The scriptures read are 1 Samuel 7-9, Psalm 82 and John 17.
1 Samuel 7. Samuel gets Israel to turn from other gods to the Lord. They finally win a decisive battle against the Philistines, while Samuel prays. They retake lost territory. Things are good under Samuel the judge.
1 Samuel 8. So the people want a king. Well, Samuel is getting old and his sons are no better than Eli's. God tells Samuel to go ahead and anoint a king. But read the people the warning label. Kings have a lot of power. Expect to feel that power impact your lives. The people still want a king, just like the other nations. Samuel refrains from saying, "And if the other nations jumped off a cliff, would you?"
1 Samuel 9. God arranges a "meet-cute" between Samuel and Saul, soon to be the first king of Israel. Saul is a tall and handsome man. He gets invited to a feast at the shrine. The next morning Samuel wants to talk with Saul.
Psalm 82. God gives the other so-called gods a dressing down. The issue: giving justice to the poor and the powerless. Any god that doesn't believe in justice is as mortal as man. The Lord alone is the truly just judge.
John 17. Jesus prays for his disciples and the church. And the point he keeps coming back to is being one: being one with each other, and with Jesus and with the Father, in the same way Jesus and the Father are one. Jesus last prayer for us before his death is that we be one. How're we doing on that?
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