Salem Presbyterian Church: Recent Episodes
Salem Presbyterian (Winston-Salem, NC)
Malachi opens with God saying "I have loved you," and Israel firing back, "How have you loved us?" It's the question we ask too. When the evening doesn't go how we pictured it, when scrolling makes everyone else look more loved than us. Austin Pfeiffer looks at our spiritual distress coming from measuring God's love by present circumstances instead of remembering His record. God chose Jacob before he'd earned or lost a single point and he has done the same for all those in Christ. Malachi underscores that the love holding us was never ours to win or lose.SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:Where do you catch yourself asking God "how have you loved me?" — and what circumstance are you using to measure his love?Malachi points to God's covenant choice of Jacob "before he'd done anything." How does election change the way you keep score of your own failures?Where in your own history has God already shown up — one concrete thing you can name when the "how have you loved me?" question returns this week?
The human heart is constantly revising its own narratives for self-preservation. What feels safe, staying inside our own stories, is actually what hides us from the truth. 1 John 1 argues that we cannot diagnose darkness in darkness. John insists God is light: outside us, moving toward us, hitting us from the outside like sunlight we sense and feel. Confession is how we let the outside in. Out of the cold of our sin, confession moves us into the warm light of Christ.
A feedback loop amplifies whatever is fed into it. In Galatians 6, Paul describes a community where the Spirit dwells and grace is produced, ever increasing — but only when the self gets out of the way. Austin Pfeiffer looks at specific ways the self breaks the loop: through self-righteous wish dreams of community, through a la carte theology, and through expecting to be served rather than to serve. The answer isn’t a program or a principle. It’s the cross — where Christ let go of his throne, poured out his blood, and adopted us as sons and daughters of the King.Small Group Questions:Where do you find yourself curating your faith — taking what feels comfortable from scripture and leaving the rest — and what might it look like to surrender that to sound teaching and community?What did this passage reveal about God’s character that challenges the version of Jesus you may have quietly assembled from your own preferences and experiences?How does this passage demonstrate that the feedback loop of grace is only possible because of justification by faith alone, not because of our own effort or spiritual performance?
Paul tells the Galatians to "walk around in the Spirit" but his point is that the Spirit is more than a means to something better. The Spirit is the source itself. Walking through Galatians 5 we see a life where believers walk about unshackled, out of chaos we receive one fruit, and we are walking toward Eden. Along the way we see the sin we rarely admit: trying to "program our way out of our flesh" through accountability and discipline. But because of Christ's finished work, we don't live in chaos, fear, and self-destruction. We do not need our own self-will. We are free and even better, we are not alone.SMALL GROUP QUESTIONSWhere do you, or the culture around you, hold the belief that growth is mainly self-improvement and restraint, rather than walking toward the Spirit as the source?What is your "concrete block" like Kiki the Gorilla? What is it you hold onto in anger, but in the freedom of the Spirit can lay down as a new creation?How do we see Christ's finished work walking us past Eden into a garden city, the New Heavens and New Earth--to a world being remade?
The French Revolutionary Jacques Hébert called for a system of zealous perfection. Eventually that standard consumed everyone, including himself. For us, we follow Christ's teaching on forgiveness until it is personal. We affirm his ethic on generosity until it costs us something real. Whether it's the legalism of the Galatians or our own selective faith, both confess the same thing: that Christ is not sufficient. This sermon works through Galatians 5:2-15 to show what falling away from grace actually looks like — and how the Spirit frees us to run to him with empty hands.
Paul the apostle tells two stories in parallel: the children with no future and the children of the promise. Contrasting tales of children of a servant with no future security and children of a covenant promise whose future is secure unfold in the history of Israel. Paul maps these on to the lives of the Galatians to remind them of their inheritance in Christ, something they have quickly forgotten. And something we are quick to forget as well.Discussion Questions for Small Groups:1. Where do you see yourself returning to futile and temporary things because it is easier than remembering the promise in Christ?2. What does Paul's appeal to history reveal about God's character?3. How does this passage show that we are saved by grace alone?
Why did God give the law if his plan was always to save by grace through faith? In this sermon on Galatians 3:15-29, Austin Pfeiffer follows Paul as he steps back and re-explains the covenant from the ground up. From Abraham to Moses to now, God has had one unbroken plan: to redeem his people. The law was never a rival to that promise. It was always a servant of it. And in Christ, the inheritance that promise always pointed to has been purchased and given freely to everyone who belongs to him — no exceptions, no prerequisites.
In this sermon on Galatians 3:1–14, Austin Pfeiffer brings application Paul's ongoing, urgent plea to the Galatians and to us. That plea is to stop trying to earn our own way, when in Christ we have already received what we really need. Looking at Abraham's story in Genesis 15 and the image of a lighthouse guiding ships to harbor, the sermon diagnoses two forms of pride: striving to prove we are enough, and quietly trying to make God conform to what we want him to be. The wage we have actually earned, every one of us, is the same sentence handed to Adam: return to dust. The Gospel answer is not striving, but surrender.
Austin Pfeiffer continues in Galatians 1, posing the question: have you ever tried to describe a place so beautiful that words feel inadequate? That's Paul's challenge in Galatians 1. He's not interested in debating the Gospel. For Paul, it is a reality he is documenting. And more than that, it is a reality that seized him and turned his entire life upside down. Galatians 1 explores what it looks like when the Gospel stops being an idea you hold and becomes a power that holds you.
In this opening sermon of an eleven-week series through Galatians, Austin Pfeiffer unpacks how Paul is fired up! Writing without his usual warm greetings, Paul blurts out his astonishment. The Galatians are making a trade they do not realize is terminal: exchanging the grace of Christ for a "different gospel." This list of obligations cannot do what grace does. Even hardworking, well-meaning people are vulnerable to it. And it misses that the answer to our sin and guilt is not trying harder. It never was.
This homily is a Maundy Thursday meditation on John 13:1-20 by Rev. Austin Pfeiffer. From the outdoor pavilion downtown, we explore whether Jesus knew about empires, about betrayal, about us? The answer—he does. And this makes his act of footwashing so startling. Like Paul writing to the Galatians, Jesus refuses to be distracted by the world's tumult, offering instead something smaller, but more radical: a towel, a basin, but ultimately a table, a meal, and his very own body and blood.
Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores the Transfiguration of Jesus in Matthew 17, where Peter's anxious chatter and the disciples' frozen silence reveal how easily we sort Jesus into a manageable category. A good teacher, a moral example, someone worth honoring, but not the God worth falling on our face before. When the Father interrupts with "This is my Son, listen to him," Jesus speaks the full claim of the text: that the Ancient of Days himself has come down the mountain, to the cross, to reclaim the Peters and the quiet ones alike. Not because of anything we do, but because he keeps speaking a better word.
In this sermon Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores why Jesus sent the disciples to Israel before going to the Gentiles. This section of Matthew, the "Sermon on Mission" shows how and why the disciples go amongst these "lost sheep of Israel" first. And the sermon looks to connect this with the experiences of those who grew in a Christian culture today. Especially how Jesus is the compassionate shepherd for all those who are lost.
In this sermon, Jackson Cole unpacks Jesus' radical teaching that the law of God isn't a hammer ready to beat you down until you obey, but an invitation into living life as the beloved.
In this sermon Rev. Austin Pfeiffer walks through each of the eight Beatitudes as Jesus introduces his Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount. Rather than presenting a list of spiritual ideals to achieve, the Beatitudes reveal the kinds of people Jesus meets with grace and blessing. As we move through them, we see how Jesus himself lives the Beatitudes fully—becoming poor, meek, merciful, and persecuted for us. Through the cross, he offers us not a burden to carry, but his own blessings to receive.
Rev. Austin Pfeiffer highlights how the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry confronts our deep instinct toward self-reliance. In calling fishermen to leave their nets, teaching in synagogues, and healing the afflicted, Jesus exposes the ways we cling to work, religion, control, or productivity to sustain ourselves. Each of these three scenes asks whether we will admit our hunger, weakness, and need, or continue trusting what is familiar and manageable.
Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores our fear that God's love must be earned and how Jesus's baptism answers that fear. Jesus’ baptism reveals both his humility in identifying with sinners and his perfect righteousness given to us through his life, death, and resurrection. Not because of anything we've done, Jesus' answers the reality that we cannot earn God's love. Because we are united to Christ, the Father views us with the same approval and affection he declares over his Son.
In this Christmastide homily, Jackson Cole reflects on angels as created spiritual messengers who worship Jesus and proclaim His supremacy throughout all Creation. The messages they carry often begin with the same refrain, "Fear not," echoing a reality that is only true in union with Christ: "Perfect love casts out fear."
Rev. Austin Pfeiffer shows how the Christmas story reveals a deep human power struggle: from Rachel’s tears to Herod’s fear, Matthew is exposing our anxiety-driven desire to control what only God can rule. Herod becomes a mirror of our own hearts, where fear of losing our “little kingdoms” leads us to resist Christ the King. Advent invites us to lay down that anxious control and find true freedom by surrendering to the King who conquers not through violence, but through self-giving love.
Rev. Austin Pfeiffer explores how Isaiah’s promise of Immanuel was partially fulfilled in Israel’s history but ultimately completed in the birth of Jesus. By looking closely at Matthew 1, we see that the virgin birth reveals Jesus as truly God with us, not just a sign but the fulfillment itself. Advent invites us to set aside our assumptions, live in the tension of longing and joy, and receive the surprising gift God has given in Christ.
The annoyance/frustration of the unbelieving Temple guardians spills over into violent jealousy. Butarresting the apostles backfires again. An angel intervenes and then a believing Pharisee intervenes. Notonly is their foolishness twice exposed, but their whips/nails only embolden the apostles by making themsuffering witnesses.
Shortly after the witness of the supernatural generosity of the Kingdom, Satan attacks by creatingcounterfeit generosity. He lures a couple into premeditated hypocrisy. They pretend to be more generousthan they are. To prevent further damage in this critical time of church incubation, God bears witness tohis firm opposition to intentional spiritual deceit.
The ‘disruptive witness’ of the new Temple confounds and angers the guardians of the old Temple. Defiantand clinging to power, the violence of these powerful men only increases the boldness and intensity of the‘idiots’ who are bearing witness to the presence of the New Creation.
The interpenetration of heavens/earth (the temple at Herod’s Temple) creates highly accelerated healing.All the earth’s wealth can’t begin to compare to the wonder of the restoration of all things that’s suddenlyhappening in Solomon’s Colonnade. As a witness, Peter explains what’s happening to the onlookers whoare reborn by the incursion of such concentrated eternal life.
The witness starts in Jerusalem at the very doorstep of the temple. When the heavens infiltrate the earth,we see the four fold shalom of Eden in the explosion of new life. Even the fortress of the coveting,hoarding human heart is breached.
A Q&A with Dr. Warren Kinghorn following his presentation on "Faith, Mental Health, and Medication."
To learn more about the Duke Theology, Medicine, and Culture initiative go to https://tmc.divinity.duke.edu
In this meeting we hear about changes to Ben's title, Austin's title, the roles of our staff, as well as Austin's upcoming sabbatical.
Robb Warfield is a missionary that our church supports and was our guest preacher this past Sunday. He is the superintendent of Dakar Academy Schools in Senegal. He preached about Jesus healing a demon - possessed man and linked that to spiritual warfare in our world today.
Salem Pres altered their worship service on this date due to snow, taking a break from the Mark series
This sermon was preached at the meeting place of Salem Presbyterian Church as we hosted the Piedmont Triad Presbytery. Dr. O. Palmer Robertson is a renowned theologian and retired missionary who now lives in Winston-Salem.
A Living Stone and a Holy People
2 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”[a]
8 and
“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Footnotes
1 Peter 2:7 Greek the head of the corner
1 Peter 1:1-12 English Standard Version
Greeting
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Born Again to a Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time[a] the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Footnotes
1 Peter 1:11 Or what time or circumstances
1 Peter 1:1-12 English Standard Version Greeting
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Born Again to a Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time[a] the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. Footnotes
1 Peter 1:11 Or what time or circumstances
Austin Pfeiffer preaches on weeping and laughing through tough and good times with God.
Psalm 12
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by an eight-stringed instrument.[a]
1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth! 2 Neighbors lie to each other, speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts. 3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips and silence their boastful tongues. 4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content. Our lips are our own—who can stop us?” 5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless, and I have heard the groans of the poor. Now I will rise up to rescue them, as they have longed for me to do.” 6 The Lord’s promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. 7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed, preserving them forever from this lying generation, 8 even though the wicked strut about, and evil is praised throughout the land.
-New Living Translation
Ben Milner preaches on the Last Supper, the Lord's Table, and their connections to the life of the local church.
Ben Milner looks at Paul's counterintuitive ethics that privilege nuance over judgmentalism.
Austin Pfeiffer preaches at the Redeemer School Chapel about Daniel 6 and the difference between the leaders of our world and Christ as King.
Ben Milner continues through Romans 12 and the life of discipleship Paul calls Christian too, especially loving and living peaceably with our enemies.
Austin Pfeiffer introduces the book of Philemon and explores how Paul the Apostle fits into the early church and the New Testament.
Ben Milner preaches on Romans 7 and the trouble we face in wanting to live right, but yet we struggle.
Ben Milner preaches to some song birds on a deck in Illinois filled with the Warfield and Milner families.
Jonah Hooper preaches on justification, the law, and how in Christ we are free from our debt and thus free to confess our sins.
John Bourgeois preaches outside in downtown Winston-Salem on the story of Isaac's birth.
Jonah Hooper preaches outside in the West Salem neighborhood. He looks at the story of the demoniac and the trauma we all share in the Kingdom's battle with the Empire.
Ben Milner starts into the next section of Romans as Paul explains that we are rescued from our rebellion, which is a great hope.
Ben Milner closes out the first section of Romans by looking at the story of Abraham and the way Christ fulfills God's promise to Abraham.
Pastors Ben & Austin continue their conversation on doubt by discussing science and history.
Ben Milner preaches on what Martin Luther called the most important passage on the Gospel in the Bible.
Ben Milner looks at Romans 3 and how the law shows us our brokenness no matter who we are.
Pastors Ben & Austin discuss your questions about the culture and identity of Salem Pres.
Pastors Ben and Austin discuss your questions about potential ways to reopen Salem Pres.
Ben Milner looks at Romans 2 and explores how we can't live with the law and we can't live without it.
Ben Milner looks at Romans 2 and how Paul explores the way we judge each other, but often not ourselves.
We want to be a church that is transparent and above reproach in everything we do financially. Thank you for submitting questions, which are answered by our finance team.
Ben Milner kicks off our series in Romans by looking at Paul's introduction and comments about righteousness.
Ben Milner preaches once more from Luke before we pause to start the book of Romans. The sermon looks at the spiritual power of Jesus that we often miss because we are concerned with ourselves.
Ben Milner and Austin Pfeiffer take live questions through YouTube and Instagram on the Lord's Supper.
Ben Milner walks us through the major pivot in Jesus' life when he turns toward Jerusalem as his disciples recognize his Messiahship.
Ben Milner preaches on the story of Jairus' daughter, the woman who touches Jesus' garment, and how God's timing does not make sense to us.
Austin Pfeiffer reflects on Psalm 46 as we do our first streaming-only service because of COVID-19.
Ben Milner continues our series in Luke with the famous Parable of the Sower, looking at how our faith grows (or does not) depending on the conditions.
Ben Milner looks at the classic story of the sinful woman who washes Jesus' feet with her hair to the shame of the religious.
Austin Pfeiffer presents some new opportunities for the Salem Pres community at a congregational meeting on February 9th, 2020
Ben Milner continues our series in Luke by looking at how Christians love their enemies because God loves his people despite their rebellion against him.
Ben Milner preaches on the unique nature of Christ's coming where he spends his time eating and drinking with those on the fringes.
Ben Milner preaches on the healing of a paralytic, the continued unfolding of Jesus' ministry of the Kingdom.
Austin Pfeiffer preaches on two stories from Luke's Gospel; a demon cast out and a healing. Through these stories he explores the strangeness of Jesus and his Kingdom.
Ben Milner continues our series in Luke with this reflection on Jesus being tested in the wilderness.
Clyde Godwin, director of the Barnabas Center of the Triad, preaches on Luke 2 and how God's children are highly favored, which brings ginormous joy!
Austin Pfeiffer kicks off our Advent series by exploring the troubles and anxieties of Zechariah and Mary in Luke 1 and how they inform our own troubles and anxieties.
Ben Milner looks at the disturbing story of Tamar and notes the cowardice of David in contrast to the courage of Christ.
Ben Milner preaches on the story of David and Bathsheba and takes particular notice of how this passage has been misunderstood for centuries.
Ben Milner looks at how God's covenant with David is built on God's faithfulness and not David's righteousness.
Ben Milner looks at the tense story of humans disrespecting God's Ark of the Covenant, David's disregard for human approval, and God's preservation of his holiness.
Ben Milner explores the darker side of David's life and how the human failures of biblical figures is not necessarily endorsed by God, even if he uses it.
Ben Milner continues our series in the Life of David by looking at David's reaction to the death of Saul.
Jonah Hooper takes on the peculiar story of the Witch of Endor, where King Saul turns away from God and toward sorcery when he cannot hear from God.
Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled vand mourned for him, and they buried him win his house at xRamah.
David and Abigail
Then David rose and went down to ythe wilderness of Paran. 2 And there was a man in zMaon whose business was in aCarmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. bHe was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was discerning and beautiful, but the man was harsh and badly behaved; che was a Calebite. 4 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal bwas shearing his sheep. 5 So David sent ten young men. And David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal and greet him in my name. 6 And thus you shall greet him: d‘Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have. 7 I hear that you have shearers. Now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, eand they missed nothing all the time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your eyes, for we come fon a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.’”
9 When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David, and then they waited. 10 And Nabal answered David's servants, g“Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? hThere are many servants these days who are breaking away from their masters. 11 Shall I take imy bread and my water and my meat that I have killed for my shearers and give it to jmen who come from I do not know where?” 12 So David's young men turned away and came back and told him all this. 13 And David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every man of them strapped on his sword. David also strapped on his sword. And kabout four hundred men went up after David, kwhile two hundred lremained with the baggage.
14 But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, “Behold, David sent messengers out of the wilderness to greet our master, and he railed at them. 15 Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, nand we did not miss anything when we were in the fields, as long as we went with them. 16 They were oa wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep. 17 Now therefore know this and consider what you should do, pfor harm is determined against our master and against all his house, and he is such qa worthless man that one cannot speak to him.”
18 Then Abigail made haste and took two hundred loaves and two skins of wine and five sheep already prepared and five seahs1 of parched grain and a hundred clusters of raisins and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on donkeys. 19 And she said to her young men, “Go on before me; behold, I come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal. 20 And as she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, behold, David and his men came down toward her, and she met them. 21 Now David had said, “Surely in vain have I guarded all that this fellow has in the wilderness, rso that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him, and he has sreturned me evil for good. 22 tGod do so to the enemies of David2 and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him.”
23 When Abigail saw David, she hurried uand got down from the donkey vand fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground. 24 She fell at his feet and said, w“On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. 25 Let not my lord regard qthis worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal3 is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.
Then David fled from Naioth min Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3 But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that nI have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, oas the LORD lives and pas your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is qthe new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, rthat I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6 sIf your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run tto Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly usacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that vharm is determined by him. 8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, wfor you have brought your servant into a covenant of the LORD with you. xBut if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that vit was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
12 And Jonathan said to David, “The LORD, the God of Israel, be witness!1 When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, ythe LORD do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. zMay the LORD be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; 15 aand do not cut off2 your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, b“May3 the LORD take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, cfor he loved him as he loved his own soul.
41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap1 and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, s“Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, t‘The LORD shall be between me and you, uand between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.2
19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah, fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21 Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22 David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. 24 Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear.
25 Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.”
26 David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”
27 They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.”
28 When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.”
29 “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” 30 He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. 31 What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32 David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has been a warrior from his youth.”
34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
“I cannot go in these,” he said to Saul, “because I am not used to them.” So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41 Meanwhile, the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming closer to David. 42 He looked David over and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him. 43 He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 “Come here,” he said, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and the wild animals!”
45 David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. 49 Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.
1 Samuel 16:1–13 (ESV): 16 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
Austin Pfeiffer preaches on the dimensions of faith. How we need do nothing to earn it and how we are called to enjoy it and the certainty of it.
Nathan Kline, the head pastor of Friendly Hills Presbyterian Church, guest preaches about Christ's sacrifice once and for all.
Ben Milner guest preaches on the creation of Adam and Eve at Hope Presbyterian in Greensboro.
Ben Milner turns us toward the life of Jesus as he calls his disciples and begins preaching to crowds.
Jonah Hooper carries our series in Matthew from Advent to the story of Jesus' baptism and the life of John the Baptist.
Ben Milner closes our Advent time in Matthew by sifting through the genealogy of Jesus.
Ben Milner begins our sermon series jumping around the Psalms by looking at the first Psalm...Psalm 1.
Ben Milner closes our series in James by looking at how James talks about those who fade away from faith.
Ben Milner begins to close our series in James by looking at James' encouragement towards prayer.
Steve Beck guest preaches on James 4, particularly how blame and conflict prevent the reconciling love of Christ from permeating our world.
Ben Milner continues our journey through James and looks at how Christian leadership looks more like peacemaking than willful leadership.
Austin Pfeiffer continues our study of James by examining how favoritism and wealth are viewed in our culture.
Jonah Hooper takes us deeper into the book of James by looking at the ways we fail to live what we believe.
Ben Milner kicks off our series in James with a look at James 1's reflection on trials.
Ben Harris preaches the end of Esther and how Esther's heroics are unsatisfying to us because we long for a different rescuer.
Ben Milner preaches on "coincidences" in the story of Esther and how they point to God's hand in our world.
Ben Milner continues our series in Esther looking at how our idols veil God's providing in our life.
Ben Milner speaks at Wake Forest Medical School reflecting on faith and the work of Stephen Hawking.
Ben Milner begins our series in Esther by examining the Gospel's shadow in this Old Testament history book.
Randy Edwards closes our series in John exploring some vignettes of the disciples after the Resurrection.
Ben Milner preaches on John 17 and how we are invited into the "Great Conversation" of the Trinity.
Ben Milner looks at John 15 and Jesus' two metaphors of finding our resting place in Jesus and our nourishment from him as the vine.
Ben Milner continues our series in John by looking at how Jesus comforts his disciples by telling them he is the way the, truth, and the life.
Ben Milner preaches on the goodness of Jesus' shepherding, in contrast to coercive leadership in our world.
Ben Milner continues our series in John looking at one of the seven "I Am" statements from Jesus.
Austin Pfeiffer continues our series in the Gospel of John by looking at the Woman at the Well and her lack of curiosity toward Jesus.
Robb Warfield resumes our series in John by looking out how Christ reduced himself for our sake.
Ben Milner preaches this Christmas Eve sermon at a joint service between Salem Pres and Trinity Church.
Ethan Smith continues our Advent series in John by walking through the famous section of John 3.
Austin Pfeiffer starts Advent with a reflection on John 1 and how our modern distresses are cured by the Light of the World.
Jonah Hooper bridges the gap between our fall series in Isaiah and our winter series in John by looking at John 12 and the fulfillment of prophecy in Christ.
Ben Milner closes our series in Isaiah by reflecting on the need for judgment in our world, but the hope Christ brings.
As we begin to close out Isaiah, Ben Milner looks at the New Heavens and the New Earth in Isaiah and Revelation.
Ben Milner looks to Isaiah 64 to reflect on our polluted nature being resolved by Christ.
Ben Milner talks about the "Wealth of Nations" and how Isaiah points us to an eternity that is full of innovation, creation, and material.
Ben Milner takes us through Isaiah 59 and discusses how we tell ourselves lies that lead to conflict, but that God rescues our minds and hearts from those lies.
Ben Milner speaks to Isaiah 55 and the loving banquet Christ secures for his followers.
Jonah Hooper preaches on Isaiah 52 & 53 and how Jesus' sacrifice on the cross reconciles us to God.
Ben Milner preaches on Isaiah 49 and how God's love recalibrates the narrative we tell ourselves about who we are and how we were made.
Ben Milner continues our series in Isaiah looking at the human hearts propensity to idols.
Ben Milner continues our look at Isaiah and how Isaiah helps us expose our idols and turn our hearts toward God.
Ben Milner begins our look at the second half of Isaiah by walking us through Isaiah 40 and seeing Christ's righteousness for us in this OT prophecy.
Ben Milner finishes our look at the first half of Isaiah by examining Hezekiah's Song in Isaiah 38.
Ben Milner continues our series in Isaiah by looking at how The Empire accuses us and tries to alienate us from the Kingdom.
Ben Milner continues our series in Isaiah by looking at God's entry into disaster to bring redemption.
Austin Pfeiffer continues our series in Isaiah looking at the destruction and redemption in Isaiah 25.
Ben Milner continues our series in Isaiah by exploring the strange peace brought by the Kingdom of God.
Robb Warfield preaches from Isaiah 9 about the guidance of God as our Wonderful Counselor.
Ben Milner begins our time in the prophetic book of Isaiah by looking at the City of God and the City of Man.
Jonah Hooper introduces our sermon series in Isaiah by looking at Hebrews 1:1-4's reference back to the prophets.
Ben Milner concludes our series in Mark by discussing Mark's abrupt and mysterious account of the resurrection of Christ.
Ben Milner continues to take us through the Gospel of Mark as we enter the story of the Passion of Christ.
Austin Pfeiffer preaches about our redemption from idols and our inheritance in Christ from Galatians 4.
Ben Milner continues our series Mark, this week looking at the dissonance in Jesus' prediction of death and the curiosities of his disciples.
Josh Branscomb explores the intersection of the Gospel and Christ's call to take up our cross.
Ben Milner continues our series in Mark by looking at Jesus' healing a blind man and the disciples failure to see him fully.
Ben Milner continues our sermon series in Mark by exploring the traditions of the Pharisees and Jesus' interpretation.
Ben Milner continues our series in Mark by looking at the divinity of Jesus seen in his walking on water.
Ben Milner continues our series in Mark by exploring some of Jesus' parables in Mark 4.
Ben Milner continues our series on Mark by exploring Jesus' teaching on fasting and the sabbath.
Ben Milner continues our series in the book of Mark by exploring the "righteous" scribes in contrast to the sinners and tax collectors.
Ben Milner continues our sermon series in Mark by looking at Jesus' ministry of healing.
Ben Milner continues our series in Mark by walking through the beginning of Jesus' ministry.
John Bourgeois continues our series of "The Mothers of Christ" by looking at the story of Ruth.
Giorgio Hiatt continues our Advent series "The Mothers of Christ" by looking at the story of Rahab in Joshua.
Austin Pfeiffer continues our series exploring "The Mothers of Christ" by unpacking the story of Tamar in Genesis 38.
Josh Branscomb kicks off our Advent series "The Mothers of Christ" by looking at Eve in Genesis 3.
Ben Milner concludes our series on 2 Corinthians by looking at church discipline and Paul's benediction.
Austin Pfeiffer continues our series in 2 Corinthians by looking at super-apostles and who is the true Jesus.
Ben Milner continues our series in 2 Corinthians by looking at how Christ breaks down strongholds, especially harmful teaching.
Ben Milner continues our series in 2 Corinthians by exploring worldly grief and Godly grief.
Ben Milner continues our series in 2 Corinthians exploring what it means to be a new creation and how Christ makes this possible.
Ben Milner continues our series in 2 Corinthians by looking at how we are treasures in jars of clay and our heavenly dwelling.
Ben Milner continues our series in 2 Corinthians by looking at our hope in the New Covenant.
Ben Milner continues our series in 2 Corinthians by looking at the trustworthiness of Paul and the trustworthiness of God.
Ben Milner begins our series in 2 Corinthians by looking at comforts and afflictions in the Christian community.
Ben closes our time in 1 Corinthians by exploring the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.
Ben Milner dips back a chapter to 1 Corinthians 13 to explore the classic love chapter.
John Bourgeois continues our series in 1 Corinthians by exploring what it means to be a body with many members.
Ben Milner continues our series in 1 Corinthians by exploring the Holy Spirit's power in the church.
Intern Chris Karnadi continues our series in 1 Corinthians by exploring law suits in the Corinthian church and this passage applies to race at Salem Pres.
Ben Milner continues our series in 1 Corinthians by looking at how God makes the world's wisdom folly.
Joel Branscomb closes our series in Exodus by looking at Moses' encounter with God on Mt. Sinai.
Ben Milner continues our series in Exodus by exploring the story of the water and the rock.
Ben Milner continues our series in Exodus by looking at the story of Manna: Bread from Heaven.
Ben Milner continues our series in Exodus by preaching about the Song of Moses on Easter.