Temptations today come from all sides. They’re strongest when we’re tired, or confused, or discouraged. God gives us help against temptation, but He does so through His Word. This message looks at what Jesus’ victory over temptation can teach us about how to use the Bible to live the way God has called us to.
Matthew 4:1-11 // [outline]
The good news message about Jesus stresses faith so much that people can think that God sends people to heaven as long as they’re not atheists. As a result, you have mobsters who pray before they commit murder and people whose lives seem to completely contradict what they say they believe. This message looks at how James clarifies saving faith in contrast to dead faith and the faith of demons. In the process, we learn how to evaluate our own faith and find assurance that we don’t cling to a false hope.
So much of our lives can be traced back to a hunger for acceptance. We devote ourselves to people and causes to show that we’re worthy of acceptance. And we fixate on things that we’ve said or done that might threaten our acceptance. But how does God see us? How can we know if God will accept us? What standard does He use? This message looks at one of Jesus’ famous stories about a Pharisee and a tax collector and considers what it teaches us about our yearning for acceptance and the grace God offers us.
The Bible contains some remarkable accounts of people whose lives were dramatically changed. It also shows people who are stuck and never seem to progress. This message looks at the amazing transformation of Matthew, and how Jesus spoke with those who sat on the sidelines while others chose to follow.<Intro>
For most of Solomon’s life, it seemed as if he could take steps of compromise without consequence. Eventually, however, his sins caught up with him and he tasted the bitter fruit of his choices. This message looks at the dimensions of God’s anger and how it should affect how we live.
Selena Gomez sang, “The Heart Wants What It Wants,” and Elvis Presley gave us, “It Feels so Right. How can it be wrong?” And yet in the Bible, God repeatedly warns that certain love relationships are out of bounds. One of those is between Christians and non-Christians. This message looks at Solomon’s dating habits and why God cares enough to interfere in our love lives.
Solomon started off with a desire to lead the nation well and to bless those he was called to serve. In the end, he became lost in the pursuit of more. This message examines his life for principles that can nurture our contentment when we can’t seem to get enough.
Intelligence and know-how is rewarded in our society. But when people start to applaud our contribution, we can use our wisdom selfishly and lose sight of who we are and what we’ve been created to do. This message, focused on the Queen of Sheba’s famous visit to King Solomon, gives us 3 questions to ask when people start to applaud.
Everyone longs for the good times, but they never seem to last. Why is that? In this sermon, we examine Solomon in his glory days as King of Israel; we see the absolute power he had and the real dangers he faced. From Solomon’s good times, we learn how Christians should think and act when seeking or living in their good times.
Unfortunately, it is not an uncommon thing to see people who grew up in the church and always had the right answers walk away from their faith completely. This message looks at how although Solomon had all the right answers, was a great leader, and heard from God directly, he still didn’t get a free pass. This should serve as both a warning of what things do not equate to salvation and a reassurance of what it is that we can truly trust in.
Our prayers often resemble shopping lists of things we want from a divine vending machine in the sky. And our relationship with God and His working in our lives are stunted when they do. This message looks at Solomon’s prayer when he dedicated the temple and how it should shape our own prayers today.
Casual Friday has become Casual Every Day, and we can often bring the same casual attitude toward how we approach and think about God. This passage looks at how to think about God’s holiness and approach Him with the reverence He deserves.
In today’s message, we’ll look at a conversation Jesus had with one of his disciples just prior to leaving this earth. Jesus was trying to give him (and all of us) critical truths to be able to spiritually flourish this side of heaven – so that we might make a difference for Him.
The pandemic has made us spend more time in our homes, and home renovations and home purchases are hotter than ever. Solomon’s greatest accomplishment was building a house for God, but it was overshadowed by the castle he built for himself. This message looks at how we can know when our priorities are out of balance and what we can do about them.
We long to feel the presence of God, but we’re often at a loss as to how to experience it. God gave clues in the construction of Solomon’s temple that show us how we can know God’s nearness in our lives today.
Relationships are a foundational part of life. Whether it is our spouse, parents, siblings, friends, or co-workers, we all depend on relationships. Sadly, despite their importance, relationships can be so hard to forge, develop, and maintain. In this sermon, we move past the world’s advice, dig into Scripture, and learn what God says about how we should approach our various relationships.
People who are skilled in organization and administration are critical to the blessing and effectiveness of the church. But they’re often misunderstood and face unique temptations. This message looks at what we can learn by understanding Solomon’s skills as a leader and the blessings and inclinations that accompanied them.
We all have times in our lives when we feel like we don’t measure up. In the life of Solomon, he realized as a young king that the shoes of his father David were just too big to fill on his own. This message looks at what we need to do in these moments, the importance of humility before God, and what true wisdom looks like when it is applied.
The words we leave our children have a profound influence on what they believe and how they will live. And yet we often spend too little time reflecting on those words or choosing them wisely. This message looks at David’s final words to his son Solomon and what we can learn from them to better impact those who will come after us.
1 Kings 2:1-12 // [outline]
We learn to procrastinate early, but as we grow older, we can put off the inevitable and fail to deal with important decisions in life. This message looks at how King David’s incredible legacy was almost destroyed by his failure to think ahead and take steps to prepare for the future.
