1 Sam 5:1-5 Our last reading finished on a defeatist note: the ark was captured, the glory departed from Israel. To God’s people their tragic loss seemed like the end of hope and the end of their God. In the…

1 Sam 4:12-22 A young woman I met was excited and looking forward to serving the Lord with a mission organisation when her father suddenly died. She broke off all communication with the mission, did not reply to anyone’s emails…

1 Sam 4:1-11 One of the things that distinguished Israel when God claimed them as His people in the exodus was His presence with them. He sent the plagues, protected them from the pursuing Egyptians, guided them and fought on…

1 Sam 3:10-21 One of the most memorable parables Jesus told was about the sower sowing seed (the Word of God) and what happens to it as it falls on different kinds of soil (the condition of one’s heart –…

1 Sam 3:1-14 My husband told me a few times that when he is finishing off projector duty at the end of a church service, he can often pick out my voice in the entrance hall from the din of…

1 Sam 2:22-36 Many Christian parents know the sadness that comes from having children who do not follow the Lord. We can’t help but ask searching questions. Why did they choose the path they did? Where did we go wrong?…

1 Sam 2:12-21 Early in the film, The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf, the wizard talks to Frodo about the ring the latter inherited, a ring that is capable of wielding incredible power. The original owner of the ring, the…

1 Sam 2:1-10 Hannah’s Song, which reads like a psalm, may remind us of the Beatitudes about the blessedness of those who are poor, who weep, who hunger and the reversal that comes in their receiving the kingdom of God,…

1 Sam 1:9-28 As we consider power and powerlessness in Hannah’s story, we may wonder about the difference between appropriate persistence or the kind of grasping that God condemns. After all, did not God close Hannah’s womb (1 Sam 1:5-6)?…

1 Sam 1:1-11 While COVID is raging around the world, so many of us feel powerless to shake the fears, the health concerns, the blues that come from being limited in our social interactions. We may also be powerless to…