Absalom is dead, David is being taken across the River Jordan, the land has just been through civil war, but feelings of jealousy are strong between Israel and Judah.
Unrelenting Battles:
In chapter 19 we smelled the smoke of trouble and now we see the fire. As the people begin to bicker (2 Samuel 19:41, 42, 43), [...]

Absalom is dead, David is back in charge, and he needs to make his way back to Jerusalem. Today we need to take a look at forgiveness, starting over, getting back to where you belong, and rewards for faithfulness in 2 Samuel 19.

When have you felt motivated to ask for someone else’s forgiveness? Or to [...]

The end of Absalom is getting closer… notice the correct advice of Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:1-4), he urges Absalom to attack David’s troops immediately while David is still weary and weak. Then came the crafty advice of Hushai (2 Samuel 17:5-14, 23). He advises that the attack be delayed until a large number of soldiers [...]

This section is part of a class that I am teaching called Discipleship 101, the Lost Art of Disciple Making, where we are going to cover the basics of the Christian faith. I have in my class those who have never been discipled as well as those who have been with Christ for a long [...]

This is a story of a dysfunctional family, passive parenting, sexual sin and cover up, revenge and murder; all the great stuff movies are made of, but this is real life for the family of David, found in 2 Samuel 13. Amnon rapes his half-sister, Tamar. Absalom avenges Tamar (his full sister) and flees to [...]

Men, if you’re like me, you catch the news fairly regularly.  Then perhaps you’ve heard about or seen Kanye West’s wildly inappropriate outburst at the MTV Video Music Awards. This is not what you would call a great career move, but I guess the silver lining for Kanye is his honorable mention in the Urban Dictionary for [...]

Over the past month, I have come across a couple of articles written by pastors reacting to a moral failure in a fellow pastor. My first reaction was disbelief. Leaving the theological and moral arguments aside, what pastor who is doing his job even has time for adultery?
I read Chuck Swindoll just this morning, regarding [...]

This Sunday we continue in the life of David with this somewhat humorous episode of what happens to David’s servants as they deliver condolences to the Ammonite king; then we will look at the wages of sin from the Bathsheba era in his life. 

Why does David send his servants to Hanun, king of the Ammonites? [...]

The Men of Steel get together on a regular basis for fellowship, service projects, biblical inspiration and sharing life. We can become better men, husbands and fathers by holding each other accountable and encouraging one another. I thought about King David, since he is the current topic of my Sunday Bible study class, and thought [...]

My Bible study class studied for several weeks a book by Chip Ingram on the Miracle of Life Change. I recently discovered nine foundational truths about life change (from Pastor Rick Warren):
1. Understand that the goal of all change is Christlikeness. God doesn’t want us to be happy; he wants us to be holy. We [...]