Illuminate Community Church

This Sunday, we will continue to see Israel’s descent into sin and idolatry. Even after Jeroboam’s dynasty ends, his legacy unfortunately lives on. Each of the kings after him “walk in the way of Jeroboam and his sin.” As Jason has covered in our series, Jeroboam introduced two golden calves to the northern kingdom’s worship of God after they broke off from Judah. Every king after Jeroboam is condemned for continuing in his sin. But what is it about this act that is so offensive to God? It reveals that Israel had a profound misunderstanding of the character of God. Another question we might ask is, what does this have to do with my life today? We will explore this together on Sunday.As we get to the end of chapter 16, we see a development in the overarching narrative of 1 Kings. King Ahab is introduced. He, alongside his wife Jezebel, introduce Baal worship to Israel. This is a significant moment in the history of Israel and poses a great threat to Israel’s identity as the people who belong to and worship the LORD alone. This sets the stage for the rest of the book. As we would expect, God does not sit idly by and allow this to happen. He raises up one of the greatest prophets of the entire Bible, Elijah. Elijah confronts Ahab and the LORD shows his dominance over Baal. Even as this chapter reminds us of God’s greatness and how he transcends his creation, it also shows us how he draws near and is faithful to his people. Chapter 17 ends with an account of Elijah’s time lodging with a widow and her son. Here we see that God provides abundantly for the widow and shows his care for the least of these. These chapters together remind us that the God who is over all things is also the God who is for us. His greatness is never opposed to his goodness.

We’ve got some sobering passages ahead this Sunday. We'll see what happens when God’s people continue down the path of disobedience - sin spreads, families suffer, and kingdoms decline. King after king fails to follow God wholeheartedly. King Jeroboam never told the people to stop worshiping God; he simply created a way to worship God on his own terms. There’s a warning there for all of us about how easily we can reshape our faith around what is comfortable or convenient. It is man’s tendency to create God in his own image.But in the middle of all this failure, we find a beautiful word in 1 Kings 15:4: “Nevertheless, for David’s sake…” God’s people are repeatedly unfaithful, but God remains faithful to His promises. Kings fail, the nation struggles, but God’s purposes continue moving forward. Ultimately, that promise leads us to Jesus, the Son of David and the King who never fails.As I’ve studied these chapters, I’ve been reminded that we all follow someone. We may follow our desires, fears, success, approval, or simply ourselves. So the question I want us to consider Sunday is: Who is your King? My prayer is that we will be reminded again that our hope is not in our ability to be faithful enough, but in the faithfulness of Jesus. He is our true and perfect King.

This Sunday we’re digging into chapters 12 and 13. This is the sad story of Israel's division and the failures of two kings. Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, is given a chance to unite the people. Unfortunately, he doesn’t listen to wise counsel. Instead, he follows his friends' advice, responds harshly, and loses most of the kingdom. His story challenges us to ask: Are we genuinely looking for wisdom, or simply looking for someone to affirm what we have already decided?Jeroboam, who becomes king over the ten northern tribes, faces a different temptation. Rehoboam’s problem is pride; Jeroboam’s problem is fear. Afraid of losing the kingdom God had given him, Jeroboam takes matters into his own hands. This never ends well. He creates a false system of worship rather than trusting God’s promise. Yet even through their foolish decisions, God remains sovereign and accomplishes what He had already said He would do.By chapter 13, God confronts Jeroboam, but he refuses to turn from his rebellion. Astonishingly, even the prophet who confronts him eventually fails to obey God's clear command. Three people, three different circumstances, but the same fundamental problem: God has spoken, and they chose another voice. Most of us already know where God has spoken, and where our lives aren't in sync with His Word. If you’re like me, the question isn't, “What is God saying to me?” but “What am I going to do about what God has already said?”

I hate to say it, but this Sunday we come to one of the saddest turns in the story of Solomon. After weeks of seeing Israel experience incredible prosperity, security, and blessing, we arrive at 1 Kings 11. Everything begins to unravel. What makes Solomon’s story so sobering is that his downfall doesn’t happen overnight. The cracks had been forming in his heart long before they became visible in his life.As I’ve studied through this passage, I’ve been struck by the connection between what we love and what we worship. Solomon knew God’s commands, yet he allowed his love for foreign women to turn his heart toward other gods. His worship became divided. His story reminds us that spiritual drift often begins with a small compromise or something we think we can safely manage.But even in Solomon’s failure, we see God’s faithfulness. God judges Solomon’s sin but keeps His covenant with David. In the end, we are ultimately pointed toward the greater Son of David, Jesus. Solomon’s heart was divided; Jesus’ heart was completely devoted to the Father. My hope this Sunday is that we will examine our own hearts, recognize where we may be drifting, and find our hope in the faithful King whose heart never turns away.

This Sunday, we’ll see Solomon at the height of his reign. His wisdom, influence, and wealth are so great that the Queen of Sheba travels a great distance to see it for herself. What she discovers is even greater than she expected, and she ultimately recognizes that Solomon’s greatness is a gift from God. This was God’s intention all along. Solomon’s life reminds us that what God gives us is meant to point people beyond ourselves to Him.But beneath all the success, something is happening in Solomon’s heart. Chapter 10 shows us his incredible accomplishments, while chapter 11 reveals where his heart has been heading. It is both sad and sobering. It’s possible to be successful on the outside while slowly drifting from God on the inside. As we look at Solomon’s story, we’ll consider two questions: What am I accumulating that is slowly becoming what I trust instead of God? And is my success making much of God, or is it making much of me?Ultimately, we’ll be reminded that Jesus is the One who is greater than Solomon. He is the King whose heart never turned away from the Father, and in Him we have the embodiment of the wisdom of God.

Our Sunday study brings us to1 Kings chapter 9. This passage asks us to wrestle with a question that is incredibly relevant to all of us: What is success? Solomon certainly looks like he has it all. He has completed the temple, built his palace, expanded his kingdom, accumulated wealth, and established international influence. By almost every human measure, Solomon is succeeding. But when God speaks to him, He doesn’t congratulate him on what he has built. Instead, God speaks to him about his heart. This really caught my attention because it’s easy for us to become so focused on what we are accomplishing that we forget to pay attention to what is happening inside of us.We can look at our careers, families, finances, ministries, or achievements and assume that if those things are going well, then we must be doing well spiritually. But God sees something deeper. Solomon is building an impressive kingdom, while God is looking for a heart that is wholly devoted to Him. This causes us to ask the question: While we are building the life we want, what kind of person are we becoming?Success isn't ultimately about what we accomplish with our hands, but about who we are becoming. God’s desire is that we would be a church whose hearts remain wholly devoted to Jesus. Because at the end of our lives, the most important things are not what we build, but what has been built in us.

This week we’re continuing our journey through 1 Kings chapter 8. We'll read Solomon’s beautiful prayer at the dedication of the temple. What strikes me about this prayer is how clearly Solomon understands that Israel’s greatest need isn’t simply relief from difficult circumstances. Their real need is forgiveness. Solomon knows that God’s people will sin, experience the consequences of their sin, and yet, when they turn back to God, they can trust that He hears them and forgives them. That is an incredibly hopeful picture of the character of God: He is holy enough to take our sin seriously, but merciful enough to welcome us when we turn back to Him. Praise the Lord for this!As we walk through the prayer, we’ll see him describe many difficult circumstances from the nation's past. This includes defeat, drought, famine, sickness, and exile. But the response is remarkably consistent: turn toward God, confess your sin, and ask Him to hear and forgive. Solomon understands that sin can disrupt our fellowship with God and bring painful consequences, but it does not have to be the end of our relationship with Him. God calls His people to repentance. When we turn back to Him, He is faithful to forgive and restore.Ultimately, this passage points us toward the heart of the gospel. We don’t simply have a God who knows our sin; we have a God who has made a way for our sin to be forgiven through Jesus. And God’s goal is not merely to forgive us and leave us where we are. Solomon prays that God would “incline our hearts to Him” so that we would walk in His ways. My hope this week is that we would not hide from God when we sin. We are encouraged to turn toward Him, receive His forgiveness, and allow His grace to change the direction of our lives.

This Sunday we’ll continue our journey through 1 Kings as we come to chapter 8 and the dedication of Solomon’s temple. After 7 years of planning and construction, the temple is finally completed, the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Most Holy Place, and the glory of the Lord fills the temple. But as I’ve studied this chapter, I’ve been reminded that the building itself was never the point. The point was the presence of God among His people. That raises an important question for us: Are we keeping God at the center of all that we do?One of the things I love about this chapter is Solomon’s humility. When he looks at this incredible accomplishment, he doesn’t take the credit for himself. Instead, he looks back and says, “Look what God has done!” God had made promises generations earlier, and now Solomon was standing in the middle of their fulfillment. That is such a good reminder for us. We work, we plan, we lead, we sacrifice, and we play our part, but ultimately, God is the one who brings His purposes to pass. And I think there is something powerful about regularly stopping to remember how God has brought us to where we are.That’s especially meaningful to me as I think about our church. Every time we walk through the doors of Illuminate, we can be reminded of God’s faithfulness. The building is not sacred, and we never want to confuse a building with the presence of God, because Scripture tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. But the building itself can serve as a kind of memorial stone. It is a reminder of prayers answered, lives changed, people coming to faith, marriages restored, and the many ways He has been faithful to us. So this Sunday, I want us not only to look at what God did for Israel, but to look back at what God has done among us and say with grateful hearts, “Only God! Look how far You have brought us.

As we continue through 1 Kings this Sunday, we come to chapter 7 and examine the building of Solomon's palace, and the completion of the temple. What David had dreamed about, Solomon accomplished. Solomon had spent years preparing and building, and now the house of the Lord was finally finished. And yet, as I’ve spent time in this chapter, I’ve been struck by the tension between what Solomon was building and what we know was happening in Solomon’s heart.From the outside, there's so much to admire. Solomon was building the temple. He was leading Israel. He was experiencing incredible success. God had blessed him with wisdom, wealth, and influence. But if you're familiar with Solomon's story, you might know where it's heading. By chapter 11, Scripture will tell us that Solomon’s heart “was not wholly true to the LORD his God.” Somewhere along the way, a man who had done incredible things for God allowed other things to compete with God for his heart. I think there’s something deeply challenging about that. It’s possible to do things for God without growing closer to God. We can serve. We can give. We can know our Bibles. We can show up every Sunday. We can even accomplish things that genuinely honor God and still allow our hearts to slowly drift from Him. And sometimes the things competing for our hearts aren’t even bad things. A career. Success. Financial security. Comfort. Relationships. Recognition. Even good things can become competitors for our hearts when we give them a place that belongs to God alone.So, as I’ve studied 1 Kings 7 this week, I’ve found myself coming back to one question:What is competing with God for my heart?Jesus would later warn that no one can serve two masters. Eventually, something will have our greatest allegiance. This Sunday, we’ll explore that tension together in 1 Kings 7 and consider this truth:What we build for God can’t replace a heart that belongs to God.

This Sunday we’re continuing our journey through 1 Kings as we come to chapters 5 and 6. This is the beginning of Solomon’s work to build the temple. As I’ve been studying these chapters this week, I’ve been reminded that some of the most important things God does in our lives happen in seasons that don’t seem particularly significant. Before Solomon ever built the temple, there was a great deal of preparation: gathering materials, organizing people, forming partnerships, and simply doing the work that needed to be done. It’s a good reminder that God is often preparing us through the ordinary things long before we see how He intends to use them.I think that’s an important word for many of us. We can spend so much time looking ahead to what we hope God will do next that we miss what He has placed right in front of us today. Maybe your most important ministry right now is loving your family well, being faithful in your marriage, investing in your children, serving someone who needs you, or simply walking faithfully with Jesus in the ordinary rhythms of life. The question isn’t always, “What great thing is God going to do through me?” Sometimes it’s simply, “What has God given me the opportunity to be faithful in today?”And then, in the middle of all the magnificent details of the temple, God speaks to Solomon about something even more important than the building itself: obedience. It’s possible to build something impressive for God while neglecting our walk with God. We can serve, lead, teach, and do good things while our hearts slowly drift. So this Sunday, I want us to be reminded that God cares more about the obedience of the builder than the beauty of the building. My hope is that as we look at Solomon’s story, we’ll each ask a simple but important question: Am I just building something for God, or am I faithfully walking with God?