FLCBenton, Congregational Podcast

1 Samuel 25:23–44, Abigail saves David from his own vengeful impulse, and David blessed her for it! 1 Corinthians 4:1–21, compared to the example of the apostles, who are mere stewards of the mysteries of God, the Corinthians, who, in their earthly wisdom, think themselves to be quite great, actually look rather foolish!

1 Samuel 25:1–22, David meets a fool, and makes plans to execute vengeance; 1 Corinthians 3:1–23, the church is not a merely human organization. It is a temple of the Holy Spirit, built on the foundation of Jesus Christ by God himself. If we approach it with only the wisdom of this world, we shall divide and destroy it.

1 Samuel 24:1–22, having Saul’s life in his very grip, David spares him, because Saul, for all his evil, still is the Lord’s anointed; 1 Corinthians 1:26–2:16, the Holy Spirit: the active ingredient in the word of God, the only thing that can overcome the resistance to faith of a natural person, that we might believe in Christ, and have life!

1 Samuel 20:24–42, it is clear now that Saul sees David as a direct threat to his throne and dynasty; David and Jonathan say a tearful goodbye. 1 Corinthians 1:1–25, a little background on how this fascinating letter came to be, and what its purpose is.

1 Samuel 20:1–23, Jonathan promises to warn David, and David swears to protect Jonathan, whenever God transfers the kingdom from Saul to David; Acts 28:16–31, Paul, loosely guarded in Rome, preaches the gospel freely for two years, following a familiar pattern, “first to the Jews, then to the Gentiles“.

1 Samuel 19:1–24, two of Saul‘s own children, Jonathan and Michal, assist David against their own father! Acts 28:1–15, Paul, on the island of Malta, followed by his arrival in Rome.

1 Samuel 18:10 – 30, the complicated relationship between David and Saul gets even more complicated; Acts s 27:27–44, the ship finally makes it to land (sort of), but there’s lots of drama before that!

1 Samuel 17:48–18:9, the Lord dispatches Goliath; David and Jonathan form a fast friendship; David, a rising star in Israel; Acts 27:9–26, a little bit about first century sailing; Paul’s ship is engulfed by a terrible storm.

1 Samuel 14:47–15:9, Saul is shown to be a competent, military commander, but rather cynical in his faith; Acts 24:1–23, an interesting peek at a first century trial before Roman governor.

1 Samuel 5:1–6:3, 10–16, the Lord humiliates the god of the philistines, and torments the people themselves, until they return the ark to the Israelites; Acts 18:1–11, 23–28, skipping over Paul in Thessalonica and Berea and Athens, we focus on Paul in Corinth. Also, we jump from the second to the third missionary journeys (and if I didn’t tell you, you probably wouldn’t of seen it)!

1 Samuel 17: 20–47, how David understands the battle and the Philistine, Goliath, and David’s obvious allegiance and trust in the God of Israel; Acts 26:24–27:8, Festus thinks Paul’s out of his mind! Paul tries to convert king Agrippa!

1 Samuel 16:1–23, we meet David, the subject of both first and second Samuel, described as a man after God’s own heart. We also learn a little bit more about Saul; Acts 25:13–27, we meet Agrippa, a Jewish puppet king, who might be able to help Festus understand what’s going on with this prisoner, Paul, concerning who’s case Festus is utterly mystified.

1 Samuel 15:10–35, what it means that the Lord “regrets” that he did something; Saul’s pathetic and cynical excuses for what he did; Samuel grieves for Saul; Acts 24:24–25:12, Paul, realizing that he’s not going to get a fair trial in Jerusalem or in Caesarea, appeals to Caesar.

1 Samuel 13:1–18, Saul reveals his own heart, and we get the first introduction to God’s choice for king, the unnamed David, a man “after God’s own heart”; Acts 23:12–35, intrigue among the Jews cause the Romans to whisk Paul out of Jerusalem to Caesarea on the Mediterranean coast.

1 Samuel 12:1–25, Samuel defends his leadership, and steps back from leading Israel to make way for Saul, the newly anointed king; Samuel comments on the meaning of Israel asking for a king in the first place; Acts 22:30–23:11, Paul before the Sanhedrin, and yet another riot! The Lord comforts Paul, but Paul will remain incarcerated for the remainder of the book of Acts.

1 Samuel 10:1–27, we learn a little bit more about Saul; regarding the first military mission Saul is to undertake, he is instructed to wait for Samuel before attacking the philistines; Saul’s election by God is made public; Acts 22:17–29, Paul concludes his defense before the Jews, and at the mention of the word “Gentiles,” the crowd again goes wild!

1 Samuel 9:1–27, we are introduced to Saul, God’s choice to be the first king of a United Israel; Acts 21:37–22:16, Paul, having just been rescued from the mob that formed around him at the temple, now is given permission to speak in his own defense by the Roman soldier who was protecting him.

1 Samuel 8:1–22, what kind of a king does Israel want? If it’s such a bad idea, why does God grant their request? Acts 21:15–36, Paul’s reputation in Jerusalem. precedes him; the apostles’ plan to mollify the Jews in Jerusalem, a plan that does not work!

1 Samuel 6:19–7:17, Samuel, the judge, and his “Ebeneezer” — his stone of help; Acts 19:1–22, the centerpiece of the third missionary journey, Paul in the city of Ephesus. Paul’s plans to return to Jerusalem, and then to go to Rome.

1 Samuel 4:1–22, the presumptuous Israelites bring the ark of the covenant to the battlefield against the philistines, and it’s captured! We’ll talk about the significance of that; Acts 16:23–40, the conversion of the Philippian jailer, and Paul asserts his Roman citizenship after being illegally beaten by the authorities.

1 Samuel 3:1–21, the long drought of visions and prophecy ends when the Lord calls Samuel; Acts 16:1–22, Paul picks up a couple of companions on the second missionary journey, Timothy, and Luke. After revisiting the congregations in Galatia, they make their way to Philippi in Macedonia.

First, Samuel 2:18–36, Eli and his sons are judged by God, Samuel continues to grow in favor with the Lord; Acts 15:22–41, the apostolic council wraps up with a letter which was presented to the church in Antioch, and the second missionary journey begins with an argument between Paul and Barnabas over Mark.

First, Samuel 1:21–2:17, Hannah’s song, the Magnificat, Samuel raised among the priests at the tabernacle, and the importance of Shiloh; Galatians 6:1–18, we finish Paul’s letter to the Galatians. “Neither circumcision, nor Uncircumcision, counts for anything – but a new creation!” A fine summary of how Christians should view the law of Moses.

First, Samuel 1:1–20, the table is set for the appearance of the last, and the greatest of the judges, Samuel, a very different kind of Judge than Sampson! Galatians 5:1–26, “for freedom Christ has set us free“— free from what? Free for what?

Judges 16:4–30, Samson and Delilah considered. Samson: such promise, such a disappointment, what does it all mean? Galatians 4:12–31, Paul continues to contrast the law of Moses, and the new covenant.

Judges 15:1–16:3, Samson and the philistines go back and forth, a tit for tat; Galatians 3:23–4:11, the Jews were children of God by faith, who, for a time were under the guardianship of the law of Moses. But now that the Christ has come, the guardianship of the law of Moses is no longer necessary, either for the Jews who have come to Christ, or for the Gentiles!

1 Samuel 17:1–19, we meet Goliath, and we meet David again; the stage is now set for the great confrontation; Acts 26:1–23, Paul’s defense before Herod Agrippa, which mostly (but not entirely) tracks with prior accounts, while adding a few interesting details.

Judges 14:1–20, we meet the man Sampson, a strange hero indeed; Galatians 3:1–22, Paul explains his theology, the relationship between the promise of God to save, which come to us in words, and which we are to believe, and the Commandments of God, which those who believe the promise, and are therefore saved, are to do.

Judges 13:1–25, an extraordinary chapter all about the birth of Samson, and why this is so surprising; Galatians 2:1–21, Paul argues that he is not a second string apostle, that his authority is not derivative from Peter, and that in fact, Peter agrees with him about the law of Moses!

Judges 7:1–23, the Lord defeats Midian, with a timid leader, Gideon, and only 300 scantily armed men; Galatians 1:1–24, the controversy behind the apostolic council of Acts chapter 15 up close and personal.

Judges 6:25–40, we get a definite picture of the religious landscape in Gideon’s day, as well as Gideon’s own personal lack of zeal for the Lord; Acts 15:6–21, the apostolic counsel deals with an immensely important theological question, a question that came to a boiling point as the number of gentiles coming into the church went from a trickle to a flood.

Judges 6:1–24, Gideon, the Midianites, the angel of the Lord, and a clear explanation of why all this is happening; Acts 14:19–15:5, the first missionary, journey concludes, and controversy arises in the church, and the matter is brought to the apostles at Jerusalem.

Judges 4:1–24, the prophetess, Deborah, and her somewhat timid, military commander Barak; Acts 14:1–18, the first missionary journey continues, to Iconium, then, to Lystra, where a priest of Zeus attempts to offer sacrifices to Paul and Barnabas!

Judges 3:7–31, Othniel, Ehud, and the root sin of idolatry; Acts 13:42–52, the synagogue splits, Paul and Barnabas are thrown out and begin ministering to the Gentiles, and later flee to Iconium.

Judges 2:6–23, a new book, a new phase in God’s dealings with his people, and the basic pattern, repeated over and over again in the book of Judges: apostasy, punishment, repentance, redemption, apostasy; Acts 13:13–41, Paul and Barnabas preach at a Jewish synagogue in the city in Pisidian Antioch.

Joshua 24:1–31, the history of God’s dealings with Israel is recounted up to this point, and the people are called to renew their devotion to their Lord, who had done all this, for them; Acts 13:1–12, the church in Syrian Antioch, commissions Barnabas and Saul to begin the first missionary journey to the Gentiles, and the worldwide mission of the Church begins in earnest.

Joshua 23:1–16, Joshua, now old, warns the next generation of leaders to be faithful or suffer the consequences; Acts 12:1–25, before the gospel makes its first foray into Gentile missionary work, Luke returns our attention to Jerusalem, and what’s happening in the mother church.

Joshua 10:1–25, Israel, allied with a Canaanite city, fights with them against five other Canaanite cities – how did this happen? Acts 11:19–30, a new congregation, in Syrian Antioch, an entirely gentle affair, and a big step For the Christian faith.

Joshua 8:1–28, the fall of the city of Ai, the second city in Canaan to be captured by the Israelites; Acts 11:1–18, the aftermath of Peter’s visit to Cornelius, his baptizing of Gentiles, and his powerful defense of what he did there, before the other disciples in the church in Jerusalem.

Joshua 7:1–26, the sin of Achan and the difference between personal sin and forgiveness, and the nation’s failure to maintain the covenant; Acts 10:34–48, Peter learns the lesson well, and the Holy Spirit is poured out even on the Gentiles – but the story isn’t over yet!

Joshua 6:6–27, the utter destruction of Jericho, and how he should feel about God ordering such a thing; the mercy shown to Rahab; Acts 10:18–33, having been prepared by the Holy Spirit, Peter goes where he never would have gone before: to the home of a Gentile!

Joshua 5:1–6:5, a nomadic people finally come home, and the changes attendant to that; the commander of the Lord’s army, a pre-incarnate vision of Jesus? Acts 10:1–17, the Holy Spirit prepares the church to go to receive Gentiles.

Joshua 4:1–24, Joshua sets up a pile of 12 stones as a memorial of what God has done for his people– we’ll discuss the significance of memorials in the Old Testament and New; Acts 9:23–43, fallout from Saul’s conversion — nobody seems to want him!

Joshua 3:1–17, the crossing of the Jordan river on dry ground, and what makes this a “Holy” war; Acts 9:1–22, the conversion of the great persecutor of the church, Saul of Tarsus, which, aside from the death and resurrection of Jesus, was perhaps the most impactful event described in the New Testament!

Joshua 2:1–24, Rahab, and the Israelite spies, the scarlet thread; Acts 8:26–40, the God-fearing Ethiopian eunuch enters the kingdom of God by Baptism.

Joshua 1:1–18, the handoff from Moses to Joshua, laying the foundation for the conquest of Canaan, words of command, and words of encouragement to Joshua; Acrs 8:1–25, the organizational plan of the book of Acts.

Proverbs 31:10–31, a beautiful encomium to the excellent wife, a woman who fears the Lord; John 21:1–25, having really finished his gospel with chapter 20, John adds a chapter and ties up a few loose ends.

Proverbs 30:1–9, 18–33, the words of August, how wisdom teaches us how little we know, and Hebrew numbers rhetoric; John 20:19–31, the disciples: what did they believe, and when did they believe it?

Proverbs 27:1–24, boasting about tomorrow, planning for tomorrow, friendship, and the testing of praise; John 20:1–18, a playful and humorous account of the Resurrection – a foretaste of the joy of the life to come!

Proverbs 25:1–22, the glory of God, the glory of kings, and the power of words; John 19:23-42, the crucifixion of Jesus, patterns in psalm 22, psalm 69, and Exodus 12:46.