The Chapel Sermon Podcast

After the passing of Saul and Jonathan, David ascended the throne as the king of Israel. David learned that Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was lame in both feet and living in the desolate city of Lo Debar. David sent for him, restored his wealth, welcomed him into his family, seated him at the royal table, and granted him an incredible inheritance. Mephibosheth’s story is not unlike our own stories....

There were approximately 15 years between when God revealed his plan for David to become the next king of Israel and David's actual ascension to the throne. Can you imagine what it was like for David? He knew God had anointed him the next king, yet Saul continued to sit on the throne year after year. While many of us would have doubted God or tried to take matters into our own hands, David models...

This week, as we continued our series on David, we looked at the friendship between David and Jonathan. Jonathan was Saul's son and next in line for the throne. He was a fearless warrior and hero to the people of Israel. After witnessing David's victorious defeat of Goliath, Jonathan realized God had selected David as the next king. Despite being the crown prince, Jonathan affirmed David as the fu...

Temptation can act as a trap set for us; and the question becomes, will we take the bait? In 1 Samuel 24, David and Saul are at the height of conflict with one another. Saul's jealousy and paranoia have led him to believe David will lead a rebellion against him. David flees with his men into the wilderness and is pursued by Saul and his 3000 men. Going off by himself, Saul unknowingly enters the s...

The mention of an evil spirit sent by the Lord to torment Saul can be confusing, as it doesn't seem to align with our understanding of God's goodness. It may even lead us to question whether God initiates pain and suffering in our own lives. To make sense of this verse, it is crucial to consider the broader context of Saul's story and the overall narrative of scripture. While God still allows evil...

The Philistines, known for their violent and evil culture, had invaded Israel. Their warrior Goliath, a terrifying giant over 9 feet tall, came out daily to taunt and challenge the Israelites, mocking their God. When David saw Goliath, he was filled with courage. Despite Saul's initial doubts, he allowed David to face the giant. Confident in God's strength working through him, David defeated Golia...

David was the last one anyone expected to be king. His life shows us that God's values and priorities differ from the world’s. God isn’t looking for great people in order to make them faithful, but rather he is looking for faithful people in order to make them great. 2 Chronicles 16:9a says, "For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed t...

Hannah endured the pain of barrenness for 19 long years. Each passing month brought with it a longing for a child, and then ended in disappointment. Hannah, like many of us, questioned God's plan for her life. Does God see me? Does he care? Where is he in the midst of this trial? Hannah could have turned her back on God, but instead, she turned toward him. Holding nothing back, she cried out to Go...

A farmer is out scattering seeds. Seeds fall along the path as well as the rocky, thorny, and good soil. In the parable, the farmer is God, the seeds are the good news of the kingdom, and we are the soil. Often this is taught with the message that we should strive to be the good soil where the harvest grows. And while this is true, we want to be good soil, that is not the primary objective of the...

Although anxiety is a common human condition, we do not have to accept a life filled with anxiety as normal. Anxiety is not a sin. Anxiety is a symptom; an indicator that something is going on underneath the surface. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” We have a real enemy seeking to take away our peac...

The first step to freedom from anxiety is telling the truth about how we are really doing. It sounds simple, but oftentimes it is easier to pretend everything is ok than to face the emotional, relational, or spiritual risks that come with telling the truth. When we emotionally connect with ourselves, it can feel overwhelming. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, the Lord says, “My grace is sufficient for you, f...

If you struggle with anxiety, you are not alone. 1 in 3 Americans experience significant anxiety at some point in their lives. While fear is our body’s response to a real threat, anxiety is worrying about the potential for something terrible to happen. Anxiety causes us to live as though these types of worst-case scenarios are a reality. There are many ways we respond to anxiety. We can try to fin...

In John 4:1-42, Jesus encounters a woman at the well in the middle of the day. As they talk, Jesus brings to the surface the parts of her life that she would rather keep hidden; she’s been married five times and is living with someone who isn’t her husband. Relational brokenness has weaved itself into her identity. Jesus isn't bringing up her past to harm her – but rather to heal her. She was an o...

There is a famine in the Promise Land, so Jacob sends his sons to Egypt, hoping to buy grain. When they arrive, the brothers bow before Joseph and beg him for food. Joseph recognizes them and remembers his dream from 22 years prior. Joseph has every right to be angry, vengeful, and bitter at that moment – but he’s not. Joseph recognized that God was with him. He didn’t get stuck asking why things...

In Genesis 40 & 41, Joseph has been falsely accused of adultery and is in prison. Although God’s presence is with him, there is nothing he can do to change his circumstances. After two years in prison, Joseph is asked to interpret a dream for Pharaoh and, in doing so, he is taken out of prison and brought to the palace. Soon he becomes the most powerful man in the world. Joseph experienced both di...

Genesis 39 tells the story of Joseph being tempted to compromise his sexual integrity with Potiphar's wife. Shame and fear are often used as motivators to guide us toward a life of sexual purity. We are told to fear the consequences of disobedience or risk being seen as shameful. The problem with this way of thinking is that fear and shame are tools of the enemy. They may bring about behavior modi...

Temptations are anything that lead us away from God or the life he has for us. It’s been said that pride is the root of all other sins because it changes our orientation away from God. Pride believes that we are superior to and more important than others. It is rooted in self-centeredness and causes us to want to control other people. The lie behind pride is that life is a competition, and we don’...

In Mark 14, Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane, deeply distressed and overwhelmed with sorrow. He knows the unspeakable horror awaiting him, and he’s not hiding that he would prefer another way to save humanity. Jesus doesn’t pray once; he comes before God three times, begging him for a different plan. But there’s no other way. After pouring his heart out, something shifts, and he is filled with...

In Luke 8:26–39, Jesus encounters a demon-possessed man. Jesus called the demon out of the man, and his life was transformed as he experienced freedom. What would it look like for you to be free? Free from sin, the brokenness you experience in your humanity, and the evil forces in the spiritual realms. When you become enslaved to something that’s not of God, it can get ugly very fast. You can feel...

In week three of our series, The Way of Jesus, Freddy preached about Biblical justice. Oftentimes when thinking of justice, we say things like, “justice was served.” In other words, someone got what they deserved. But this isn’t the type of justice we read about in scripture. Biblical justice is focused on restoring all things back to the beauty of their original design in God’s kingdom. Jesus car...

In week two of our series, The Way of Jesus, we looked at Luke 15, where Jesus told three parables. The first parable is about a shepherd that goes searching for a lost sheep, leaving ninety-nine others behind. When he finds the sheep, he calls all his neighbors to rejoice with him. In the second parable, a woman has ten coins and loses one. When she finds the missing coin, she invites her friends...

We were created to have a life of impact that bears fruit. A branch cannot bear fruit if it’s cut off from the vine. In the same way, we must stay connected to Jesus so that our lives can grow and flourish as God intended. Much like an extension cord becomes full of power when it’s plugged in, when we are connected to Jesus he empowers us to do the impossible and sets us free to be who God created...

Denvil Lee

In Hebrews 10:35-39, the author of Hebrews gives us instructions for persevering during trials. As followers of Jesus, we should expect hardship because we live in a fallen world. When hardship comes, we must endure and not lose our confidence in the Lord. At the end of our lives, we want to stand before Jesus, not as those who have walked away, but as the faithful ones who have had patient endura...

Christians today have differing opinions about how to solve the problems in our world. Solutions range from doubling down on teaching theology and morality, to gaining political power and legislating Biblical teaching, to creating a bubble and protecting ourselves from the world, to adapting our beliefs and making them relevant in today’s culture. Believe it or not, these same solutions were debat...