Seven Mile Road

In Psalm 62, David invites us to cultivate a difficult yet freeing inner habit: waiting for God in silence. So often we try to take matters into our own hands, but the Spirit reminds us that true power, security and rescue come from God alone. We live like God is our refuge when we wait for him to act and pour out our hearts to him in prayer.

When our blood boils for justice, when we are so wronged, so hurt, so betrayed, and it seems the injustice of our enemies has free rein, what do we do? We call on the name of God, we expect the God of the universe to right all the wrongs. It’s in Psalm 58 that we see this honest plea to our just God, but we also see a stranger expectation that the wrongdoers will bleed, and that the plight of the...

What is our desire or wish for all the people who don’t yet know the God of the Bible? Unbelievers near us and the many nations of people groups abroad need to know Jesus. The psalmist expresses the attitude and purpose of our experiential blessings. This is what our ongoing prayers & songs for blessing should be pointing towards. Bless us, so that all people might have gladness in Christ. Psa...

Who doesn't enjoy a good love story? Love stories are woven into the fabric of all our entertainment.  They are a consistent undercurrent in our movies, television, music, and books. Not only this, but the desire we all feel for the love portrayed in these stories is woven into our very DNA because we've been created and sought by the One who defines what true love is. Yet so often we wa...

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Psalm 51 is a prayer of repentance. We are shown that forgiveness is available by God’s grace because of his steadfast love and abundant mercy. It also serves as a model prayer and illustrates the need to have a repentant heart always.

Psalm 42 is a lament of longing that reminds us that even in our darkest moments, God remains faithful, offering us our ultimate satisfaction and our lasting hope.

We begin our summer in the Psalms this week looking at Book 2 of the psalter. This week we focus on our human need for safety and strength. When we face trouble, where do we turn? The psalmist considers different sources of our fear and troubles and he shows how God is the fortress we need for each of these challenges. The message of the psalm is not complex, but in feeling the emotional importanc...

What's happening in and around Seven Mile Melrose in July!

With our last sermon in 1 Samuel before spending our summer in book 2 of the Psalms, we focus on the most known story of this book: David & Goliath. This chapter drives home a lesson that the Lord saves. He delivers His people. The methods, manner, and motivation might not be what we expect. He delivers & saves nonetheless -in keeping with His nature. It is the profound implications of thi...

1 SAMUEL 16:14-23 We find King Saul is in a bad position, a harmful one, and worse of all maybe, it's spiritual. It's from God. We see that the judgment of God has fallen on Saul and with it, Saul's torment is realized. And yet in the same passage we see David, like a cool breeze, with the strum of the harp like angels, anointed and blessed by God, and with the coming of David comes...

We’ve reached a sliding doors moment in the book of Samuel. The LORD rejected King Saul, and the kingdom was given over to someone better than Saul. But who is this next king? What makes him better than Saul? Samuel evaluates potential kings based on what the last king looked like on the outside. The LORD, however, chooses the next king by what noone can see: the inner workings and ambitions of hi...

Do you fear God? Do you give yourself exceptions to his good commands? This week, we will examine the kingdom-shattering moment when King Saul disobeyed God. Saul feared the people and obeyed them rather than fearing God and his word. Although it grieves God, Saul has the kingship torn away as a consequence. This passage reminds us of the gravity of our disobedience and how much we need the good n...

We can be engulfed in fear when circumstances are stacking up against us. We can feel pressed on all sides, and our default response will be either trying to make a quick change ourselves to our circumstances or trusting God through this. It is the time when fear and faith are in conflict that the wrong move can lead to far reaching damaging results. Will we double down on fear or faith? In our st...

With God's people outmatched numerically and technologically against a tough opponent, Jonathan's radical but simple faith in God proves pivotal in God saving his people. We'll see the faith of one leading to many people following the Lord.

Have you ever been in a bad situation with no tools and little hope? This is how God’s people felt after King Saul disobeyed God, the Philistines invaded their land, and they don’t have anyone to sharpen their plows or make them swords. This particular situation is new to them, but the story is not. God’s people are often weak, but they always have a great God who makes a way for them. 1 Samuel 13...

Saul is tall, Saul is strong, Saul is handsome, Saul is King. But here we see Saul is small, Saul is weak, Saul needs the strength of Someone better. As the war rages and the walls close in around him, we see in Saul an example of someone who wanted the blessing of God, but without the obedience to God. Where Saul should have trusted in the Word of the Lord, he wavered, and he misses the blessing....

Sometimes when we mess up, there's a tendency in us to want to give up. This can be true whether at home, work, or the gym, and also when we are following Jesus. This isn't just true of us in our day. This Sunday, we're returning to our sermon series in the Book of Samuel. As Saul becomes king, God's people realize they have messed up big. They have disobeyed him. With fear set...

This Sunday, Pete Rennie from Living Hope Church in Inverness, Scotland, will preach on Jesus’ Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Living Hope is one of our church planting partners, so it’s very exciting to host Pete and hear the story of God’s grace to our brothers and sisters across the pond.

Yahweh has chosen a king for Israel - Saul, son of Kish. He provides him with both personal and public signs confirming his calling. Yet, Saul hides from what the LORD is calling him to be for his mission. Rather than step forward in faith, in weakness he hides. Often in our own lives we are full of weakness and sin and hide from God’s calling on our lives. What Israel needed, and what we need, is...

There are times in our lives we find ourselves lost. Searching and unsure of our place. Though we start lost and sometimes can’t seem to find our way or what we are looking for, God is at work. Followers of Jesus do not remain lost, because they are forever found by the Lord. Through the circumstances and details of the good & the bad in this life, we are never lost from the watchful care of o...

Acts 10.34-43 This Sunday, we’ll celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the good news that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.

Do you want God as King? It’s such a simple question on the surface yet we struggle to answer “Yes!” with a fully aligned head, heart, and hands. But this struggle is nothing new. This week, we’ll see God’s people realize they will soon need a new earthly leader as Samuel ages and his sons are unfit and we’ll see them ultimately reject God as their King even though He is a King like no other.