Nathan Neighbors
Follower of Christ, Husband, Father, & Youth Pastor
Guest Blog written by: Drew Wike
In my reading from 1 Samuel 16:1 – 1 Samuel 28:19, I want to encourage y’all with, and focus on chapter 17. While this is often used in church and Sunday school, I feel that it isn’t always taught the way it should be. While this war in Judah was taking place between the Philistines and the Israelites, a simple shepherd boy, David, was carrying food to his brothers. To simplify it, many warriors took a stand against Goliath, a Philistine, but none could prevail. God used David to take down Goliath and bring glory to God’s name. Every day we face battles of our own. Some are Goliaths and some are very small, but the point I want to get across to you today is that God is bigger. Whatever trials you face, God is there and He is bigger. Personally I see this story and I think about the trials I face out on the mission field, kids acting out, satan trying to cause distractions, all of these little things that make it harder to present the gospel. I think of how it seems like nothing can be done to overcome these things and then I realize that when I make myself like David, when I make myself less so that God can use me in whatever gifts I may not realize I have. I think of how God carries me, my team, and the church groups we work with through these obstacles to further His name. In your personal life you may face Goliaths that cause you to question your faith, friends, decisions and family but God will carry you through. You see, Goliath was a big strong warrior and he was overthrown by a tiny pebble slung from a slingshot of a shepherd boy who wasn’t even there to fight. Until you can recognize that God’s power is what caused Goliath’s downfall, you won’t see that God carries you through all these times of pain or suffering.
Lord, I pray today that you would come upon us, that we would make ourselves less and have the faith to let you carry us through any obstacles or any suffering we face. Father, I pray for safety for my brothers and sisters traveling to Brunswick today to make your name greater. And Father, I pray that in everything we do, your name would be made greater.
Amen
Guest Blog written by: Brad Kempson
When the Lord calls out to Samuel, he thinks it is Eli, because Samuel hasn’t heard about the Lord yet. This shows that God doesn’t just speak to people that have strong relationships with him. He can speak to anyone. The Lord wants Samuel to know that he was going to judge Eli and his family because his sons had blasphemed God. When Samuel heard this, he wasn’t upset. He knew it was Gods plan. And the Lord stayed with Samuel as he grew up.
Because the Israelites were sinning against God, when they attacked the Philistines, they were defeated. The Israelites brought the ark of the covenant, and the Philistines took it and were going to take it for their idol Dagon. When they went into the temple, Dagon had fallen. On the second day, Dagon’s head and hands were on the threshold of the temple. The Lord brought destruction and afflicted the people with tumors. The people were afraid so they sent the ark back to the Israelites.
The people wanted a king to rule them so they could be like the other countries. Saul went to find a seer to find donkeys that were missing. He met Samuel and Samuel knew that he was the one God wanted to be the king.
Saul was made king and he rules for Forty two years. He chose an army and fought. Samuel was to come after seven days. When Samuel didn’t come, Saul made burnt offerings.
The army was to leave no Philistine thing alive. The army kept all of the best cattle and other animals alive to use as offerings. This angered God and Samuel.
The lesson we can learn is that God values following him more than giving things to him. He isn’t as concerned with best things…He wants you to follow what he has told you to do.
Guest Blog written by: Jessica Brown
loss.
love.
legacy.
the three twine together to form the testimony of our lives.
have you ever suffered a loss from which you thought you’d never recover?
yeah, me too.
i have been so blinded by loss that i could not see the path in front of me.
it is only after you have navigated through the pain and grief and heartache the path begins to clear.
often times, leaving you to look back and see the Hand that guided you the whole way.
such is the story of ruth.
ruth was a stranger from a land that worshiped idols.
yet, she married a husband from bethlehem.
when he died, she clung to naomi, her mother in law.
despite naomi’s best efforts to get ruth to stay, she insisted she go with her back to bethlehem.
and so the story begins.
two women on a journey of redemption after suffering much loss.
ruth, a stranger in a strange land, never complained or argued.
she didn’t have pity parties. or attempt to take matters into her own hands.
she was a woman of integrity.
and she found favor in the eyes of boaz.
through her loss, her heart learned to love again.
and because of her love a legacy was left.
for you.
and me.
i am constantly amazed at how God uses the least likely to accomplish His will.
boaz was born of a former prostitute, rahab.
and ruth gave boaz a son, obed.
and obed had a son, jesse.
and from the root of jesse, a King was born.
ruth is a story of providence.
the protective care of God.
the knowing that God is in control of all things.
our loss.
our love.
and our legacy.
i was ruth.
for i was a least likely woman.
like israel, i didn’t have a king and followed whatever my heart desired.
until one day, i came to know my kinsman redeemer.
a King who has used my least likely nature and ordained a legacy for me.
may we trust the loss in our lives to the One who counts our tears.
may we embrace the least likely and believe that God is the author of all our stories.
may we claim Him as our kinsman redeemer and leave a legacy that speaks the gospel to those around us.
Nathan Neighbors 