FLCBenton, Congregational Podcast

1 Kings 1:1–4, 15–35, palace intrigue as the oldest son of David attempts to wrestle the throne from David’s choice of successor, Solomon; 1 Corinthians 12:14–31, Paul further develops the idea of the church consisting of many different parts, but functioning as one body.

2 Samuel 12:1–25, Nathan convicts David of his great sin by means of a parable, announces the consequences to David of his sin, while at the same time announcing the Lord’s forgiveness; 1 Corinthians 12:1–13, Paul takes up spiritual gifts and shows how they work together for the common good of the church, and are not individual prizes for the benefit of individual Christians.

2 Samuel 11:1–27, in today’s famous, and unfortunate reading, David, a man after God’s own heart, reveals a very different side of his character; 1, Corinthians 11:17–34, Paul teaches us Christians about respect for the holiness of the body and blood of Christ, the cost of sacrilege, and urges us to judge ourselves, so that we will not need to be judged by the Lord, or condemned along with the wor...

2 Samuel 7:18–29, David’s beautiful prayer following God’s awesome promise to him, and we take a careful look at the names David uses to address God; 1 Corinthians 10:23–11:16, we finally finished the discussion of food sacrificed to idols, and then Paul deals with head coverings in church!

2 Samuel 7:1–17, David wants to build a temple for the Lord, but the Lord promises instead to build a dynasty for David, a throne that will last forever and ever; 1 Corinthians 9:24–10:22, returning to the issue of food sacrificed to idols, Paul gets at the deeper issue: idolatry. His word to us: “flee from idolatry!”

2 Samuel 6:1–19, the ark is brought to Jerusalem, and David and the people are reminded again about the holiness of God and the care that requires; 1 Corinthians 9:1–23, Paul further develops the idea that our rights and privileges as Christians often must be set aside for the greater benefit of the gospel, the church and our weaker brother

2 Samuel 5:1–25, David consolidates power over all the tribes, captures Jerusalem, and wins two great battles against the philistines; 1 Corinthians 8:1–13, Paul deals with the question of how Christians should handle food sacrificed to pagan idols, and gives important principles on how we Christians should deal with those whose understanding is less than our own.

2 Samuel 1:1–27, David learns of Saul and Jonathon’s death, and the surprising aftermath of that; 1 Corinthians 7:25–40, Paul gives advice regarding whether to marry, or not to marry, given his belief that the Lord was going to return at almost any time.

1, Samuel 31:1–13, Saul and his three sons are killed in battle at Mount Gilboa by the philistines; 1 Corinthians 7:1–24, Paul takes up the first of many questions the Corinthians had relate to him in their letter. Here, he deals with whether it is better, as a Christian, to abstain from sexual relations within marriage, or from marriage Altogether, so as to be holy before the Lord.

1 Samuel 28:3–25, while David hides among the philistines, a desperate Saul, seeks a word from the Lord through a medium; 1 Corinthians 6:1–20, armed with a “wisdom” of the world, the Corinthians are engaging in disputes, suing one another in the civil courts, and justifying immoral behavior on the ground that such behavior is natural!

1 Samuel 26:1–25, David spares Saul’s life a second time, this time with the Lord’s help; 1 Corinthians 5:1–13, how Christians are to deal with open sinners who claim to be fellow Christians.

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 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 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.

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 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 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.