Finally King

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Scriptures: 2 Samuel 5-7

• Sermon Summary

  In the fifth sermon in our Becoming King series David finally becomes king! Bobbi takes us through the beginning of David’s kingship and the questions that surround his ascension.

  Becoming King: David is anointed by the elders of Israel and finally made king. He’s got everything a king could want, power, riches, and God on his side. However, Bobbi shows us that David’s meteoric rise to power brings with it questions like, what will the future hold for someone who seemingly has it all? What insecurities will come about for someone who has secured everything? And, what has been left behind in the process of David’s success?

  Priest Things: David attempts to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. His first attempt ended in the death of a man named Uzzah. During his second attempt, David takes on a more priestly role by following instructions outlined in the law, wearing a garment of a priest, and by offering sacrifices along the way to Jerusalem. These are the tools that Bobbi named that equip us to be priests for ourselves and the world: eucharist and baptism, liturgical seasons and community life, scripture and prayer.

  Everything You Ever Wanted: Once the Ark is settled in a tent in Jerusalem David finally rests in his palace, free from his enemies. He Inquires of Nathan the prophet about building a House for God. God instructs Nathan to tell David otherwise. The House of God will not be built during David’s reign, but instead, it will be built during his son Solomon’s reign. What God wants David to remember is that it was God who brought him to this point, and it will be God who will builds the House of David, establishing David’s family as part of God’s everlasting kingdom—planting a seed of messianic hope.

  David Prays: David is reminded of how God’s presence had been woven throughout his life. David reflects on Nathan’s words with a prayer, reminding us to take account of our lives and where we are headed. Bobbi encourages us to reckon with our current situation and pay attention to God’s involvement. Like David, we are meant to commune with God more. Even when you have it all - there’s more to have - there’s always a deeper meaning to find.

• Discussion Guide

  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.

  Connect: We are often tempted to see a lineal progression in David’s life and sometimes our own. At this point in the narrative, David seems to get everything he’s been striving toward.

  Can you recall a moment in your life when personal success or an accomplishment left you wondering, “What’s next?”
  It could be something as simple as finishing a project or task, winning a sports game in your childhood, graduating school, getting a promotion at work, or something else that made you stop to pause and reflect on your next steps.

  Share: Bobbi highlights how Michal and Uzzah are caught in the tension of the story. Michal (David’s wife and the daughter of Saul) doesn’t bear any children. On the other hand, Uzzah is caught in the path of God’s power while it’s on the move and dies. Listen to what Bobbi has to say,

  “Even as I experience some grief for this woman caught between two warring houses, and poor Uzzah caught up in sublime power on the move, I’m pulled toward an invitation in our religious life. That rituals help us manage our dissonance. 

  Who of us has not had conflicting motivations for what we pursue? 

  To do good, and to get power. To love so we are loved. To display generosity, and at the same time to calculate what we’ll gain. 

  So, I’d argue that when David takes off his kingly robe and puts on a linen garment to transform himself from king to priest he is modelling something for us. The easy ways we can be priests for ourselves too. 

  We are priests when we employ tools that put our humanity in right relationship with the living God. 

  For us, as Christ-followers, the tools are Eucharist and baptism, liturgical seasons and community life, scripture and prayer.

  These are the places where we become priests for ourselves and for the world.”

  What are some of the time-tested tools of faith that you have in your spiritual toolbox—sacraments, liturgical seasons, community, scripture, prayer? What rituals or practices ground you when life feels uncertain, or when things seem to be going well? How do those tools help you be a priest for the world?

  Reflect: on your sense of security. In the ancient world, building a temple was a way to establish security for a king. David comes up with the idea to build a temple when he is finally at peace in his palace, he’s at the peak of his power and success. And we know that no one can stay on the top forever.
  In God’s promise to establish the house of David, God responds to David’s desire by reminding him that he is meant to commune with more. The House of David will last forever and will be the beginning of the messianic hope. God’s vision expands beyond the temple, beyond just the life David, beyond the people of Israel and comes to us in the incarnate Christ who is as close to us as our heartbeat.

  So, what are some of the places where you are looking for a sense of security?
  But also what grounds you right now and gives you peace?

  Bobbi and Jonathan got away for a few days to have a chance to reflect on these questions:
  “What’s left? What’s next? What are we working for?”
  What happens when you finally get everything you ever wanted?
  Which of these questions resonate with you too?

  Engage: with David’s prayer in the story. He hears a no from God to the idea of building a temple, but he also hears a promise of how God will build on and expand David’s legacy, while also assuring him his absolute security in God’s love.
  David’s prayer is his response to both, a “no” to his idea of what his life can be and a “yes” of where God wants to take his life.
  How do you hold or navigate that tension in your own prayer life? Especially in the moments of uncertainty.

  Takeaway: Consider pausing this week and examining where you’ve come from and where you see yourself going. Pay attention to the places where you see God throughout all of it. But most of all, listen to where is God inviting you into more love, life, joy, and mystery. If you feel like it, you can write out a prayer this week that captures how you feel about God’s direction for your life. Feel free to use Bobbi’s prayer below, or David’s from 2 Sam 7:18-27 to guide your own.

  Prayerfromthesermon:
  “Loving God,

  Before we get up and move on with our day, we pause and we pray. 

  These are such simple words with such important invitations. 
  To pause is to go inward. 
  To pay attention to what we want, what we need, how we feel, where we’re sad, what we long for. 
  To pray is to trust in something so much bigger than what we know, than what we feel, than what makes us sad, than what interrupts the peace in the world. 

  Help us to steady ourselves as we commune with all of creation and with you. 

  Spirit of the living God, present with us now, enter the places of our heartache and worry, and heal us of all that harms us. Amen.”

• Service Songs & Prayers

  CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 34

  MUSIC Curated by Kevin Borst
  John Mark McMillian - Ancient Love
  Worship Circle - Great Is Thy Faithfulness
  Elevation Worship - God Is Not Against Me
  The McClures - Reign Above It All

  A PRAYER FOR OPEN EYES
  Written by Scott Wall
  
  There is something that can happen as we sing, and pray, and come together. We can begin to see the whole earth as God’s creative endeavour. We see each other as those Christ dearly loves. We begin to see ourselves as carriers of Spirit and holy awe.

  But if we’re honest, it’s not always easy to identify these things clearly.
  Which is why I invite you to reflect in these next few moments — offering a prayer for open eyes with me today.
  Taking stock of your past, present, and future —And of God’s presence that illuminates it all.

  Pray with me now

  From the places you’ve been -
  From the heartache you’ve known -
  From the versions of yourself you’ve left behind -
  you’ve been led here.
  
  Where we pray, Loving God, give us eyes to see you - minds to know you - and hearts to ever seek you.

  Here, on the rocky path you navigate right now - Here, through your turmoil and despair - Here, with a gratitude for all the simple ways that Grace appears - you are present here.
  
  Where we pray, Loving God, give us eyes to see you - minds to know you - and hearts to ever seek you.

  Moving beyond all you want to control - Moving toward all you long and wish for - Moving into new growth and perspective - you’ll move on from here, into all that lies ahead.
  
  Which is why we pray, Loving God, give us eyes to see you - minds to know you - and hearts to ever seek you.

  Amen.

  SERIES BUMPER
  Becoming King