
Randy and Debbie Reese are Co-Directing Pastors at Calvary UMC
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
(4 minute read)
Read Jeremiah 1:4–10:
The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.
Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”
Simply put, prophets speak the words of God. The seal of the prophet is “thus says the Lord,” and it is repeated in the hundreds throughout Scripture. These people had no ideas but God’s, no voice but God’s, for as the New Testament reminds us "no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God." (2 Peter 1:21). The first step to speaking like this is listening. Isaiah and Jeremiah both have their mouths touched by God. Ezekiel and John are both told to swallow a scroll. Many were given visions to describe and share. If we want to hear (let alone speak) God’s word and will, we must replace both our excuses and our eagerness to speak with patience to pay attention.
Practice a prayerful awareness of your speech this week. Start by spending time in prayer, not filling it with your words, but simply praying "you have given me an open ear” (Psalm 40:6). Throughout the day, filter everything you feel compelled to say through Peter’s words to the Church: “whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God" (1 Peter 4:11). Two things may happen. First, you find yourself silent more often and less eager to speak, because not everything that comes to mind is worth saying. Second, you feel compelled to offer words in situations that you would normally avoid, because your ears are more open to hear God’s own voice that both convicts and comforts—“to destroy and demolish, to build and to plant.” Speaking like this is not easy or popular; it requires discipline and humility and the willingness to go against the grain of the world around you. This is why James urges us to take the prophets as an example of “suffering and patience” (James 5:10).
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Deeper Dive Podcast (Jeremiah)
Nick Chambers is the Director of Spiritual Formation at Calvary UMC
This week we'll be exploring Jeremiah 33:6-16.
“‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
“This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
his love endures forever.”
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
“‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
Each Sunday you can find the live stream here or watch the archive here.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: 'Teach Us to Pray' through Jeremiah 33:6-16.
From Jeremiah 33:6-16:
“‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before. I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’
“This is what the Lord says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying,
“Give thanks to the Lord Almighty,
for the Lord is good;
his love endures forever.”
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the Lord.
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the Lord.
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah.
“‘In those days and at that time
I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line;
he will do what is just and right in the land.
In those days Judah will be saved
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
This is the name by which it will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.’
It almost always starts with a phone call that sounds something like this: “I don’t know if you can help me, but I’m in a terrible situation right now and just don’t know how to get out of it.” We get those calls at the church because of relationship problems, emotional crises, and all kinds of reasons that simply talking with someone can help to resolve. However, today I’m talking about the calls we get that are based on financial crises. Nobody ever sets out in life to live paycheck to paycheck. Nobody heads into adulthood with the expectation that medical emergencies are going to create a situation in which we are on the verge of losing everything we have…including our homes. But that’s exactly what happens to more people that we could imagine.
For one reason or another, the bills become larger than the income and no amount of shuffling this bill over that one will resolve the problem…it just gets worse and worse until a desperate call is made to a local church. Because of our commitment to confidentiality, we can’t tell you specific stories, but please know that the people behind these phone calls are very real with very real conditions that have led them to the point of reaching out for help.
That’s when we use Calvary’s Good Samaritan Fund to help folks just get a little bit of a break so that they can stand up again and move forward. This fund comes from donations from Calvary’s Church Family and when it begins to run low, we ask you to pray about bringing that balance back up.
What kinds of ways have we helped through the Good Samaritan Fund? Sometimes it is to help pay an electric bill or a water bill that didn’t get paid because medicine had to be purchased instead. Sometimes it’s a gas card to get to a family member who is ill. It has included helping to pay for prescriptions, a car repair, food, clothing, rent…but always, it includes caring about the person with the need.
Remember the story of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10:30-37? Actually the name of this series if based upon the question asked Jesus by an ‘expert in the law’ in Luke 10:25-29: “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied, “How do you read it?” He answered: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
And Jesus answered that question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Spoiler alert…the answer to ‘who was the neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers’…was the one who had mercy on him. Now that you know the end of the story, you know why we are looking every week at ‘Who Is Our Neighbor’. On whom are we being called to have mercy?
Sometimes the answer to that question is: the person at the other end of the phone.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Jeremiah 33:6-16
Debbie Reese is the Co-Directing Pastor of Calvary UMC
During his reign, David seeks out any living relatives of Saul and finds only one: a crippled grandson named Mephibosheth. David gives Mephibosheth all of his Saul's former wealth and invites him to sit in honor and eat at the king’s table every day like one of his sons. What Saul had lost David restored. He used his power not to be vindictive or bitter but to show exceeding kindness, justice, and generosity—even to the family of his former enemy. It would have been easy and even advantageous for David to soil Saul’s legacy; the dead cannot defend themselves. But instead, even when Saul is long gone, he honors him rather than vilifying and demonizing him.
But this isn’t the last we hear of Mephibosheth. Later in David's reign, one of his own sons, Absalom, stages a coup and drives his deposed father out of the city Absalom ends up being killed (against David’s wishes), and instead of punishing all the rebels and cohorts, he mourns his son's death and forgives everyone—including Mephibosheth, who stayed behind and (depending on who you trust in the story) seems to have betrayed David.
This is somehow the same king whose psalms about revenge and enemies make us a bit uncomfortable. He forgives. He uses grief and mercy to make peace. He blesses those who persecute him. He associates with the lowly. He does not avenge himself or repay evil with evil; instead, he overcomes evil with good (Romans 12:14–21). In all of this, David embodies the excessive love of Christ, who forgives his executioners, who invites all to dine at his table, and who calls us likewise to love not only our friends and family, but our enemies, our persecutors, our betrayers.
Pray for your enemies today—not as enemies but as family who are welcome at the King’s Table. Pray for peace through the body and blood of Christ.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Who Is My Neighbor?
Nick Chambers is the Director of Spiritual Formation at Calvary UMC
(11 minute listen)
Derek "Squish" Caughron talks with Isaac about his work with confirmation students and how God has worked on him by working with students.
Listen in your device's podcast app – Apple version here and Android version here or use the desktop-only player below.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Love Your Neighbor
Derek "Squish" Caughron is a member of Calvary UMC and works Jr. HIgh students in Confirmation
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
(23 minute listen)
This week Debbie, Randy, and Isaac talk about some of the more tragic aspects of David's life and how God still remained faithful to David.
Use the web player below (desktop only) or your device's podcast app – Apple version here and Android version here to listen.
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: God Stories (Derek Caughron)
Randy and Debbie Reese are Co-Directing Pastors at Calvary UMC
Isaac Gaff is the Managing Director of Worship and Creative Arts at Calvary UMC
(2 minute read)
This next week we'll be focusing on the story of Joshua and Rahab in the Book of Joshua.
Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
Question for Reflection:
(5 minute read)
Israel rejected God and asked for a king, so God set a plan in motion to nevertheless become their king forever. He stoops down to weave his loving plan even through his peoples’ foolishness and pettiness. During David’s reign, Israel transitioned from being a wandering people to being settled and secure in the land. To reflect this change, David wanted to exchange the “portable” tabernacle for a new established temple where God could dwell.
God responds to David, “Why do you think I need a house? Let me build you a house.” He promises to establish David’s line as an everlasting kingdom. He promises to raise up one of David's offspring who “will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13). Though this covenant begins to unfold through David’s son Solomon building the temple, this promised king truly arrives in Jesus the Messiah, the Son of David. In him “something greater than the temple is here” (Matthew 12:6) and “something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42).
The whole history of Israel foreshadows God’s ultimate plan in Jesus, who is both king and temple—the reigning presence of God himself in our midst. He has been “raised up” and his eternal kingdom is already within us and around us, bringing into reality all that God promised to his people throughout history. We only need to serve and obey him as he prepares a house for the Lord—in the Church and in each of us who seek his kingdom.
Pray Psalm 72 about Christ our King. Reflect on what it means to serve Jesus as King, which can be a stretch for we who are accustomed to democracy. What kind of king is Jesus and how does he fulfill this psalm?
Questions or discussion? Click here to comment.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: Deeper Dive Podcast (David)
Nick Chambers is the Director of Spiritual Formation at Calvary UMC
This week we'll be exploring I Samuel 16:1-5.
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.
Each Sunday you can find the live stream here or watch the archive here.
Tomorrow on the Daily Connection: 'Teach Us to Pray' through I Samuel 16:1-5.
From I Samuel 16:1-15:
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.
Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.