Podcasts about even david

God cared about Saul even after Saul had disobeyed Him. Saul's servants cared for him. Even David cared for him.

It's a mistake to assume that followers of Christ are immune to discouragement. Even David, who wrote many of the Psalms, struggled with dark moments. In this episode THE VERDICT, Pastor John Munro shares the symptoms and the biblical cure for dealing with discouragement.

Post-Gazette Pirates beat writer Noah Hiles recaps his chat with manager Derek Shelton on Sunday as well an a spring training win against the New York Yankees in Tampa, Fla. Why isn't Shelton prepared to name a closer? And why isn't David Bednar the default choice for that role after holding the job for most of the last few years? How is Henry Davis looking defensively behind the plate as he competes for time alongside names like Endy Rodriguez and Joey Bart? And how is the competition for left-handed relievers going as the bullpen begins to take shape? Noah tackles those questions and more.

Grizzlies vs.Spurs Round 2: DM's Herrington with Geoff on the Grizz and even David Lynch full 1210 Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:39:30 +0000 5ekvGfSx49dIqH1N7jc6ZlhXuuAcqnmc sports 92.9 Featured Podcast sports Grizzlies vs.Spurs Round 2: DM's Herrington with Geoff on the Grizz and even David Lynch 92.9 ESPN FM/680 AM Featured Podcast of the Day 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc. Sports False https://player.amperwavepodcasting.com?feed-link=https%3A%2F%2Frss.amperwave.net%2Fv

It's been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively, practically define the nature of Christ. Even David the Shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about following his loving God? He said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life!”We instinctively know what goodness is. It's a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected.Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”And in life, we understand the distinction between good and evil. These two—always warring with each other. The key thing to remember in this conflict is that God is good, and infinitely stronger than evil. That's important to remember as we see injustice.What did Micah tell us? That goodness is wrapped up in the choices we make: oppose injustice, love what is kind, and be humble. The truth is, all of us have been given so much good by our good God that it should be second nature to model that for those we meet in our journey.Let's pray.Lord, thank you for your sweet goodness. Sustain us with that goodness for the journey. In Jesus' name, amen.Change your shirt, and you can change the world! Save 15% Off your entire purchase of faith-based apparel + gifts at Kerusso.com with code KDD15.

Are you paranoid about the present conspiracy? Welcome to the Daily Devo. I am Vince Miller. This week, we are in Chapter 22 of 1 Samuel. I've titled this chapter "From Caves Of Distress To Community Connections." Yesterday, we discovered Doeg, the foreigner, sold out Ahimelech, the Priest, and that he saw him in Nob supply David with supplies and a sword. So Saul, who is now furious, commands Ahimelech and his family of priests to come to Gibeah, only a couple of miles to the west. Let's read what happens in 1 Samuel 22:11-17: Then the king sent to summon Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob, and all of them came to the king. And Saul said, "Hear now, son of Ahitub." And he answered, "Here I am, my lord." And Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, in that you have given him bread and a sword and have inquired of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as at this day?" Then Ahimelech answered the king, "And who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and captain over your bodyguard, and honored in your house? Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? No! Let not the king impute anything to his servant or to all the house of my father, for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little." And the king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house." And the king said to the guard who stood about him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and they knew that he fled and did not disclose it to me." But the servants of the king would not put out their hand to strike the priests of the Lord.— 1 Samuel 22:11-17 This section is deeply disturbing. Saul is now so paranoid that he sees even his closest and most godly allies as foes rather than friends. Ahimelech presents to him a four-pronged and logical defense: He understood David as a loyal servant, son-in-law, and captain of his servants. He performed his royal duties as required. He affirmed his loyalty to Saul. He declared his non-involvement in a plot against the King. But none of this is convincing to Saul. David's actions, combined with Jonathan's, Michal's, Samuel's, and now Ahimelech's, confirmed by Doeg, are too much for the paranoia stirring around in Saul's mind. The circle of the conspiracy continues to grow, and Saul cannot see it any other way. Therefore, Saul pronounces a verdict as the high prosecutor in his court, and then his men refuse to act. I am sure the inaction of his men only confirmed his fears of a growing conspiracy. God is always up to something, and it's always righteous. But his righteousness will expose unrighteousness. Sometimes, we may interpret this as a conspiracy against us, especially when we are the ones opposing God by acting unrighteous. Saul's verdict exposes his desire to play God in this situation. Note that his words are the same as God's judgment for human sin in Genesis 2:17, "You shall surely die." But Saul is not God therefore his paranoia leads to an unjust verdict and the sentencing of a line of innocent and defenseless priests. Saul is paranoid and feels like he is losing control, but the text presents no sign that he has lost any control in the kingdom. Even David perceives himself to be Saul's subject and merely wants to keep himself and his family safe. He has no desire to take the kingdom from Saul's hand. Saul still has absolute control but is now completely controlled by his fears. Fear is an essential God-given emotion designed to signal you when you perceive a threat, danger, or something unknown. Fear is designed to alert you and prepare you to respond to a challenge. But when you allow fear to control you, you are prone to making irrational decisions founded in senseless conspiracies of your will rather than the sound certainty of God's will. There are so many things to be fearful of today: the economy, war, immigrants, storms, illicit drugs, party division, and the next election. At the same time, you also have personal fears that demand your immediate attention. But you cannot let any of these fears control you. Saul is an example of a man who is in complete control of a kingdom but acts like he is out of control because his fears are completely controlling him. Don't live life this way. It will drive you mad. Instead, let your fears drive your faith in God, who is the only one to be feared. #FaithOverFear, #CommunityInChrist, #1SamuelReflections Ask This: How has fear affected your decisions and relationships, and how can you shift to trust in God's sovereignty? How can you build support among your friends and family during fearful times? Do This: Stop constructing conspiracies in your mind, confide in the Creator, and fear him. Pray This: Father, help me to surrender my fears to You and trust in Your perfect plan, knowing that You are always in control. May I seek to build a strong community of faith around me, supporting one another as we navigate life's challenges together. Amen. Play This: Fear Of God.

Matthew 26:36-39, 45-46 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he came to the disciples and said, “… look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” The most courageous moment in the history of humankind is when Jesus made the final decision to redeem us. As fully human, like you or me…He stood at the last crossroads before the actual cross and said yes for us. The turning point in that battle was when He stated, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” In our final day of this week's series on courage, the way we may live in confidence and express courage in the face of any trial is by stating to God: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Think about the stories we have visited this week, David, Gideon, Ruth, and Esther—each one had to come to the place of saying “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even David the warrior would have preferred to not risk his life that day, but he knew there was a much higher purpose for his life than protecting sheep. Where in your life today are you battling a decision or struggling with a calling? Where do you need to let go and follow Jesus into saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” And even repeat His words: “Look—the time has come. Up—let's be going.” The reality for you, though, is that your decision will not end in death. In fact, your personal courage could potentially create far more life than you ever knew before. Let's pray: “Lord Jesus, thank You that You made the choice for me in the garden. You chose God's will for redemption and sacrificed your own will and life. Help me now to follow Your example and continually say to You: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” As above, so below.”

I AM SECURE - Physically. I AM SECURE = Spiritually - next week. INTRODUCTION . David great and mighty King. Even David got scared at times. David new God personally. David relied on God. David praised God. God is a personal and intimate God. 1 And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the…

Contrary to God's will the people of Israel clamored for a king. They were desperate for security, especially from the Philistines, but were forewarned by Samuel the prophet that the burden of kingship would be crushing. Even David, the most ideal of rulers ended up abusing his power as seen in rape and murder (Bathsheba/Uriah). And when Jesus feeds the 5.000 the people want to seize him and make him king. Yet the kingship of Jesus is radically different from what many of us understand, and in our craving for security and provision we should be mindful of whom we ask to rule over us. The lessons of Jesus' miraculous provision are important for the perilous times we find ourselves in now. Readings: 2 Samuel 11:1-15; 2 Kings 4:42-44; John 6:1-21

BetrayalIn 7 parts, based on the posts by senorlongo. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novel. Hosi ordered the village searched. Almost a hundred bows and their arrows were found in one of the houses. Now we had an army, but we still had to be careful. We had taken out eight of their group, but even a half dozen men with assault rifles could do a lot of damage, even kill half the tribe.Our next stop was Hosi's old house. I had many happy memories there. We peeked in the rear window; I was reminded of the time we had eavesdropped behind Reta's house, learning of her plot to kill the queen and take over the tribe. This time we looked in to see all the men—all except Jacob…the rat! I couldn't wait until I ran into him. There were three which seemed like a lot until I looked at Scott and Kevin. Both had been beaten. Rini almost gasped, but her warrior training and discipline prevailed. I could see the hatred in her eyes. She'd skin these men alive given the chance. Now we had plenty of bows and arrows. Hosi called her troops together.There were two windows and an open doorway, but one of the guards sat in a chair just inside the door, hidden behind the fireplace. It would be almost impossible to get to him unless…. I could see the wheels turning in Hosi's head. She dispatched three warriors, all with spears. They snuck down three houses, keeping low then they turned left and crossed the narrow lane. Behind the facing houses they retraced their steps until they were behind my old house just across the street. Now they spread out, one on each side and one headed through the house for the doorway. I heard a brief whistle, more a bird call than anything else. Hosi and Rini took their aim from the rear window and fired just as Hosi yelled, “Now!”The spear women leaped forward and threw. One struck the guard in the chest, the others in his abdomen. Hosi's aim was true, but Rini was off, her arrow striking only the guard's shoulder. In a second she was through the window and on top of the hapless guard. She punched him repeatedly, paying back the injuries they had given, until Hosi stopped her. He was bound and gagged while Rini ran to Scott. She cradled his head in her arms, pulling him to her breasts. She leaned down to her stricken lover, kissing him repeatedly.It was now approaching 5:00 a.m. and time was drawing short. We had to act while we had the advantage of surprise and darkness. Hosi left a contingent of warriors to guard and tend to the men's wounds. She sent one hundred to scour the village in search of any of the intruders that we had missed. Another hundred accompanied us back to the palace where the majority of the tribe was held.Hosi split her forces. Twenty were sent to the rear. They were to check the back of the palace for any stray guards, although we thought they would stay with their prisoners until daylight, at least. My biggest question was, “WHY?” What was this all about? All I could think about was that there was money—serious money—at the root of all this. But how…what? As a geologist I knew that there were no significant quantities of precious gems or minerals in the area so that clearly wasn't it. It appeared that few if any of the tribeswomen had been injured or killed. How did that figure into this?We were sneaking past the baths when I told Hosi I was staying for a while. “Kind of a funny time for a bath, David.”“No, I need some time to think. Besides, you won't need me at the palace. I'll just be in the way. I'm trying to figure out what this whole thing is all about.” Hosi kissed me and left a small contingent of warriors to safeguard me. I recognized all of them—they were all fierce competent fighters. I sat on a limestone bench, dropping my feet into the cool water. I cleared my head of all other thoughts. I knew that Hosi would be safe and my children were probably at the forges by now, well out of the conflict. I tried to put all the pieces together—ambush in the jungle, but nobody actually hurt or killed, invasion with automatic weapons, but nobody hurt or killed, tribe kept tied up under guard, but again nobody hurt. Why would they want to do this? Why would they want all the women in prime condition? OH NO! It hit me like a brick. I could think of only one reason for this and there would be a ton of money involved. Plus, unless I was mistaken we would soon have a lot more visitors. And now I knew where.I pulled my feet from the bath and walked out into the night. “Any word yet from Hosi?” They shook their heads. We were joined by those who had searched the village and started our walk to the palace. I stopped them for a second, told them of my concerns, and asked a contingent to head to the falls. That area had to be secured. It wasn't the only way to get all the tribeswomen out of here, but it was the fastest and safest.We were almost a hundred yards from the palace when I heard shouting and several shots. I prayed Hosi would be OK. We ran to the site and met an invader running in our direction. He met more arrows and spears than I cared to count. I ran to the palace searching for Hosi. I found her—thank God—supervising the release of the prisoners. Four guards lay dead on the floor and three Amazon prisoners were being treated for bullet wounds. Fortunately, all appeared to be superficial.I pulled Hosi aside and held her. “Thank God you're safe. I think I know what this is all about. These men came here to collect you as slaves. That's why nobody was injured or killed. We can confirm it with that one you captured. If I'm right there will be one boat missing and we'll have lots more company in the morning.” Hosi detailed a group to continue releasing the prisoners while we walked quickly to her old house. The men were there relaxing. Rini was treating Scott under Dennis's orders. The captured attacker was ignored. “Let me deal with him, Hosi. I think a man will be more effective.” She nodded her consent as we walked in the door.I walked into the man and removed his gag. “Let me explain something to you. You are going to die, but how will be determined by what you tell me in the next minute. I can put a bullet in your brain or I can take you down to the Amazon, cut your arms, and watch while the piranha devour you alive. That's what we did with the last one who was condemned to death. I'll give you a few seconds to think.” I stood and returned to Hosi. We stood silently while the men looked on. Less than thirty seconds later I returned.“OK…all your friends are dead. The village is back under our control. Only a handful of women were injured. My wife, the Queen, killed five of your men by herself, so don't think that she'll have any mercy for you. Now…tell me why you are here. I already have an idea, but I want you to confirm it.”“Slaves, Senhor. We were going to sell the women and children to be slaves. There is a big market in the Middle East and Japan. Please don't feed me to the fish.”“How were you going to get the women out of here?”“Tomorrow…three big boats…more men. Jacob went to show them the way.” I patted him on the head and put a bullet into his brain. I turned to Hosi and explained what he had said. “We need to put warriors along the river bank with bows and spears. I suggest the men also go with your warriors. Between the two groups we will need to kill all their men. Later we can sink the boats, but we need to make sure there are no survivors. Even one could mean the end of everything we've worked for.”Hosi agreed with me and called the tribe together in the plaza. “We need to be ready. We will soon have new invaders. They will come by boat so here is what I want you to do….” I strung a second rope from the tree by the falls. Within the next hour hundreds of warriors went down, spreading themselves along the bank for more than half a mile. All the men also went, even Scott and Kevin with their injuries. We rested while a few sentries kept watch. I didn't think they would surprise us—the noise of the engines would alert us long before their arrival.Hosi rested her head in my lap and I rested mine on her hip. We fell asleep quickly. It was some hours later when I woke to the sound of distant engines. I woke Hosi; she was alert immediately. She whistled—that same bird call I had heard last night. I could see the warriors stretching and preparing themselves for the conflict ahead. All the men checked their rifles and spare magazines. Kevin smiled at me as I checked my pistol. I gave him a thumb's up and then we knelt, hidden by the vines and tall grass along the river bank.Our inflatable led three large motorized barges. They could hold the entire tribe in them easily. Jacob was at the helm with two others, both armed. Each of the barges had an additional six armed men. Hosi waited until the boats were almost at the falls before giving the preliminary signal—the first bird call whistle. I could see all the archers put arrow to the bowstring. At the second whistle the army stood as one and loosed their arrows.More archers above the falls rushed forward from hiding and shot. The men fired their rifles. The slavers dropped like flies. The two men in the inflatable were targeted first, however Jacob was left alone by design. Three men jumped into the bottom of the barges. They were assailed by spears and arrows from above. At the end of our line two women jumped into the river pulling a thin cord. They were the best swimmers in the tribe. When they reached the other side they pulled a heavy rope across the river, tying it securely to a large tree. Now the barges were stuck.The swimmers went back into the water, swimming to the last barge. They pulled themselves up and snuck along the rear deck. They gave a signal that showed there were no live attackers in the barge bottom. They crept to the small cabin, yanked open the door and ran in, overwhelming the unarmed pilot in seconds. They used their daggers to kill him quickly.They ran along the barge side where they were met by several dozen others equipped with their bows and arrows. They jumped to the middle barge. This one did contain several of the enemy. Again they dispatched the pilot so they could move to both sides of the barge and get the enemies in a cross fire. There looked to be about fifteen on each side and another four in the center. They rose quickly and fired killing two and seriously wounding the third. One of our warriors jumped down easily and killed him with her knife.They jumped to the first barge and again killed the pilot. Slowly they walked up the barge's sides toward the inflatable. When Jacob saw the dozen arrows aimed at his heart he raised his hands and surrendered. He would have been better off if he had tried to fire. Then he would have been cut down quickly. Now he was going to suffer.I pulled the inflatable into the hidden boat house; the barges were tied off to the bank. Planks ran from the shore to them. I walked up onto the nearest, noticing that there were well over a hundred ring-bolts welded to the floor. I climbed down, looked around and went back up. I walked into the cabin and then down to the engine room. There I found what I wanted—the cooling system for the engines ran on raw river water. There was a big intake port and another for the exhaust. These could be cut in order to sink the barge.The men's bodies were brought down and securely fastened to the rings that were intended for the Amazons. All the bodies were placed into the first barge. Jacob was also brought here and tied down spread-eagle. I leaned down to speak to him, “Jacob, if it was up to me I'd flay you—skin you alive, but don't worry--Hosi has something special for you.” I patted his cheek as he screamed. One of the Amazons came up and gagged him.We were totally unfamiliar with these barges so it took us quite a while to turn them around in the narrow river. When we reached the Amazon we let two barges drift down river. The third, the one with all the slavers was anchored in the middle of the river. Sean and I went down to the engine room with two axes. We chopped at the water pipes until the water flowed freely onto the deck. By the time we were done the water was already well over our ankles. We climbed up and into the barge. We stopped next to Jacob, “So long, asshole. Enjoy your swim. Say ‘Hi' to the nice fishies. All this blood should make them really hungry.”We retired to the inflatable while we watched as the barge slowly slipped beneath the water. It was the end to a long and difficult time for all of us. I could see the strain on Hosi's face. We returned to the falls. Wearily, we climbed the rope and returned to the palace. Everything was as it had been before the invasion. Our children were back home; Kela was running about with Scott's daughter, Sama. Our infant son lay in his tiny bed. The guards were all in place; they bowed when Hosi entered. She was about to mount her throne, but I stopped her. “Not now…not yet…I have something much more important to do with you right now.” Hosi smiled weakly, the strain of the past days wearing on her. She was a truly kind and considerate woman, a wonderful lover and wife.I led her by the hand to the baths. I stripped her and myself and proceeded to wash her wonderful, but exhausted body. I dried her and led her still naked back to the palace where I laid her on the bed. I crawled between her legs and inhaled deeply. Hosi's scent was nothing less than incredible; I loved her musky flavor. I placed my mouth over her cunt and sucked, causing Hosi to groan in ecstasy. I stuck my tongue into her tunnel as I watched Hosi writhe over the bed. I was about to suck her hard button into my mouth when she sat up and stopped me.“What's the matter? Don't you want to cum?”“Of course, I do, darling, but what about you? Don't I get a chance to take care of you?”“No—not tonight; you've been under tremendous stress the past few days. You need this…badly. You may be the Queen, but tonight you need to follow my orders, and I'm ordering you to lie back and enjoy everything I'm doing for you.”“Yes sir…you are the boss,” then she chuckled, “for tonight, anyway.”“OK, I admit you are the boss, but you know how much I love you and I need to help you feel better. I feel kind of guilty about Jacob.”Hosi sat up quickly, grasping me firmly by the chin. “I never want to hear you say anything like that again, David. You didn't encourage him to come here…WE did. Any time we do something like that we know we're taking a chance, just like the tribe took a chance capturing you and Dr. Sullivan. Luckily, it all worked out OK, but who was responsible for that? Who developed the plan to free me and our children? Who risked his life to do that? Who killed the first two guards making the whole idea possible?”“You know it was just a chance of fate that I wasn't in the village that day and I was lucky to see that something was amiss when we returned from the forges.”“Perhaps, but bring me that rope and tie my hands behind my back like they were.” I got the rope and tied her back up as tightly as she had been when I rescued her. “Even if you were here we would have still gotten away.” She strained the muscles in her arms and back and a minute later the rope parted. I couldn't believe that anyone could be so strong. “Probably eight out of ten tribeswomen could do that. Unfortunately, quite a few would have been killed. Your actions made it possible for us to save ourselves without losing any of the tribe. Now, as you said, I am the Queen and I am making a royal proclamation—You are responsible for saving at least fifty lives and you will be declared a hero of the tribe tomorrow. You should feel pride of your accomplishment, not shame or guilt. I will make that official tomorrow. Now, if you still wish, I will accept your services.”I looked at her for a second and began to giggle. It was contagious. She joined me in less than a minute and we began laughing like crazy. She pulled me up onto the bed, kissed me madly, and turned on top of my body to position the delicious pussy over my mouth. I could take the hint—she wanted to be pleasured, but she was going to take care of me, too. I couldn't argue with her logic.Licking her labia brought forth several lengthy moans, even as Hosi lowered her mouth over my hard cock. Her tongue was heavenly on my organ—her mouth was warm and moist as she sucked me deep into her throat. It would have been so nice—so relaxing—to lie there and allow Hosi to service me, but I owed her even more than she owed me. I attacked her pussy with renewed zeal. I pushed my tongue into her tunnel, savoring the taste, the muskiness of her juices as well as the velvet softness of her flesh. Even holding her hips with all my strength was useless. She writhed uncontrollably under my touch. I moved my mouth to her clit. It was hard, incredibly so, and extremely hot. My teeth were only a few millimeters apart when I sucked her clit between them. Her reaction was intense as she drove herself forcefully into my mouth. I sucked and nibbled for more than a minute until she shuddered and shook in a tremendous orgasmic spasm; it lasted for almost a minute before I relented. So commanding was her experience that she completely forgot about my penis in her mouth. She laid her head on my thigh as she recovered, my man-meat hanging loosely on her tongue until she found the strength to quickly bring me to an incredible orgasm. She sucked me strongly, rubbed my balls between her slender, but powerful, fingers as I blew repeatedly into her throat and stomach. She cleaned my cock, spun around swiftly, and nestled beside me, her head on my chest. I pulled up our blanket and we fell mercifully to a deep sleep.The sun was shining brightly when we woke. I took a quick look at Hosi and laughed. She had a drop of semen dried on her chin. I kissed her as I wiped it from her face. We rose, ate a leisurely breakfast, and left the palace stark naked for the baths and the communal toilets.We were back in the palace dried and dressed when Hosi turned to me, “David, I know I told you that you would never have to kneel before me, but when we go outside I want you to kneel. Will you do that for me…please?” She took my hand and led me toward the plaza. I was shocked to see the entire tribe gathered there. Hosi led me to a cushion and bade me to kneel before she turned to address the tribe, “We have just come through what was undoubtedly the greatest ordeal that our tribe has ever faced. It was brought about by a man who betrayed our trust in him. It would be easy to blame all men—any man—but we know better, don't we? Recently, we had a situation where the tribe was endangered by one of our own who killed our beloved queen and tried to take over the tribe by killing me and enslaving my mate. There are good…and bad…among both women and men. Fortunately, we have the very best of both.“I know I don't have to describe the many good deeds of Dennis or Scott, or of Kevin. Sean has worked tirelessly to bring us a new and stronger metal—iron—to use in our weapons and tools. Adam and the others have helped build fences for our livestock and expand our chicken coops. All our men have contributed mightily to the tribe and, let us not forget all the successful mating that has occurred although I see that many of you enjoy the practicing a bit too much.” I heard the open laughter ripple through the tribe, but I still had no idea where all this was going.“Now, I want to ask you…how many of you could have broken the ropes that tied your wrists?” I was astonished that almost all the tribeswomen raised their hands. “See, David,” she said turning to me, “I told you.” Returning to the tribe she continued, “There is no doubt that we could have rushed and overpowered the guards, but…at what cost? How many of our tribe would have perished…fifty…a hundred…more? I have spoken at length with Misa. She told me that she and her sister were occupied with Sean and that only David recognized immediately that there was a problem. She told me that David developed the plan to free me at risk of his own life. I know that he singlehandedly killed the first two guards—the action that enabled me—and you—to free ourselves. I credit my mate, Dr. David Schneider, with saving at least one hundred lives. Therefore, I have decided to name my son, the first boy ever born to a Queen of our tribe, Davy in his honor. Additionally, I proclaim him to be a hero of the tribe. What say you?”I knelt there all this time, never realizing what an orator Hosi could be. Now I was even more amazed as I listened to the tribe chant—“David…David…David,” until Hosi silenced them. She produced a small crown woven of vines and flowers which she placed on my head. “David, you have shown yourself to be an excellent mate and your dedication to the welfare of the tribe is unquestionable. I am proud to proclaim you a hero of the tribe. Rise, my hero!” I stood, totally in shock of what had just happened, until Hosi took me into her arms and kissed me, pulling me closely to her body. We kissed unashamedly until we were interrupted by a messenger from the patrol.“My Queen…strangers again approach our lands. Harry told me they were…uh…what do you call men who hunt illegally?”“You mean…poachers,” I asked.“Yes, that is the word he used. I remember now.”I turned to Hosi, “This could be very dangerous. These men will be killers. The others were just loggers, hard men, but not killers. I will go at once and I will need twenty-five of your best archers.” I ran into the palace to prepare and when I returned the archers were ready. Hosi took me aside, kissed me briefly and begged me to be careful. I promised I would be and left at a trot. I had taken to training with the warriors and it showed. I could run at a much better pace now, but I would never be their equal. An hour later I was breathing hard when we ran into Harry and his team. He explained where they were and how they were making their way through the jungle. He told me there was a small clearing less than a half mile from their current position. I laid my plans. I expected them to be aggressive and if they were they would die quickly, but I didn't want any who surrendered peacefully to be killed. I had an idea that we might be able to use some more men. I dropped my weapons and took my cross from my pocket. Everyone looked at me as if I was crazy, but, once again, it was all part of my plan. I reviewed my signals again and repeated my instructions even though I knew it was all unnecessary. These women were the best soldiers I had ever seen. They knew how to follow orders.I stepped to the edge of the clearing and spoke loudly once I saw them approach. In Portuguese I began, “May the peace of the Lord be with you and protect you always, my brothers.”They looked dumfounded for almost a minute before one of them asked the leader, “What'd he say, boss? What the fuck is he doin' out here in the fuckin' jungle?”“Never mind, you imbecile. Let me handle this.”“Ah, I see you speak English,” I replied cheerfully, “Are you Americans?”“No, we're Brits, but that's enough questions from you. What're you doing way out here miles from civilization?”“As you can see I am a missionary. There are several of us here. We live and work with the savages here, teaching them about our Lord and Savior. I am here to tell you that you must turn back. Ahead is a private wildlife sanctuary belonging to our church.”“Oh, man, boss, a wildlife sanctuary…just what we need.” I reached behind my back and made a fist. It was the sign to make ready.The leader began to draw his pistol and as he did the remaining members of his troupe lowered their rifles—all except one who dropped his rifle to the ground. I stood perfectly still as his revolver cleared the holster. As it approached horizontal more than two dozen arrows rent the air driving the men to their deaths. However, using incredible judgment the one who dropped his rifle was spared—not a single arrow struck him even though he was tightly packed between two others. He took one look at the Amazons and turned, running into the jungle. Two—twin sisters—dropped their bows and bounded after him. It was no contest; they caught him within fifty yards, returning him to me in less than a minute.I told the twins to bind his wrists as they had to me so long ago. He sat, obviously extremely agitated and afraid. I knelt and spoke to him softly in Portuguese. “Relax, no harm will come to you. Would you like some water?” He nodded and I produced a canteen, given to me by one of the warriors. Lita, one of his twin captors gently held it to his mouth. I could see that he was merely a youth, probably no more than eighteen. I continued, “You have been bound to prevent you from injuring one of us, but do not be afraid. I was once also bound as you are now. Why did you drop your rifle?”He was hesitant at first, but as he began to speak the words flowed out of him like water. “I am not one of them. I am only a servant. My family is very poor. My parents sold me to them to be their servant. I'm more a slave, though. They beat me just for fun. I am glad they are dead…even if I have to die, too. I do not know why I tried to run. I cannot go back. There are more there…the leader and two others. ”“You are not going to die, but it seems that you have no place to go so I will offer you the opportunity to join us. These twin sisters seem to fancy you. I think I will ask our Queen to give you to them. No…you won't be their servant or their slave. I am sure this is all very confusing to you, but it will become clear soon enough. Do you know any English?”“A little, Senhor. I study in school, like all students, but I no use it so I forget.”“That's OK. It will come back to you quickly. Now, up with you.” I split the team into three groups—one to remove the bodies from the area. I detailed fifteen warriors for that work after telling them to remove all the arrows so they could be used again. The second group of two I returned to the village with Harry to inform the Queen. The rest of us back tracked the trail to remove all the traps they had set. The young man, Paulo by name, would lead us in this effort.We trekked for almost two hours before coming to their base. There were a number of cages filled with animals. We released all of the herd animals first, allowing them to escape quickly into the bush. Then we came to the two jaguars held securely in strong steel cages. I gave the tribeswomen their instructions—spears up and forward…bows cocked with arrows as I climbed onto the cages and released them one at a time. Rather than attack they each ran quickly into the jungle going in opposite directions. Jaguars are primarily solitary animals except when they mate. Finally, I released the snakes, being most careful with these; the small ones were all venomous and the big ones could constrict me or any one of us to death in minutes. Fortunately, they were more interested in escape than a meal.I checked the camp, taking anything I thought might be of value to us. I resolved to return later to salvage all the steel. I was sure that Sean could come up with a way for us to use it, maybe for knives or short swords. We returned slowly to the village. When we were near the passage to the valley I explained to Paulo that he had to be blindfolded. “Don't worry. You should know by now that we're not going to kill you. We could have done that back at the ambush. Now, follow the lead of your handlers. We have to cross a narrow stone ledge. They will guide you and once in the valley we will be able to remove your blindfold and maybe even your bindings.” He nodded and stood while Lita applied her scarf to his eyes. She and her sister led him forward.We turned him around several times to confuse his sense of direction before leading him through the portal. I could see Lita and her sister talking gently to him as they led him slowly across the ledge. He breathed a sigh of relief once he was across. We stepped carefully down the stone steps and five minutes later I gave the instructions to remove his blindfold and bindings. We walked easily toward the village, the stunned Paulo holding hands with his two gorgeous “captors.”I instructed Paulo to kneel before the Queen. I was just about to speak when Hosi grabbed me lifted me up and pulled me into a deep kiss. “I'm so glad you are safe. Your messengers told me what you did. Are you crazy…going out there without any weapons?”“It seemed the best idea at the time and it worked. Besides, aren't I the big hero?”“Oh…you! I swear I should give you …!”“OK, I know it was dangerous, but they were dangerous men. We could have just ambushed and killed them, but then we wouldn't have a new male to join us. Come and meet him. His name is Paulo.” He was kneeling as instructed with a twin on each side. Hosi spoke to him kindly and sent him on his way to the baths and toilet before his first night with the insatiable twins. I had fucked Lita back when I was working for the Queen. I had a great idea what lay in store for our new friend.I sought out Lita and Lina the following morning. As expected they were fresh as the morning dew. Paulo, however, was sleeping in. Lita explained: "We first took Paulo to the toilets. He was funny…very shy about voiding in front of others, but we cured him of that, didn't we Lina?”“Oh, yes, we stripped him—he tried to fight us, but we are much stronger than he is-- and carried him in. We made him sit between us as we did our business. I held his penis and Lita wiped him when we were done. Why are men so shy about this? It is only a normal bodily function, after all.” I laughed and asked them to continue. “Then we went to the baths. That was better; we washed each other…very, very thoroughly. We liked his penis, didn't we, Lita?”“Oh yes…he, he…and it liked us, too. It was as hard as my dagger and as thick as our spears. We dried ourselves and walked home hand in hand. We ate a light meal and went right to bed, placing Paulo between us. We kissed and touched each other for almost an hour. I think he was afraid to…you know…so we led him,” they giggled, “…the first time. Lita rolled him onto his back and took his penis into her mouth. I was afraid he would shoot his seed in her mouth, but she stopped in time. Tell him, Lita.”“It has been a long time since I had a hard penis in my mouth. I think yours was the last, but you are now…oh, what is the term? Out of reach? Untouchable? Well, you are the Queen's mate; you belong to our Queen. I loved the hard flesh in my mouth and the soft skin was wonderful. I sensed he was getting close to shooting so I stopped. When his breathing became regular again I sat on his penis. I loved watching it disappear slowly into me. Paulo has a very nice penis…almost as nice as yours. I began to rock and he shot into me almost immediately. Lina and I kissed him for a while and then I let her have a turn. She was able to ride him for quite some time before he shot into her. We did it again and again until both of us had an orgasm—is that the right word?”I nodded, a smile on my face, “So…how many times?”“Three for each of us…six for him. We think that is why he is still asleep.”“I'm glad it went so well. Just don't kill him…OK?” My favorite twins laughed until they shook. They walked back into their house, woke Paulo and went back to work. I chuckled all the way back to the palace. I was looking forward to seeing how he would help improve life in the village.I was surprised to find Adam and a group of warriors waiting in the plaza. “David,” he said, “do you think we could see the Queen this morning? I have an idea. I've discussed it with….” He pointed to the group who only smiled, “and they think it's a good idea.”“C'mon in and let's see. I don't think she is too busy this morning.” I led them into the throne room where Hosi was waiting for me. I grinned wildly as I showed her my “thumb's up” for Paulo's first night. When she gave me a questioning look I held up six fingers. She returned my smile. When I reached her side she whispered into my ear, “That will be us in another 24 days. That's when Dennis says we can make love again. Until then you will have to make do with my tongue and my hand.”Breaking away from her, I introduced Adam. He had been mostly quiet during his months in the village. He was trained as an accountant, a skill we had no use for, but he was a good man and was conscientious in his sexual responsibilities to the tribe. So far he had willingly fucked almost eighty women in addition to satisfying his regular lover. He stepped up cautiously, “My Queen I have an idea I would like to explain to you. I have reviewed it with Dennis and he agrees it has merit. We currently derive all our drinking water from the river, but that means we are susceptible to anything that happens upstream like dead animals or mudslides, or…well, just about anything that can affect the health of the tribe. I would like to trace the origin of the river to see if there is some way we can improve on that. The water has to come from somewhere. If we can find the source we may be able to do something to protect our drinking water supply. I…we…would like your approval to search.” He stepped back and bowed.Hosi looked to me for advice. “I think it's a good idea.” Hosi gave her approval and Adam left with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. Adam disappeared for almost a month. In that time Hosi received Dennis's OK to resume sex with me. It was almost three months since our son had been born. You'd think I'd be counting the days, but I was so involved with projects in the village that…. Hosi gave no clues until I came home one afternoon covered in sweat and stone dust from rebuilding a wall that had crumbled after more than four hundred years of service.There was a note on our bed—“Meet me in the baths. I hope you have saved some energy. You will need it.” “Oh, great,” I thought, the big day—one I've awaited for months--has to be one where I've spent the entire day hefting hundred-plus pound blocks of granite. If I had to go six times like Paulo I'd certainly be dead. I stripped out of my filthy clothes and took off at a trot for the baths. Luckily, they were only a block away. Hosi was there with our children. Kela jumped up and down when she saw her daddy, splashing everyone within ten feet. She loved the water and could already swim across our community pool. She often terrified her mother by swimming underwater, disappearing beneath the cool dark water for many seconds before surfacing God only knows where. I loved her dearly, but she was a real handful.Hosi took one look at me and laughed. I was covered in rock dust and whitewash, looking more like a Halloween ghost than her husband and lover. She gave Davy to one of her guards and walked to me. “Poor baby; you look exhausted. Just wait until later. I don't think you'll be getting much sleep tonight.” All the tribeswomen laughed hysterically. There were few secrets in the village and our sex life was usually an open book. What else would one expect when every step, every breath was observed by as many as twenty guards? We had doors in the palace, but we rarely used them. Now the entire tribe would know how much and how often we loved each other. I didn't care; one look at the woman I loved and everyone else disappeared.She came to me, extended her hand and led me to the bath. A guard handed her the soap as she eased me into the cool water. Hosi sat behind me, kissing my cheek and neck as she reached around me to wash the filth from my body. I leaned back, cushioning my body against her swollen breasts. I envied Davy and longed for the day when I could once again suckle at my wife's breast. I turned my head to kiss Hosi; it was quick and relatively chaste. “Tonight, huh? Good choice; I hope I can stay awake.” I was being serious, but everyone within earshot began to laugh.“Don't you worry, darling,” Hosi whispered, “I think I can keep you awake.” Now there was more than laughter—there was howling in the baths and soon it spread to the streets and lanes. Hosi finished washing me and pulled me up. She dried me carefully, paying an awful lot of attention to my now turgid cock. I was turning red with embarrassment and it only got worse when Hosi led me away by my erection.We walked past the grinning guards—did everyone know what Hosi had planned? She led me to our bedroom, pushed me onto the bed and jumped on top of me. “I love you, David and now I'm going to prove it to you.”“Hosi, you prove it to me every day—the way you hold me, the way you kiss me, the way you care for our children…everything you do.”“Perhaps…but I need to prove this to you—I need you…need you inside me to make me feel complete.” Hosi rubbed her breasts into my chest and sighed, “You know…I still love the feeling of your hair on my skin. It makes me want you so much.” She continued as I placed my hands along the sides of her glorious orbs.Her rubbing left droplets of milk on my chest. “How long,” I wondered, “before Davy wants his next meal?”“If you're wondering about Davy let me tell you he's spending the night elsewhere…with a friend who is still producing milk and Kela is at what Scott called a sleep-over with Sama. She told me they would be up all night, but they'll be sound asleep by now. You're stuck with me all night, but you're not going to sleep…not yet, anyway.” She rubbed her slit against my cock. No matter how tired I might be it could always be counted on to respond. “Oh my, you're not as tired as you think. You feel like a rock down there—a rock I'm planning to use over and over tonight. Seriously, David, I have missed you so much.”“Then stop talking and put me into you. I've missed you, too…more than I can tell you.” Hosi smiled for a few seconds and then my cock disappeared into her hot wet hole. I could never understand how she could stay so tight after having Kela. Now, after having two children, she was still as tight as a virgin. Maybe it was her warrior training or just great genes, but her appearance hadn't changed at all. I'd bet that she didn't gain even a pound after her two pregnancies.Hosi rose up slowly, savoring the sensation of having me in her, of having me stretch her vaginal walls. I could see the rapture in her eyes as she dropped down onto my cock again. She moved so slowly, looking into my eyes the entire time. She moved her nipple to my mouth, encouraging me to suckle. “Go ahead, darling. I'll have plenty tomorrow for Davy. I know you've wanted this for a long time. Suckle me—drink my hot delicious milk.” I lifted my head and wrapped my lips around her hard nipple and suckled like her baby—in many respects I was. She was stronger than me by far. She could mold me to her will. If she wanted to she could take me over her knee and spank me like a child. She was the Queen—she could make all the decisions and the women of the tribe would support her. Why didn't she do all these things? My only answer was that she really did love me.I was really beat, but I couldn't resist Hosi—I began to move, driving my hard hot cock deep into her. Soon we had established our rhythm as Hosi drove her clit into me with my every thrust. She closed her eyes and arched her back. She held still for just a moment before grunting loudly and driving herself forward with unbelievable force. She fell gently onto my chest. Kissing my neck she whispered, “That was incredible. I can't believe how much I've missed that.”“Why are you whispering?” I replied, “Doesn't the entire village know what's going on? It certainly seemed that way at the baths.”“Oh, dear! I hope you're not angry with me. I was so happy that we could make love again I told everyone I met.” She was on the verge of crying. I pulled her into a long deep kiss, my tongue searching for and finding hers. I broke the kiss after a minute, “No, Hosi I'm not angry. I learned a long time ago that there's no privacy around here. How many times have the guards run in when one of us is screaming in ecstasy? No, Hosi I love you too much to let a little thing like that bother me.” I let her know for sure by thrusting up deep into her pussy. Apparently there were some advantages to being tired—I hadn't cum despite all of Hosi's actions on my cock.She leaned up and grinned, “I thought you were tired.” I just shrugged my shoulders and smiled. I drove into her again and she moved up and kissed me. She held my head--her fingers in my hair—as she began her own movements. Hosi was both strong and flexible and it showed as she bent my cock into positions I never even imagined existed. Every bend of my cock created friction that was going to ultimately drive me absolutely crazy with desire and the need to cum.On and on she drove, grinding her clit into me. I was mesmerized by the sight of her swollen breasts swaying in rhythm with her motions. I thrust up every time she rolled forward, driving myself as deeply into her body as humanly possible. I may have been exhausted, but I surely wasn't dead. My cock reacted, more slowly than usual maybe, but it was making up for lost time now. I could feel a tiny rumble deep within my balls. It built in intensity with every thrust. After several minutes I was right at the edge; I needed to get over—it was driving me mad with lust. Hosi must have sensed it because she suddenly shifted into overdrive. She still ground her clit into me with force and energy, but now she was doing it faster—much faster than I thought possible. I could see that she was getting close; could I hold back for her? After pushing myself to cum—being desperate to reach orgasm—now I tried to throttle down, to control my reactions for my lover. I still met her every thrust, but with slightly less energy and force. I held myself right on the edge until I saw Hosi tense, shudder, and shake in orgasmic bliss. My orgasm was anything but bliss—I exploded in her, savagely drowning her pussy and womb in my seed. I wrapped my arms around Hosi, holding her close and kissing her repeatedly—her cheek, her neck, her hair.The next thing I knew the light was shining through the skylight and Hosi was looking down at me, a smile on her face. “I guess you really were tired. C'mon, we both need to bathe then we'll eat and relax.” I had a pretty good idea what Hosi meant by “relax” and I was all for it.I rose and began to dress, but Hosi stopped me. “I want everyone to see your seed on your organ and legs. I want everyone to know that we were able to make love again.”“I would have thought everyone knew already. You know how news spreads here in the village.” I dropped my shorts and followed her—both of us naked—for the short stroll to the baths. We passed many of the tribeswomen on the way and they all noticed the dried semen on my shriveled cock and Hosi's thighs. All smiled happily, but said nothing. Some of the men were also there and their reaction was the same, although they patted me on the back. I didn't know what the big deal was—everyone who could was fucking themselves silly every day of the week.We finally reached the baths where everyone was naked. I slipped slowly into the cool river water as I noticed Paulo sitting on the other side of the bath. I slid my arm around Hosi and kissed her as I waved Paulo closer. “How are you doing, Paulo? I'll bet you never imagined what's happened over the past weeks.”“No, Senhor, I was a virgin when I came here. I had a girlfriend when I was sold to those men, but after that I had no hope…none at all. I am very happy to be here.”“How are the twins treating you? I know them well and Hosi knows them even better. They are her close friends.”“They are after me all day and night. I love it, but it is tiring and they tell me I must also…uh, do it with others in the tribe.”“Yes, Paulo,” Hosi replied, “all the men have a group of tribeswomen they must satisfy. Even David was under the Queen's orders to mate with others. I hated to know David was with other women, but our duty to the tribe comes first. If you see Dennis in the hospital he will explain everything to you. Some of us are on birth control, but we need to grow the tribe and you can be an important part of that.”We chatted with Paulo and several tribeswomen for almost a half hour while Hosi washed me and I returned the favor. I was somewhat refreshed when we exited and dried ourselves. We walked with our arms around each other back to the palace. Davy was there anxiously awaiting his next meal. Hosi accommodated him by taking him to her nipple, the same nipple she had used to nourish me last evening. We sat naked—Hosi, Kela, and me—for our breakfast which consisted of excellent scrambled eggs. I added salt and ketchup which I had bought months ago on a visit to the city. Kevin had planted a huge patch of tomatoes which we were all enjoying immensely. Soon we were going to make our own ketchup, but not being a cook it was a job I'd leave to others. Hosi gave the children to the guards once we were done and we returned to our room. “Time to ‘relax,' eh.”Hosi laughed, but picked me up and tossed me on the bed. I often pitied the poor tribeswomen who maintained the palace. We were in and out of bed so often it hardly paid to ever make it, yet as soon as we left it was remade with clean sheets washed in the river and dried over a nearby fence. Being Queen was a tough job, but it had its advantages.We were both naked so when Hosi jumped on me there was nothing between us but skin. I rubbed my hands up and down her wonderful body. I spent a lot of time on her ass—so smooth yet so incredibly muscular and powerful. I looked up into her eyes and mouthed, “I love you so much…more than life itself.”A tear came to her eye, “Please don't talk like that, David. You have no idea how much I worried about you when you went after those poachers…and then to go out there with no weapons. I thought I would faint when Harry told me about that. Now I have you here with me…I never want to let you go…never! Now I want you to lie still. Consider that a royal proclamation. I'm doing all the work.”I raised my hand meekly, just like when I was a dweeby kid in elementary school, “Is it OK if I play with your breasts and maybe kiss you a bit? After all, I wouldn't want to get into trouble.”“I'll go you one better—open that mouth and latch on to my nipple. My friend is taking care of Davy again today so there will be plenty for you. I think you're going to need it. You only came once last night and I only came twice. I hope to double that today. I'm taking a holiday—no work—only you.” Hosi leaned forward dropping her leaking nipple into my waiting mouth as she reached between my legs for my hard cock. She rubbed it into her slit several times before changing the angle slightly allowing me to slide effortlessly into her warmth. Hosi moved slowly and when I tried to respond she held her finger up to stop me.I got the message—lie still and suck on my tit. That's what I did—for a few seconds anyway then I couldn't help myself. I rocked with Hosi, keeping time with her motions. She gave me a stern look so I shrugged my shoulders and whispered, “I'm only human, you know. I can never resist you, especially at a time like this.” She gave me another stern look but she couldn't hold it. In seconds we were laughing like a couple of idiots. All attempts at reserve were shattered. Our lovemaking became frenetic and totally out of control. Several guards walked in to give Hosi a message—they were ignored until, after several minutes, we tensed simultaneously and with one final exertion thrust hard into each other and came and came and came. We collapsed onto the bed covered in sweat. Only then did Hosi realize that we weren't alone.“This had better be important,” she said threateningly.“We think it is. Adam and his party have returned. They have found the source of the river and more important…some kind of well coming out of the mountain.”“Don't yell at them,” I told Hosi, “This could be the answer to all our prayers—an artesian well.”“What is this, David? I don't understand.”“Let's go out and hear what they have to say.” We rose hurriedly, cum dripping down our legs, dressed and walked quickly to the throne room.”Adam was grinning when we approached, “Um, sorry to disturb you my Queen…you lucky dog, David.” I gave him a playful punch, but I really wanted to hear what he had to say.“We followed the river upstream for seven days when we found a tributary. We left that alone and followed the main river up into the mountain. We followed it all the way to a huge glacier. It must be more than a hundred feet thick. Water ran off from underneath at a tremendous rate. We knew we couldn't do anything with the glacier so we returned downstream until we reached that tributary again. We followed it up the mountain for two days until we found the source. The water came up right out of the mountain. Is that what you call an artesian well?”“It sounds like it, but I'll have to see it to be sure, I replied. I turned to Hosi to explain, “What they found was a glacier. Think of a mountain of ice—solid water. Remember when we were in New York? We had ice in many of our drinks? Well, this is a natural event. It gets very cold up high in the mountains and instead of rain they will get snow. That is solid water falling from the sky. It is so cold that the snow never melts into regular water. Over hundreds of years the snow builds up and compacts into ice just like we had in our drinks only millions of times larger. The ice is called a glacier. It's really heavy so it slides down the mountain, but it moves very slowly. I've seen glaciers crush huge boulders like I would crush an egg. I don't think we can do anything with the glacial water, but an artesian well is something else.“Sometimes water gets underground and moves through the rock. Limestone like we have in the baths is one of the best. It has very tiny holes in it, so small that they can't be seen. The stone filters everything out of the water so it's usually totally pure. If it's close enough we can run a pipe from there to the village. We'd have an unending supply of pure clean water.” Hosi smiled. I knew she would trust my judgment. We allowed Adam to rest for a few days before we left for the mountains. He had taken the long way there, but now we were able to take a much shorter and direct route. I used my GPS to take the coordinates of the village. I noted the geological features as we walked, stopping to use my rock hammer and pick several times. When we reached the source I saw it was indeed an artesian well. The GPS told me it was about fifteen miles as the crow flies to the village and it was downhill all the way. I patted Adam on the back and hugged all the women on the team.We returned to the village and met with Scott. He told us we could buy huge spools of PVC pipe. Each spool would hold more than a mile of pipe. We could run it down the hill to the village. He described how we could collect the water at the source and build a fountain in the plaza where it could be distributed. Now the issue was how to buy the piping. It took us months to buy and transport the pipe to the valley. Moving it up to the mountain was a breeze—one Amazon every twenty feet made moving it child's play. Scott coordinated the construction of a stone pool lined with the same primitive concrete that we used in the irrigation channels in the plaza with overflow diverted directly into the river. At the source a catch basin was constructed. Wherever possible the piping was dug underground. Where that couldn't be done the exposed pipe was buried under rocks that were concreted in place. The entire tribe was on hand when the water began to flow. The mood was much like it had been when Scott erected his water wheel several years before. Nobody was happier than Dennis. This could mean an end to treating the villagers for dysentery and cholera. Dysentery was an annoyance, but cholera could wipe out half the tribe before he was able to get it under control.I held Hosi's hand as the fresh pure water began to flow from the pipe. We had built the fountain so the pipe was almost four feet higher than the catch basin. Watching the arc flow was fascinating—a testimony to the determination that had been the symbol of Hosi's reign. It showed how much could be accomplished even out here in the wild jungle. I was wrapped up in the ceremony until Hosi leaned into me, her soft breast brushing against my arm. “I'm pregnant again,” she whispered, “I told you I wanted another ten.” I kissed her briefly and looked up into the clouds. My eyes wandered over the verdant valley, the happy people, and back to my wife. I couldn't wait to get her alone so I could show her once again how much I loved her. What a life—what a wonderful life!To be continued, by senorlongo for SexStories.

Lynnea Erickson Laskowski suffered a double loss with this English Premier League championship. But she's OK.

Welcome to the Relational Grace Podcast where we share the teachings of Pastor Nick Harris who taught us that Christianity is not a religion; it's a relationship. I'm your host Jamie Russell, Pastor Harris's son.Last episode Pastor Harris talked about Absalom, Son of David, as he made his plans for a coup d'etat against his very own father.  He left Jerusalem making his home in Hebron, which was the first capital city of David. Apparently David found nothing curious about this, he had no suspicion as to Absalom's move.  He was totally unaware when the coup erupted. This seems really odd, as it takes a great deal of time organizing a revolt, in fact, Absolom may have spent as much as four years time planning it and yet David had not the smallest inkling of an idea that he was planning it. Absalom was extremely shrewd in his dealing with the revolt. Somehow Absalom had begun to win all the hearts of the people of Israel. He had somehow made them think that a man who had just taken revenge on his brother and had killed him was a man devoted to justice. He seemed to convince people that words were more profitable than actions.  He was even able to lure 200 of Jerusalem's best citizens to Hebron to join him. Therefore cunning and deceit seemed to be some of his best qualities. He used them many times in his dealings leading up to the revolt and during the revolt.  He used them to induce the majority of the men of Israel to turn against his very own father, their great King David.  Even David's own tribe of Judah was ready to abandon David and follow Absalom.  This man was capable of much.  For this reason and many others, he proves though that he was not fit to be king of God's chosen Nation.  But his father does not come out of the story looking that great either.  In fact, he gets had by his own son who was able to pull the rug right out from under him without even seeing it.  He didn't smell the revolt for the four long years that his son was in Hebron. So David does not look that great either, in fact he looks quite complacent. For this reason it looks like he was out of touch; it left room for Absolom to come in and steal their hearts. A big lesson learned here is this: It  is essential for good leaders to remain in touch with the people of their nation. All this said, neither David nor his son were the most ideal leaders.  But at least David was a man after God's own heart and he showed this when Jerusalem was about to be laid under siege he fled and protected it.  And Absalom, as Pastor Harris will demonstrate, cared nothing for people, he did not care how many people died as long as he remained in power.So let's jump into the seventeenth episode of The Saga of David series, titled, “David's Sons Revolt”.Support the show

Hello and welcome to Episode 52 of Jurassic Minutes, The February issue.  Where we discuss recent movie, toy and franchise news for the Jurassic series.    Introductions Brad David   On this episode we will be discussing  Yes we are going to talk about the new film. Actually that's pretty much all we are going to talk about…   So stay tuned as we discuss all of that and more... But first,   Recent Toy or Prop Purchases? Brad - nil  Dave - TLW Bull T-Rex HC repaint   Now for the news 00:12:07 -new Jurassic film on the way, and a lot closer to release then most thought. Now all this must be taken with a grain of salt. We've already seen new stories confirmed and then things have fallen through so nothing is set in concrete. It's why we don't rush to get news content out there like everyone else. The other podcasts have already had lengthy discussions about the new movie news and now most of it is a mute point because of what we will discuss shortly.    Here's what we know; -The Hollywood reporter wrote an article about David koepp returning to pen new Jurassic film. Lastest works include Indy 5. And although his final script wasn't used by mangold, the original story idea was Micheal koepps.    Universal said the script was written and in a place they thought was strong enough to start production on the seventh film. https://www.facebook.com/100064603813478/posts/pfbid02Wjqesv1ixRrtwo5qJn2Q4FWEhBgmUktB18cTVN4cemsX4GmmWV9FE2iW64fBcn2el/   -it was then revealed Steve Brusatte was returning as paleontology consultant for upcoming Jurassic film!  https://www.facebook.com/100064603813478/posts/pfbid02yZs7eHqWXZLKWfk1qonZxLFPzjbiVka5qxbSoMimuifFG3HSPnZdL9SmC2cG2m5fl/   -and then came the flood of small click bait articles about Bryce returning, maybe directing, Brian Cranston wanting to be in it with Bryce. Apparently Bryce was asked to return, spoiler alert for later she said no. And then someone reported that none of the original or world cast would be returning. No would Colin travarrow. Which is for the best. He gave us a trilogy story. Time for someone else to give us a new take and story.    -next, According to Deadline Hollywood, David Leitch was in talks to direct the next Jurassic film and its release date was confirmed as July 2nd, 2025!   As for the release date. A lot are saying that's way too early, including me and the feeling of it being rushed is very present.     First up to defend it, don't forget dominion was pushed back a year. In that year they wouldn't have changed anything with the film, we've discussed this before. But it would have given them an early start on what was coming next. And yes during the marketing for dominion it was said to be the final chapter in the jurassic story etc etc, but frank Marshall had said it's the start of a new jurassic era. So it can be pretty much assumed the new film will feature the post dominion world.     As for the director, His known in the franchise as the second unit director for jw, he also did a fast & furious and John wick film, and some others that aren't really important now because…… https://www.facebook.com/100064603813478/posts/pfbid02WzamZGuJHZLK4i8BtujTcSA8cX7vSCbuNnV8NgtbjhaXD393xqUkyP98atRZHuvJl/   -Deadline reported talks have fallen through with David Leitch, who will no longer direct the next jurassic film.  It would appear fans jumped the gun with shit talking the director before he was even locked in to direct. All the previous articles and reports state “in talks” or “in negotiations” everyone assumed it was a sure thing. https://www.facebook.com/100064603813478/posts/pfbid0371aBJfwiDDs5EpF3z3miVZ3R71WNBjXGxUkxr1vyo5SvQR8rw2HGV93hpnR7TeTql/   We talked earlier about David koepp writing the Indy script and then mangold coming in and changing a whole part of it. Even David's the lost world script changed a lot during production, we've talked a lot about that. Having a strong scrip now doesn't mean you'll have a ready film in just 15 months. No director at this point concerns me, either a puppet director will come in and make the film universal want, or they will hire someone that will then make changes to the script and next thing the films being moved to July 2026.     We also don't know what else has been going on behind the scenes. At this point animatronics and pre production should be started and leaks will probably start coming out shortly, plus principal photography will most likely start mid year with a large portion being filmed in England once again.   So time will tell. With all the Jurassic films averaging a billion dollars we were wrong to think universal would just sit on the franchise for a few years. This also probably rule out any live action tv show for the time being, unless assets made for this film will continue on in a tv format. It hasn't been announced if this is the start of a new trilogy, but personally with the world being a lot smaller then a star war or trek universe maybe go back to individual movies with maybe one or two through points but new casts, new locations and maybe some old ones, and just give us good story telling and dinosaurs.    00:47:17 -okay so also in the news docket, while we are talking David Leitch, he was the second unit director on jurassic world, and filmed the unimog chase scene from that film. A scene we talked a lot about because of some interesting structures in the back ground that looked very abandoned jurassic park. His production assistant recently dumped a heap of info on twitter, including the location of that scene.  https://maps.app.goo.gl/PMjUVa6oXP47LJfu6   01:06:36 -original JP Rex assets used in resent episode of La Brae. Beloved to be season 3 episode 6.    -that's pretty much it for the news, there was an announcement of a Hammond collection Claire but no photos yet so we will check that out next month. We are also heading into the 10th anniversary of jurassic world so expect a lot of jw themed figures on the way. Mattel hasn't done a lot with the first film so this year we might be getting thier chance on that toy line.   -also just yesterday beyond the gates posted up some images from 1996 of some of the ingen unimogs presumable parked on the back lot either pre or post filming of the lost world. These photos keep surfacing, what else is out there yet to be found.   Outro Thank you for listening.  -Anything else we'd like to bring up? You can find us the following ways   web site: www.jurassicminutes.wordpress.com Email: thelostworldminute@gmail.com Facebook page: groups/jurassicminutes Twitter: @jurassicMinute Instagram: Jurassicmimutes Links to The Lost World and Jurassic Park 3, and Jurassic World Minutes can be found at the web site.   

It's been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively practically define the nature of Christ.   Even David the shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about his loving God? He said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” We instinctively know what goodness is. It's a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected.   Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, o man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”   And in life, we understand the distinction between good and evil—these two forces always warring with each other. The key thing to remember in this conflict is that God is good—and infinitely stronger than evil. That's important to remember, as we see injustice.   What did Micah tell us? That goodness is wrapped up in the choices we make. Oppose injustice. Love what is kind. And be humble. The truth is, all of us have been given so much good by our good God, that it should be second nature to model that for those we meet in our journey.   Let's pray.   Lord, thank you for your sweet goodness. Sustain us with that goodness for the journey. In Jesus' name, amen.   

When's the last time you just played? Kids are experts at this! We can tell a kid to “go play”, and they innately know what that means. We adults can be quite good at finding reasons not to play, not knowing how to play, or frankly, being too busy to play.  In 2 Samuel, David manages to bring the Ark home to Jerusalem and a huge celebration ensues. Harps, tambourines, cymbals. Even David is in the procession, wearing priest's robes and dancing with all his might. Everyone is full of joy. But then he sees Michal, his wife, who chides him for having made a fool of himself. Michal is in all of us. Michal's voice is the voice of our inner-critic, weighing and judging and critiquing the ways we and others play. Play is all over Scripture. Jesus himself attended loads of celebrations and dinner parties and says that unless we become like little children, we will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. What if we learned from our children? Believing that God invites us to play, if for no other reason than that God is good.

We witness David transporting the Ark of the Lord in 2 Samuel 6, and as they journey, a man named Uzzah reaches out to grab the Ark to save it from falling to the ground. As a result, God struck Uzzah and killed him. What follows are some of the most interesting Scriptures in the Bible. Why would God punish Uzzah for trying to do what appears to be a good and noble thing? Even David shows his anger at God for killing Uzzah. We've all undoubtedly shaken our fists at God when he does things that don't make sense to us. In order to understand this story, we must first understand the true holiness of God and our deep sinfulness. We do not understand God's judgment because we do not comprehend the wickedness of our sinfulness. In the presence of the Lord, we see the great holiness of God and the great joy of His people. Visit us online at: www.RenewalChurch.net

God's Word for Today 28 Aug 2023 Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause     against an ungodly people, from the deceitful and unjust man     deliver me! 2 For you are the God in whom I take refuge;     why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning     because of the oppression of the enemy? 3 Send out your light and your truth;     let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill     and to your dwelling! 4 Then I will go to the altar of God,     to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre,     O God, my God. 5 Why are you cast down, O my soul,     and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,     my salvation and my God. -Psa 43:1-5 ESV GOD IS MY EXCEEDING JOY Psalm 43 shares themes with Psalm 42 so that many believe they may have originally been a single work. It is an appeal for God to deliver righteous justice [vindication] in an experience of sinful oppression or persecution from "ungodly people"[perhaps, Gentiles?] probably he was exiled in Babylon or somewhere in the north[Psa 42:6] Such hardship may have caused grief, even a suspicion that the Lord has abandoned him. The psalmist says, “For you are the God in whom I take refuge;     why have you rejected me? Why do I go about mourning     because of the oppression of the enemy?[v.2] There is a danger to focusing on our circumstances than on God's immutable character. Though our circumstances are going from bad to worse, God remains the same. In a sudden twist, the psalmist pleaded for God's ‘light' and ‘truth' to guide him back to the ‘holy hill', referring to the temple of God at Jerusalem. [v.3] Habakkuk 2:20 affirms that "the LORD is in his holy temple." This implies that the psalmist was groping in darkness, farther from the truth. There was a holy dissatisfaction in his life. Today, God's Spirit guides believers by granting them understanding through God's truth, His holy Word. Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would teach them all things (John 14:26;1 Cor 2:6–16), and He identified God's Word as truth (John 17:17).  The psalmist anticipates a hopeful moment, looking forward to approaching the altar and praising God with music once again. For, God is his exceeding joy. Is He to you and me? Even David has  expressed this joy, as he says, “ “One thing have I asked of the Lord,     that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord     all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord     and to inquire in his temple.” [Psa 27:4] There is no experience comparable to being in the presence of God. As Psa 84:10 says, “For a day in your courts is better     than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God     than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”[Psa 84:10] Nothing can quench this desire. Thus, the psalmist concluded, “ Why are you cast down, O my soul,     and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,     my salvation and my God.”[v.5] Listen and FOLLOW us on our podcast  Spotify: http://bit.ly/glccfil_spotify  Apple Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-applepcast  Google Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-googlepcast Audible Podcast: http://bit.ly/glccfil-audible Follow us on various media platforms: https://gospellightfilipino.contactin.bio #gospellightfilipino #godswordfortoday #bookofPsalms

Matthew 26:36-39, 45-46 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he came to the disciples and said, “… look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” The most courageous moment in the history of humankind is when Jesus made the final decision to redeem us. As fully human, like you or me…He stood at the last crossroads before the actual cross and said yes for us. The turning point in that battle was when He stated, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” In our final day of this week's series on courage, the way we may live in confidence and express courage in the face of any trial is by stating to God: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Think about the stories we have visited this week, David, Gideon, Ruth, and Esther—each one had to come to the place of saying “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even David the warrior would have preferred to not risk his life that day, but he knew there was a much higher purpose for his life than protecting sheep. Where in your life today are you battling a decision or struggling with a calling? Where do you need to let go and follow Jesus into saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” And even repeat His words: “Look—the time has come. Up—let's be going.” The reality for you, though, is that your decision will not end in death. In fact, your personal courage could potentially create far more life than you ever knew before. Let's pray: “Lord Jesus, thank You that You made the choice for me in the garden. You chose God's will for redemption and sacrificed your own will and life. Help me now to follow Your example and continually say to You: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” As above, so below.”

It's been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively practically define the nature of Christ. Even David the shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about his loving God? He said, “Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”   We instinctively know what goodness is. It's a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected. Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”    And in life, we understand the distinction between good and evil. These two, always warring with each other. The key thing to remember in this conflict is that God is good, and infinitely stronger than evil. And that's important to remember as we see injustice.    What did Micah tell us? That goodness is wrapped up in the choices we make. Oppose injustice, love what is kind and be humble. And the truth is, all of us have been given so much good by our good God, that it should be second nature to model that for those we meet in our journey.   Let's pray.    Lord, thank you for your sweet goodness. Sustain us with that goodness for the journey. In Jesus' name, amen.

The evidence about what tickles our fancy is indicting (to borrow a word from the week's headlines). We fessed up about lots of things that make us giggle and that endear us to personalities from bygone years who could not possibly survive today's cancel culture. Even David's mid-recording rant against the annoying presence of an EMT truck at his neighbor's home testifies to something pre-pubescent at our core. And then there's that final word…

Now that we're into a new season of the How to Buy a Home podcast, David is giving a step-by-step look at how to buy a home in a 10-part series. This series is going to help you figure out what you need to do to be able to buy a home, so David is going to cover everything from debt and student loans to picking the right team and finding the right home. In today's episode, David kicks it off by giving you a brief overview of what to expect in this series and how you can start TODAY. Here are some power takeaways from today's conversation: Episode Highlights: [02:00] New Series Forecast There were 1.5 million first-time home buyers in 2022 and the average age of this home buyer was 36 years old! Well, that's just crazy. David spent years watching first-time home buyers get jilted in the process and this data proves it. That's why he left his brokerage and started a podcast to help revolutionize real estate by empowering first-time home buyers with the knowledge and resources they need to successfully leave renting in the past and buy their first home. A successful first 200 episodes of home-buying education leads into a 10-part series where David will take a lot of the information from the previous episodes and combine them into a step-by-step that allows home buyers to feel more prepared. Learn about everything from tackling debt to navigating closing in the new series. [10:25] You're All Special Every first-time home buyer is SO unique! You all have different stories, circumstances, and finances that will influence your decision. And guess what, Google can't totally help you. Even David can't hand out one-size-fits-all plans for buying a home. You need a specialized team that understands your situation and can offer the advice you need to make smart choices. Yes, Google can help you on some things, but it doesn't know you well enough to be your end-all be-all influence throughout the process. You need to start preparing as soon as possible to buy a home because the market is constantly changing and you need to be able to roll with the punches. That's why a specialized team - who knows the industry - can help you get there. [17:09] Who Is David Sidoni? David is your guy for this series. Why? Because he left the industry for YOU. After years of watching first-time home buyers get handed off to rookie realtors and subsequently get screwed, he was fed up. He knew that first-time home buyers are just as valuable as second- or third-time buyers and knew that something needed to change. So, he left his brokerage to start his passion project: How to Buy a Home. His goal? Revolutionize the industry by empowering first-time buyers with the knowledge and resources to help them be successful.

Now that we're into a new season of the How to Buy a Home podcast, David is giving a step-by-step look at how to buy a home in a 10-part series. This series is going to help you figure out what you need to do to be able to buy a home, so David is going to cover everything from debt and student loans to picking the right team and finding the right home.  In today's episode, David kicks it off by giving you a brief overview of what to expect in this series and how you can start TODAY. Here are some power takeaways from today's conversation: What to expect with this step-by-step Why you need a team Make sure you have an experienced realtor Why David Sidoni is your guy Episode Highlights: [02:00] New Series Forecast There were 1.5 million first-time home buyers in 2022 and the average age of this home buyer was 36 years old! Well, that's just crazy. David spent years watching first-time home buyers get jilted in the process and this data proves it. That's why he left his brokerage and started a podcast to help revolutionize real estate by empowering first-time home buyers with the knowledge and resources they need to successfully leave renting in the past and buy their first home. A successful first 200 episodes of home-buying education leads into a 10-part series where David will take a lot of the information from the previous episodes and combine them into a step-by-step that allows home buyers to feel more prepared. Learn about everything from tackling debt to navigating closing in the new series. [10:25] You're All Special Every first-time home buyer is SO unique! You all have different stories, circumstances, and finances that will influence your decision. And guess what, Google can't totally help you. Even David can't hand out one-size-fits-all plans for buying a home. You need a specialized team that understands your situation and can offer the advice you need to make smart choices. Yes, Google can help you on some things, but it doesn't know you well enough to be your end-all be-all influence throughout the process. You need to start preparing as soon as possible to buy a home because the market is constantly changing and you need to be able to roll with the punches. That's why a specialized team - who knows the industry - can help you get there. [17:09] Who Is David Sidoni? David is your guy for this series. Why? Because he left the industry for YOU. After years of watching first-time home buyers get handed off to rookie realtors and subsequently get screwed, he was fed up. He knew that first-time home buyers are just as valuable as second- or third-time buyers and knew that something needed to change. So, he left his brokerage to start his passion project: How to Buy a Home. His goal? Revolutionize the industry by empowering first-time buyers with the knowledge and resources to help them be successful.

Even David makes some foolish decisions! This time, God sent an incredible woman named Abigail to talk some sense into him before he did something really foolish. Are you living a life of a fool? Or maybe just making some really foolish decisions? Either way, we have someone who have stepped in on our behalf […]

Screaming beetles are a real thing.  Even David believes they were out to get him in Malaysia. Listen into Terrie and David's first episode covering some of their travel experiences and David's childhood trauma of Bruce Bogtrotter from the hit movie Matilda.If you would like to get in touch we would love to hear from you. Got an ick ? We'd love to hear all about it.Please email us on: tendownpod@gmail.com Follow us on:https://www.instagram.com/tendownpodcast/Terrie: https://www.instagram.com/terriemcevoy/David : https://www.instagram.com/davidfitz1986/

While I was reading Psalm 55 the other day, I was reminded of sixth grade. Most days, I did not want to go to school. I was a lot smaller that a lot of my classmates, and the hallways were packed full. As I struggled up the stairs in the current of backpacks, I often wished I could fly away. When I read Psalm 55, I found out David felt the same way.When David was having a really tough time and he felt overwhelmed, he said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. How quickly I would escape—far from this wild storm of hatred” (Psalm 55:6-8). But David couldn't leave. He didn't have wings. And neither did I.When David couldn't get away, when his heart was pounding in his chest, he turned to God and cried out for help. David told God all about the conflict, the threats, the cheating, and the violence going on all around him. Even David's close friend—a friend he used to walk with on the way to worship God—was now taunting and insulting him. David told God about all of it, and God listened. He had compassion on David. And He didn't leave David to struggle alone. Even when David was in distress, he wrote, “But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me...the Lord hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe...” (verses 16-18).Throughout our lives, we find ourselves in places that feel negative, even hostile. For me, school was one of those places. Teasing among peers and even friends, suspicion between teachers and students, gossip, lockdown drills, fights in the hallways... sometimes it all felt like too much. But even in these places, God says that He is “our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46:1).During my days at school, I prayed more prayers than I can count. And God met me in my distress. Slowly, gently, faithfully, He drew me closer to Himself and revealed His great kindness. He gave me the courage to keep going, and He provided safe places where I could find rest in the midst of the chaos and safe people I could talk to. I found what David said to be true: “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you” (Psalm 55:22). • Hannah Howe• Have you ever felt like David did in Psalm 55? We all go through hard things, but if we've put our trust in Jesus, we can rest in the sure hope that nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38-39).Oh, that I had wings like a dove... Psalm 55:6 (NLT)

Even David, the mighty warrior, the man after God's own heart, Israel's greatest king, eventually died. But God's Forever King, the better David was coming.

It's a mistake to assume that followers of Christ are immune to discouragement. Even David, who wrote many of the Psalms, struggled with dark moments. In this episode The Verdict, Pastor John Munro exposes the symptoms and the biblical cure for dealing with discouragement.

Even David, a “man after God's own heart”, had his weaknesses and moments of fear. Often when God allows tests and trials to come into our lives we panic. When we do we are saying, “I can't trust God to handle this situation.” Our panic will always bring repercussions that harm ourselves and others.

Even David, a “man after God's own heart”, had his weaknesses and moments of fear. Often when God allows tests and trials to come into our lives we panic. When we do we are saying, “I can't trust God to handle this situation.” Our panic will always bring repercussions that harm ourselves and others.

It's been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively practically define the nature of Christ. Even David the shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about his loving God? He said, "Surely, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life."   We instinctively know what goodness is. It's a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected. Micah 6:8 says, "He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God."    And in life, we understand the distinction between good and evil. These two, always warring with each other. The key thing to remember in this conflict is that God is good, and infinitely stronger than evil. And that's important to remember as we see injustice.    What did Micah tell us? That goodness is wrapped up in the choices we make. Oppose injustice, love what is kind and be humble. And the truth is, all of us have been given so much good by our good God, that it should be second nature to model that for those we meet in our journey.   Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your sweet goodness. Sustain us with that goodness for the journey. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Matthew 26:36-39, 45-46 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he came to the disciples and said, “… look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” The most courageous moment in the history of humankind is when Jesus made the final decision to redeem us. As fully human, like you or me…He stood at the last crossroads before the actual cross and said yes for us. The turning point in that battle was when He stated, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” In our final day of this week's series on courage, the way we may live in confidence and express courage in the face of any trial is by stating to God: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Think about the stories we have visited this week, David, Gideon, Ruth, and Esther—each one had to come to the place of saying “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even David the warrior would have preferred to not risk his life that day, but he knew there was a much higher purpose for his life than protecting sheep. Where in your life today are you battling a decision or struggling with a calling? Where do you need to let go and follow Jesus into saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” And even repeat His words: “Look—the time has come. Up—let's be going.” The reality for you, though, is that your decision will not end in death. In fact, your personal courage could potentially create far more life than you ever knew before. Let's pray: “Lord Jesus, thank You that You made the choice for me in the garden. You chose God's will for redemption and sacrificed your own will and life. Help me now to follow Your example and continually say to You: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” As above, so below.”

In the book of Psalms, we see a beautiful representation of what it looks like to go before God with all our emotions, our doubts, and our questions. In this episode, Dot and Cara talk through the reasons they love the Psalms and share some of their favorite passages from throughout the book. They also explain why lament is not only acceptable, but also a powerful tool for connecting with God in the midst of grief and doubt. Grab your Bible and listen in on the conversation! Episode RecapStart by writing down Psalm 1:1-4 (0:12)The Psalms contain the full spectrum of human emotion (4:44)Even David lamented and questioned God (7:02)Lament isn't just complaining, it's about turning to God (9:33)Honesty with God is the beginning of freedom (13:43)Don't get so caught up in “playing church” that you stop being genuine (16:46)Find a Psalm to meditate on that speaks to where you are right now (24:15) Resources:“Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy” - Book on lament by Mark Vroegop“Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy” - Devotional journal The Breathe Retreat is a retreat in every sense of the word, intentionally designed to allow you space to breathe in your Heavenly Father's love! Registration for the 2023 Breathe Retreat opens early October 2022. Learn more here. Send us an email to let us know what you're learning - hello@dotbowen.com Find Dot Bowen on Instagram and Facebook

We're back at Mythic Quest Headquarters with some more of the gang! Bless this show for giving us so many interesting people to sort. Even David, who by his very nature is not interesting, somehow manages to be interesting because of it. Unfortunately his light dims in the face of Brad and Jo in this episode, but we were surprised he held up as well as he did. All of the houses this week were VERY INTERESTING to talk and think about. Like wait until you heat about Jo and David. How. And you can probably already guess Brad's house without listening to us, if we've taught you anything at all, but I can't put any faith in our teaching skills, so I guess we'll pretend it's a surprise anyway. Wait. What do you mean you haven't seen Mythic Quest yet? Go watch Mythic Quest my god, Apple TV is only $5.99 a month and it's like 20 half hour episodes, buy it for a month, THE FIVE DOLLARS AND CHANGE IS WORTH IT. Why are you still here? Wait no, listen to our episode. Even if you haven't seen the show. But then go watch the show ok.

Para nosotros no hay nada mejor que la validación de nuestros atletas. En esta ocasión David Ochoa, corredor y maratonista, nos hizo el honor de enviarnos estas palabras sobre su experiencia en EVEN #running #carrera #entrenamiento → Contáctanos en even.mx/whatsapp → Conoce nuestros servicios en even.mx

Sin is something we all struggle with. Even David, a man after God's own heart, fell to his own temptations with Bathsheba and suffered the consequences. And while it's easy to read and judge David, our own sins are just the same. Join Dream City Omaha as Pastor John Weasel addresses the truth about sin, showing how no sin is hidden or small. But while sin always has consequences, we must remember that sin can also be forgiven.

Even David's terrible sins were not so great that God could not forgive them. Find more Bible teaching at ConroeChurch.com! [Bible Translation: NASB95]

What is making you anxious? Is it sickness, or death, or your family's safety, or the mounting bills, or the uncertainty of the future? Does that stress cause you to act out of character? Being a Christian does not exempt us from anxiety-causing circumstances. Even David, a man after God's own heart, who was told repeatedly not to fear, was not anxiety-free. Today, l dig into Psalm 34:1-4. We'll see how David acted out of character because he was in survival mode, and how he was delivered from his fears. I pray you would take some time to dig into this verse in your quiet time and memorize it…because it is encouraging! For full show notes, visit https://herrenewedstrength.com/shownotes/episode29 Resource Join the Facebook group for fellowship, encouragement, and Bible study. Connect with Me Instagram: @mrsdiazcastro Facebook: @emdiazcastro Website: Her Renewed Strength   Thank you so much for listening! If you love today's episode, the best way you can show love and support is to leave a 5-star rating & a written review on the podcast. This helps other Christian women who want the same support and valuable content find the show.

Even David a man after God's Own Heart had to deal with many things in his life. He faced many tragedies and sorrows. But even in the midst of those sorrows he could still find a way to sing to the Lord. Pastor Jon brings a bring the word about singing a song to the Lord through your sorrows.

This is quite possibly some of the best career advice you'll ever get as an artist. Even David and Brent didn't think of this one. Manny Fragelus gives a little tip on how to build relationships with recruiters that could mean the world for your career!

Sacrifices aren't enough and never were. The sacrifices of the Old Covenant were always intended to point to something greater. Even David understood that sacrifices weren't enough. God deserved and desired more.

It has been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively practically define the nature of Christ. Even David the shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about following his loving God? “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life!”   We instinctively know what goodness is. It is a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected.   Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”   And in life, we understand the distinction between good and evil. These two always warring with each other. The key thing to remember in this conflict is that God is good and infinitely stronger than evil. That's important to remember as we watch injustice unfold.   What did Micah tell us? That goodness is wrapped up in the choices we make: oppose injustice, love what is kind, and be humble. The truth is, all of us have been given so much good by our good God that it should be second nature to model that for those we meet in our journeys.   Let's pray.   Lord, thank you for your sweet goodness. Sustain us with that goodness for the journey. Amen.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. ~ Psalm 19:12 (NLT) I love the sport of volleyball. Bump. Set. Spike. That's what it's all about! In my youth, I was actually pretty good at it. In my older years, I can still play, but I've had to get a little bit craftier in my approach since my athleticism is fading. A few years back, I challenged our school's girls volleyball team to play their starting six just against me. (One vs. six) It was an attempt to help them learn to never underestimate their opponent. At the beginning, I let them score points pretty easily. They started getting cocky. The even taunted me. About half way through the match, I started playing. They lost. So, how did I beat them? It wasn't that I played particularly well. I don't think I even got to spike. I examined their team, spotted their weaknesses and then exploited them for my gain. Though they couldn't see their weak spots, to a guy who has played the game for longer than any of those girls have been alive, it wasn't hard to see. Successful players aren't just good athletes. They study their opponents and figure out how to beat them. Satan is not just a successful, but elite opponent. He has been around longer than any of us, and can spot every one of our weak spots. He knows how to get at us. He knows how to get us to sin in ways that we never thought possible. He knows how to beat us. That's why we need God on our side when it comes to defeating our sins. We may think we've got it all under control. We're wrong. Our sinful nature – a craving for sin that we are all born with – cannot be tamed by more effort. Only the master, God Himself, can spot and help eliminate the weak spots in our life. That's why King David penned this amazing verse, “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.” Even David realized that only God can help turn weak spots into strong points. So, today, and every day, don't try to fight your sins alone. You will lose. Your opponent is way more intelligent and craftier than you. Call on God to cleanse you. Let Him set you free from the bondage of sin that holds you back.

Matthew 26:36-39, 45-46 Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee's two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he came to the disciples and said, “… look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let's be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” The most courageous moment in the history of humankind is when Jesus made the final decision to redeem us. As fully human, like you or me…He stood at the last crossroads before the actual cross and said yes for us. The turning point in that battle was when He stated, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” In our final day of this week's series on courage, the way we may live in confidence and express courage in the face of any trial is by stating to God: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Think about the stories we have visited this week, David, Gideon, Ruth, and Esther—each one had to come to the place of saying “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even David the warrior would have preferred to not risk his life that day, but he knew there was a much higher purpose for his life than protecting sheep. Where in your life today are you battling a decision or struggling with a calling? Where do you need to let go and follow Jesus into saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” And even repeat His words: “Look—the time has come. Up—let's be going.” The reality for you, though, is that your decision will not end in death. In fact, your personal courage could potentially create far more life than you ever knew before. Let's pray: “Lord Jesus, thank You that You made the choice for me in the garden. You chose God's will for redemption and sacrificed your own will and life. Help me now to follow Your example and continually say to You: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” As above, so below.”

Worn and WearyOn a balmy spring evening, restless King David paced the roof ofhis palace. He should have been with his army on the other side ofthe Jordan. He should have been leading God's people to defeat theAmmonites and finally bring peace to the kingdom.Not being where he should have been opened the door to temptationfor David. Read the story in 2 Samuel 11:1–5. What happened, andwhat great sin did David commit?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________David saw a “very beautiful woman” taking a bath on her roof. Hissinful impulses got the better of him that evening, and he slept withBathsheba, the wife of a trusted army officer. Like all ancient kings,David had absolute power. As king, he didn't have to follow the rulesthat governed everyone else. And yet, the painful story of David'sfamil­y following this story-changing moment reminds us of the factthat, even as the king, he was not above God's law.Indeed, the law is there as a protection, a safeguard, and when eventhe king stepped outside it, he faced terrible consequences. As soon asDavid transgressed the limits of God's law, he began to feel its effects onall aspects of his life. David thought that his passionate fling had goneunnoticed; yet, Bathsheba was now pregnant and her husband far away.Read 2 Samuel 11:6–27. How did David try to cover up his sin?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________Even David's most intricate schemes to get Uriah home to his wife,Bathsheba, failed. Uriah was a man of stellar reputation who respondedto David's subtle hints: “ ‘The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling intents, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped inthe open fields. Shall I then go to my house to eat and drink, and to liewith my wife?' ” (2 Sam. 11:11, NKJV). Eventually a desperate Davidreverted to “remote control” assassination to cover his sin.It is hard to believe that David, to whom God had given so much,could have stooped so low. No matter who we are, what warningshould we all take from this story?

Do you feel like your prayers have been going straight to God's voicemail? When life is uncertain and you've been praying for a long, long time, it might feel difficult to worship God. Where is He? Even David frequently complained of God's apparent absence in his life, even asking “Why have you abandoned me God?” but we know that God never left David. He's not left you, either. Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave you or forsake you.” __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Help us Bring HOPE and Encouragement to Others Texting the word GIVE to 833-713-1591 Website https://www.hopeisheretoday.org/donate Shopping on Amazon, select HOPE is Here as your favorite charity (EIN: 83-0522555) Login through this link > https://smile.amazon.com/ch/83-0522555 

On Friday 28th May, Lucy and Sam grabbed the roving microphone to take a tour around the gorgeous cottage garden at Pilgrim Corner in Minehead. Even David was enthralled by the amazing poppies, ancient roses and Japanese shrubbery.Take a tour around the garden in this shorter than usual podcast, you won't be disappointed.Follow us across social media for pics and vids of our gardens and if we've tempted you enough, why not book your stay here?

Once the Lord has been please to open our eyes to our need of forgiveness and therefore our need of Christ, we can still have a regular battle to keep our eyes focussed upon Christ, with the many distractions in the world. Even David needed Divine strength to help him in his daily walk to look unto Jesus, and allow nothing to interrupt that gaze---1- His Admission of Guilt--2- An Acknowledgement of Helplessness--3- His Appeal for Revival

What are the CREDENTIALS of a Messiah? How do you answer this? What AUTHORITY to you use as paramount?You can see the Pharisees in today's passage all eagerly raising their hands to answer Jesus' question. They all 'KNEW' the pat answer. Whose son is the Messiah? Easy answer: DAVID's son.So far so good. But who is greater? Who is more important? David or his son? Tradition holds that David's son will be LESS THAN David himself. So Jesus uses DAVID'S OWN WORDS in Psalm 110. There David calls the coming Messiah "MY LORD". That is as in, "this coming Messiah is my God, my King, and my LORD." Even David, whom you hold as authoritative, points to the coming Messiah as his LORD. That is, Jesus is greater than David. Even David says so.It is a drop the mic moment for the Pharisees. Even David YIELDS to a King who will come in 1000 years. Listen and see if we should too.Share this Podcast. You aren't the only one wondering about God.

It’s been said that in the Fruit of the Spirit list, all of them collectively practically define the nature of Christ.   Even David the shepherd knew his Messiah was coming. Remember what he said about his loving God? He said, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.” We instinctively know what goodness is. It’s a kind touch, a gentle word, a gift that was unexpected.   Micah 6:8 says, “He has told you, o man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”   And in life, we understand the distinction between good and evil – these two forces always warring with each other. The key thing to remember in this conflict, is that God is good – and infinitely stronger than evil. That’s important to remember, as we see injustice.   What did Micah tell us? That goodness is wrapped up in the choices we make. Oppose injustice. Love what is kind. And be humble. The truth is, all of us have been given so much good by our good God, that it should be second nature to model that for those we meet in our journey.   Let’s pray.   Lord, thank you for your sweet goodness. Sustain us with that goodness for the journey. In Jesus’ name. Amen. 

El Rabbino Mijael Even-David los platica sobre su amor por enseñar y estudiar Torah en Español. Los platica sobre su adaptaciiones sobre sus sermones y su cooomentario de la parsha de la semana. DONAR: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/donate/ Para mas lecturas de VBM y podcast, visita AQUI: https://www.valleybeitmidrash.org/learning-library https://www.facebook.com/valleybeitmidrash Valley Beit Midrash esta orgulloso de ser el hospedador de la temporada de apredisaje Jaburg Wilk. Aprende mas sobre Jaburg Wilk aqui: http://www.jaburgwilk.com/

Has sin ever gotten so out of hand you've attempted a “cover-up!” But, what if our “cover-up” means forsaking our “covering?” Even David, a man after God's heart, found himself in the middle of a cover-up. But God! Join us and hear a powerful story of repentance and grace! If you're in the middle of a cover-up, you may just find the covering of His grace is much better! #afterGodsheart New to Reclamation? Click here: https://bit.ly/RC_Connect Need Prayer? Our team is ready to agree with you at https://bit.ly/rc-prayer Partner with us and impact people all around the world: https://bit.ly/rc_give If you think a friend needs this worship experie nce... THIS is the time to share it with them!

Rev. Charles Henrickson, pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Bonne Terre, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 132. “I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” The Ark of the Covenant had been captured by enemies, had brought plagues against the proud, and had bounced from place to place in fear. Psalm 132 reflects David’s promise and desire to find a permanent “place” for the Ark, a sure blessing to hold on to. Even Jerusalem and the royal line of David seemed to die at the hands of Babylon, but as faith clinged to God’s promise, it dared to hope for resurrection. Even David’s “place” was just a tent—the true temple is the resurrected body of Jesus Christ, who gives bread & clothing both physical & spiritual.

Even David faced the giant of rejection, in fact in 1 Samuel 17 he faces it three times before he even goes to battle against the actual Goliath. We will all face this giant as well; all of us. The question is whether we will face it like David did or not, from a place of acceptance. In Goliath Must Fall, pastor Louie Giglio uncovers a newfound twist in the classic story of David and Goliath. The key to living free from our giants is not better slingshot accuracy, but keeping our eyes on the one and only giant-slayer—Jesus. Put your hope in him and watch Goliath fall.—With Passion City Online you can join us every Sunday for gatherings at 10a + 1p + 5p + 8p! Join us at https://passioncitychurch.com/online—Subscribe to our channel to see more messages from Passion City Church:https://www.youtube.com/passioncitychurch1—Looking for content for your Kids? Subscribe to our BRAND NEW Passion Kids Channel:https://passion.link/passionkidsonline—At Passion City Church, we believe that because God has displayed the ultimate sacrifice in Jesus, our response to that in worship must be extravagant. It is our privilege, and our created purpose, to reflect God’s Glory to Him through our praise, our sacrifice, and our song.—Follow Passion City Church: https://www.instagram.com/passioncity/Follow Louie Giglio: https://www.instagram.com/louiegiglio—Passion City Church is a Jesus church with locations in Atlanta and Washington D.C.

Even David faced the giant of rejection, in fact in 1 Samuel 17 he faces it three times before he even goes to battle against the actual Goliath. We will all face this giant as well; all of us. The question is whether we will face it like David did or not, from a place of acceptance. In Goliath Must Fall, pastor Louie Giglio uncovers a newfound twist in the classic story of David and Goliath. The key to living free from our giants is not better slingshot accuracy, but keeping our eyes on the one and only giant-slayer—Jesus. Put your hope in him and watch Goliath fall.—With Passion City Online you can join us every Sunday for gatherings at 10a + 1p + 5p + 8p! Join us at https://passioncitychurch.com/online—Subscribe to our channel to see more messages from Passion City Church:https://www.youtube.com/passioncitychurch1—Looking for content for your Kids? Subscribe to our BRAND NEW Passion Kids Channel:https://passion.link/passionkidsonline—At Passion City Church, we believe that because God has displayed the ultimate sacrifice in Jesus, our response to that in worship must be extravagant. It is our privilege, and our created purpose, to reflect God’s Glory to Him through our praise, our sacrifice, and our song.—Follow Passion City Church: https://www.instagram.com/passioncity/Follow Louie Giglio: https://www.instagram.com/louiegiglio—Passion City Church is a Jesus church with locations in Atlanta and Washington D.C.

Rev. Kevin Martin, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 25. “Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand!” Even David needs saving in chapter 25, and it’s Abigail who saves him from himself. This woman “with whom the Father is well pleased” is both faithful to her house and hospitable to David, reminding him that he stands for something bigger than himself: the Christ’s fivefold destruction of Israel’s enemies and the sevenfold Sabbath of God. The Lord Jesus also fed those who came to Him in five and two, with bread and wine. In Him, human beings all flawed alike are His bride “Abigail,” the church of His glorious name.

Today, the opening scene is Jesus, just before His arrest, trials, and crucifixion. (Matthew 26:36-39, 45-46 NLT) Then Jesus went with them to the olive grove called Gethsemane, and he said, “Sit here while I go over there to pray.” He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became anguished and distressed. He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Then he came to the disciples and said, “… look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Up, let’s be going. Look, my betrayer is here!” (Matthew 26:36-39, 45-46 NLT) The most courageous moment in the history of humankind is when Jesus made the final decision to redeem us. As fully human, like you or me…He stood at the last crossroads before the actual cross and said yes for us. The turning point in that battle was when He stated, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” In our final day of this week’s series on courage, the way we may live in confidence and express courage in the face of any trial is by stating to God: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Think about the stories we have visited this week, David, Gideon, Ruth, and Esther—each one had to come to the place of saying “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Even David the warrior would have preferred to not risk his life that day, but he knew there was a much higher purpose for his life than protecting sheep. Where in your life today are you battling a decision or struggling with a calling? Where do you need to let go and follow Jesus into saying, “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” And even repeat His words: “Look—the time has come. Up—let’s be going.” The reality for you, though, is that your decision will not end in death. In fact, your personal courage could potentially create far more life than you ever knew before. Let’s pray: “Lord Jesus, thank You that You made the choice for me in the garden. You chose God’s will for redemption and sacrificed your own will and life. Help me now to follow Your example and continually say to You: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” As above, so below.”

David rehearses what he’s going to say to the fly tipper – who he believes is Joy Horville. However when he arrives he’s offered cake, and feels bad when he realises it wasn’t Joy at all. She was just as much a victim, having had her rubbish removed by conmen. David’s embarrassed and amused all at once, both by his mistake and Joy’s reaction as they screeched apologies to one another across the garden. Jolene can’t work out yet what Kenton’s up to with the new peacock aviary. Later she realises what he’s doing, and stops him in his tracks. Elizabeth has sent her a draft profile to use on the dating app. It’s not great. Jolene sets about improving it. She’s glad to see Elizabeth getting her sparkle back and seeking new company. Comparing Sid and Kenton, Jolene observes wryly that no two peacocks are alike. Harrison’s distraught that Fallon’s still upset with him – serves him right for having his head turned by the radio offer. Even David thinks he’s no longer interested in ‘little crime’, which isn’t true. He misses Fallon. He should have noticed earlier that she wasn’t happy. With little work to do herself lately, their date night was important to her. He needs to make it up to her.

Its David, twice in a week, what has the world come to. He is back with the Episode 165 of his show "This Is Going Well, I Think with David Cooper". We start still gonna hear the country songs, and there wont be any Tony or Miranda today, so its gonna a big a big bore and that's what happens with the first couple who call up. The most boring couple to have called on the show. Even David was happy when they were disconnected. Then we a get bunch of country songs. And after 30 minuets we get a caller. Its Keegan, whose smells of pig shit. And we have Miranda, hopefully the show gets on track now. And the hillybilly couple is back. The song "Touch your woman" was quite weird, certainly for today's times. How about playing some Bollywood songs for a change David. Later we get Jay Jay and Tony, This is MarU from India rating this episode a 2.5 of 5.

No matter what you are going THROUGH, that is NOT WHO YOU ARE. Even David knew and trusted God's love for him while running from the King and hiding In a cave. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/roberta-johnson9/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/roberta-johnson9/support

We see and hear all kinds of testimonials from famous people in advertising today. We know they are used in ads to lend the authority of their name to the product. When we hear a testimonial, we’d better find out who said it, what was said and if we can really believe it. We find a encouraging testimonials in verse 25: Think of David as a young Shepherd taking care of his sheep, God gave him strength to overcome the lion, to defeat the bear and strength to over come the giant, Goliath. God took care of him at each stage in His life. Even David the sinner saw God provide for him. David said “I have been young and now I am old; but I’ve never seen God forsake His own”. I’ve never seen One of God’s children left alone. God has been faithful through the years. We don’t have to be afraid of being young or getting old, because He remains with us. God always is faithful to His people. The history of Israel confirms His faithfulness. That He will never leave you nor forsake you is a great promise. And you can expect Him to keep His promises.

Do you feel isolated? Alone? Unnoticed by others and maybe even unseen by God? Well, you're not alone. Even David from the Bible had these feelings.  However, there is one who cares more than you could ever imagine.  Join Pastor Mark L. Williams and the North Cleveland Family as he shares the message, "Who Cares?"

Its Episode 128 and the host today at the "This Is Going Well, I Think with David Cooper" show is Alyssa Westerlund, about David doesn't know much. The first caller is a couple and Alyssa takes a linking to the girl. The conversion goes on a wired line with all the fungus talk. The next receiver, Ellen, hates ritual coffee and we get a next caller is Miranda, Davids girlfriend. If i thought David uses too many cuss words, just listen to Alyssa and your ears will bleed. She goes on to tell a story of how she fired her therapist over a small issue. The conversation goes nowhere all through the show. She also got into an argument with a passerby. It was like she was minutes away from a nervous breakdown. It was borderline bizarre. Even David had to apologize to her, dont know why. This is Karti from India rating this episode a 1.5 out of 5, not a typical David episode, and it was really weird one.

Speaker or Performer: Bob Petersen Date of Delivery: August 4, 2019 QuotesCharles Capps Death Testimony:On Friday, February 21, 2014 Charles Capps told his wife Peggy that he would be “going home” on Sunday. He went to bed on Saturday night and woke up in Heaven about 5:30 Sunday morning, February 23, 2014.ScripturesHebrews 2:15and [that He] might free all those who through [the haunting] fear of death were held in slavery throughout their lives.1 THESSALONIANS 4:13Now we do not want you to be uninformed, believers, about those who are asleep [in death], so that you will not grieve [for them] as the others do who have no hope [beyond this present life].Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil;For You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.John 11:25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.Revelation 1:17-19 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.ArticlesAFRAID OF DEATH OR DYING? BIBLE STUDY ON FEAR OF DEATHConquer the fear of death and dying with God’s helpby Doug Britton, MFTDo you fear death or dying?Many people, including Christians, are afraid of death or afraid of dying. In fact many people are consumed by the fear of death and dying. Or they are afraid of suffering as they die. If this describes you, you aren't alone. Even David, a man who wrote much of the Bible, sometimes was afraid of dying:My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death assail me. (Psalm 55:4)Do you worry about end-of-life issues?Many people have end-of-life fears. For example, some people fear that they will be a burden to others in their last years, or that their spouse or children who are left behind will suffer.If you worry about or fear death or dying, or if you have other end-of-life fears, take some time to read and meditate on the passages in this Bible study. Pray as you read. Ask God to remove your death fears and help you see things through his eyes. God does not want you to be afraid of death or afraid of dying.When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:54-55)Turn to God to overcome your fear of death or dyingJesus came to reconcile us with God, free us from the fear of death and dying, and to give us the assurance of eternal life with him.How can we be reconciled with God?Jesus said, You must be born again (John 3:7). He also said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).The apostle Paul helped us understand how to be reconciled with God when he wrote the following:If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)God created you, and he loves you more than you can imagine.If you have not yet done so, I invite you to surrender your life to Christ by saying the following as a prayer:Dear Lord, I confess that I am a sinner. Please forgive my sins and accept me as your child. I invite you to be my Savior and the Lord of my life. I surrender myself to you in the name of Jesus Christ.If you prayed with sincerity, Christ accepted you into his Kingdom. You are now a Christian — a follower of Jesus. Welcome to the family of God!Related: What is salvation or being born again?Jesus came to set us free from the fear of death and dying.When you are with Jesus, you do not need to be afraid of death or afraid of dying. There is no more need to fear the end of your life.Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26)Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. (Psalm 116:15)Overcome the fear of death or dying by thinking about heaven.It's normal to be afraid of death or dying. One way to overcome being afraid of death or being afraid of dying is to think about spending eternity with Jesus. God has an amazing plan.Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23)Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling. (2 Corinthians 5:1-2)For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (2 Corinthians 5:4)We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)Don't be afraid of death or dying — heaven will be amazing.Death is not the end of life. Your spiritual body is eternal, and heaven will be unbelievably wonderful.Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:42-44)No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)Don't be afraid of death or dying — you will be with Jesus.If you have been reconciled with God, you are part of his family. You will be with Jesus forever.Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3)If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:17)Don't be afraid of death or dying — there will be no sorrow or tears in heaven.He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 25:8)For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. (Revelation 7:17)He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)Related: Defeating anxiety, fear and worryDon't fear suffering before you die.God will be with you and strengthen you no matter what you go through. He will comfort you and help you overcome the fear of death and the fear of dying.Be inspired by the confidence of Paul, Peter, and John. Here's how they looked at suffering (or dying) for their faith:I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. (Romans 8:18-19)For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (1 Peter 1:3-6)They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. (Revelation 12:11)God sometimes takes the righteous away to spare them from evil.The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. (Isaiah 57:1-2)Don't fear you will be a burden to others.People sometimes fear dying because they think they will be a burden to others. That's a normal end-of-life fear. But the Bible says we are all connected to one another (Romans 12:4-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). God expects us to care for one another. Although it sometimes can be a burden, caring for others can also be a blessing, for we give of ourselves that we become more like Christ.And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)Don't fear for those you will leave behind.If you die before your spouse, children, parents or other significant people in your life, they likely will miss you. If you die when they are living with you, they probably will miss your love, support, and care. Yet God loves them much more than you do.Write a will and provide as best you can for the future, then put yourself and your family in God's hands. Don't be afraid of death or dying for their sake. If you die first, God will still be with them. Remember, he loves them much more than you do.But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. (Psalm 10:14)A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. (Psalm 68:5)Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:6-8)Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Peter 5:7)Overcome the fear of death or dying — you have a purpose.Let the verses in this study help you overcome being afraid of death or afraid of dying. But don't stop there. God wants you to make a difference while you are here on earth. He wants you to touch the world for Christ. Meditate on the verses on this page, overcome your fear of death, then make a difference for Christ!For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith. (Philippians 1:21-25)If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8)Related: You have a purposeOvercome the fear of death or dying — remember God's love.Knowing and remembering that God loves you is one of the most powerful ways to overcome the fear of death, dying, or other end-of-life issues.Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever. (Psalm 136:26)For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

In the life of Abner and his contemporaries, we see that humanity has a broken need to seek power and control - thinking that this brings the significance, acceptance and security we long for. Even David is not immune from this. But the ultimate fulfillment of David's royal line, Jesus, tells us that meek will inherit the earth. And then he goes and does just that and calls everyone to find full rest for their soul in his kingdom.

This week we talk about Temptation. Do not shy away or think that you are exempt from temptation. Even David who is the closest to God's own heart falls to temptation. What can we learn from David? We look at the classic story of David and Bathsheba and how people are tempted and how to deal with them.

03/11/18 - Even David Needs A Savior by Grace Baptist Church of Millersville

As Christians, we have one primary calling and one message: to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even David, 1000 years before Jesus was born, knew his responsibility to share the good news of salvation from God. His words in Psalm 40 remind us of our message: that true righteousness is only found in Jesus Christ. Michael Linton, Pastor FBC Sulphur, LA

The topic is Tomorrowland, as Ben joins forces with special guest Even David from The Static Blade Podcast! There’s a LOT to talk about, from controversial themes to nostalgic music and more! Evan’s podcast can be found here: Static Blade Podcast on Facebook

Even David, who was destined to be Israel's greatest King, faced significant disappointment in his life. But even though he gave into discouragement and took his eyes off God's plan, David's experience teaches us important lessons about God and how we can respond to difficult circumstances in our own lives.

The King and His Cross Series (Gospel of Mark)

Pastor Andy Davis preaches an expository sermon on Psalm 139. The main subject of the sermon is how human life should be understood to be sacred. - SERMON TRANSCRIPT - This Sunday, this morning is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. The word sanctity means sacredness. It means that human life, we believe is set apart, is unique and sacred and special by God. We, having been created in the image of God, we are in his likeness, and therefore we are precious to Him. Human life is sacred. This is the world view that the Bible presents to us. This is biblical truth, that we are in the image of God, and that means accountability and blessing. So we celebrate human life today. And I must tell you that life at its heart, for me at least, and probably for you too, is unpredictable. I'm never quite sure what's going to happen on any given day. I have a good idea. I thought probably I would come to church today, I thought probably I would preach today and some other things, but the sermon that I expected to preach to you, I'm not going to preach. I'm going to preach a different Sanctity of Human Life sermon, one that some of you have heard before, changed a little bit. The sermon that’s in your outline is a good sermon, maybe I’ll preach it in the future, but not today. Okay? I put all that work into it. But the Lord said, “No, a different one.” And so I said, “Yes, Lord.”, and so we’re doing something else today. I. Another Year We have gone through another year. And in that year, abortion has remained the law of the land. That means, if statistics hold true, probably somewhere between 1.3 and 1.6 million babies were killed, legally, in our country this past year. Legally killed in our country. Is that acceptable to you? It’s not acceptable to me. And so that’s the bad news, abortion is still, as many politicians remind us, the law of the land, that is true. What that means is that the initiative must rest with us. Do you see that? If we do nothing, it will continue to be the law of the land, and millions of babies will continue to be killed, legally, in our country. And so the initiative must rest with us. So another year has passed, but it’s not all been darkness, we know that in this past year, in 2003, we saw the Partial Birth Abortion Act passed on November 5, 2003. George Bush signed into law this Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003, making illegal that hideous practice of killing babies that are almost born. That anyone would not see the wisdom to that is shocking to me, but immediately, a federal judge overturned it or put an injunction against it, and the ACLU and many other lawyers are determined to fight this unjust law, so they believe, and bring back some sanity in their way of thinking to abortion. They are concerned about the so called slippery slope, that once you give up a little bit, its gonna go all the way, and there will be no freedom for abortion in our country. Oh may it happen. May it happen. I want that slippery slope. You know why? Because there is no difference between life outside the womb and life inside the womb in God’s eyes. And there is no philosophical barrier you can hold up, as we’ll talk about later in this message, it just doesn’t hold up. And they know it. And so its even got to the point where some ethicists are willing to say, “We acknowledge its human life, but it should be legal to kill anyway for the following reasons.” Isn’t that shocking? At Princeton...ethicists are saying those kinds of things? But that's where we’re at. "There is no difference between life outside the womb and life inside the womb in God’s eyes" And we’re in a kind of a legal schizophrenia now, as you know. The Scott Peterson murder trial where he can be held possibly for the murder of his pre-born child. This is schizophrenic, you understand that? How it could be legal in California to abort the baby, but if there’s no indication whatsoever that the mother doesn’t want the child, its assumed that she does want the child, and so therefore he can be held for the murder of a pre-born child. This is unbelievable to me. I don't understand how you can have the one and not the other, I don't. It is schizophrenic and more and more people are seeing it this way. Polls are showing that more and more people, young people entering college students and others are not seeing the logic of abortion, they don’t see it, they don’t understand it. And so that whole base is eroding and that is good news, is it not? But our work isn’t finished yet. Because abortion is still the law of the land. The church is still, in 1 Timothy 3:15, the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. And so what we have to do is we have to refute satanic lies that the devil is telling and has told. The devil is telling lies, and we must get out there and refute them. II. Satan’s Web of Lies Now, I preached this sermon a year ago, and I’d like to ask, as you think about this sermon, have you told the truth to anybody this past year on these issues? That’ all. Basically, you have an opportunity here from the word of God, again, a refutation of six lies that the devil has been telling. But what I want you to do is ask yourself, have you spoken these truths to anybody who needs to hear them? See, we must take the initiative. It’s up to us to change things. If things remain the same, if we do nothing, if we remain comfortable and think its too difficult to challenge minds and hearts on this issue, if we’re going to pay a price relationally with relatives or friends, acquaintances, co-workers, then nothing will change, and it will continue. We must agitate. We must be willing to pay the price. We must refute Satan’s web of lies. Jesus said in John 8:44 of the devil. “When the devil lies, he speaks his native tongue...,”. Isn’t that wonderful? “For he is a liar and the father of lies.” Now, Father of lies means that he begets, he gives birth to lies. He speaks lies, its what he does. And so therefore, these lies, we can trace back to their satanic origin. And therefore, he tells I think three great lies to society which we must refute. First is that the pre-born is not truly a human person. Secondly, that the child is a burden and not a blessing. Third, abortion is beneficial to the life of the mother. He also is telling two lies to the church. Number one, abortion is so entrenched as the law of the land that nothing you can do will make any difference whatsoever. Secondly, he tells this lie, simply changing the law to make abortion illegal will completely solve this problem. Thirdly, He tells lies to individuals, to guilty sinners, specifically in this matter. Your sin is so great that nothing can take it away. There can be no forgiveness for you in the area of abortion. Let’s start to dispel each of these lies with truth, shall we? The word of God refutes each of these six lives. III. Dispelling the Lies With Pure Truth Satan’s Lie #1 Let's look at the first, namely that the preborn is not truly a human person. Now, I could speak from the language and findings of biology, and it would be right for a Christian to do so, because we believe that God created everything. And so, there is ample biological evidence of the uniqueness and personhood of the child from the moment of conception. I know that there are some dehumanizing terms used of the pre-born such as fetus or even worse, product of conception. They are put in place...these words...to separate us somewhat from the personhood, that we’re dealing with a genuine human being in the womb. But let me ask you a question. Any mother who is excited, looking forward to the birth of their baby, when they feel the fetus...the product of conception kick their womb inside, do they say, “Oh, my fetus just kicked me. Oh, come and feel.” They say to the husband, “Come and feel the fetus as it moves around, the product of conception. Oh, listen, can you listen to it’s heart beat?” No, no one talks like that, do they? They say my baby, don’t they? It's just the way it is. It's a baby. And that's the way we think. You have to be trained out to think a different way. And the training is available. It's out there. We’re being trained to call it a fetus, so I could speak of the genetic uniqueness of the child from conception. Its it’s own person from the moment of conception. I could speak about the development, which is getting easier and easier to see with the 4D ultrasound that GE came up with. Have you seen on the internet? You can look and see some of the... A rendition of what you’ll see through the GE 4D thing. What it is, you can actually see a real time moving like motion picture of your baby. Isn’t that exciting? And more and more clinics are using these. Pro-life, pregnancy support type clinics are using this very expensive equipment to show women who are wrestling with the issue of what’ going on in their lives, to see their babies. And this is amazing, something like more than 60% of those women who come in, determined to get abortions decide not to after seeing that evidence. That’s those that are convinced they’re going to get an abortion. How about those that aren’t sure or even those that are excited about the baby? There’s no doubt in their mind, this is a baby, and they can watch it, they can see. So we could speak at the biological level, but you know me, I would rather speak scripturally. Does the Bible give us any indication that the pre-born is a human person? And the answer is overwhelmingly yes! From Psalm 39, we have great evidence. Turn in your Bible is Psalm 139 and take a look with me, and you will see some of this incredible evidence. Now the context of the specific statements we’re gonna look at this morning, of Psalm 139, the overall message is of an omniscient, omnipresent God in intimate, personal relationship with David. And omniscient, omnipresent God in intimate, personal relationship with David. You could sum it up into this little phrase, “You and me, O God, you and me”. Now, as I read over the first few verses of Psalm 139, see if you can hear that you and the me. You and me. "O Lord, You have searched me, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise. You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down. You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know it completely, O Lord, you hem me in behind, and before you have laid your hand upon me, such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from Your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you were there. If I make my bed in the depths, you were there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn and settle on the far side of the sea, even there, your hand will will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you,” "Does the Bible give us any indication that the pre-born is a human person? And the answer is overwhelmingly yes!" I’ll stop there. Do you see the you and me dynamic there in those first 12 verses? Very much the intense relationship between a sovereign, powerful, omniscient God, omnipresent. No matter where you go, there is God. And David says, I can’t get away from you. Not that he would want to, but it’s an incredible thing to be so thoroughly known and loved by God. He feels hemmed in, as it were, behind and before by God’s omniscience and omnipresence. Even David’s secret actions in the dark are fully open and they bear before God, who sees all things. Now, that’s the context, look at verses 13 through 16, and we get to some relevant verses to the issue. We see, in verses 13 through 16, that this intense relationship began while God was knitting David together in his mother’s womb. Even at that point, David was being formed to have a relationship with God. Look at verse 13 and the following. “For you created my in most being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Studies show that newborn infants can recognize their mother’s voice. Now, how is that? Well, because they’ve been hearing it for months and months. And so they recognize Mom’s voice and in like manner, David’s relationship with God began inside the womb. Thats where it started. David didn't fully know that, eventually, he would come to know it, but knowledge was being built up piece by piece, beginning inside the womb, not beginning when he was born, but beginning even before he was born. The pieces of his relationship with God were being put into place even at that point. Now, look at Verse 13, it says, “You created my in most being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Now, I appreciate Dr. Walker being with us to help us with translation. And this morning, those of you that heard him, heard him talk about kidneys and livers and other things like that, and we’re gonna see that right in this verse. In Psalm 139, verse 13, the King James Version gives us this. “For thou hast possessed my reins. Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.” Now, reins is related to renal, like kidney, and that’s where it is. It’s...definitely, the translation would come out of the word kidneys, its the same thing we see in the sacrificial passages, for example, in Exodus 29:13, it says, “Take all the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver and both kidneys with the fat on them and burn them on the altar.” Okay, so it means physical kidneys there, no doubt about it. But here, it has a more metaphorical sense, like we would use the word heart. We use the word heart to mean if somebody has heart catheterization or some kind of heart trouble, it means that they're having problems with the muscle that pumps the blood through their body. But when we say how my heart yearns within me, we’re talking about the immaterial nature of us, which relates to God and which thinks and feels and decides. And there’s a molding together of those. We are spirits in bodies, are we not? And that gets knit together in the mother’s womb, it gets woven together. The immaterial and the material, just getting formed by God, only he can do that. And so we have this word, the kidneys, used in this way, Psalm 7, verse 9, “O righteous God who searches minds and hearts.” When was the last time you had your kidney searched? But that’s what it says, "God searches your kidneys.” What does it mean? He searches your heart, your immaterial nature, your mind, your heart, your thoughts, your passions, your aspirations. He searches them, he knows them completely. Psalm 16:7, I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel. In the night, also my kidneys instruct me. I think you ought to listen to your kidneys, I really believe that when at night your kidneys are instructing you, I think you should listen to them. But I think what it means is that immaterial nature of you is speaking to you, and it’s speaking wisdom to you through the Word of God. Best of all, I think in Job 19:25 and following, I love this, “I know that my redeemer lives and that in the end, He will take his stand on the Earth.” That’s Jesus Christ, Jobs’ redeemer is Christ. Who else could it be? And in the end, Christ is gonna take His stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see God resurrection. I myself will see him with my own eyes. I am not another. How my heart yearns within me, there are those kidneys again, my heart, my kidneys are yearning for that day, when I can see Jesus take His stand on the Earth. My heart is yearning for the day when I will be in my resurrection body. Oh, I look forward to that. Well, that’s what God was knitting together inside David’s mother’s womb. His heart was being... His kidneys, knit together, physically and spiritually, just put together as only God can do. But what is more? The Hebrew word is not actually “create”, but “qanah”. Which usually means to acquire by purchase, to possess or to come into ownership of. In short, God came to own or possess David’s kidneys, his in most being inside the womb. He said, “This is mine because I made it”. It’s mine because I made it. And just because you have the technology to seize it from me does not make it right. It is mine, you possess my in most being. You created it and it is mine. And so we see this intense personal activity, verse 14-16. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my inner most body.” Now, don’t let the poetic language put you off, there’s a highly technical thing going on here. Now we can speak of technical things in poetic language, it doesn’t take away the truth of the matter itself. God made David and did it skillfully inside his mother’s womb. Now, if we’re gonna go into the hidden places of the earth and all that kind of thing, that’s poetry, and we all acknowledge that. But he’s saying what happened inside his mother’s womb. David was skillfully woven together. I’m gonna use a little more poetic imagery. Like The skillfully woven sash of the high priest was woven together. That’s the same verb. And so it’s the art of a weaver. That’s what God did to David inside the womb. And why did God do all this? So that someday, David would come to know Him and believe in Him. Some day he would come to trust in God. That’s the whole reason. Oh Lord you and me, you and me, God, You have searched me and You know me. I want to know you too. God knew us before we knew him, and so it was that we might come into a relationship, and so even inside the womb, David’s getting prepared for that, isn’t he? God is shaping him. And so it says, even out of the womb, when he’s nursing at his mother’s breast, it says in Psalm 22:9, “You brought me out of the womb, you made me trust in You, even when I was nursing.” How did David trust in God while he was nursing? Well, the phrase in God or in you isn’t in the original, but it’s well in the context in Psalm 22. In other words, he learned how to trust at his mother’s breast at some point it got transferred to God and he trusted God the way he used to trust his mother. Do you see that? And so the whole relationship was getting prepared from inside the mother’s womb, and we have no right to stop that, clearly. Who are we to interfere with that process? We have no rights. There’s also evidence in Luke 1, look over there if you would with me, Luke 1:41 and following. Of the six lies, I’m spending the most on this one, if we can nail this one down, namely that the pre-born is a human person. Do you see that everything else fits into place? Even some of the toughest ethical issues don’t become tough anymore, when you start to realize this is a human person we’re dealing with. Look at Luke 41, it says, “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit. In a loud voice, she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear. But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.” Leaped for joy. Isn’t that wonderful? There are two great evidences here of the personhood of the pre-born, the first is that filled with the Spirit, Elizabeth calls Mary, the mother of her Lord. Now, Jesus is, I would measure just a few weeks after having been conceived, I mean, just a few weeks, she is into her pregnancy, she’s already a mother, and not just the mother of anybody, she’s the mother of Elizabeth’s Lord. That’s evidence number one. And then there’s John the Baptist, who just seemed to leap for joy, any time Jesus was around, the Holy Spirit would come on him and he would just be filled with the Spirit, there was just like a prophetic magnetic attraction there, there’s Jesus. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was just filled with the spirit from his mother’s womb even. And so when Mary’s voice enters Elizabeth’s ears, John the Baptist leaps for joy. I don’t know any product of conception that’s going to rejoice, but I do know people rejoice. People rejoice. John the Baptist was a person, and he’s inside his mother’s womb. And so the Bible speaks very clearly an unmistakable refutation of The Devil’s foundational lie that it’s telling to society, namely, the pre-born is not a person, he most certainly is, the second lie, the child is a burden and not a blessing, I think the general goal here is for a... Satan’s goal is to cause us to hate children as much as he does. I think that’s what’s going on here, but just take it a step back and look at it, you know why because he just hates the image of God. Satan’s Lie #2 He just does, he hates God and he hates anything in his image, Sanctity of Human Life, he hates it. And so He wants us to join him in that attitude and that rebellion, and part of that is to resent children, to look on them as essentially a burden to cause the parents to despise the child, to despise its personhood, calling it an it and not a baby. To despise the effect the child will have on their life financially in lifestyle, in career, in plans, in comforts, who knows, but to despise the child, that’s the goal. And so, abortion gives us the evil sense of ownership over children as though they are ours to assess and debate over, such as Planned Parenthood’s motto, “Every child’s a wanted child.” Who are you to want or not want the child? Think about it now, suppose I came up to one of you and said, I don’t want you. That’ an odd idea, isn’t it, when you stop and think about it? If I were to just come up to any church member or a visitor, that’d be a bad way for a pastor to try to build a church, “I want you to know I don’t want you.” Well, I don’t have a right to want or not want the person in an absolute sense. It’s not my place. God wanted the person, you see. And so what ends up happening is a creeping despising of children that comes in, and we’ve got to speak biblical truth on this, nowadays, even children think of... Even Christians think of children essentially negatively, how much money they cost to raise, how much of an interference they are on your plans, your careers, your pleasures. Planned Parenthood told us that if every child was a wanted child, child abuse would go down, actually the numbers have absolutely skyrocketed because these mentalities come in essentially despising children. We have to speak biblical truth on this matter. Every child is a blessing from God, every child’s a blessing from God. And someone once said, too many children, that’s like too many flowers, think about that. There’s just too many flowers in the world. Psalm 127:3-5, “Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. Children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward like arrows in the hand of a quiver. So are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies of the gate,” Children are a blessing. I can’t imagine my life without my kids, look at the cover of the book’s in_____. Just take a minute, look. Have you seen it? I’m not going to embarrass the father and mother of this child by saying who it is, but somebody who’s near and dear to me, this is not my child, I did not do that, but I was tempted. My kids can look kind of cute, but that’s little Isaac right there with the beast of some sort in his mouth, I don’t know what it is. Is it a rabbit? I haven’t looked at...is it a rabbit? Here it is. What a blessing. What an incredible blessing? Any parents whose kids are fully grown, can you imagine your life without your kids, all those experiences, all the things you went through, your memory, the hard times too, all of it, its life. Children are essential blessings from God. Now we have to speak another word of truth, and that is that children are hard to raise, they do come into the world as sinners and it’s hard to train them, it’s not easy. And so God gave provision, a father and a mother married to each other in covenant relationship, surrounded by godly people, a church. All of that is needed but primarily father, mother together, married foundation for the child’s growth, right? If you have a child born in a different situation like that, you will have incredible difficulties, but God is gracious, he is gracious and he is able to overcome those difficulties, just like for a widow and for orphans, he’s able to make up the difference. He is gracious, and we need to speak that word of hope into very hopeless situations, say God is able and God’s people are able, we better be able. We better be willing to step up and speak the truth, the children are a blessing. "He is gracious, and we need to speak that word of hope into very hopeless situations, say God is able and God’s people are able, we better be able. We better be willing to step up and speak the truth, the children are a blessing." Satan’s Lie #3 The third lie is that abortion is beneficial to the life of the mother. Now, a greatly concealed factor are the incredible risks to a woman of abortion. They don’t want you to know, as a matter of fact, so much that they don’t want you to know that they’re starting to be legal rumblings about consent, informed consent concerning abortions. Many times people, women are not told the full medical story the way they are for another kind of surgery like LASIK or some other things where you’re told all the things that might happen, you’re not told in the matter of abortion, and there are some lawyers, pro-life lawyers that are starting to look at that and say, “Is there informed consent here?”. But there are serious dangers, physical, psychological, emotional and definitely spiritual to abortion. Psychologically, Isaiah 49:15 says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb, even these may forget, but I will not you,” Just built into a woman is a yearning for her children, she just loves them, and there’s a connection there. You have to repress that and squelch it and it comes at a cost, it damages, psychologically. Comes with the cost of a seared conscience. Really, I think 1st Timothy 4:2. Now, I know that sometimes, sadly, some therapeutic abortions have to be done to spare the life of the mother, but we know in those cases the baby would have died too, and it’s just part of the problem of this sin cursed world that we have difficulties like that. But we have to speak the truth. Abortion is not a benefit to the life of the mother; it is greatly damaging and greatly dangerous. There’s an increased risk of breast cancer that’s been linked, it’s been proven, they want to refute it, they want to deny it, but its there, and there is certainly a spiritual risk because people are turning away from God, and they don’t feel that they can come back to God and believe in him and trust in him because of what they’ve done. We’ll get to that in a moment, because you can, they can. We need to speak the truth of the church as well. Satan’s Lie #4 Satan’s fourth lie is that abortion is too entrenched to overthrow. So let’s just give up. Let’s just give up. Its too tough. We’re not making any progress. Well, that's false. We are making progress. Lets just give up, you know why? The devil wants you to believe that because he knows very well better than you do, the power of your offensive weaponry and the strength of your defensive shielding. He knows it better than you do. He knows offensively that our weapons are not the weapons of this world. They have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we’re ready to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. That is the power of the Word of God, it’s powerful and strong. It is able to pull down satanic bad ideas, bad thoughts, he knows that, he knows. He also knows that your defensive shielding is more powerful than anything he can throw at it. Ephesians chapter 6 says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground, and after you’ve done everything to stand, you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one,” and the devil knows it very well. So what is he gonna do? Well, first of all, he’s going to get you to not trust in the power of your offensive and defensive weaponry and stay at home, just stay at home, be defeated, be deflated, be weak, be supine, lay on the couch and lament that there’s nothing you can do. Just like the spies, when they came back and spoke of the promised land, and it was a good land, but 10 of them spread a bad report saying, “Oh, the cities with walls up to the sky, and we appeared like grasshoppers in our own eyes.” [Number 13:31-33] And God raised up Joshua and Caleb to say, “Oh, with God’s strength and power. We can do it. We can take the promised land.” A year ago, I talked to about two witnesses from church history, and I think were very encouraging William Wilberforce and William Lloyd Garrison on the issue of slavery, Wilberforce for 40 years fought the slave trade and slavery in England, 40 years. The gentle firm consistent patience of a marathoner, that’s what we need here. He labored for 20 years to stop the British slave trade, and then for 20 more years to get rid of slavery altogether. An enemy of Wilberforce said this, “It is necessary to watch him”, you gotta be careful about this guy because, “he is blessed with a very sufficient quantity of that enthusiastic spirit, which so far yielding that it actually grows more vigorous with blows”.The harder you hit him, the more he comes at you, he just doesn’t go away, but he’s so friendly. He’s so positive, he’s so optimistic, I don’t know what we’re gonna do about this guy, he just won’t go away.” And he was a little too, he was like a little guy, a little lightweight guy, but he became...becomes like a monster when speaking the truth, and they couldn't get rid of him, he’s like a big block of cork and you push him down and he pops right back up. He just doesnt give up. Just don’t.....we don’t give up. And then there’s William Lloyd Garrison, fearless fiery preacher of righteousness through journalism. I don’t really know if he was born again, I hope so, but I do know this, his cause was just...as he fought against slavery in America for decades, fiery zeal as a journalist and this is what he wrote, he said, “I need...I need to be all on fire for I am surrounded by mountains of ice. I need to be all on fire for I’m surrounded by mountains of ice.” You gotta deal. You can't just be winsome and positive, like a big piece of cork, but you have to have a fiery zeal, a willingness to tell the truth. His most famous declaration on abolition was this, “I am an earnest, I will not equivocate, I will not excuse, I will not retreat a single inch and I will be heard.” Can we say that? Can we do that? Can we not play games? Can we not retreat a single inch? Can we make ourselves heard? I just wanna encourage you, our weapons are strong and they’re effective. Let’s not be intimidated. Let’s take the field. Now, on simply changing the laws, you know, that’s not going to be enough. Satan’s Lie #5 Lie number five is, abortion will be defeated if we merely changed the laws. Well, that’s not gonna be good enough. When I started in the abortion fight back in 1980, it was ‘88 or ‘89, Operation Rescue was really involved at that point, and what they did was they would blockade clinics, they would physically chain themselves so that you couldn’t get in, and their enemies mocked them by calling them operation reschedule, because they hadn’t convinced anybody of anything, they just made it physically impossible, that’s human nature, when you wanna do something and you’re not persuaded but just blocked, you’re gonna try even harder to do it. There has to be a persuasion going on, there has to be... There has to be, there has to be reasoning with people’s hearts, and I gotta win hearts and minds on this, it’s not enough to just blockade, I don’t believe in it. Also we have to realize there are reasons that women get abortions, there are reasons, economic reasons, they might feel themselves to be too poor to raise another child, there are family reasons, bad family situation, abusive husband and unsupportive parents, or maybe a young teen girl gets herself into difficulties, spiritual reasons, no convictions whatsoever in the matter, selfishness or ignorance, there are philosophical reasons, dislike of or children are seen to be an interruptional lifestyle, etcetera. The church must respond to these reasons, the church must transform the situation, the church must speak peace and hope and not just with words into the situation. Satan’s Lie #6 And lie number six, your sin is too great for God to forgive. I think we’re all guilty in this matter, to a greater less degree, you could be guilty of sins of omission, or you may be guilty of sins of commission, but either way, we need to repent. And either way, we need God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness. And the great, glorious, good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that that grace, that mercy, that forgiveness is abundantly available through Jesus Christ, I mean, abundantly available. There is no sin you can commit, that God’s grace cannot cover through the blood of Christ. Here is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. 1st Timothy 1:50, its trustworthy. And so the devil wants to lie you and tell you there's no grace and no forgiveness, but there is. The spirit of abortion says to the abortionist doctor, there is so much blood on your hands that God can never accept you, your soul is lost forever. The spirit of abortion says to pregnant women, whether... Or a pregnant woman with a child conceived out of wedlock, you’re pregnant through sin and God has abandoned you, there can be no forgiveness for you, there’s no hope, you might as will abort that baby. The spirit of abortion says to the woman who’s already had an abortion, you’ve killed your own baby, and now God will reject you forever, there can be no mercy and no grace for you. That is a lie, that is a lie. The spirit of abortion says to the man who abdicated his responsibility to care for the child he fathered, you’re a poor excuse for a man, and there can be no forgiven for you. It says to the pastor who’s neglected personal involvement and the abortion issue because of fear or desire for a quiet, simple, comfortable life,God will not forgive you, you’re a hypocrite and a coward. Says to the politician who’s hardened his heart and seared conscience by advocating a woman’s right to choose in order to get an elected to an office that he coveted, you can’t be forgiven. There’s no mercy for you. It says to a Supreme Court Justice who votes a certain way on certain cases, violating their own conscience, there can be no forgiveness for you, you’re responsible for millions and millions of deaths, and there can be no forgiveness for you. This is all the devil’s lie. We must come to the cross of Jesus Christ with repentance, with broken-hearted submission and with glad acceptance of his mercy and his grace and his forgiveness, he is tender-hearted and compassionate to the broken-hearted sinner. "We must come to the cross of Jesus Christ with repentance, with broken-hearted submission and with glad acceptance of his mercy and his grace and his forgiveness, he is tender-hearted and compassionate to the broken-hearted sinner." VI. Application Now, what application can we take from this? Well very simply, first of all, believe the Bible, the pre-born are truly persons. I was reading in World Magazine recently, an acronym that stuck with me partially, and I forgot to bring it with me this morning, so I’m gonna do my best at giving you the acronym, and if the world has a different one, all the better, and you can have even more truth. But it’s talking about the person who are the unbeliever and uses the acronym, I think it was sled, S-L-E-D, talking about how there is no difference between the infant in the pre-born philosophically, S size, are you more of a person because you’re bigger and less of a person cause you’re little? L Location, are you more of a person on a mountain top than you are in a cave? Is personhood dependent on your location. E experience, is personhood dependent on your life experiences? The more you experience, the more of a person you’ll be. How about D dependence, is personhood diminished if you’re dependent on a heart lung machine? And if you answer, “No” its not dependent on any of those things, then how can you refute the personhood of the pre-born? On what grounds? Science, location, experience dependence, doesn’t work. Take that to them. Talk to them. Be courageous and communicate. Ask questions. If you see a bumper sticker that says something like this, “Don’t like abortion, then don’t have one”. Ask this question, can I do that with genocide? Don’t believe in genocide, then don’t do it. Or rape, don’t believe in rape, then don’t do it. But leave us alone we who want to rape or want to commit genocide. It doesn’t make any sense. Please refute these things with truth. When politicians say silly things like, “We need to keep abortion safe, legal, funded and rare”. Say, “Wait a minute, please, I’m confused. Just a moment, please. Okay. If the pre-born is a person, then why should abortions be legal, and if the pre-born is not a person, then why should they be rare? Talk to me, politician, tell me why?” That’s just politician speak. It doesn’t mean anything. Refute it with truth. Thirdly, persevere in prayer and action to abolish abortion, let’s be all in fire like William Lloyd Garrison. Let’s not go away. Let’s look and see what we can do better in the year 2004, let’s find out more about what pregnancy support services there are. There’s an insert in your bulletin what they need financially for volunteer hours. There were a few pro-life things that happened in our church this year, I’d like to see more this year. Number four, radiate hope. Shine as a beacon of hope and grace and faith for the desperate. They need the word of hope. Christian, give it to them. Speak hope into their situation. And then finally come to Christ if you’re listening to me today and you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior don’t leave this room without trusting in him and if you’re already a Christian but you’ve committed some sin in this area or any other area come to Christ again for forgiveness and healing and cleansing and he will take your sins and the scripture says in Micah, throw them into the depths of the sea, covered by a sea of his grace through the blood of Christ. "Shine as a beacon of hope and grace and faith for the desperate. They need the word of hope. Christian, give it to them. Speak hope into their situation."

sermon transcript Introduction Few aspects of the life of a community are as cloaked and as covered with ritual and ceremony as is a wedding. All of you who are married can think back to your wedding day and what a special time that was, and as varied as the cultural expressions of weddings are, there are still some common themes that we see in almost every culture. One of those common themes is that the bride dresses up in an outfit that is unusual and spectacular, glorious and beautiful. Never does a woman look so beautiful as she does on her wedding day. I did some research on some of the customs and the various things that people do around the world. In Armenia and China, both the bride wears red silk. The brides in our culture wear white, but they wear red silk, it's a symbol of joy and of fruitfulness and celebration. In Austria brides wear veils with myrtle, the myrtle symbolizes life and fruitfulness. In Finland, brides are crowned with golden crowns, and in Norway, they also have a crown, but it has tiny silver spoons which tinkle as she walks through the church for her wedding. Isn't that beautiful? Japan perhaps does it more than any other culture. I know some Japanese brides that change clothes six times on their wedding day. Seven different outfits for the day. She spends most of her day getting in and out of clothing, but what a spectacular display, each one of them symbolic of some aspect of married life. In all these cultures there's a picture of the bride beautifully dressed for her husband, and that is what all of us who are Christians are looking forward to. The prophetic fulfillment of the bride, namely the Church of Jesus Christ, beautifully dressed for her husband. That is the context of Psalm 45. As we look at Psalm 45, it says at the beginning, it is a wedding song, and it brings us right into the profound mystery of marriage. The first wedding was a much more simple affair, the bride did not wear spectacular clothing, as you know, but it was a majestic union made by God, Adam and Eve brought together, the establishment of marriage as the focal point of God's plan for the ends of the earth. He gave husband and wife, Adam and Eve, male and female together a commission that they should fill the earth, subdue it and rule over it. It was impossible for the husband to do it without the wife, impossible for the wife to do it without the husband, but in that sacred union of marriage, there would be the fulfillment that God had ordained. So also, God uses marriage as the symbol of his relationship with his people, as the course of biblical history unfolded, and God chose out for himself a special people, Israel, and declared them to be his own people. He used marital language to talk about his relationship with them. Isaiah 62:5 says, "As a Bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” Jeremiah also picks up on this. Jeremiah 2:1-3 says, "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem. I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the first fruits of His harvest." So again, the marriage imagery, the relationship between Israel and her God. So, also Israel's unfaithfulness to God. In marital terms, adultery likened to adultery. Jeremiah 3, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She's gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there." Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. There you have the physical and the spiritual brought together. The adultery imagery, the stone and wood is idolatry, and God using marital imagery to talk about his relationship with his people. Therefore there's an incredible blending of physical and spiritual significance to marriage. All of this is the context of Psalm 45. Why are we talking about marriage and about weddings? Because Psalm 45 was a wedding song, it was written and was read at the marriage of a Davidic king, a descendant of David, when he took his bride, so it became a centerpiece of that day, and of God's covenant to David. Listen to the words of Psalm 45, and let's try to understand it in its context. Beginning at verse 1, it says, "My heart is stirred by a noble theme, as I recite my verses for the king, my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer. You are the most excellent of men, and your lips have been anointed with grace since God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword upon your side Almighty one, clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of true humility and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds, let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the King's enemies, let the nations fall beneath your feet. Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever. A scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory, the music of the strings makes you glad. Daughters of kings are among your honored women, and at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir. Listen O daughter, consider and give ear, forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty. Honor Him, for He is your Lord. The daughter of Tyre will come with a gift, men of wealth will seek your favor, all glorious is the princess within her chamber, her gown is interwoven with gold. In embroidered garment she is led to the king, her virgin companions follow her and are brought to you. They are led in with joy and gladness to enter the palace of the king. Your sons will take the place of your fathers, you will make them princes throughout the land, I will perpetuate your memory through all generations, therefore the nations will praise you forever and ever." Christ: The Davidic King & Groom The context of Psalm 45 is the promise that God had made to David. We talked about this last time. This was a covenant that God had made with David. Some covenants are bilateral. In other words, both parties make an agreement to behave a certain way, some of them are unilateral, in which God just says, I'm going to do this for you. The covenant made with David was a unilateral covenant. God said, "You want to build a house for me, but I'm going to build a house for you." Remember that David had wanted to build a temple where the Ark of the Covenant could be. Nathan, the prophet, was sent to him, and God communicated through Nathan, "You want to build a house for me, but I will build a house for you." This is the Davidic Covenant. 2 Samuel 7:5 and following, "The Lord declares to you that the Lord Himself will establish a house for you. When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body." Very specific, "He is the one who will build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me, your throne will be established forever." It's an astounding promise. God is going to raise up a physical descendant of David to build a house. Now we know that Solomon physically fulfilled this when he built the temple, but we know that the promise that his throne would endure forever went well beyond Solomon. The promise was that David would never lack an heir, would never lack a son to sit on the throne, until he comes to whom it is right and fitting that rule should come. The scepter belongs to Judah, the prophecy came to Jacob. So, there would come a Messiah who deserved the throne, a descendant of David, and there would be a lineage of Davidic Kings, one after the other, of descendants of David, until the right one came along. Every single generation would successfully procreate, would successfully have a son until the Messiah came. Some of these Davidic kings were idolatrous, wicked men, but they did their duty when it came to leaving an heir. Every last one of them had a son who could sit on the throne. We've talked about a wicked king, for example, Jehoram who slaughtered all of his brothers, the other descendants of David, so that he alone would be able to rule in order to establish his kingdom. God hated Jehoram's sins, he was idolatrous and walked in the ways of all the kings of Israel. But in 2 Chronicles 21:7, this is what God says, "Nevertheless, because of the Covenant the Lord had made with David, the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and for his descendants forever." So, the lamp would never go out, there would always be a descendant. One after the other, sometimes that cord got awful thin. There was one time, for example, when Athaliah, mother of Ahaziah, wanted to grab all the power for herself, she wanted to rule as queen, so she slaughtered all the sons of Ahaziah, thinking to cut off all of David's descendants, except, one little baby was rescued by a wet nurse. She took that little baby into a bedroom, I don't know where the baby hid under a bed perhaps, behind a curtain, but the slaughtering soldiers went through looking for all the children and didn't find this one baby. And this baby, Jehoash grew up and was king and continued the Davidic line. So, you can see how significant is this lineage, this promise made to David that he would never like an heir or son to sit on the throne until finally, the Messiah comes whose kingdom it is. In order to fulfill this promise, each Davidic King must have a bride, a wife. So the wedding is a very significant time, not just in the life of Judah as a nation, but in the life of the history of God's covenant promise and in the salvation of the world, for Jesus would come through this lineage. The immediate context of Psalm 45 is that one of the descendants of David was about to get married, so a son of Korah, sat down to write a Psalm for the occasion. It's a time of tremendous joy, God's faithfulness to His promise, peace and prosperity for the nation. So the poet has moved to write a poem for the occasion. Look at verse 1, "My heart is stirred by a noble theme, as I recite my verses for the king, my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer." So, the writer is warming to his task, he's excited about the privilege and the honor of writing this poem for a wedding, and he's going to stand up and read this on that wedding day. Actually, his tongue was moved by more than just the significant theme. In 2 Peter 1:20- 21, Peter writes, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture ever had its origin in the prophet's own imagination. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along or moved by the Holy Spirit." So, this son of Korah, or whoever it is, was moved by the Holy Spirit to write prophecy, a prophecy that will be fulfilled only in Jesus Christ. There are certain verses in here that really only perfectly could be addressed to Christ. In Verse 2, he says, "You are the most excellent of men." Many of these Davidic kings were not the most excellent of men, but Jesus Christ is. Look at Verse 6, "Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever." Who can this be, but Jesus Christ? So, this son of Korah is lifted up out of his immediate circumstances to write words that could only be fulfilled through Jesus Christ and through Christ's wedding. Now, let's look at Psalm 45 and how it breaks apart. Verse 1 is the introduction. The sons of Korah, if you see the introduction right below the word Psalm 45, the sons of Korah were just Levites, who along with the sons of Izhar were given a job to sing sometimes antiphonally back and forth in the temple. They would worship and they would sing, they were given the job of worship in the temple. He was just one of these men, and he wrote this Psalm. In verses 2-5, we have the address to the bridegroom king. In verses 6-9, he talks about the glory of the bridegroom king. In Verses 10 -12, he gives an address to the bride, and then in verses 13-15, the glory of the bride. First, the address to the bridegroom king, the psalmist calls the king the most excellent of men. Now, it's common for people in someone's court to flatter a King, and this would be pure flattery in the case of most of these kings. Listen to what he says, "You are the most excellent of men, and your lips have been anointed with grace since God has blessed you forever. Gird your sword upon your side, Almighty One, clothe yourself with splendor and majesty, and in your Majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds and let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the King's enemies, let nations fall beneath your feet.” This is incredibly lavish praise, especially if you start to read about who some of these kings were. All of them are sinners. Even David, a man after God's own heart had his sins. He said, "Actually, my sins are more numerous than the hairs of my head." Uzziah, godly king, dared to walk into the temple and offer sacrifice, a job fit only for a priest. Hezekiah had his pride, every one of them had blemishes on them. So, while these words may be somewhat true of some of the kings, they're really only fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is the most excellent man that ever lived. Is it not Jesus Christ? Is He not most excellent in wisdom, most excellent in power, most excellent in compassion for the needy, most excellent and character and moral perfection? He is the most fit leader in the history of humanity. In this address, the psalmist looks at the king as a mighty military conqueror. People tended to see the kings as the leader of their armies. 1 Samuel 8:19-20 says, "We want a king over us, then we will be like all the other nations with a king to lead us and go out before us and fight our battles." So, they looked at a king as somebody who would ride out with the sword and with a bow and arrow and defeat their enemies. That's in effect what he's saying, "Do it, O King, we're counting on you." The king had a sword like King Arthur had Excalibur which came up out of the lake, as you remember the myth. So, this king has his mighty sword, which he's going to gird on his side and he's going to get up on his horse and ride with an awesome picture of military power and might. He's going to ride forth victoriously, but it’s power not used just to dominate and to oppress, but it’s power used in behalf of those who need it most. In your Majesty, ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness. The meek, the gentle, the humble of the earth, they're going be protected by this godly king. He's going to use his power to protect, and powerful oppressors will be crushed. It says, "Let your right hand display awesome deeds, mighty acts of power on the military battlefield, ride forth and do it, O king. Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king's enemies and let the nations fall, beneath your feet." So, this is the address to the Bridegroom King, saying, "Be mighty, be a conqueror, ride forth." We see also the consistency of all of these Psalms that we've looked at. Psalm 110, “The Lord says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Psalm 2, "Ask of me and I'll make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. And those who rage against you will be defeated." Psalm 22:27, "All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of nations will bow down before Him." Consistency of the Psalms is testimony to the extension of Christ's kingdom. The Glory of the Bridegroom King In Verse 69, he talks about the glory of the bridegroom king, and there's four aspects of it. He's glorious in appearance, He's glorious in His throne, He's glorious in His character, and He's glorious in His deity. First, glorious in appearance. Look at Verse 3, he says, "Clothe yourself with splendor and majesty, in your majesty, ride forth victoriously." What would Jesus Christ look like on the day He returns? Can you imagine the glory and the radiance, His robes of glory shining with a brightness? You can't imagine, you can't even look at it. You would not be able to survive were God not to sustain you. The glory of Christ, this Davidic king was nothing, in compared to the glorious radiance that will shine when Jesus returns to establish His kingdom. Glorious in appearance. He's also glorious on His throne. Look at verse 6, "Your throne, O God will last forever and ever. A scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom." It's glorious in that it's an eternal throne. All rulers of the earth are like grass, and all of their glories like the flower of the field. We are witnessing an incredible power struggle right now with the presidency, it's all like grass. There's only one eternal throne, and it's Jesus Christ, and He will establish and it will reign forever and ever. Now, these Davidic kings, they all die, they all went the way of all the earth, every last one of them, but Jesus has an eternal throne because He alone has conquered death. And through His resurrection, He gives us an eternal throne. It's also glorious, and that His throne is based on justice and righteousness. Righteousness is the scepter of Christ throne, righteousness and justice, the foundation of the throne. His throne is a righteous throne and he is the only leader and the only ruler who's ever been as perfectly righteous, perfectly just. Most human thrones are established by the exploitation of the weak and the needy and the oppressed, and they use the court systems and they twist the court systems to use for their own purpose. There's bribery and there's blindness on the judge's eyes and all for the purpose to benefit the leader. But Jesus isn’t that way. Christ is perfect in His justice and His righteousness. Isaiah 11 says, "He will not judge by what He sees with His eyes or decide by what He hears with His ears, but with righteousness, He will judge the needy, with justice He will give decisions for the benefit of the poor of the earth." The oppressed and the needy are going to get the benefit of that decision because He is righteous. He's also glorious in His character. It says in Verse 7, "You love righteousness and hate wickedness." Can I say to you today that the essence of your character can be found in what you love and what you hate, that's who you are. What you love, and what you hate makes up who you are. For who is Christ? Who is this bridegroom king? He loves righteousness and He hates wickedness. Because of that, it says, "God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. Because he has searched the character of his Son and sees only a yearning and a love for righteousness and a hatred and a rejection of evil," that is the nature of Jesus Christ. When it says he's anointed with the oil of joy, the anointing is what sets him apart as king. When he was the anointed, when he was the king, he was the one chosen among his brothers, the Davidic king, the one who would take the throne. The word “messiah” literally means anointed one. This one was physically anointed with fragrant olive oil and myrrh and aloes and cassia. Myrrh comes from the hardened sap of a rare tree in Arabia. They take a knife and they scrape it and they get this hardened sap, very rare and very fragrant, aromatic. Aloe comes from the aromatic eaglewood tree. Cassia comes as an aromatic oil from a steam distillation process of leaves and twigs and certain kinds of fruit and smells delicious, and all of this is blended together in an anointing oil, and it comes down on the anointed one, the king. It says here in the Psalm, it is the oil of joy. I tend to think of it, of the joy and the delight of the Father and the Son. Do you remember when Jesus was baptized? There came a voice from heaven, the heavenly Father. Remember what he said? “This is my Son, this is my Son, in whom is all my pleasure and my delight.” He's delighted with him, he searched him, and he knows him, and he's delighted with every aspect of his Son. The oil of joy, that's what anoints Jesus. So he's glorious in his appearance, he's glorious in his throne, he's glorious in his character, in what he loves and hates, and he's glorious in his deity. In this way, he's set apart from all the other kings that have ever lived. Now you say, Wait a minute, the son of Korah addressed some Davidic king and called him, Your throne, O God. The Hebrew word is “Elohim”. So this human being was called God. Well, it's just the word “Elohim,” the word is a different meaning or communicates something different to the Hebrew mind than it does to us. Usually, it refers to God the eternal, the one, the only God, but sometimes it can refer to a mighty or a powerful man. Jesus Christ himself attested to this. Psalm 82:1 says, “God presides in the great assembly; he gives judgments among the "gods,” Elohim. Jesus refers to this in John 10 when he called them gods to whom the word of God came. But you can't say God to a human being the way you can say God to Jesus Christ. So the writer to Hebrews 1 picks this up, this very verse, and puts it in the words of the Father saying that God speaks this to the Son. God the Father says to the Son, “Your throne O God, will last forever and ever.” The Father speaks of the deity of the Son, and that's his highest glory. The Church: Christ’s Bride In verses 10-12, we get the address to the bride. The poet then turns his attention to her and begins to speak to her, and says, "Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." She's evidently from a foreign country, and many of the brides did come from foreign countries. Wait a minute, is that a good idea?" In Solomon's case, usually it wasn't a good idea because his foreign brides turned his heart away from God. But if you look at, for example, the Davidic ancestor, Ruth ,was a Moabitess and she said to Naomi, her mother-in-law, "Where you go I will go and who you love I will love. Your God will be my God, your people will be my people." Now, that's something different. Wasn't that the very purpose of Israel? That they should be the firstfruits of a worldwide harvest of Yahweh worshippers? Jehovah being their God. So, this woman comes from a foreign land, converts and worships the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The psalmist says, "Forget your people. Forget your past and come. The king is delighted with you. You got something glorious and bright waiting for you." Isn't that us as well? Aren't we from a foreign land compared to heaven? Think about it. We're welcomed and escorted right into the very presence of God himself. We're the epitome of foreigners. The psalmist is saying, "Forget your past, forget your people, forget where you came from and come and be with me." What a glorious future we have in Christ. The psalmist promises this queen the king's undying affection. I love verse 11, “The king is enthralled by your beauty. He just can't take his eyes off you. You're absolutely gorgeous to him. Enthralled means almost chained up with looking at you. You know, I just closed my eyes and I think about the church in all of its perfection when it's finished and pure and comes down to Christ, and Christ just looks, the work is finished, and the yearning's about to be consummated. What a glorious thing. The king is enthralled by your beauty, he can't take his eyes off you. Then in verse 11, “Honor him, for he is your lord." The perfect headship of Christ, his loving care for his wife and her godly submission to his authority, beautifully consummated there. Honor him, for he is your lord. Then in verse 13-15, it speaks of the glory of the bride, her beauty, she's got glorious robes prepared in her chamber. She's got gold imported from Ophir, that's down in the Arabian boot, very rare, that finest gold is on her robe. She's gorgeous, with careful attention to detail, and she's got joy. Her face just radiates with joy and gladness, and she makes her entrance. She's welcomed right into the king's very presence. In verses 16 and 17, the psalm concludes and he talks about the lineage, “Your sons will take the place of their fathers," It’s going to go on, it's going to keep on going until finally we get that one we're waiting for, Jesus Christ. Wedding Imagery in the OT & NT That's Psalm 45, how is it fulfilled in history? First of all, in Matthew chapter 1, there is a lineage, isn't there? There's a genealogy, generation after generation listed there, 42 in all, 14 of them before David and then 28 after David, 28 generations of Davidic descendants one after the other after the other. Not all of them were kings of course because the throne was taken away when Judah went into exile, but all of them had the right to rule one after the other, right on down to Joseph, and then Joseph took Mary who was also a descendant of David, they married, he had no union with her until the child was born, but then Jesus Christ comes as the fulfillment of all of these marriages, one after the other. All these Davidic marriages and the descendants focused on this one person, Jesus Christ. That's the whole point of the genealogy of Matthew 1. Then 30 years later, Jesus begins his ministry. The forerunner, John the Baptist, speaking of him, says, "I'm not worthy to untie his sandals." Some of John the Baptist's disciples come to him and say... They're all upset, they're all frustrated. "This new guy is getting more disciples than you. He's baptizing more people than you ever baptized. You need to do something for your own great name, John." How that must have grieved him, “You missed the point. You missed the point.” That's what he said, the bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom who attends him, waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must increase and I must decrease. The bride belongs to the bridegroom. Who's the bride? It's all these people who are coming to Jesus. Who's the bridegroom? It's Jesus Christ. Jesus himself picked up on this analogy. They come to Jesus and criticize him because his disciples aren't fasting the way that John the Baptist's disciples did, and the way the Pharisees' disciples did. Jesus asked a question, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them and then they will fast.” Jesus calls himself the bridegroom there. In his parables in Matthew 22, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. Again, in Matthew 25, the wise and the foolish virgins, and the voice of the bridegroom comes at midnight. Are you ready for that, by the way? That's the next thing in the timetable. The voice of the bridegroom coming at midnight saying, "Come on, bride, let's go. The wedding feast is at hand." Are you ready? Paul picks up on this mysterious teaching in Ephesians 5 for the analogy of Christ in the church. “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife.” Back to Adam and Eve, the language back to Adam and Eve, “Be united to his wife and two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery; Greek, “mega musterion.” A mega mystery, but I'm talking about Christ and his church. A picture also in Ephesians 5 of the ongoing beautification of the church. She's getting herself ready. A lot of these cultures and customs have a cleansing or a washing of the bride. In Morocco, for example, five days before the wedding, she's given a ceremonial bath by the women of the community and then henna is painted in swirls on her hands and on her feet. In Scotland, the bride's feet are washed by some of the women in the community and one of the married women takes her wedding band off and puts it down in the water and any of the maidens who, while they're washing, find it they're the next ones who're going to get married, similar to the bouquet being thrown. There's this image of washing and Paul picks up on it in Ephesians 5, “Husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” Think about that, washing with water through the word. This is what cleanses and gets the bride ready. This ministry here gets the bride ready for the wedding day. It's the preaching of the word that gets us ready for that wedding day in order that he may present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish but holy and blameless. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:2, “I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you the one husband as a pure virgin to him.” So Paul wants to get that bride ready, and then the consummation found in the Book of Revelation. Revelation 19:7 and following, "For the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready, fine linen bright and clear was given her to wear." Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. And he added, "These are the true words of the Lord." And so, the bride's getting herself ready with fine line, white and clean. And those are righteous acts done by the church, and then the incredible picture, which is printed on the cover of your bulletin. Revelation 21:1 and 2, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." Oh, what a day that's going to be. What a day when all marriage will have its consummation, in the marriage between Christ and his church. This is the ultimate fulfillment of Psalm 45. Application How does this apply to us? First of all, understand the fulfillment of God's promise to David. Covenants. Promises. A marriage is a covenant, isn't it? Husband and wife make a promise to each other. The covenant is only as good as the character of those who make it. Doesn’t that make sense? If you get somebody making a deal or contract with somebody, if he's a surreptitious kind of character, he's going to break that at his earliest convenience. Well, how good is God's character? He stands behind his covenant, and he shows it by a thousand years of prediction that he fulfilled in David. A thousand years he kept that line going. A thousand years! One generation after another. Our God is a promise-making and a promise-keeping God, and our salvation depends on that. He's made us a covenant and he's going to keep it. He will never break that promise. Secondly, we talked about the glory of the bridegroom in his throne. Rejoice in the majestic glory of Jesus Christ. As proclaimed here, he is the most excellent of men. If there are any here who don't know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, my desire is to make you attracted to Christ, that you might want to come to him and know him in his glory. He is righteous, he is holy and true, he's compassionate. That's why he gave himself on the cross that we might have eternal life. As we think about the righteousness and the godliness of Christ, remember what it says, “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.” Does that characterize you? Do you love righteousness? Do you hate wickedness? Do you rejoice when God's word is faithfully taught? Does it make you happy to hear of a new people group coming to faith in Christ? Are you glad when you see perhaps a Supreme Court decision go the right way for a change? Righteous decisions being made, does that make you happy and delighted? Do you rejoice over righteousness? Does it make you happy? Conversely, do you hate wickedness? You can't be neutral about wickedness, you have to hate it. Jesus made a whip and cleaned out that temple. Would you have done the same? Or would you have been tolerant? We're supposed to love righteousness and hate wickedness. The glory of our bridegroom in that he would give his blood for a clean and holy bride. Isn’t that what he did? And that's the glory of us, isn't it? The glory of the bride, fine linen. Revelation 19:8, "Fine linen bright and clear, clean was given her to wear." Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. Revelation 21:2, "Prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband." Are you covering yourself with fine linen through the righteous acts that God commands you to do? “We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good deeds, which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them.” Are you walking in them? Are you covering yourself with that pure and that holy linen? And are you cleansing yourself through regular and ongoing confession of sin? God hates unrighteousness even in his bride, especially in his bride. Are you availing yourself of the cleansing of the blood of Jesus Christ? And are you helping to advance the kingdom? That's how the bride's getting ready. Little by little, the bride is preparing herself through evangelism, through discipleship. My final point of application is the strategic sacredness of marriage. Physically speaking, where did the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, come from? From marriage, wasn't it? One man and one woman had a child, a boy, and on it went generation after generation after generation. Alright, let me ask another question. Where does the bride come from? Well, what is the bride? It's people, isn't it? People who come to personal faith in Christ, where do they come from? A man and a woman come together and have a child. Marriage is at the heart, the center of God's plan, the strategic sacredness of marriage comes across here. Husband and wife relationship, is utterly critical to the health of a church. If the marriage is healthy, the church is healthy. If the marriage is not healthy, the church is not healthy. Parent and child training are also essential as generation after generation learns the word of the Lord. Sexuality, God's gift, within the context of marriage, one man, one woman covenanting together for life. This is a point of tremendous weakness and attack from Satan, but God has given us protection in marriage. This comes across in the sacredness and the holiness of Psalm 45 and the wedding commitment that we make to one another. I'd like to conclude just by reaching out right now to any who are listening to my words, who have not yet trusted in Christ, don't miss it, don't miss that wedding banquet, don't miss being part of it, don't miss sitting down as part of the bride of Christ in perfect union with God through Christ, because you just wouldn't come to Christ, you wouldn't see your need, you didn't repent and trust in Him. Won't you pray with me? Father, we do thank you for Psalm 45 and for the glorious wedding that it points to. We look forward to that day when we will see you, Lord Jesus as our bridegroom, and we who are your bride, your people who are called by your name and made holy by your blood are joined together with you forever. Father, I pray for the unbeliever that's here. I pray that he or she might come to know you, that they might turn away from sin and turn to a bridegroom, a Savior who's ready and willing to cleanse total from sin. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

This week we talk about Temptation. Do not shy away or think that you are exempt from temptation. Even David who is the closest to God's own heart falls to temptation. What can we learn from David? We look at the classic story of David and Bathsheba and how people are tempted and how to deal with them.