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Mission Hills Church

1 Samuel | The Weight of Glory, Part 2

Is there something in your life that’s keeping you from being everything God designed you to be? Something holding you back from being part of everything He built you for? And how do you know? How do you identify those things that are tripping you up and holding you back? Join us this weekend as we explore the answer to that so-important question in the book of 1 Samuel.

Locations & Times

Littleton Campus

620 Southpark Dr, Littleton, CO 80120, USA

Saturday 5:00 PM

Sunday 8:00 AM

Sunday 9:15 AM

Sunday 11:00 AM

North Littleton Campus

5804 S Datura St, Littleton, CO 80120, USA

Sunday 11:30 AM

Welcome to Mission Hills!

Mission Hills is a church family—a family who wants to extend to you the same love, hope, and joy that we have received. We know that we cannot be all things to all people. But we do want to be one thing to all people. We want to be the place where anyone, of any age, of any level of spiritual maturity, of any economic class, of any ethnicity, of any church background—or no church background—can meet God in a way that transforms their life…forever!<br><br>If you are a first time guest, we would love to meet you! Stop by the Welcome Center for a free gift.

Unless we deal with the source, the symptoms will just keep appearing.

That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line and went to Shiloh with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. (1 Samuel 4:12-13a)

Eli had a priority problem.

When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry. Eli heard the outcry and asked, "What is the meaning of this uproar?" The man hurried over to Eli, who was ninety-eight years old and whose eyes had failed so that he could not see. (1 Samuel 4:13b-15)

A lack of respect is usually a symptom.

1 Samuel 4: 16-18:

16 He told Eli, “I have just come from the battle line; I fled from it this very day.”Eli asked, “What happened, my son?” 17 The man who brought the news replied, “Israel fled before the Philistines, and the army has suffered heavy losses. Also your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell backward off his chair by the side of the gate. His neck was broken and he died, for he was an old man, and he was heavy. He had led Israel forty years.

His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant and near the time of delivery. When she heard the news that the ark of God had been captured and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she went into labor and gave birth, but was overcome by her labor pains. As she was dying, the women attending her said, "Don't despair; you have given birth to a son." But she did not respond or pay any attention. She named the boy Ichabod… (1 Samuel 4:19-21a)

…saying, "The Glory [chabōd] has departed from Israel"-- because of the capture of the ark of God and the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband. She said, "The Glory [chabōd] has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured." (1 Samuel 4:21b-22)

To give glory to something is to treat it like it has a lot of weight.

The weight God deserved was going to other things.

Sin is a symptom of misplaced weight.

When we put the weight on anything other than God and His Word, it all falls apart.

Identify the things that have more weight than they should and initiate a weight transfer.

Identify: Our thoughts orbit what has weight in our lives.

Identify: What has weight in our lives changes our plans.

Identify: What has weight in our lives prevents us from making changes we know we need to make.

Initiate a weight transfer: repent, request and receive

1. Repent (turn around) and make a commitment to God to get the weight off of that thing and onto Him.

2. Request strength from God to keep that commitment.

3. Receive forgiveness, mercy and grace (for both the past and future failures).