A Calling for Us All
1 Samuel 3:1-20
Pastor Doug Holtz
Hannah could not have children.
Hannah made vow to the Lord.
O
Lord of hosts, if only you will look on the misery of your servant, and
remember me, and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a male
child, then I will set him before you as one set apart until the day of his
death. He shall drink neither wine nor intoxicants, and no razor shall touch
his head.
When he was able to eat and drink on his own, she brought
him to the temple, and gave him to the Lord. This is where Eli comes into the
story.
Eli was the priest of the temple.
Usually the next in line for the priesthood would be his
sons.
But they were “scoundrels.”
Sacrifice made.
Servant stuck
fork into the pot
All
the meat that came with it was for the sons
Read
1 Samuel 3:1-10 (page 122, Spark Story Bible)
Only 10 years old!
God could
call any of you!
Maybe
God already has
Felt
you needed to help someone?
Had
the feeling you needed to check on neighbor/relative?
Now for the part we don’t know well. We will have our reader
come up and read the rest of our lesson.
Read
1 Samuel 3:11-20 NRSV
Imagine hearing those words as a young boy.
Samuel just lay there until morning
Eyes wide
open
Not
the message one likes delivering
But it was Samuel’s to tell
He lay awake
all night thinking about it
God’s
sometimes gives us that task
God’s
call is to work in changing human systems
That
are broken
Taking
the unpopular approach
So maybe we are all Samuel
We think of
ourselves as the last one God would ever call
Our weaknesses,
our limitations, our deficiencies
That’s
OK, Samuel too
Didn’t
recognize the voice of God
Moses
had many hesitations
Remember
Jonah?
We as community can assist one another
Samuel needed
Eli
Help
him realize God’s call
We sometimes need help hearing the call too.
Maybe it’s
that little bird whispering in your ear.
The
nagging thought that refuses to go away.
That
still, small voice that echoes in your mind.
Maybe it’s
something or someone
You
see every day
That
suddenly seems different
Grabbing
your attention
And we are all called
Not just
pastors and other leaders
Vocation:
Parent,
child, neighbor, sibling, spouse, citizen
Imagine the ways we might say: “Speak Lord, for your servant
is listening”
Imagine the gifts
God has given you to use
Spiritual
gifts inventory
Use
gifts to be God’s people in God’s world
Administration
– Artistry; Exhortation – Mercy
Faith
– Service
60
questions
Might
be a surprise
Might
stir imagination
A still small voice
A
nagging inclination
As community. We should encourage, nudge, push, pray
For each
other. Together. Gifted.
Maybe
we report. Respond to what we see
Even
give each other a hard time.
It’s what community is all about
Even God exists/functions
in community
Father,
Son, Holy Spirit
What
makes us any different?
The church needs to be like Eli
Encouraging
all to hear the voice
Calling
them into all they are created to be.
Help
each other be truthful; Even when truth is hard to hear
What church do we want to be?
One that
shows Sunday morning
puts
in its time; leaves for another week
Or one that
truly loves the neighbor
Praying
for and speaking to the community
Letting
people know of God’s love
For
the youngest, oldest, richest, poorest
For
people just like us
And
completely different from us
God is calling each of us, and all of us together
Will we
answer the call? As brothers and sisters we can together.
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