Luke Cornelius - This sermon launches a term-long exploration of reform—not through politics or power, but through the word of the living God. Using the story of Elijah and a compromised Israel, we see how flirting with the world slowly leads to being conquered by it, and why the church’s unfaithfulness leaves a darkened world without hope. Yet alongside judgment comes real hope: God reforms his people and rescues the world by speaking truth that exposes sin, provokes repentance, and even brings life out of death. As the story opens, we are left asking whether God’s people will listen—and whether we will.