Kyle Dillard and the Church Band: Blog

Jan 31,2011

Today was a great day. I helped get some things ready here at the hotel for all the guest coming to town for OCC. Then I went to the airport to assist in getting everyone on the buses. This may seem menial anywhere else in the world but not here. Getting from the plane to the parking lot is a nightmare. There are people everywhere trying to get money from you. They try and grab your bag and when they get to your car insist you give them money. Of course when you do it's not enough and they want more. 20$ seems to be the correct number for them. So I was there to help "Navigate" that experience. it wasn't too bad today and I got away with only loosing five dollars.

As a side note I lost my new Oakley glasses Todd Meredith hooked me up with yesterday. One of the drivers found them in his car and gave them back today so I did give him $20 for that. Someone gave me some money before I left and said "give this away if you find someone you think might need it". So [...]

Haiti-today was my first day in the country. It's worse than I expected.

Ok, we're up to chapter and 4 and this is where things really get good. This is the chapter that will define a turning point in the life of Israel for the next several years. Actually until David becomes King. But we'll get to that later in our study. SO... go read chapter 4 in 1st Samuel before going further in this blog.

Backdrop:
God has told Eli and Samuel that he is going to blot out Eli's family line because of his son's wickedness and Eli's inability to reign them in. He tells Eli he will know this is true when both of his son's die on the same day. So in this chapter we see this come to pass.

Outline:
Essentially Israel goes to war with the Philistines. They are the people group where we get the story of David and Goliath. That's coming later. Israel is getting beaten bad and they send the Ark of the Covenant out into the fight thinking it will save them. You know what the ark is if you've seen "Raiders of the lost ark". However, their plan backfires and the Ark is [...]

So we are up to chapter 3 in our weekly study of Samuel at band rehearsal each week. This week was eye opening for all of us. As JT put it, "this is one of the scariest chapters in the bible" referring to God's judgment on Eli's family because of their sin. Especially the part where God tells Eli in verse 13 "For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them". That is a terrifying thing to hear from God. Am I overlooking something in my child's life that needs to be addressed? Am I under-parenting in how I am holding them accountable? How am I disciplining my children in order to make them more like Christ? All great questions. I'm leaving those to be answered by you the parent.

I'm excited to hear from someone else this week on their perspective of Chapter 3. God spoke to Tracy in another way and I wanted to share it with you guys. Here's what she wrote below.
-Kyle

[...]

This is week 2 in our study of Samuel. We as a band started last week studying the book of 1st Samuel at rehearsal. Each week we'll be reading out loud the next chapter in Samuel and then I'll blog about it so that anyone who wasn't at rehearsal or anyone who wants to following along can. Please go and read chapter 2 in Samuel before you read this blog.

(Overview)
As we learned last, Hannah prayed and asked for a son. God answered her prayer and this chapter starts off with a song that Hannah wrote. It's a worship song praising God for His faithfulness. If you go back and read chapter one, and then read the words to her song again, you can get a better sense of her enthusiasm for God's faithfulness. The chapter however takes a turn about halfway through. Eli's sons are not following God's commands. So, a man comes to Eli and gives him a word from the Lord. The word is that Eli's sons are going to die and that God is going to blot out Eli's family line. He says Eli will know [...]