Rev Chris Roth

1 Kings 8 Today we encounter a major moment in Biblical history. In our reading from 1 Kings we read about the dedication of the very first temple that Solomon built (967bc). This was a big deal. This temple focused the people of Israel. It made Jerusalem the unquestioned capital of the united kingdom. It fulfilled the dream of Solomon’s father, David. And it tied together David’s royal lineage with the worship of Israel’s God.  The Ark of the Covenant is brought into the temple. The Ark contains the tablets of the Law that Moses received. The centrality of the covenant made with God on Mount Sinai is a part of the power of the Ark. … The upper part of this God was called the “mercy seat”- it was almost like a throne for God. Then, the cloud of God’s glory fills the Holy of Holies. When we hear about this cloud of God’s presence we should think about the cloud that led the people in the wilderness, and the cloud that rested on top of Mount Sinai, and the cloud that was...

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us”  1 John 4:18-19 So there are some that will say that what Matthew and Rachel are doing is pretty crazy. … and it’s not completely irrational to think that way. Someone who says that is probably just saying that they would be afraid to do it. Well, why might someone be afraid to get married? … How about this- When Crystal and I got married, she married an electrician who pretty recently became infatuated with Jesus. She did not marry a pastor and had no aspirations to be a pastor’s wife, but 16 years later that’s where she finds herself. You know who Matthew is now. He’s a hard worker. He’s a people person. You don’t know who he’ll become. You know who Rachel is now. Like she’s crazy smart and funny. You don’t know who she’ll become. People change. Maybe Matthew is going to become passionately ...

1 Kings 2:10 -12, 3:3-14  We have been walking with King David this summer. And this week we see David hand the throne over to Solomon. For David, it seems like things were much better for his soul when he was on the run living in the wilderness and was forced to rely on God for survival. There in the wilderness he would seek God first, and then things would seem to fall into place for David. Once David gained power, he gave into his lust and even murdered one of his loyal soldiers to cover up his sin. For the rest of his life David is haunted by violence. Things went better for David when he sought God first. That is the David we look up to. Power isn't just dangerous because of those outside who want to take it from us- as Absalom tried to steal power from David. Power is also dangerous from the inside- it leads to all kinds of temptation- like David thinking he can use Bathsheba as a plaything and command the death of her husband wi...

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33 For those of you who are parents, you know that your children often reflect aspects of your personality. Certain behaviours will present themselves with some force and mom and dad look at each other and one of them dares to say, “they get that from you, you know”. … Children seem to poses the strengths and weaknesses, even the temptations to sin, of their parents. Sometimes the thing we find most aggravating in our children is really a part of ourselves that we dislike that is manifesting in them. Last week we heard about the prophet Nathan confronting David in his sin. In response David repents saying, “I have sinned against the Lord”. David has ignored the commandments of God and has violated the image of God in Uriah and Bathsheba. David’s repentance is accepted by God and he is forgiven, but there are still consequences to his actions. Nathan tells David that the “sword shall never depart” David’s house. David’s children will feel the consequence...

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13 Human history is littered with powerful people behaving badly. We don’t have to look through history very hard to see brutality and selfishness in the lives of monarchs, and even popes (like the Borgias). That’s why the saying “absolute power corrupts absolutely” [1] seems to get circulated so often. I personally prefer the way Dallas Willard said it when he said, “power exposes corruption” (paraphrase). The more powerful you are the more likely it will be that the corruption within you will be exposed to the world and negatively influence the people around you. When a person has their every whim answered-  When they are on the top of the totem pole with no one to answer to-  When they are surrounded by people that affirm them in their every thought-  When the people around them are willing to look the other way when they are acting immoral-  When they have more money than they can spend, and can afford an army of lawyers to scare of...