Remsen Bible Fellowship

  Audio Link (sermon starts around minute 24) Remember 1 Samuel 12, Remsen Bible Fellowship, 11/29/2020 Introduction: One of the great dangers for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is forgetting who we are. We can fall prey to viewing the church as merely a social organization to which we belong. Perhaps you see the church as a convenient social activity, a nice occasional add on to your consumer life. It’s a place you go to get a shot of Jesus to get you through. But is this what the church is meant to be? Israel faced such identity crises many times in her history, perhaps none more so than in the chapters we have covered in recent weeks. The people longed to be like all the nations (8:20), and thus they demanded that Samuel the prophet anoint a king to reign over them (8:6, 20). Now we come to chapter 12, on the heels of the great military victory of chapter 11, and Samuel will give his final address as the judge of the people. He has ruled over them for decades, and though he...

  Audio Link (Sermon starts about the 21 minutes mark) Beware of Your Assumptions 1 Samuel 10:17-11:15; Remsen Bible Fellowship; 11/22/2020 Introduction: One of my favorite poems, one which I’m sure I’ve quoted from the pulpit before, is William Cowper’s God Moves in a Mysterious Way. The first line is the most famous, God moves in a mysterious way / His wonders to perform / He plants His footsteps in the sea / And rides upon the storm / Deep in unsearchable mines / Of never-failing skill / He treasures up His bright designs / And works His sovereign will. The poem goes on, but the driving idea is that while life may be full of storms and trials, we can always trust that our sovereign God is at work. As Charles Spurgeon would later put it, when we cannot trace his hand, we must trust his heart. Hard times come, but even then, we can trust that God is working all things together for the good of those who love him .  But are we only in spiritual danger when walking through the ...