2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 and Mark 6:1-13.

We will see David off to a great start as King! Verse 9 declared that “he became more and more powerful.” In contrast, Jesus gets off to a very rough beginning in ministry in his hometown! “They rejected him,” and he can do only a few healings. By the time we are reading about Paul in 2 Corinthians, we see that the greatest of Apostles cannot be rid of “a thorn in the flesh.” And he speaks of being “strongest when he is weak.” Such wide ranging expressions of living the faith give us pause! “Did I read that correctly?” “What about MY thorn in the flesh?”

It’s a good thing to be together in worship so we can be reminded, as we look around the pews, that most everyone has had moments of power like King David and moments that just seem like unrelenting “thorns” stuck in either the body, the mind, or the spirit!

Worship doesn’t always give us power or explanations for pain, but surely points us toward the Person who can and will provide both of those needs! Jesus had an unbelieving hometown turn away from him but by the end of the Mark passage his disciples ARE doing the ministry of preaching and healing!

So, the final word for us, in spite of the “thorns” and “weakness” is that we can expect (fully hope) to make it through and in doing so….we do the work of God. What a King, an Apostle, and Disciples of the Master actually do when “all is said and done!”

All good reasons to worship and be together this Sunday! See you soon! Blessings!

Pastor Barry