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Grace mercy, and peace to you from God our heavenly Father our Lord and

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Savior Jesus Christ.

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You may be seated.

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Our text for today from the third chapter of 1st Samuel begins with an

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odd little story.

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It unravels in almost comedic sort of way. The Lord calling on young

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Samuel several times and over and over Samuel fails to realize that is

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the voice of God. Instead

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he goes running to the priest to which he has been placed to serve to

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minister to. Mistakenly thinking that it was this priest Eli that called

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on the young boy Samuel goes to him see what it is that Eli is in need

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of.

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How Samuel might serve him.

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On the surface

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it might seem like a story of carrying out one's worldly vocation.

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There seems to be something more to this odd story. When we peel away

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the layers of the story and its characters.

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We find that the house of Eli is one that does not and will not know

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Salvation.

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This is not just buy a child's best

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guess this is not by the words of a prophet or even an angel.

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Samuel hears from the voice of the Lord himself. Who says the iniquity of

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Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.

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This house of Eli is beyond just being Samuels neighbor to love.

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It is beyond being his enemy this house of Eli is in fact Beyond hope

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Which made me wonder.

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If God were to appear right here right now and said to me that not a

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single one of you here in Chapel or watching online.

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And not one of you would eventually be saved.

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Would I finish my sermon

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would we bother finishing the service?

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If you were in that position if you were scheduled

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to give a sermon but God said to you not one of those that hear your

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word will be saved.

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Would you waste your time?

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Would you silence your voice?

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To be honest with you

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there's a part of me that says no that I probably wouldn't finish my

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sermon to the end that it might be better to just pack our bags cut our

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losses and head home.

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But that's not the example were given in Samuel.

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Despite the sad fate of the House of Eli Samuel continues to serve in

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their midst.

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He continues to serve this failed father in Eli will allowed his sons

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and his house to fall condemnation.

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He continues to receive God's word in this unholy of houses in the

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midst of these unbelievers.

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And in the same way that the Lord continued to call Samuel despite his

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failure to answer adequately.

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Samuel keeps the word of God known in this house of Eli even if that

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attempt might seem futile.

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We have that example in Samuel because that's the example that he has

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in his Lord in our Lord.

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We have a God that does not silence his voice at the first sign of

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disobedience or sin. God instead gives promise of restoration right

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there in the Garden of Eden following the very first sin.

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That God proves his Everlasting Love and steadfast Faith as his people

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with Israel and us continuously fail over and over and yet his grace

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abounds.

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The God who sends his one and only son into human flesh. The very flesh

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that becomes enemy of the spirit of God to become like us to become

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for us.

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Son who willingly leaves the heavens and leaves his father's side to

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reveal not only himself to us, but to reveal his glorious plan of

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Salvation.

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To become sin for us. To live for us. To die for us. To rise again for

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us.

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To become hope for us.

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A God who seeks the poor the lost the sick that all might be gathered

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under the blood of his Son in his kingdom.

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A God who becomes manifest amongst sinners, us. That we might take hope

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in his resurrection.

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Jesus Christ Our Lord.

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But that hope of eternal life in him isn't just for some far-off

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future.

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It's for today right now.

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For what purpose?

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So that today and every day that we might make that hope of

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Salvation in Jesus Christ known to all who are in our midst.

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Regardless of who they are.

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Be it our friends our neighbors

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or even our enemies as the house of Eli was to God.

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So perhaps the story in today's reading isn't so odd after all. Maybe

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in fact, it's a blueprint of how a Christian should live.

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But when the Lord calls on us that we immediately run to our neighbor,

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especially that neighbor who is lacking in Hope.

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To run to our neighbor to seek, to serve them in whatever way we can.

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This is what is modeled by the young prophet Samuel.

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Because this is what is modeled the Holy Son of God our Lord Jesus

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Christ.

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Amen.

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May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the

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Father. Continuing with the Holy Spirit be with you always. Amen.