1 Kings 12 - Keeping Hope Alive When Things Unravel

Good morning.

My name is Bill Farrand, SMBC's Chief Operating Officer.

A warm welcome to Principals Hour today.

We have some guests who are here.

We're glad you're here.

It's great to have you with us, whether you are in person or picking up this later by podcast.

And it's great that today we can sit together under God's word, sing his praises together and pray together.

What a treat.

The Apostle John was watching with awe as the 24 elders worshipped the one seated on the throne, the one who was worthy to receive glory and honour and power.

What a great place to be for the Apostle John.

Then I, John, saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides, sealed with seven seals.

I also saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals? But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it.

I wept and wept because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it.

We are in a series called on 1 Kings, and we've been exploring the leadership that God seeks.

What does faithful, God-honouring leadership, worship and wisdom look like? Who is worthy? Well, the Bible is full of tears.

Right at the opening of this book, we heard how Abishag was exploited to warn King David.

through to the tears I felt when Solomon turned his back on God, throwing away so, so much.

The Bible is full of tears.

John weeps and weeps as he watches this.

No one is found worthy.

Well, today Jansen leads us further into the book of 1 Kings.

Jansen is a keen baseball fan, not so much cricket, I understand.

And so today a young man full of confidence and ambition steps up to the batter's plate.

Is this young man going to be the one worthy of leading God's people? We shall see.