Final Thoughts to the Berean Class In this message Rick reflects on the idea of transitions in life, and looks briefly at key transitions throughout redemptive history, from Jacob's blessing of his sons to the Apostle John's words to those he loved late in his life and ministry. In this final Sunday that Rick will be teaching the Berean class, he shares from his own heart about his teaching the class over the past years, and lessons he's learned that will be helpful to the class at it moves forward in the weeks and months ahead. (49 min)

Keywords Faith, Serve, Remembering

Psalm 18:6-24 Continuing our study of David's psalm celebrating his deliverance, we considered what happened when David cried out to God in his suffering. What was David trying to say about God's response with his very vivid description of an angry God flying down to deliver him? Is David saying that we always experience immediate deliverance when we cry out to God in our affliction? David makes some very bold claims about himself as to why God delighted in him. If we are reluctant to make such claims about ourselves, does that mean that we can take no comfort from this psalm? We know that David had a number of very significant moral lapses. How could he claim to have been "blameless" and to have kept the Lord before him? Can we have confidence in God's delighting in us? (49 min.)

Keywords Deliverance, Righteousness, David, Saul

Psalm 18:1-6 In looking at this psalm we find David full of love for the God who has delivered him from his terrible struggles. What imagery from David's life experiences does he use to express what God has been to him in his distress? What is the habit that David has established in his life? How is David's God different from the gods of the nations around him? What was David's crisis like? How long did it last? Does God always act when we cry out to Him in our distress? We all know people who have suffered much more than we have. What is a mistake we often make when we compare our suffering to that of others? (41 min.)

Keywords Suffering, Deliverance

Psalm 18 (Intro) In this lesson we take an introductory look at Psalm 18. This was a psalm apparently composed by David after his deliverance from the pursuit of King Saul. It is believed that David also used this psalm in celebration after other great deliverances in his life. What are some of the things about David and his life which serve as a background to the imagery and metaphors David uses in this psalm? What was David like as a person? What are a couple of things that are important to remember about suffering and deliverance as we begin to consider this psalm? What was very unusual about David's expression of love for God? What should we keep in mind when we openly confess to God our love for him? (38 min.)

Keywords David, Saul, Deliverance