The above video was preached by Tope Koleoso this past week at Jubilee Church in Enfield and Wood Green. It was one of the most convicting yet grace-filled messages I have ever heard. This is the gospel. It is a great sermon for everybody to listen to in order to help you to distinguish in your own life the difference between as he put it “Some kind of response to the gospel vs being born again.” Tope referred to two... Read more
In 1 Samuel 15 we see a further worsening of Sauls leadership. There is now no way back for him. Yesterday we discussed six leadership errors he made. Today it just gets worse. We must judge Saul in the context of his time when he was called to exercise God’s judgement. He disobeyed a clear instruction from God (1 Samuel 15:8) He kept the best for himself rather than God (1 Samuel 15:8) He took praise to himself by setting... Read more
In 1 Samuel 14 we see the further evidence of the decline of Saul’s leadership. We sometimes talk of losing your leadership capital. Well Saul seemed to mortgage the lot in this chapter. What did he do wrong? He was passive and lacked initiative. Jonathan should not have had to be the one to decide to lead the attack against the enemies. Saul left a leadership vacuum his son filled. It’s sad that his own son felt he couldn’t discuss... Read more
There are some passages in the Bible that always make me think of a specific sermon I once heard on them. For me 1 Samuel 14 will always remind me of a sermon my friend Joel Virgo preached in 2009, entitled The Armor Bearer. His point, was in many ways similar to the one I made a few days ago. I urged people not to aim to be the “number one” leader unless it is very clear that is what God... Read more
It is fascinating to see the first massive mistake Saul made. Although he started well, almost immediately he did something that offended the Lord. God viewed it incredibly seriously. It was stepping outside the boundaries for his leadership that God had set. He was meant to be a King, not a priest. Yet, when things were tough, and the proper leader wasn’t there, what did he do? Yes, thats right in 1 Samuel 13 we see him offering a sacrifice... Read more
Evangelicals today sometimes overreach in our eagerness to defend the Bible. Please be clear I do uphold the authority, inspiration, and inerrancy of the Bible. But to believe that is not to believe that the text handed down over the centuries is 100% exactly the text originally given. The text is remarkably well preserved. The differences and apparent corruptions are very few and far between, but they do exist. We should not try to deny them or cover them up.... Read more
This morning I began to read the terrible tragedy that is the life of King Saul. It’s as though the beginning of the book with its emphasis on leadership successes and failures is preparing us for the big contrast between David and Saul. I was looking at his beginning of Saul’s story for any hint of a root for the disaster that is to come. And yet it seems his beginning was very good. We see the following. Saul was... Read more
As I’ve been reading 1 Samuel lately, it seems to me that one of the purposes of the book is to put before us different examples of leadership. Some of these are definitely intended for us to emulate. Others are examples to show us how not to do it. We are all called to lead in one way or the other. Which of these models will we follow? Harsh and judgemental leadership (1 Samuel 1) Leadership that listens to God... Read more
“Obey their voice and make them a king.” So says God to Samuel in 1 Samuel 8:22. But what of dynamic anointed by God leadership? What of setting the tone of your people? What of hearing from God and not allowing objectors to derail the resultant vision? It seems that there are times when even the best leader must allow themselves to be lead, even if they know the decision is the wrong one. A wise old pastor once said... Read more
The proliferation of multisite churches in the USA continues to increase. It is a trend that is also beginning to take a hold here in the UK. The basic idea for those who may not be aware is that a growing church which finds it doesn’t have space for its congregation plants a site nearby that shares all the resources of the original church. In fact the new congregation is considered part of the original. It is one church, multiple... Read more
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