You Don't Want a King

Sunday, June 16, 2024

Scriptures: 1 Samuel 7:13–15, 8:1–9

• Summary

  We explore the themes of leadership, authority, and the pursuit of God's will. The story of Samuel and the Israelites' demand for a king serves as a cautionary tale, reminding us that true authority lies not in titles or positions, but in the influence earned through demonstrating care and trustworthiness. We are challenged to reflect on our own choices and the ways in which we may bend towards our own desires, potentially steering away from what is just and right. The message emphasizes the importance of seeking God's guidance directly, rather than relying solely on human leaders.

• Discussion

  Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.

  Summer Discussion Guide 2024

  If your group is meeting this summer and wants to talk about the sermons, here are a few questions that you could use to engage with our teaching.

  - What specific part of the message resonated with you the most? Why do you think that particular part, or idea, or story caught your attention?

  - Did the sermon speak into a particular struggle or question in your life or your faith journey right now?

  - What did the message challenge or encourage you personally?
  And what do you think the application could be for our church community? Was there anything that could strengthen or stretch us as a church?

  - How did the exposition of the scriptures used in the sermon provide you with a new perspective of deeper understanding?

  It is good to remember that the conversation experience in the group is shaped by the personal stories of those who participate in it and how willing the people are to be open and vulnerable in the group.

  So if you’re leading the discussion, feel free to model and encourage person-centred and story-centred sharing by reflecting on how some parts of the sermon resonate with you personally.

  Additionally, what contributes to a more authentic group discussion is when people can share not about the abstract and theoretical applications but one or two practical things they are taking away from either the sermon or the discussion.

  So, you can end your time together with this question: 

  - What is one thing you are taking away from either the sermon or the discussion we’ve just had? 

• Prayer

  Prayer from the sermon:
  God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob
  God who has been there from the very beginning
  guiding and shaping
  God who has always been patiently walking alongside the human story to bring us forward
  To bring us home

  As we encounter our story today
  And work to find our place in it
  As we struggle to move the story forward
  In new ways
  Toward your kingdom imagination
  Might we also find the spaces where we can slow down
  And listen
  And learn from those who have walked the path before us
  Might the tension of pushing forward—and looking back—always be present in our journey

  And in that might we humbly play some small part in the larger story
  As we look back today
  With fresh eyes renewed by the light of Christ
  May we look for your goodness
  And discover your grace
  And be compelled to move forward with love
  In the strong name of the risen Christ we pray, amen.

• Liturgy

  CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 23

  MUSICCurated by Nathan Funk
  Bethel Music - I Believe
  Commons Worship - Be Thou My Vision
  Hillsong Worship - Never Walk Alone
  Hillsong Worship - What A Beautiful Name

  FATHER'S DAY PRAYER
  Written by Scott Wall

  Today is Father’s Day.

  And as we do each year, we pause to consider the ways our lives have been shaped by dads, mentors, and friends.

  Knowing that, as we do, some of us carry some complexity with the word or idea of father.

  While others sense appreciation and gratitude.

  So we make space for that nuance in our liturgy.

  Here on this 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, there’s an invitation to reflect and pay attention to the unexceptional and everyday nature of our experience.

  And how divine, fathering grace may have shown up in sustained - or perhaps - surprising ways.

  So let’s take a moment now — join me as we pray.

  We begin - with words of awareness.

  Because prayer is a practice of being forthright…where with open eyes and minds we encounter your presence, Loving God.

  So for apprehensive and conflicted hearts -

  Those grieving loss, distance, and unmet expectation -

  Those longing for resolution, or intimacy, or arrival in fathering connections.

  For anyone weighed down by memory and regret —

  Fathering God, bring comfort.

  Even as we offer words of blessing.

  We bless fathers who serve and work and love selflessly.

  We bless all those in our lives and communities who embrace and support as fathers without the claim of family or kinship.

  We bless fathers who build bonds of humour, trust, and forgiveness with those they love.

  We bless fathers who choose vulnerability and who leverage strength and skill to repair and empower.

  With awareness and gratitude, we pray — let our hearts be open to how you appear in so many imperfect and fallible fathering moments.

  We pray in the name of Christ - Divine Son - our example and our hope.

  Amen.