A Walk Through The Word

1 Kings 8:1-66, Acts 7:51-8:13, Psalms 129:1-8, Proverbs 17:1

Today is the 11^th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today. It is a joy to be here with you today around the Global Campfire as we take our journey another step forward. So, let’s dive in. We are in the book of first Kings. We are watching Israel reach the culmination of everything that had been worked for over centuries and centuries since the beginning of our journey. And this happens under King Solomon’s rule. This week we’ve been reading from the Good News Translation. Today, first Kings chapter 8.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we passed through today’s reading, we passed through two pretty monumental moments in the Bible. And that’s…actually that’s kind of an understatement. These are…these are actually huge and very, very pivotal moments. So, in the Old Testament in the book of first Kings we see the dedication of the temple. Like, we’ve been moving toward this place, toward a land that was promised, toward a people that were chosen, toward their own rule and governance, toward them coming under God and being aligned together in the worship of the Lord and established firmly. That’s like what we’re watching here. Solomon, as I’ve said over the last couple of days, brings ancient Israel to the culmination of all her struggles, like from the time that God called Abraham and set him apart and told him to go to a land that he didn’t know. And by the way, Abraham’s obeying a God that he didn’t know, like when this happens. And, so, obviously they get to know one another, they enter into a covenant together and that covenant keeps getting renewed and renewed and renewed over time. These are the same people. And, so, they’re reaching their shining our on the journey that has taken centuries to get to. And, so, yeah, we’ll watch this today and kind of coast through tomorrow, we’ll begin to understand the peak of Solomon’s reign, and we really should enjoy, really enjoy this moment that we pass through because it…it…it’s so brief in the context of things. It’s like they got to the place that they were going, and they had it so briefly, because…well…well…we’ll see why, and we’ll see that it’s the same story we live.

Then when we turn to the book of Acts…and for the last couple of days we’ve been listening to a man who was appointed to be a helper or a deacon or like a proto-deacon in distribution, in caring for God’s people around the church in Jerusalem. So, he had been appointed, but he had also been arrested and he was brought before the council in Jerusalem, where he then had to sort of prove his Hebrew credentials. And, so, he testified, and he told the Hebrew story, which for us, allows us kind of a fast motion review of the different stories that…that we’ve been encountering. We reached the end of that today. We began to reach the end of yesterday where he gets to the point where Jesus intersects with the story and he reveals to these people what they did in…in killing Jesus and they freak out on him. They’re yelling out, they’re covering their ears, they’re screeching at him. Like a mob mentality ensues. And this is the Jewish high council, by the way, but it’s not like we haven’t seen weird things happen in political arenas before on television or whatever. So, anyway their freaking out and they…they rush Stephen, they…they escort him outside the gates of the city and then they stone him to death. This is the first recorded martyrdom. This is the first recorded instance of anyone dying for their faith in Jesus. And we met someone at that execution or at the murder as the Bible calls it, a Pharisee. He held the cloaks of the people, really kind thing to do, to hold their coats because they’re working up a sweat while they’re killing Stephen by throwing rocks at him until he collapses broken. So, Saul, the Pharisee holds onto their cloaks, and watches them do their business and approves of what they’ve done and then he in turn begins to try to root out by capturing and persecuting other Christians in the church at Jerusalem. Saul, you gotta remember that guy. He hates Jesus. He wants to destroy this message and then he goes on to write two thirds of the New Testament. And that story is out in front of us.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us this far We thank You for all that we have learned and all that we are learning. We thank You for all the shifts that are subtly, slowly, methodically, steadily taking place in our hearts and we see that as those shifts happen our lives fall into different rhythms and alignments. We ask that You continue this work of transformation. And we don’t want to make that a big religious word. You are making us new again. You are changing us from what was old into something new. You are changing us from what we were into what we are becoming. May we not fight You on this. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, like I say every day. It’s always home base. It’s where the Global Campfire is.

It’s where we come together to pray for each other. The Prayer Wall is there in the Community section. The different places to gather on the social media, all those links are there in the Community section. Check out that link to the women’s group. If you are a lady and not part of the Daily Audio Bible women’s group…oh man…there is a beautiful sisterhood there for you. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that dailyaudiobible.com as well. There’s a link on the homepage. I thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner of the app screen or if you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the hotline button in the app, which is little red button at the top, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning Daily Audio Family this is Denise and I am on a walk right now and I just wanted to give praise for Mitch who called in who is a newer Christian and was just praising the Daily Audio Bible family. And Mitch, welcome. Just welcome. Welcome to the family. Welcome to Christ’s family. Just so happy to hear the joy in your voice. There’s…sometimes the world can feel real heavy for those of us who go to battle in prayer over lots of deep things and when a young Christian, however mature you are in your earthly years, when a young Christian comes it just gives me hope and fills my heart, so thank you Mitch. And gracious heavenly Father I just pray over Mitch. I pray over Mitch’s walk. I pray he comes to us every day to listen to Brian’s voice. I pray for his journey. I pray for his learning. I pray that the fire that I heard his voice is never doused in your Son’s mighty, mighty name. Amen.

[Singing starts] We are one in the spirit we are one in the Lord. We are one in the spirit we are one in the Lord. And we pray that our unity will one day be restored. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. We will work with each other we will work side-by-side. We will work with each other we will work side-by-side and we’ll guard each man’s dignity and save each man’s pride. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love. We will walk with each other we will walk hand in hand. We will walk with each other we will walk hand in hand. And together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land and they’ll know we are Christians by our love by our love. Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love [singing stops]. Oh Lord, let us be unified in the body, let us be…let us be unified in heart to heart. Let us be unified in prayer. Let us be unified in your son Jesus Christ and it’s in His name we pray and we love you Lord in Jesus’ name. Treasured Possession.

A family how you doing? This is prodigal. Hey, I have a few things to say. First off thanks Pelham for praying for me. I appreciate that brother. I mean, we’re soulmates, been listening to you before…I think before Molly actually but for a long time. So, as we…as we watch our country…the United States descend into chaos and tribalism and hatred it’s time for the Lord more than ever. And His voice is being drowned out so it’s up to us. So, we all make choices every day as we’re on lockdown. I’ve been on lockdown for over three years with no money, wife leaving, company failing, bankruptcy, IRS…doesn’t matter. Long story…doesn’t make a damn. The point is, I’m still here. Fortunately, the…had to sell all my guns. So, that’s one option that’s off the table finally. So, that’s a good thing I suppose. But I’m really here to tell you that the…the biggest weapon we have is prayer. And yes, those cops did something bad. Okay, got it. And that unravels our entire society? They killed Jesus. Did that unravel their entire society? Ultimately, yeah probably, but it’s gotta be for the greater good. So, not sure where this message is going. Just having a really bad day in a string of really bad days but I love my family. Just hear Walta the Burning Bush, Victoria Soldier, Tony. All you guys are rock stars brothers. So, God bless you all. And make whatever you want out of this. Let’s make it a great day. God bless.

Hi family this is Viola from Maryland I hope you’re all doing well. Brian and Jill God bless you and your family and God bless this wonderful ministry that God has used you to create. You know family when we call in and we say “family”, we’re not just referring to a particular group of people, we’re referring to us children of God have been bought and blood washed by Jesus Christ - white, brown, black - whatever color you decide to call yourself. You know, when God created us in the book of Genesis it said, “let us make man in our own image, in our likeness.” And the Bible said, “male and female He created them.” And afterwards our God of color, our beautiful God, made us all with different colors, bold, beautiful unique. You know, it is man’s sin that has caused us to move around and disunite and just have hatred and injustice in our hearts and…and towards our fellow man. And I pray that God will heal our land and that God will heal every land globally and that justice will prevail, there’ll be no more injustices in the name of Jesus. You know, the Bible says that when we come to Jesus Christ and when we receive Him we have become a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that we may proclaim the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Family, I want to pray for the families of all those who have lost loved ones. More recently, George Floyd, Brenda Taylor, Michael Brown, Edward Gana, Fred Ugray and many many others, those killed by the police and those killed by private citizens. You know, families __ so on. I want to pray that God will touch their hearts and comfort them and that there will indeed be justice in our land. You know family, I’ve been the subject of racism before when in 2005 my children and I were on the bus and a white man looked at us with hatred in his eyes and said, “get to the back of the bus.” And before I could get up and give him a good tongue lashing that he deserved people like Abby - God bless you, Abby - got up and fought for us and that man was chased off the bus. God bless you family.

Hi this is Emily I’m…I’m a new listener…new listener to this…to the Bible…to the audio Bible. So…and I…and I really like it and am really loving it. And I think that…and I don’t like what’s going on in the world today but I think that people should be following what Peter said. In 1 Peter chapter 3 to verse 5…chapter 5 verses 3 to 5 “don’t be rulers over the people entrusted to you but be examples for the flock to follow. Then when the chief sheppard appears you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Young people, in a similar way, place yourselves under the authority of spiritual leaders. Furthermore all of you must serve each other with humility because God opposes the arrogant but favors the humble.” I think that’s a really a good verse for today. Okay. This is Emily calling from Humbalita California. Bye.

I turn my life back over to Jesus. I am convicted beyond measure. My marriage is a mess. I’m still having problems quitting smoking. Please pray for Satan to be banished out of my home and out of my life in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi family this is Erin from Michigan and I’ve been noticing a lot of people calling in and talking about the racial temperature of America and how we as Christians and the body of Christ can, you know, lift each other up and can advocate for those whose voices are not as prominent in our society. And I just want you to remember that Jesus is close to the brokenhearted and He is the one that will lift us up. As far as it goes for what our place is as Christians to speak out against this, racism is America’s original sin. And there’s a great awakening happening and right now we have a chance to stand up and be counted among those who say we are all God’s children. And anyone who would like to put anybody…part of the body of Christ down needs to be reminded that there’s a consequence. There’s a consequence for pretending that God doesn’t care about social justice, there’s a consequence for believing that God will not set right what we as humans have messed up. So, I lift up America to you Lord God, I lift up our leaders. I lift of the people in position to make laws Lord God and just touch their hearts. Help them to realize that Your love is perfect, Your love is all-consuming and there is no one that is left out of Your love and there’s no one that should be left out of our love as Christians and we should fight, we should stand together in the name of Christ under His blood and…and stand up and say no more. Say that we are one body, one church and we will not be separated by the things that the world would like to separate us for. Thank you, family. I love you. This is Erin from Michigan. Have a great, great day. Peace.

1 Kings 7:1-51, Acts 7:30-50, Psalms 128:1-6, Proverbs 16:31-33

Today is the 10^th day of June, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today. I guess it’s the 10^th day of June, and there’s 30 days in this month so we are one third of the way into the month of June already and there’s no place that I would rather be right now than right here around the Global Campfire together as we move further on our journey through the Scriptures this year. So, we’re learning of King Solomon. Yesterday we learned of the building, the construction of the temple of God, the first Temple in Jerusalem and today we’ll learn a little bit more about Solomon’s development of the nation that he is king over, Israel. So today, we’re reading from the Good News Translation. First Kings chapter 7.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in first Kings…we…yeah…we’re watching exactly what we talked about at the beginning, Solomon and his development. So, he builds this magnificent palace today. And, so, we got a temple in Jerusalem, we got a magnificent palace. We have an identity. We have a capital city. We have people now moving in the same direction under Solomon’s rule.

And then we move into the book of Acts, and we are continuing to hear the testimony of Stephen and that’s leading somewhere, but as we are listening to the testimony of Stephen it gives us just…amazing…like…what a gift because we’re just so briefly touching all of these major points that we…that we lived through as we began our journey and worked our way through the books of the Bible. But now Stephen is testifying before the Hebrew Council and he’s telling the Hebrew story showing that he knows the Hebrew story because he is a Hebrew. And, so, we are listening to his testimony but we are being given the opportunity to review the territory that we’ve encountered in the Bible.

Okay. Let’s jump to the Proverbs today that we read. “It is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over yourself than over whole cities.” That…that right there is sort of the magic of the Proverbs. That’s two sentences that…that say an awful lot about our lives and the way that we live our lives and then unflinchingly it just simply says, “here’s the better way.” It’s better to cultivate patience than power. It’s better to have self-control than even defeat cities. So, may we consider that today as we go through the day.

And then flipping backward to the Psalms. Remember when…when we encountered the benediction, “May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face to shine upon you,” and we kind of talked about how words of blessing spoken over us can really, really change our day, like can really change the atmosphere. And then…then when we in turn speak words of blessing over others, like you can’t speak words of blessing and words of cursing simultaneously. If your blessing your blessing. And there are many words of benediction in the Bible. Many words of blessing and we have that today. And, so just allow these words wash over you and then you in turn go out and bless the world today.

Happy are those who obeying in the Lord who live by his commands. Your work will provide for your needs. You will be happy and prosperous. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in your home and your children will be like young olive trees around your table. A man who obeys the Lord will surely be blessed like this. May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem prosper all the days of your life. May you live to see your grandchildren. Peace be with Israel.

Prayer:

Father, we receive those words of blessing. May we obey Your commands today. May we walk with You today. May we remember that it is better to be patient than powerful. It is better to win control over ourselves than to win control over whole cities. Come Holy Spirit into this, may we walk in this. May we remember this, may we live in this in Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, home base, as it always is, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. So, stay tuned and stay connected.

Stay connected in the Community section. There…there’s plenty of places to reach out on social media. The Prayer Wall lives there. We are a community that prays for each other. It…it binds us together doesn’t it, that we pray for each other, that we care enough to take time to go into the presence of God on behalf of one another. What a privilege, what an honor to be able to do that and we do that well. So, stay connected there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link. It lives on the homepage. I thank you profoundly and humbly for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Daily Audio Bible this Alfio calling from Delaware. It is a great month. June is already here, and God has seen us through half of this year. I just want to call to say glory to God for my brother Pelham, Pelham from the Arab Alabama. My brother, the kind of journey that you have is a true testimony to a lot of us who have shared all of your struggles and your triumphs through this journey. So, congratulations for being able to finish this program and congratulations for making it through, hanging in there with our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray for the restoration of your family but more so, I pray for the pure guidance of our Lord Jesus Christ to guide you through the next steps in life. I wanted to pray also for Blind Tony, that God may continue to bless you for your eyes to see and for your ministry to continue growing. Slave of Jesus, God continue blessing you. We are in tough times and we cannot be ignorant of the fact that we live in times that are perilous at this point in a day that so much that is going on. The society is burning, and the society is also crushing but we are also strong together. May God give us the strength to stay together as brothers and sisters and may God give us the energy, the wisdom, the diligence, to know that He called us as one people. This is Alfio calling from Delaware. May God bless you and make it a great day.

Hi DAB family this is Marla Forgiven by the Savior from Albuquerque and I’m calling in with an urgent prayer request. I think I’ve mentioned that I am bipolar and I’m prone to bipolar depression, which is absolutely debilitating for me. My doctor put me on Latuda, which is strictly for bipolar depression. Unfortunately, with Medicare my co-pay is over $500 which I can’t afford. So, my doctor gives me samples. They ran out of samples. And, so, I’m waiting for the shipment to come in so I can get it. but I don’t even…I couldn’t even tell you how long I’ve been without it and this bipolar depression is really hitting me hard right now. I couldn’t even tell you when the last time I took a shower was, when I…the last time I did my dishes, when I cleaned my house, did laundry, nothing. I basically sit around and do absolutely nothing. I get up, I stay awake for a few hours and then I go back to bed. So, if you could pray that the shipment comes in soon so that I can get my medication and also pray that this bipolar depression will alleviate a little bit, will lift, so that I’m not sleeping all the time or just sitting around doing nothing but that I’m actually able to get things done in my apartment and just all-around feel better. I love you all very much and God bless.

Hello, Daily Audio this is Alina from Delray Beach. Jesus worshiper. So, I just heard Galina on the Dail;y Audio Bible. So, I wanted to welcome her. I haven’t heard her before. And she had an accent just like me. So, I just wanted to say maybe she’s from Ukraine or Russia or somewhere from Soviet Union countries. I wanted to welcome her here and to say that I’m praying for her. And I also wanted to ask for the prayer for myself. It’s really hard for me today. And I’m in a stage of getting divorced with my husband and it sometimes it’s really hard on me. And God is with me all the time, you know, but also I have a lot of, you know, there’s a lot of feelings, there’s a lot of emotions and just want to do…I just want to make sure that I do the right thing but this is just not that easy. And God is talking to me and I think that I’m doing what I’m supposed to, but it’s just doesn’t…I don’t know…still like the emotion don’t…it’s really not easy. And, you know, my friend is also…Laura Lee’s birthday tomorrow and I wanted to wish her happy birthday and I wanted to say to her that I really love her, and I wish her all the best. I wish her to stay with the Lord for the rest of her days. This is the best wish. I love everybody. I love you guys a lot. Thank you.

Good morning DAB this is Lydia from Maryland. I recently heard a lady on here and she was getting…she was debating whether or not she would want to tell you what was on her mind. She said she’d probably wind up being embarrassed later on because she had told you about it and asked for prayer. Well, I…I want to let you know that, please don’t be embarrassed. I felt at one time exactly what you’re going through. I don’t know why either of us feel that way. Sometimes it’s…it’s almost physically impossible, even though I can walk and get around, to not do housework, don’t care or not if I get a shower, but I never share it with anyone because it doesn’t happen too often. But it can be very embarrassing and a bit depressing. Please, know that I’m praying for you. I love you. God loves you. He’s the one person who can give either of us what we need when we have those times, to pull through it and remember how important we are to Him. God bless you sweetheart and don’t be embarrassed. I’m here for you. Lydia from Maryland. Take care darling.

Good morning DAB family this is Blessed by Jesus in Kansas City and it’s a beautiful Sunday morning June the 7^th and I just have like three things to say. First of all, to Prairie Sky I have been praying for you since your prayer request this past week and I just want to possibly give you hope. When I was a young adult, I got very frustrated by the choices that my father made and I just wanted to write him off, have nothing else to do with him for the rest of my life. And when you’re 19 years old that’s a long, long time to be without your father. And God convicted me that I needed to restore that relationship as much as it was possible to me and I’m so pleased to say that I had 31 years left with my father and we had a wonderful relationship. So, I’m praying that God will restore the relationship between you and your children. Also, to God’s little Cherry, thank you so very, very much for the prayer that you mentioned me specifically in, praying for our grandchildren and their education issues. I’m so pleased to say God has changed that around too. For Brian, thank you for your response that you gave this past week about how to respond to the chaos and the hurt in the United States. I’m a 62-year-old white woman who has never really understood racial problems until I saw why I get angry. It’s frightful, disrespected, not listened to. Now I think I get it. So, I’m praying for fresh eyes and fresh ears to be able to be part of the solution. Thank you.

I just listened to the June 2^nd podcast and I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to me. For some time, I have watched the rising division and chaos in our country. Quite frankly I have despaired that we cannot even continue as a nation. In this podcast Brian compared our times to the first century Israel. He reminded us that Jesus came into that situation 2000 years ago and brought hope. He reminded us that we can ask Jesus into the division and chaos of today. That my friends is very good news.

Hi there, all my brothers and sisters in the Lord I’m Allie from England and I have found the blessing of this community being spiritually fed by God’s word especially during this uncertain time across all the world. Turning our eyes upon Jesus and all the problems in this world grow dim in the light of His glory and His grace. I pray God’s blessing and protection over us all from Psalms 81. He that dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. We will not fear the terror of the pestilence that strikes in the darkness nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, 10,000 at your right hand but it will not come near to you. If you make the most high your dwelling even the Lord who is our refuge then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near you for He will command His angels concerning you to guide you in all your ways then will lift you up in His hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Because He loves me says the Lord, I will rescue him, I will protect him for the…for he acknowledges my name. Keep safe everybody and may God richly bless you all in Jesus’ name. Amen.

1 Kings 5:1-6:38, Acts 7:1-29, Psalms 127:1-5, Proverbs 16:28-30

Today is the 9^th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we move further into our week, further into the Scriptures. So, we’re working our way into Solomon’s reign as we read through the books of the king’s, first and second Kings, and that’s what we’re reading about, the different reigns of the different Kings of Israel. But we’re kind of at the beginning. We’ve learned of Saul, the first king, we learned of David who is the second king, and now David’s son Solomon is the third king of Israel and we’re learning of Solomon’s wisdom and the way that he organized and governed his people. So, from the Good News Translation, which is what we’re reading this week. First Kings 5 and 6.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of first Kings we see the construction of the temple. This is the first Temple ever in Israel. So, like when we think of the New Testament or even when we think of ancient times, we think about the temple usually. The temple features in a lot of stories. Like it’s the centerpiece because it’s the centerpiece of the Hebrew culture. So, even in the time of Jesus, the temple is the center. Previous to this, it had been the tabernacle, right? When we were in the books of Moses we went exhaustively through the construction of the portable tabernacle right down to the hooks that would hold the curtains, like all of it. And this was the portable tabernacle that’s gonna move around with the people, God among his people. So, this is the first permanent structure where the name of the Lord will dwell. And this template we’re watching being built right now is known as the first temple and the place that we’re in in history in the Bible is the first temple period. Later on, that temple will be destroyed and then later on it will be rebuilt and then later on it will be destroyed again. And will get to that. But right now, this is the first temple. So, what we’re watching happen here is Israel reaching sort of an apex and in their culture and in their existence, a permanent temple for God, a place of identity, a national identity. And we gotta watch close because we reach this apex and then we began to move down the other side so quickly. It’s taken us so long to get to this point where the land is really the Promised Land where prosperity is abounding where peace is all around where happiness is plentiful. We read it and then we move through it so quickly that it’s almost like, “wait…that was a big, big, big moment that we just read through. And, so, I’m just pointing it out now because we’re kind of at this place where things are reaching their culmination. This is the best of the best for the ancient Hebrew people.

Okay. So, then we move into the New Testament, which is in the book of Acts and we read of the diaconate…of deacons or what would become deacons being appointed, helpers, people to help in the ministry, especially to the widows. One of these men was named Stephen and he was captured. He was arrested and there was a bunch of debate. And, so, Stephen has been brought before the high Council to be questioned because, in part, Steven’s being accused of customs and traditions that do not apply to the people that are like new inventions. And, so, Stephen begins today to testify on his own behalf before the Council. And what Stephen is doing in his defense is telling the Hebrew story. For us, reading this now, this is incredible review of the territory that we have, that we have moved through since we began our journey at the beginning of the year. But for Stephen before the Jewish Council, he’s establishing that he is truly a Hebrew, he’s not inventing…like he knows the Hebrew story. So, he’s recounting the Hebrew story in all of its detail because he’s a Hebrew who grew up as a Hebrew. So, let’s watch his story because we’re in the…the church era in the book of Acts, the formation of the early church. We watch his story but while we’re listening to his testimony, we have the opportunity to review back those stories that we moved through in detail as we’ve been moving through the year so far.

Then the book of Psalms, one of my very, very favorite Psalms, one that I keep with me, that…that guides my life. “If the Lord does not build the house the work of the builders is useless. If the Lord does not protect the city it does no good for the sentries to stand guard. It’s useless to work so hard for a living getting up early and going to bed late for the Lord provides for those He loves while they are asleep.” This…this Psalm reminds us that all that we are trying to achieve in our own strength, the things that we’re willing to exhaust ourselves over. We need to look deep inside why we are doing what we are doing because if we are trying to do it without the Lord it’s a waste of time. Yeah…yeah…and I’ve wasted plenty of time…and I …in my life and I just…yeah…when I…this verse has kind of guided me for, man, well over a decade but when I encountered it, which was early on in my relationship with the Bible, it’s kinda stuck with me. And knowing it and living it, you know, those are different things. You can find yourself exhausting yourself in some direction for some reason lots of times, but to remember, “if the Lord doesn’t build the house the labor is in vain.” May we remember that.

And then, as if that weren’t enough for today, we flip the page into Proverbs. “Gossip is spread by wicked people. They stir up trouble and break up friendships.” Gossip. This won’t be the last time that this comes up in the Bible. The things that we say to other people about people who are not present. The little stories that we carry around trying to fill in the blanks for people to kinda…to kinda give ourselves a sense of being in the know of being connected, the things that we can spread around my friends. And are we not acutely aware of how things spread around these days. I mean like isn’t that the world we’ve had to kind of encounter and live in this year trying to avoid this read things. Gossip spreads around and infects things in the same way. The Proverbs say that there end result may not be like pneumonia or something like that. The end result is that they stir up trouble and break up friendships, which is a devastating thing. So, yeah, we’ve learned how to social distance this year better than maybe…well…better than I’ve ever known how to do in my life, more than I’ve ever had to do in my life. But maybe we should consider distancing ourselves from gossip. It’s only going to stir up trouble and break up friendships. Maybe instead of a mask we just bite our tongues and not say that thing and not spread it any further. Nothing good can come from it.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for its instruction and its counsel. It…thank You and that it shows us the way to go. And, so, we acknowledge, unless we are laboring with You, we are laboring in vain. If we are building our own kingdom in some way, we are exhausting ourselves for no reason. It doesn’t matter without You. And we have also taken into heart today that what we say matters. It can break up friendships and stir up trouble when we spread gossip. Help us not to spread gossip any more than we spread anything else that’s destructive. Come into this Holy Spirit, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it is always home base for the Global Campfire that we share. So, it’s a good place to know, it’s a good place to go, it’s a good place to get connected, a good place to pray for each other.

There are resources that are available in the Daily Audio Bible Shop that are specific to the journey that we’re on making our way through the Bible in a year. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart. As we move into the warmer months, into the summer months, thank you for your partnership. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in this together, as I’ve said so many times, because that has always been true and it’s true now. So, thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement 877-942-4253 is the number to dial or you just hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button of at the top and…and…and share from there.

And that is it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning DAB family this is Paula calling from Albuquerque it is Thursday, June 4^th. Just finished listening to the podcast and I just love, I just love, I don’t know how to say it…else to say it but every time we have one of these days where the proof of Brian’s words of the rhythm of the Scriptures is so profound. All four areas that we read today were connected, just beautiful. I just love it. So, __ if you will with all of us in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi this is Teresa from Missouri and this week Brian mentioned the achievements that we get when we finished the Gospels and I noticed I hadn’t gotten mine so I went back to look at previous broadcasts to see which one I had missed and I found myself on January 23^rd and I heard Heather from Atlanta. And Heather you are crying because you had wanted to be a missionary or a ministry…to do a ministry and then Satan unleashed all kinds of evil against you and it just made me think of the book of Job. And I wanted to tell you that someone’s still praying for you and let you know that you’re not alone and that we care, and we love you. So, hang in there, girl. And I also heard God’s Smile from England and I love your voice and you talked about having a Nana or that was a not proper Nana that would hold you and read to you. Your voice just sounded like someone that…that would be a Nana that I could go and give you a big hug and sit and we could read to each other. So, I just wanted to tell you that, that you are special to me today too. So, it’s June 4^th but I was listening to the January 23^rd podcast. Love you guys, have a good day.

Good afternoon DAB family my name it is Vincent from Connecticut and I walk in love or at least I try to. I first found you in January. I can’t believe you’ve been around for so many years. You people are absolutely amazing. I’m asking for your prayers and I’m embarrassed to ask because there’s so many of you that I hear in deep distress and pain suffering and the pain I have is simply in my heart. I believe that I have not because I ask not, and I believe that you seek ye first the kingdom of God and all things else will be added unto you. Well, I love someone, and I’ve loved them for some time. She is a nurse and I am unable to see her now because of the virus or because perhaps her heart has changed. But this pandemic and this violence has made me painfully, painfully alone and I don’t think that’s what God wants for me. God bless you. And as Brian says, I love you.

Hi family this is His little Cherry in Canada and I am just sitting here looking at my pillow ready to go to bed and I wanted to call and pray again for everyone who has sleeping problems. Oh, daddy here we are again and I’m so grateful that I’m not here alone, so grateful that You’re with me. Lord thank You for Your presence. I pray for everyone in this community who dreads going to bed because they have sleeping issues of one kind or another. Lord, please help each one of us who are facing another night of restlessness, insomnia, pain, whatever it might be. Lord, I ask that in Your mercy You would help us to be able to sleep. I pray for those with insomnia that You’d help their minds to slow down and to drift off and to fall into deep restful sleep. I pray for those who have pain. I pray that You would give them relief, that it would lift, that they would be able to sleep. I pray for those who have to get up many times in the night for whatever reason Lord. I just pray for each one of us that You would comfort us, that You would banish fear, that You would speak peace straight into our hearts. Lord, that You would do a miracle for us and give us good restful restorative sleep I ask You for this in the name of Your son Jesus. Amen.

Hey family it’s Jesse from Washington I need prayers…I don’t know…just for so many things. I’ve been putting off calling the last few days just because it’s just so many things but it’s so clear that it just, you know, an attack on…like a coordinated attack on every aspect of…I guess…really mostly my wife through mental health. She is taking to heart rumors that she’s heard from gossiping friends and gossiping people at church. And, I mean, I know in my heart that I didn’t…I didn’t do anything wrong, I haven’t done anything wrong but the thoughts that are coming from this gossip that’s been being absorbed…I can understand why it would cause somebody pain but it’s just…I mean…there’s no accountability from the other side, there’s no…I don’t know….I don’t know how to explain it. I just know…I mean…I can take accountability for being in situations but…and…it…it…I can’t say to my wife, well I haven’t done anything wrong. It drives her crazy and she’s just so angry and like so hurt. So, I mean all I can do is do my best to just take the verbal and emotional stuff and…but I just…I…it’s… it’s difficult. I’m being humble about it but I…I just know I can’t logically explain to somebody…I don’t…I don’t…I don’t know. I don’t know what to say family I really don’t…

Hello DAB family I’m calling today Friday, June 5^th my name is Veronica and I’m a first-time caller. I want to thank Brian for this great community. I have struggled to ask prayers for this, but God has been pressing it on my heart for weeks. Please pray for my husband and I as we pursue medical treatment for infertility. We have gone through multiple miscarriages. We have been married for 15 years and we are well into our 40s. Our chances to conceive are very low but God has brought us to a place where medical treatment is within our reach. I’m praying my insurance company will cover this procedure as we are still appealing for this. We have grieved and cried over all our losses and we have prayed for God to take this desire from our hearts, but we still have desire like never before. I ask if it’s His will that this procedure will work, and we will finally bring home a healthy baby. I’m pleading that God will give us a miracle and to give us peace no matter what, but above all I pray for His will to be done and to have His way in the situation. Thank you DAB family for your prayers. Bye-bye.

Hey, my wonderful DAB fam this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel from Chicago. Mr. Brian Hardin, or as one of our dear DABbers refers to you, Pastor Brian Hardin. My friend, my brother, my leader in this incredible ministry, to God be the glory for the great things He has done, is doing, and yet going to do through you, your precious bride, this incredible DAB team behind the scenes and everyone that’s associated to you. I just want to thank you from the very depth of my soul for your candid words of expression but even more so your story. Oh…as a black man, Brian, it was so refreshing hearing you talk about being given a shot coming up in music era that you were by a black man. And, so, that was absolutely awe-inspiring to say the least. So, I just want to say thank you sir. Thank you so, so very much for all that you do, all that you represent, what you stand for, how you lead this incredible ministry. I thank the living God for you, Pastor Brian Hardin. Keep up the great work sir.

1 Kings 3:3-4:34, Acts 6:1-15, Psalms 126:1-6, Proverbs 16:26-27

Today is the 8^th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today. Ahh…today would’ve been…would’ve been my mother’s birthday. So, you know how certain days of the year are important to you and you might not realize that until you realize it’s that day. This is kind of one of those days. It’s my mom’s birthday. So, thinking of her as we move into the day and grateful. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for her. So, I’m grateful. So, let’s jump in and take the next step forward. We’re working our way into the book of first Kings now. And, so, in yesterday’s reading we said goodbye to Israel’s second king and his name was David and we followed his story from his youth until his death. And we followed the drama about his successor. But as it turns out, his successor is his son by Bathsheba, which is…I mean…ironically the woman that…that he took. She was another man’s wife. He took her and…and…and they…they got pregnant and David had Uriah, who was Bathsheba’s husband, he had him killed in battle and…and David to Bathsheba to be his wife and the child they had conceived died. But they had another child, Solomon, who has become the king of Israel. And, so, we pick up that story. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. First Kings chapter 3 verse 3 through 4 verse 34.

Commentary:

Okay. So, now we see that King Solomon is certainly in full control and is the king of Israel. And we had this famous passage today where…where Solomon is worshiping In Gibeon before the Lord and he has a dream and the Lord asks him what…what he wants, and Solomon asks for wisdom to lead the people. And then God responds that He will give him more wisdom than anyone’s ever had before as well as all of the things that he could have asked for, which is kind of what the book of Proverbs tells us, right? Like if you gain wisdom, everything else will follow. But if you try to do it opposite and achieve all these things without wisdom, you won’t be wise, and you won’t be able to control these things and you won’t be able to have these things. Wisdom is the thing that can guide our lives on the correct road. And even as we were getting into the book of Proverbs, we heard the voice of wisdom telling us this, that she would be at every crossroads. These ideas would end up being documented by Solomon. And, so…so, what we see is that Solomon asked for wisdom, but he was a very wise man, which is kind of the point of the narrative here. He was wise beyond his years. He was a wise man, and then the Scriptures turn us into an immediate example of this and that’s the example of the two women who were prostitutes who each had children and one of the child…children…one of the baby boys died and how it was that Solomon went about, you know, kind of teasing out the truth of the matter. That kind of became proverbial in its own way throughout Israel to…it was an illustration they used to give themselves rest in their king, that he was just and that he was a wise and that he could see how to bring justice to the land. So, basically where we leave the reading in first Kings today is that, yeah, Solomon is a very respected person who is reigning over a vast kingdom. Many other kings and kingdoms are subject to Solomon. He is at peace. He has all of the resources he could possibly need to do whatever he could possibly imagine. The people are at peace. There is prosperity and a huge amount of development, a huge amount of building and growth is happening. And what we’re seeing is all of King David’s work in establishing his kingdom passed on to Solomon, all of those resources combined with wisdom and the blessing of the Lord is leading this people to their greatest ancient moment, which we will see in the coming days.

And then we flip over into the New Testament in the book of Acts and we see the formation of something that still exists in the church world today. So, basically what’s going on is that many people are coming to accept Christ. Many are coming in every day as the gospel is spoken and at this point the book of Acts tells us the people who believe in Jesus are respected. Like not a lot of people want to be around their group because they’re afraid of getting thrown out of the synagogue, which is to kinda be ostracized from your community, but they’re respected, they’re spoken well of, persecution hasn’t really broken out because nobody really knows exactly what’s going on right now. And we will explore how tensions arose in the weeks ahead. But because kind of everybody is coming together in common as much as possible to kind of all be together, caring for one another, and in particular caring for like widows and people in need, just making sure everybody’s taking care of, a rift broke out between Greek Jewish people and native Hebrew people that the Greek people were being…the Greek widows were being treated differently than the native Hebrew widows. So, this is like one of the very, very, very first issues that we see crop up at all. And what is this issue? Well, it’s the accusation of favoritism, that the Greek widows were being suppressed in favor of the Hebrew widows and they weren’t being treated equally. And, so, often that’s still an issue in our world today. So, the apostles and…and all the people got together for…for a meeting about this. And the apostles are like “man…man….we need to keep…we need to keep spreading the gospel and keep telling people and educating people about Jesus and if we have to stop that and kind of figure out how to count…figure how to do finances, like we need some help. Appoint some people that are honorable. Bring them. Pray for them. We need some help here.” This model, this example here would one day grow up to be called the diaconate. This is where the idea of deacons or the office of a deacon comes into play. And we briefly meet one of those men. I man we…we met them all. We heard all of their names, but we briefly met one of them in a little more detail and his name is Stephen. And we’ll get to know Stephen in the coming days but Stephen will also allow us a bit of a review of the stories that we’ve found in the Bible that we’ve immersed ourselves in this year. So, that is coming in the next days.

Prayer:

Father, we’re thankful for that but we are in this day and this is happening now. And, so, we thank You for Your word in our lives and the way that just begins to build up and accumulate in our hearts and affects the way that we live in. And, so, we invite that today. May we go from this moment and into our day or into our evening or whatever time it is knowing that You are within and around us, that You are surrounding us, that we are in You, that we are hidden with Christ in God, that we are intertwined and that You are leading and directing our steps. Come Holy Spirit into this we pray. In the name of Jesus’ we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, check it out.

Check out the resources that are available in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Check out the Windfarm coffee and tea. And just all…I mean everything that we put in that shop is…are things that are just centered around the rhythms of life and a lot of things that…that we do on a regular basis. Some of you are avid journalers and I like journaling. And, so, there’s all kinds of journaling resources in their because…man if you’re gonna take the journey through the entire Bible in a year, then you’re gonna cover a lot of ground, right? So, here we are in June in the 6^th month and just kind of fully getting ourselves here and then this month will over before we know it, but the 6^th month already. So, if we look back…well…if we look back at all the things that have happened in the world it can make our head spin. But if we look back at all that we have encountered in the Bible and the way that the Bible has become poignant and the way that it just has this way of saying what needs to be said a lot of the time and just kinda clicks things into place, we should write that down because a lot of stuff happens. And, so, it’s so easy to forget that God spoke to us through His word, and here’s what it meant to us on that day. And here’s…here’s where we went from there. And later on, we’re able to look back and see the thread that…that…that God is always with us and always leading us if we’re paying attention. And then we can see it in our own hand in the story of our own lives, and that’s valuable and it’s a biblical principle. I mean, piling up rocks or making some kind of a monument to remember what happened there so that future generations will not forget what happened there, that…that’s all throughout the Bible. And, so, it’s a good practice to be in as we take this journey. So, those resources are available in the Shop along with a lot of other resources. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app or there are a number of phone numbers that you can use depending on where you are in the world. If you’re in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. In the UK or Europe, you can dial 44-20-3608-8078. If you are in Australia or the lands down under, that part of the world, you can dial 61-3-8820-5459,

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello, DABbers this is Sharon in South Carolina I’ve been listening for a lot of years, but I’ve never called in. I was recommended by a good friend of mine __. And, you know, I’ve lost two children before and I’ve heard different ones calling in grieving so much. And she said I should give my testimony about how God showed His loving kindness to me and took away inordinate grief. So the time’s ticking away but the main thing is…well I may have to call back to give the rest of it. But I was riding along, I was a truck driver at the time, and I was riding along, and I had to tell my daughter happy birthday and it had been almost a year since she passed away from breast cancer. And I said, “Father tell her happy birthday.” And He said, “she didn’t have a birthday. She came out of me she came back into me. She always was and she always will be.” Now I know that didn’t come out of my mind. You know, I…every day I was praying, and the tears were flowing inside that truck. I had lost a son in 1986 and then lost her in 2000 and I thought am I gonna lose all my children, but I just want to encourage you today. I love all of you so much and I pray for you every day. I hear you on the radio and I repent for not calling in to encourage some of you. Our Father is so faithful. He…He is the I Am but most of all He is, He is ever present for every need and every concern. Be encouraged today so…

I am really so encouraged by Brian and the Hardin family. I just…this message is going straight to Brian and his family just because I really am just so thankful Brian that you just took the time the other day to actually really say something about what’s happening in the nation and about race and even you taking the time to…to really minister us even with about the pandemic. I really, really appreciate it because as an African-American, I don’t always feel loved, I don’t always feel accepted, I don’t always feel understood. And this is a space where I feel like I do feel loved, accepted, and understood and you made that very, very clear and it only makes me even more involved and committed to this ministry because I think it’s from the heart. And I really appreciate it. It really meant a lot to me that you took some time out to really address it. And I just thank you. Take care and God bless.

Good morning DAB family this is Vito from New Hampshire a first-time caller and longtime listener. I’d like to begin by thanking Brian and Jill and China and Benn and everybody else behind the scenes for making this happen. It’s changing my life. It’s changing people’s lives all around the world and what an amazing blessing and need at a time such as this. I’m calling to ask for prayer for my friend Bill Smith and his wife Jane. Bill and Jane were visiting my wife and I four months ago when Bill suffered a stroke during the visit. Four months later he still is paralyzed on half of his body. He doesn’t recognize the voice or image of his wife. Because of the COVID situation nobody can go visit him and it’s been like that for months. I am…I have a heart for my friend, and I ask for your prayer for him, not only for God’s healing grace, but for his salvation at a time such as this for Bill which is so desperate. I’m praying that there’s somebody feeding him the word of God and bringing him to a salvation in the Lord. I don’t know that he believes in Christ. I think he considers himself a Christian but I’m raising up Bill and Jane his wife, Sarah and Colby his kids. Thank you for your prayers for me. Lord, have mercy and thank you for your provision, your grace, your love, mercy and power. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi Sherry from Kansas I just heard your praise report which is what it is because you are able to accomplish something that you have not been able to do in a really long time. So, I lift you up to God and I pray that He continues to help give you the strength and the ability to get the things done and the simple things in daily life and I hope that things can continue to get better for you every day. I will keep you in my prayers. And again, thank you so much for sharing with us. I pray for you in Jesus’ name. Amen. And God bless you.

Hi DAB family I just wanted to ask for your help. This is Dorothy out in California. Wanted to ask for prayers. I’m embarrassed to…to admit I just…I just feel so lost. I feel lost in my personal life, I feel lost about the future or the state that the worlds in. I have a couple of inventions that I think will help society. I…it’s so expensive to fund I don’t even know what direction to take and I feel like I don’t have enough together in me. And I know we’re supposed to just lay it at God’s feet. I just don’t feel like I have enough together to be able to move forward with anything. And all I can do is get through today. Anyway, I’m sure a lot of…with the curfew in place and everything else going on it’s not just that. It…I just feel lost and I need your help. Anyway, just don’t feel grounded. So, your prayer is much appreciated. This song came to mind. I don’t want to sing right now but [singing starts] all that you are I want. all you’ll allow we’ll embrace. With your strength and compassion all that you are we need [singing stops]

All of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I am calling first time and my name is Wanda. We are living here in Spain and me and my husband we are trying to do ministry for Spanish speaker. We both work this media production, which is a documentary about __ evolution and creation and it’s already four years since we’ve moved here in Spain and it’s been very challenging for me because I am from Belarus and I didn’t know language and during this time we got two babies and now I’m asking you to pray for God to answer our prayers because it’s so difficult. My husband works only part time and __ expensive and we can’t pay many things what we need. And now I just took money from my son from his jar to buy diapers. It’s very difficult…

Hi this is Gloria in New York City it is…it is Wednesday June 3^rd and I haven’t called in a very long time, a very long time. I’ve been listening though, and I heard Bart from Kentucky, I think, mentioned me at the very end. I was surprised, very nicely surprised to hear…to hear that you are praying for people that…some that he hadn’t heard from in a long time. And thank you so much. I have always been praying for a couple for serious things. And anyway, last year, my mom, she did pass away. It’s almost a year ago now. I actually had a pretty serious medical issue myself which…but I just want to give glory to God because I’m doing very well just thank God so thankful because fortunately the divorce I had been praying against did happen and I was not happy about that. It was all this stuff in one month and now you know here we are in we’re all going through a lot of…a lot of stuff but I have to say, I mean, globally and nationally and here in New York City it’s, you know, obviously with the rioting I live pretty close to one of the big hotspots, Union Square. And…but I want to just tell everybody and encourage everyone, I…just…I mean…I just been studying the Bible constantly and have been out there praying for our city, our country. Praying for repentance and for people to…for those of us in the church especially to really get out there and bring the message of the cross to…to a world that’s just perishing. It’s also heartbreaking but through it all God is good and thank you again for remembering me Bart. God bless you all and I’ll try to call, not two years from now. Bye.

1 Kings 2:1-3:2, Acts 5:1-42, Psalms 125:1-5, Proverbs 16:25

Today is the 7^th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you as we collectively gather and observe the fact that we’re moving into a new week and it’s a reset and we just take the time to remind ourselves that it’s out in front of us and the choices that we make are going to tell the story of this week and they’re gonna spill over into next week and the next week and they’re gonna fill the days of this month. And, so, let’s be aware that what we do matters, and what we think matters. This is how we write the story of our lives. And, so, here at the beginning of this new week let’s allow God’s word to speak into our lives, affecting our thoughts and actions. So, we’re gotten ourselves into the book of first Kings and as we begin this new week, we’ll be saying a goodbye. We have been traveling with David since he was a shepherd boy. Now he is an old King and today we’ll say goodbye to King David and begin to understand the reign of King Solomon. So, we’re in a brand-new week. We’ll read from the Good News Translation this week. First Kings 2:1 through 3:2.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us into this new week and we mark this day in saying goodbye to the story of King David and moving into the reign of King Solomon. And we invite Your Holy Spirit as we move into that story and move toward a mountaintop experience, an apex in the story that we’ve been telling since the beginning of the year. We invite Your Holy Spirit to apply these things into our own lives that we might have eyes to see our own circumstances. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and that is home base and that is where you find out what’s going on around here. But it…it’s also we get connected.

So, there’s a Community section there and if you kind of browse or just navigate around you’ll see that there are a number of different links that can get you connected in different social media channels, as well as the Prayer Wall that lives there and is always on and is always open and always somebody around. And, so, it is a good place to ask for prayer, but it is also a good place to focus outwardly and offer prayer for your brothers and sisters who are in need. So, be sure to stay connected there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that dailyaudiobible.com. And thank you. Thank you so…so humbly, so very much for your partnership. So, there’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little ribbon at the top, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

1 Kings 1:1-53, Acts 4:1-37, Psalms 124:1-8, Proverbs 16:24

Today is the 6^th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is great to be here with you today. So, we find ourselves at an end and at a beginning. We are at the end of the week, but we are beginning a new book.

Introduction to the book of first Kings:

So, we concluded the book in the Old Testament, the book of second Samuel yesterday. So, just kinda trying to give us a little bit of an overview and a little bit of a look into the territory that we’re heading into. Let’s…let’s just kind of review. When we started first Samuel we talked about how first and second Samuel and then this book that we’re going into now, first Kings, first and second Kings, were all one document. First Samuel, second Samuel, first Kings, second Kings. So, they’ve been broken apart over time for various reasons and we talked about them in…in the books of Samuel but we’re not like heading into completely new territory. This was all one document. So, as we move into the book of first Kings, we will…we will immediately find the end of David’s reign and pick up the story with his son Solomon who will become king. And it’s a pretty dramatic story. And in the days ahead under Solomon’s reign we’re actually going to reach a mountaintop, like an apex, we’re gonna reach the height of everything we’ve been working for, working toward since the beginning of our year together. So, the Bible has led us through all different eras and stories and formation of a people, the Hebrew people, the people that He chose and we’ve met their leaders. And then in this recent time in the book of Samuel and stuff we saw kingship, right? So, we saw a monarchy emerge that had never existed before. But now the people of Israel have a king over them to rule all of the tribes. And Solomon will lead this era to its apex to the greatest time of ancient Israel. But before his reign is done a down…like we reached the top and we start going down the other side. And, so, a steady slide downward begins to happen. And before we’re done, we’ll watch a number of things happen. Israel will no longer be one nation before this is over. It will split apart into two - the northern kingdom of Israel the southern kingdom of Judah. And, at times they will even be at war with each other. They become two different people and they begin to head in two different directions. But before all of its over the slide will take them down the other side until there’s no kingdoms left. It’s going to take some time. We’ll read the stories and their details, but as we do read these stories, we’ll find that our lives are embedded into these stories. We often find ourselves in the same kind of back-and-forth, back-and-forth back and forth, back and forth that ends up kind of…well…bringing Israel to its own disintegration. But the same thing happens in our own lives. And, so, here we go. We’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week, which is today. First Kings chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us safely and successfully to the end of another week and safely, and successfully into some new territory, into a brand-new book in the Old Testament and we thank You for that. And Father, we mimic the Psalms today, “if You had not been on our side…if You had not been on our side what would we do? We would have been swallowed alive. The floodwaters would’ve swept us away. And, so, here at the end of the week we acknowledge You, that You have sustained us, that You have carried us, that although we have faced or maybe even are facing what we consider to be tremendous difficulties, if You weren’t here we wouldn’t be talking about it we would have been utterly washed away. You have sustained us, and we put our trust in You. We surrender to You. You can fight our battles, but we can’t. So, our hope is in You. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.