Rise & Fall - Saul and David in Samuel (Teaching Series)
In a world where chaos has reigned, the people cry for the rule of a king, a king who will raise them into a bigger and brighter existence. However, as pride and the desire for power rise, so, too, come the falls.
In a world where chaos has reigned, the people cry for the rule of a king, a king who will raise them into a bigger and brighter existence. However, as pride and the desire for power rise, so, too, come the falls.
Reading Plan
The readings for Sunday
4/16/23
1 Samuel 2:1-10
Romans 9:1-5
Mark 13:1-8
4/23/23
1 Samuel 5:1-12
Romans 9:6-15
Luke 18:35-43
4/30/23
1 Samuel 8:19-22, 9:15-21
Romans 9:16-24
Matthew 21:6-11
5/7/23
1 Samuel 13:8-15
Romans 9:24-29
Matthew 23:13-17
5/14/23
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Romans 9:30 - 10:4
Matthew 18:1-5
5/21/23
1 Samuel 24:1-12
Romans 10:5-13
Luke 6:32-36
5/28/23
2 Samuel 1:1-6
Romans 10:14-21
Matthew 14:13-21
6/4/23
2 Samuel 7:8-16
Romans 11:1-10
Matthew 22:41-46
6/11/23
2 Samuel 12;1-13
Romans 11:17-24
Matthew 20:29-34
6/18/23
2 Samuel 18:31-19:2
Romans 11:25-36
Matthew 24:1-8
6/25/23
2 Samuel 24:10-17
Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 24:36-42
![[Sunday] Grief - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1686834314419-MWSO75K85R6ZTSH6GEP6/R%26F10a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Bathsheba- Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1686320525961-SEJ40E4CQS8HCO3U523K/R%26F9a.jpg)
![[Sunday] House - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1685664450071-S7IZYOOLH9QR917HR6K1/R%26F8a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Future - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1685052434626-73KV9KG1818C0GGGHUCV/R%26F7a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Projection - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1684454086617-K5FFBWTSMHE2SCYW7AKP/R%26F6a.jpg)
![[Sunday] David & Goliath - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1683820778726-WFX3YS6PSAAD9G3Y5GZP/R%26F5a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Fickle King - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1683248946896-A2ANLKFVMK3GZUFR2ZH1/R%26F4a.jpg)
![[Sunday] We Want a King - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1682700535005-5MM2PLA1M9G3CWUIFGZR/R%26F3a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Pattern of Eli - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1681912627792-V7VCDGRLRH33HCDDYSGN/R%26F2a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Hannah's Pattern - Rise & Fall](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1681478390671-978SXY58VLMTNRU7ERUD/R%26F1a.jpg)
![[Sunday] Easter - The Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1680725834707-BIIP0Y3OAE93OLBUY6HR/The+Way+8a.jpg)
[Sunday] Easter - The Way
It’s still dark, but she goes to check on the tomb. Fear strikes her heart as she sees the stone is rolled away! Has this weekend possibly just gotten worse? As she lies weeping at a situation that is beyond repair, the gardener of the sun, moon, and stars, who cultivated everything in 7 days, whispers joy of new creation in the form of her name, "Mary."
It’s still dark, but she goes to check on the tomb. Fear strikes her heart as she sees the stone is rolled away! Has this weekend possibly just gotten worse? As she lies weeping at a situation that is beyond repair, the gardener of the sun, moon, and stars, who cultivated everything in 7 days, whispers joy of new creation in the form of her name, "Mary."
Questions This Week
Describe a time in the midst of sadness and confusion, when you knew everything was going to be ok?
Read John 20:1-18. What confusion is described? When does Mary know all things are being made right?
How does the resurrection of Jesus give you peace to know all things will be made right today?
April 1 - Clean Up: 9:00 AM for cleaning inside the buildings and outdoor chapel area.
April 2 - Palm Sunday: 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM (10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
April 6 - Maundy Thursday: Communion Service at 12:00 - Noonish…..
Maundy Thursday: Seder meal at various locations. Please sign up today!
April 7 - Good Friday: 12:00 (Noon) and 7:00 PM
(Live Stream at 7pm )
April 9 -Easter Sunday: 6:45 AM (outside), 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM
(10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
Easter Breakfast & Fellowship: starts after Sunrise Service (7:45ish) serving will end at 10:15 AM Egg Hunt at 9:55 AM
Wednesday Series
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Royal Introduction - Kingdom Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1732292654207-IOAL90WWETSNSYJWNI92/KW+1a.jpg)
![[Sunday] All Things - Keep It Simple](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1731687836393-04YTHZK3FOM503Y57MM3/Simple4a.jpg)
Good Friday - The Cup - The Way
Good Friday service. The Cup
This Top Video is the Original on Vimeo.com.
It will be the best.
Here is the YouTube Link.
Also Good But Different
Good Friday Services at Noon and 7PM
April 2 - Palm Sunday: 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM (10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
April 6 - Maundy Thursday: Communion Service at 12:00 - Noonish…..
Maundy Thursday: Seder meal at various locations. Please sign up today!
April 7 - Good Friday: 12:00 (Noon) and 7:00 PM
(Live Stream at 7pm )
April 9 -Easter Sunday: 6:45 AM (outside), 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM
(10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
Easter Breakfast & Fellowship: starts after Sunrise Service (7:45ish) serving will end at 10:15 AM Egg Hunt at 9:55 AM
Wednesday Series
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Seder Meal Photos 23'
We had a great time remembering the Last Supper. The Passover meal of Freedom.
Thanks to all that hosted and came to the Seder meal.
The Transfiguration in the Garden of Gethsemane
In the garden, Jesus is confronted by two opposing wills that act in a hideous union.
Read the whole article at The Transfiguration in the Garden of Gethsemane - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
Every year during Passover week, Jerusalem would be filled with approximately 200,000 Jewish pilgrims. Nearly all of them, like Jesus and his friends and family, would’ve been poor. Throughout that holy week, these hundreds of thousands of pilgrims would gather at table and temple and they would remember. They would remember how they’d once suffered bondage under another empire, and how God had heard their outrage and sent someone to save them.
They would remember how God had promised them, “I will be your God and you will be my People.” Always.
They would remember how with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm God had delivered them from a Caesar called Pharaoh. Passover was a political powder keg, so every year Pontius Pilate would do his damnedest to keep Passover in the past tense. At the beginning of Passover week, Pilate would journey from his seaport home in the west to Jerusalem, escorted by a military triumph, a shock-and-awe storm-trooping parade of horses and chariots and troops armed to the teeth and prisoners bound hand and foot. All of it led by imperial banners that dared as much as declared “Caesar is Lord.”
So when Jesus, at the………………………..
Spring Clean up Day at Grace
Thanks for the Deep Clean!
Big Thanks to all that came and cleaned.
Big Thanks to our friends at the Korean Church!
![[Sunday] Power - The Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1680273080629-XCV03Y9J57O6AZ9Q0D3X/The+Way+7a.jpg)
[Sunday] Power - The Way
God created the world and gave us dominion over it. However, we do not always use that dominion in a beneficial way, using too much sometimes, while other times not enough. Even Peter struggles to get this right, but Jesus still loves him to the end.
God created the world and gave us dominion over it. However, we do not always use that dominion in a beneficial way, using too much sometimes, while other times not enough. Even Peter struggles to get this right, but Jesus still loves him to the end.
Questions This Week
Where have you seen power misused in our world?
Read John 18:1-11. Who are the major people in this reading that misuse the power, and how do they misuse power?
In the midst of the misuse of power, how does Jesus respond? How does Jesus’ sacrificial love show us a different use of power? Read John 13:34.
Jesus loves you to the end. How has he freed you to live?
April 1 - Clean Up: 9:00 AM for cleaning inside the buildings and outdoor chapel area.
April 2 - Palm Sunday: 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM (10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
April 6 - Maundy Thursday: Communion Service at 12:00 - Noonish…..
Maundy Thursday: Seder meal at various locations. Please sign up today!
April 7 - Good Friday: 12:00 (Noon) and 7:00 PM
(Live Stream at 7pm )
April 9 -Easter Sunday: 6:45 AM (outside), 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM
(10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
Easter Breakfast & Fellowship: starts after Sunrise Service (7:45ish) serving will end at 10:15 AM Egg Hunt at 9:55 AM
Wednesday Series
What Had happened at Grace this week.
The Calm Before The Storm
Jesus enters with all the pomp of a future King and departs as the butt of the joke.
Jesus enters with all the pomp of a future King and departs as the butt of the joke.
Read the whole article at The Calm Before the Storm - Mockingbird (mbird.com)
What experiences do you have on your bucket list? You know, that list we humans make of those things that we want to do before we die — whether it’s skydiving, seeing that band we’ve always loved (I see you U2), stepping our foot in Fenway Park, traveling abroad, or visiting all 50 states. This next Tuesday I am checking off the bucket-list item at the top of my list. I’m going to the grandest cathedral in American sport, Augusta National, and the Masters tournament. I joked with my Dad on Sunday night when I called to share the good news that there’s the beautiful experience of “telling your dad you’re having a child,” and just a sliver under that it is“telling your dad you’re going to the Masters.”…………….
![[Wednesday Lent] Beitza - The Seder](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1680093287611-CE1Z3MGO78N02MCJ88L4/seder+5a.jpg)
[Wednesday Lent] Beitza - The Seder
- This week is the Beitza. Remembering those incomplete. Every Week we will be going though the Seder plate of Passover meal. Discussing what each things mean from the Bitterness to the Lamb
- This week is the Karpas. Remembering the Humble though the Vegetable Every Week we will be going though the Seder plate of Passover meal. Discussing what each things mean from the Bitterness to the Lamb
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Truth - The Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1679616916854-2SW43Y0ZWQFJ8JWG9YPX/The+Way+6a.jpg)
[Sunday] Truth - The Way
Of all the ways of Jesus, we expect truth to be the least broken. But, our relationship with truth isn't quite as straightforward as we might expect. We are invited to be ambassadors of truth, not by defending it but by embodying new creation, faithfully pointing people to Jesus, and showing that self-giving love is the most powerful force in the world.
Of all the ways of Jesus, we expect truth to be the least broken. But, our relationship with truth isn't quite as straightforward as we might expect. We are invited to be ambassadors of truth, not by defending it but by embodying new creation, faithfully pointing people to Jesus, and showing that self-giving love is the most powerful force in the world.
Questions This Week
How would you have defined truth?
Read John 18:28-40. Why do you think Pilate questioned truth?
Read John 8:31-32. How would you define the truth that brings freedom here?
How can you live in the truths of the kingdom of God?
April 1 - Clean Up: 9:00 AM for cleaning inside the buildings and outdoor chapel area.
April 2 - Palm Sunday: 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM (10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
April 6 - Maundy Thursday: Communion Service at 12:00 - Noonish…..
Maundy Thursday: Seder meal at various locations. Please sign up today!
April 7 - Good Friday: 12:00 (Noon) and 7:00 PM
(Noon service will be livestreamed and broadcast )
April 9 -Easter Sunday: 6:45 AM (outside), 8:30 AM & 10:15 AM
(10:15 AM will be livestreamed)
Easter Breakfast & Fellowship: starts after Sunrise Service (7:45ish) serving will end at 10:15 AM Egg Hunt at 9:55 AM
Wednesday Series
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Wednesday Lent] Matzah - The Seder](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1679455050370-GBLOV036WTS1GF65VGVZ/seder+4a.jpg)
[Wednesday Lent] Matzah - The Seder
- This week is the Matzah. Remembering the Rush . Every Week we will be going though the Seder plate of Passover meal. Discussing what each things mean from the Bitterness to the Lamb
- This week is the Karpas. Remembering the Humble though the Vegetable Every Week we will be going though the Seder plate of Passover meal. Discussing what each things mean from the Bitterness to the Lamb
What Had happened at Grace this week.
![[Sunday] Freedom - The Way](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1679016998737-8F39VJCCXSE89XCE58XL/The+Way+5a.jpg)
[Sunday] Freedom - The Way
We can hear the cry of our hearts for freedom, but once we have freedom, it's so tempting to just curl in on ourselves. Jesus, however, constantly gives to us from his abundance.
We can hear the cry of our hearts for freedom, but once we have freedom, it's so tempting to just curl in on ourselves. Jesus, however, constantly gives to us from his abundance.
Questions This Week
How would you define freedom? How do you maintain freedom?
Read John 8:31-38. What does Jesus say will give us freedom?
What is ironic about how the Jews respond?
What are some times you might fail to acknowledge the slavery of your sin?
How does Jesus free us? What are we freed to do?
Wednesday Series
What Had happened at Grace this week.
Hemmed in By Freedom
True Freedom Feels Like Relief
read the whole article at https://mbird.com/social-science/identity/hemmed-in-by-freedom/
Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope… (Zech 9:12)
The year I graduated from high school and entered, according to popular theory anyway, adulthood, was about the time I embarked on my own case study of freedom by moving out of my childhood home and into a college dorm, living among peers instead of with my parents. Navigating, for the first time of my life, the exponential growth of options available to me: sleeping when I wanted (not enough), eating what I wanted (too much), drinking what I wanted (way too much), dating whom I wanted (no comment). This was the same year Mel Gibson dressed as William Wallace and bellowed “FREEDOM!” through some blue-and-white face……………..
![[Wednesday Lent] Karpas- The Seder](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5852f18a20099e30cd2c01dc/1678887163301-GTRUJMGEKUXVQSJ9TEAR/seder+3a.jpg)
[Wednesday Lent] Karpas- The Seder
- This week is the Karpas. Remembering the Humble with the Vegetable. Every Week we will be going though the Seder plate of Passover meal. Discussing what each things mean from the Bitterness to the Lamb
- This week is the Karpas. Remembering the Humble though the Vegetable Every Week we will be going though the Seder plate of Passover meal. Discussing what each things mean from the Bitterness to the Lamb
What Had happened at Grace this week.
The story of David follows those patterns of the kingdom of God. From Hannah’s pattern of humbleness to Eli’s pattern of pride leading to a fall. But David's fall at the end of Samuel cries out into the future giving us eyes to see the pattern again in the true and better David.