Where Was Abigail?
Two wise women, one king, and the question 2 Samuel 13 asks without saying a word
Writing
Written work, most of it growing out of a sermon and running alongside it.
Two wise women, one king, and the question 2 Samuel 13 asks without saying a word
A five-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 13–14, where the trouble Nathan warned about comes home to David's own children. Written for someone who's heard this sermon — in the room or however you caught it since — and for someone who hasn't; you don't need the sermon to follow along. Read one day at a time.
A five-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 11–12, where a king sees what he shouldn't, does what he can't undo, and then finds out someone has been watching. Written for someone who's heard this sermon — in the room or however you caught it since — and for someone who hasn't; you don't need the sermon to follow along. Read one day at a time, and read the verses out loud if you can.
Study guides
Companion guides to the sermons, with questions and word studies. Read them online or download the PDF.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 13–14, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing a compromised king who can't resolve what he's afraid to face, a family that learns to cover, and the uncompromised King who doesn't.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 11–12, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing a king who sees, sends and takes, the prophet God sends, and the Advocate who stands beside us.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 10, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing what happens when kindness is read as a threat: a whisper that cascades, a king who sends again, and the One who sees better.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 8–9, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing what a king does with a great name: an oath kept, a name said first, and a seat at a table nobody swore.
Two wise women, one king, and the question 2 Samuel 13 asks without saying a word
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 13–14, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing a compromised king who can't resolve what he's afraid to face, a family that learns to cover, and the uncompromised King who doesn't.
A five-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 13–14, where the trouble Nathan warned about comes home to David's own children. Written for someone who's heard this sermon — in the room or however you caught it since — and for someone who hasn't; you don't need the sermon to follow along. Read one day at a time.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 11–12, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing a king who sees, sends and takes, the prophet God sends, and the Advocate who stands beside us.
A five-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 11–12, where a king sees what he shouldn't, does what he can't undo, and then finds out someone has been watching. Written for someone who's heard this sermon — in the room or however you caught it since — and for someone who hasn't; you don't need the sermon to follow along. Read one day at a time, and read the verses out loud if you can.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 10, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing what happens when kindness is read as a threat: a whisper that cascades, a king who sends again, and the One who sees better.
A six-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 10 — the chapter where a king sends kindness across the border and gets his messengers back with half a beard. Written for the person who was in the room Sunday and the person who wasn't; read one day at a time.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 8–9, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing what a king does with a great name: an oath kept, a name said first, and a seat at a table nobody swore.
A six-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 8–9 — the chapters where a king with a great name goes looking for the one man he has every reason to forget. Written for the person who was in the room Sunday and the person who wasn't; read one day at a time.
Abigail, 1 Samuel 25, and the first word anyone spoke about David's house
A six-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 7 — the chapter where a king who wants to build God a house is told, gently and completely, that God is the one doing the building. Written for the person who was in the room Sunday and the person who wasn't; read one day at a time.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 7, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing the chapter where David offers to build God a house, and God promises to build him one instead.
Amos 9, Acts 15, a scroll from Qumran, and what happened to the house God promised David
Babel, Abram, David, and the name above every name — Genesis 11–12; 2 Samuel 7; Philippians 2
2 Samuel 6:6–8, and the question the commentaries have never agreed on
A five-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 6 — the chapter where David finally brings the ark home, and where a death, a foreigner's blessing, and a wife's contempt all turn out to be circling the same question: who's actually in charge here? Written for the person who was in the room Sunday and the person who wasn't; read one day at a time.
2 Samuel 6:9–12; 1 Chronicles 26:1–8, and the question of who Obed-edom actually was
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 6, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing the chapter where David brings the ark home twice: once his own way, and once God's.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 5, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group tracing the chapter where David finally receives the throne, and quietly starts taking more than he was given.
1 Chronicles 11–12, and what a list of soldiers is doing at the front of David's reign
A five-day guided reading from 2 Samuel 5 — the chapter where David finally receives the throne, and, in the same chapter, quietly starts taking more than he was ever given. Written for the person who was in the room Sunday and the person who wasn't; read one day at a time.
A name later scribes couldn't leave alone, a chapter told in severed hands and feet, and a buried motive seventeen chapters wide — the details a Sunday sermon never has room for.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 2–4, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group walking through David's long wait for a throne that was already his.
One Hebrew verb links a stolen crown, a general's power grab, and a sword in a garden — and it explains why David waited seven years for a throne that was already his.
One verse, one weeping man on a road to Bahurim — and the pattern underneath a whole civil war, about who actually bleeds when the powerful fight for a throne.
The seven and a half years David spent wearing one tribe's crown while he waited on the other eleven — five days for the person who was in the room on Sunday, and for the person who wasn't.
Word studies and discussion questions through 2 Samuel 1, movement by movement — for individual reflection or a small group working through the chapter together.
Why Samuel and Kings tell the same story Chronicles already told — and how learning to read both together unlocks the season ahead.
A verse the internet is sure it has figured out — and what covenant loyalty actually cost the men who lived it.
A companion guide for the whole Kingdom: What A King Beholds series — word studies and discussion questions to work through alongside each week, on your own or in a group.
A five-day guided reading from “When a King Falls.” This is a devotional about grief, and it does not tie a bow on it — if you're in the middle of a loss right now, you don't need to arrive anywhere by Friday. You only need to bring it to God.
A three-day devotional in Psalm 110, for the week following "The King-Priest" — chasing the New Testament's most-quoted verse across the church's own history, and what it means to live under a King who has already sat down.
A five-movement study guide through Psalm 110, for individual or small-group use — word studies and discussion questions that trace the King-Priest from David's own confession to the true Adam who finally receives the office.
Sunday we watched one Hebrew word tie Psalm 110's King straight back to the garden. Here's the part we ran out of time for. And it changes what the King is actually doing.
Every coronation in the ancient world was an act of dressing. Psalm 2 installs a King, and behind that installation sits an older, unfinished story about clothes humanity was never quite given.
A four-movement study guide through Psalm 2, for individual or small-group use — word studies and discussion questions that move the same way the psalm does: from "they," to "we," to "welcome."
A five-day devotional in Psalm 2, for the week following "The King" — the parts of the story a thirty-minute sermon never had room for.
On the page, Psalm 2 looks like one voice. Read it as it was almost certainly meant to be heard, and it's a four-character drama, and the Hebrew itself has a soundtrack running underneath it.
The Story You're Actually In: Understanding Idolatry's Hidden Power
The Slow Transformation: Why Our Hearts Don't Change Overnight
The Mirror We've Become: When We Worship What We Make
The Magnetic Pull of the Heart: What Really Has Your Life?
You Were Made to Reflect Glory: Rediscovering What It Means to Be Human
The Two Mountains: A Tale of Two Kings
Love: The Foundation of Everything
Living Through Love: How to Experience the Fullness of God's Heart
The Greatest Family Story Ever Told
You Are the Beloved: Rediscovering Your Identity This Advent
The Revolutionary Power of Mercy: Lessons from a Cave
The Power of Divine Reversal: Finding Victory in Apparent Defeat
The Unexpected Cost of Faithfulness
The Tale of David and Goliath: More Than Meets the Eye
The Power of Choices: Lessons from Ancient Kings and the Ultimate Anointed One
The Power of Words: Sweetness for the Soul and Healing for the Bones
The Paradox of Obedience: Finding Freedom in Surrender
The Ripple Effect of Sin and the Redeeming Power of Grace
Finding God in the Wilderness: Lessons from Psalm 63
The Power of Purposeful Prayer: Becoming a Blessing to the World
Finding Our True Home in God's Presence
The Paradox of Mortality and Eternity: Finding Our True Home
*Finding Refuge in the Shadow of the Almighty*
The Power of Remembering: Finding Strength in God's Faithfulness
Fear Not: Embracing God's Peace in a World of Anxiety
The Search for the True King: From Eden to Eternity
When God Calls: Embracing the Mystery of Faith
The Humble King: Reflections on Palm Sunday and the True Nature of Leadership
The Holiness of God: Not a Tool, But Our Ultimate Help
The Lamp That Never Goes Out: A Journey Through Scripture
The Weight of Our Choices: Honoring God in a World of Contempt
The Power of Persistent Prayer: Lessons from Hannah's Story
Finding Purpose in Our Work: A Divine Calling
The Power of Humility: A Path to Wisdom and Grace
The Profound Importance of Community in Our Spiritual Journey
When the House Falls Apart: A Study Guide 2 Samuel 13–14 When The House Falls Apart Study guide
When the House Falls Apart: Five Days in 2 Samuel 13–14 2 Samuel 13–14 When The House Falls Apart Devotional
When Kings Behold: Five Days in 2 Samuel 11–12 2 Samuel 11–12 When Kings Behold Devotional
When Hesed Is Refused: Six Days in 2 Samuel 10 2 Samuel 10 When Hesed is Refused Devotional
What a Name Won't Let You Forget: Ish-bosheth, the Beerothites, and a Kingdom Built Out of Body Parts 2 Samuel 2–4 The Long Road to the Throne Blog
The Long Road to the Throne: A Study Guide 2 Samuel 2–4 The Long Road to the Throne Study guide
"Put the Sword Away": The Word Hiding Behind a Very Old Refusal 2 Samuel 2–4 The Long Road to the Throne Blog
Ask Before You Climb: Five Days in 2 Samuel 2–4 2 Samuel 2–4 The Long Road to the Throne Devotional
Two Histories, One Throne Room: How to Read the Bible's Double Account of the Kings 2 Samuel 1 When a King Falls Blog
"Surpassing the Love of Women": What David and Jonathan Actually Was 2 Samuel 1 When a King Falls Blog
How the Mighty Have Fallen: Five Days in 2 Samuel 1 2 Samuel 1 When a King Falls Devotional