Checking Under the Hood: Prayer Pastor Todd focused, not on the “how” or “what” of prayer, but the “why.” He laid out five reasons why we should pray: Because God tells us to (and that is reason enough!), because Jesus prayed, because communication is vital to...
1 Kings 22:41-53(2 Chronicles 17:1—21:1)Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat was a good king over Judah: He loved God and pursued Him. He lived by and spread God’s word. He relied on the Lord’s strength instead of his own. He hated and courageously opposed idolatry. But he was not a perfect...
1 Kings 22:1-40Ahab’s Demise On his own initiative, King Ahab laid a plan to attack Ramoth-Gilead, even enlisting the help of King Jehoshaphat of Judah. When Jehoshaphat suggested inquiring of the Lord before the armies set out, Ahab assembled 400 yes-men who claimed to be prophets. They...
1 Kings 21:17-29Ahab’s “Repentance” The LORD spoke words of judgment to Ahab through Elijah, and in response, Ahab tore his clothes, donned sackcloth, and fasted. Pastor Dave took issue with the heading added by the editors of the ESV: Ahab’s Repentance. Dave argued that...
1 Kings 21:1-16Ahab’s Response to God’s Rebuke In last week’s passage, King Ahab was confronted by a son of the prophets; he left that meeting vexed and sullen. In this week’s passage, we discover that his response did not change over the days and weeks that followed...
The Love of Christmas God loves us. This truth is foundational, Pastor Dave said, and he acknowledged that nothing he had to say about God’s love would be new to us. But he helped us slow down and bask in the wonders of God’s love as displayed at Christmas by explaining five...
The Joy of Christmas Pastor Dave introduced the subject of joy by saying that everybody experiences joy at times. They feel joy, he said, when they win the lottery (or a new car on a gameshow) or when their child hits a homerun or when they open a Christmas gift and find exactly what they...
1 Kings 19:9-18“What Are You Doing Here, Elijah?” After the spiritual high on Mt. Carmel, Elijah plunged into a crisis of faith. He had stood before the Lord and been zealous for Him, but the death threat from Jezebel led him to think his ministry was a failure. Disillusioned...
1 Kings 19:1-8Elijah Flees Jezebel When Jezebel, the pagan wife of evil King Ahab, hears about the slaying of the 450 prophets of Baal, she is infuriated. She swears by her little-g gods that she will kill Elijah within 24 hours. We expect Elijah to laugh in the face of her threat. After all...
1 Kings 18:41-46The Lord Sends Rain After the dramatic showdown between Yahweh and Baal, the people of the northern kingdom of Israel fell down and acknowledged, “Yahweh – He is God!” Later, Elijah bowed to the ground before the Lord with his face between his knees, appealing...