“Saul: A King after God’s own Heart”

Bible Text: I Samuel 13:1-22 | Preacher: Pastor Mark Verbruggen | According to the Church Calendar this Sunday, November 22, 2020, marks the end of the Church Year. We call this “Christ the King Sunday”. Next week the season of Advent begins. Today the Church of Jesus Christ remembers and celebrates that our Lord is the King of kings. The One who was crucified, raised from the dead, and now ascended into heaven is the Lord of the universe. This means all of life from politics to family, labor and sports, science, art, history and anything else you can name – all of it is under the rule of Jesus Christ, the King after God’s own heart.

To remember and celebrate this Gospel Word, we have turned our attention once again to the story of Israel’s first king – King Saul. This is not an account of a man who through struggle and hard work rose to the top and became a great leader of his people. From his futile search for some lost donkeys, to hiding among the baggage, along with his almost pathological shyness to say or do anything, Saul is not much of a leader. However, at the end of our reading for the last time, he did move into action and saved his people from a tyrant, a foreign bully who was hell-bent on subjecting the people of God. However, the flash of brilliant leadership we see in I Samuel 11 quickly flames out in I Samuel 13. In our text Saul acts foolishly and any hope for a bright future for the house of King Saul is now gone.