June 4 – 2 Sam. 1:1-3:1, “How the Mighty have Fallen!”
June 11 – 2 Sam. 3:2-5:25, “You Shall be Shepherd of my People”
June 18 – 2 Sam. 6:1-7:29, “I Will Establish His Kingdom”
June 25 – 2 Sam. 8:1-10:19, “That I May Show the Kindness of God to Him

 

Isn’t it amazing how we can recall the words and melodies of songs that we learned as kids? I’m so grateful that Aaron Duncan and Lauryn Moody, Woodmont’s gifted and humble pianist, along with other volunteers, continue to teach our children songs of praise at Kids Choir on Wednesday nights. It’s particularly meaningful to have Lauryn investing in my kids now because Lauryn had served as the youth choir accompanist when I was a teenager at Nashville First Baptist. We have often reminisced on those years and some of those specific choral pieces with fondness.
 

The youth choir at FBC has sung one particular anthem many times over the last several decades. It’s called “Weave Me, Lord” by Linda Spencer, and I can still sing almost every line. The lyrics are a prayer asking God, as the Master Weaver, to weave our lives closer to him. The song mentions how God weaves light and sometimes dark threads into our lives at times as part of his perfect plan. It’s ultimately a prayer of surrender, submitting our plans, our future, our very lives to the Sovereign Lord of all. Have you ever looked at a tapestry from a few inches away? You can’t make sense of what you’re looking at. But when you step back, you’re able to see the whole work with each thread playing its part.
 

This month we will dive into 2 Samuel for our Sunday morning sermon texts. And one prominent theme that I see throughout these first ten chapters is how God is, in his perfect timing, working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). We will see how the book of Samuel is not merely an historical account of God’s people during the unified monarchy of Israel. Something much bigger is going on. Through the earthly king David, the Lord is preparing the way for a future heavenly King, one whose Kingdom shall never end.
 

The Bible contains poems, narratives, parables, songs, wisdom writings, and so on. But at its core, the Bible is one great Story. It’s the Story of a great God who created a very good world and filled it with people made in his own image. But when those people rejected God by choosing their own way over his, creation became wrecked and ruined. Ever since then, the Bible tells of God’s rescue mission to fix what’s wrong with the world and to save sinners. At the center of God’s plan is the redeeming work of the Savior, God’s own Son who comes as both a servant and a King. My hope is that, through God’s Word in 2 Samuel, we will see the bigger Story that God is telling, how he’s weaving a beautiful tapestry that connects our little stories into his masterpiece.

 

Grace and peace,