Kirk's Podcast Kirk

This episode reviews Dave's four phases of his life:

Annointed, but not official in man's eyes & chased by Saul
King who conquers, unifies & builds
Absalom's rebellion
The final years

There are lots of great stories during the life of David, and they're fun to tell and fun to hear.  But we should not allow the drama to distract us from the value of the teachings: they apply to our lives.  David's character in faithfulness and sin is revealed.  He sets an example for repentance like no other.  He is unique among leaders as one who responds to God's prophet with his complete repentance and subjection, unlike most leaders in the bible (or nowadays). 
Dave's character shines in the Psalms, where we get a unique and beautiful view into the soul of the man who wrote them.  They are the inspired word of God, in that they're an accurate reflection of what Dave (and others) wrote, and they wrote what they felt; but - the feelings they represent reveal the truth of the writer's heart, not necessarily God's heart.  They also must not be used to 'prove' stuff doctrinally, for that is terrible, awful biblical interpretation! 
Now it's the spring of the year, when kings go to war.  What season is it in your life?  Will you seek out someone to serve, to love, to make stronger, and to protect from harm?  Will you be a good shepherd, or a lazy one? 
I leave you with this prayer for the new year (2012): that in some way you may be provoked by David's sin to not put yourself in similar temptation.  That you may go, make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey (in that order) ... and that you'll make it your ambition to accomplish it to the glory of God.
 

Samuel was a prophet and Israel's last Judge - dedicated by his mother.  Near the end of Sam's leadership, the nation of Israel anointed its first mortal king, a man named Saul. 
There are many great stories and lessons for us in this text, but time limited us to but a few.  I hope this lesson provokes you to break out your bibles and follow along. 
Also remember the lessons of Israel for parents: you can be very flexible with your children in almost every respect, but their relationship with God and learning of the Torah are non-negotiables.  Insist that your children are raised to know the Torah!

This lesson is supposed to be about Ruth - but I'm skipping it.  Steve did a great sermon based on Ruth - it's all you need, so find that, and you're good to go. 
So in this class, we revisited one of the fundamental problems faced by the people during the period of the Judges - and one which we also share: ignorance and disobedience.  We are ignorant of God's Torah and the stories contained there.  We don't teach our kids because we don't know any better ourselves.  If the Judges-period-people had stayed close to the Torah and the lessons there, they would have avoided immense problems, pain, suffering and seperation from God.  Same with us - we MUST dedicate ourselves to God's Torah! 
In an effort to demonstrate this, I returned us to 1 corinthians 10, where we re-examined Paul's lessons in context - then went back to a couple stories we missed earlier: the story of the snakes (Numbers 21) and the story of Spring Break in Moab (Numbers 25). 
To be clear: Satan doesn't have to get us by fighting or cursing.  All he has to do is offer us some pleasure and in no time at all we forget to follow God.  The question is: can you acknowledge your weaknesses and beg for help to avoid these temptations?

If Joshua demonstrated the correct response to learning the lessons of the Exodus and the Torah given by God, then the period of the judges is just the opposite.  These people were ignorant of what God had done (like us), ignorant of His law (like us), and fell into a mood of complacency that became their downfall (like us).  The period of the Judges is a time from which we must learn, or prepare to face the same kind of temptations and alienation from God they did. 

Several of the stories about/from Joshua