Christ PCA Temecula

This week we look at the book of James where James tells us to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds because the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. It’s through trials that God shapes us and instead of trying to escape them, we should embrace them. Trials are the soil in which hope and joy and peace are grown. It is through trials we find true joy, knowing that we have a savior, that our sins are forgiven, and that we have an inheritance in heaven.

After following the exploits of King Ahab and Elijah’s confrontational ministry, this week Ahab’s life ends. One theme emphasized in this book is whether the king and the people will hear and obey God’s Word, just as we are continually challenged; do we let ourselves be confronted by a Word outside of us or do we prefer to have our ears tickled by a word we want to hear. This dramatic story reminds us this is the perennial question for every generation in the church.

This Sunday in 1 Kings 21 we begin to see the demise of King Ahab. In a defining scene of his character, Ahab stands by as a faithful Israelite is murdered in order to take his land. This passage gives us a deeper understanding of God, reminding us that our God sees oppression and injustice in this world. And astonishingly as Elijah comes back on the scene, God interrupts sinners bent on their own destruction in extending mercy to the least deserving.

This Sunday, we look at the aftermath of Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Instead of revival and faithfulness sweeping through Israel, nothing seems to have changed. Queen Jezebel is only more committed to putting an end to Elijah who enters the wilderness discouraged in the lack of fruitfulness of his own ministry. Here we see compassion and tenderness as God ministers to His prophet; refreshing and reorienting Elijah, equipping him for his return to Israel with a fresh reminder of God’s sovereignty and His covenant faithfulness.

In this week’s passage, Elijah confronts King Ahab and the 450 prophets of Baal. During this time of Israel’s profound spiritual darkness, God is patient and merciful. Through his sustaining work of band of prophets hidden away from Ahab and Jezebel’s persecution to the confrontation of the false prophets of Baal, to the call to the Israelites back to faithfulness, we see God’s grace in the midst of his people’s sin and idolatry in a story that finds its culmination and perfection in the grace of God revealed in the person and work of Christ.

This Sunday we look at one of the most powerful passages in the Gospels that exhibits to us who Jesus is and what He has come to do. In John 8, Jesus brings us to see the depths of our needs and confronts us with the majesty of who He is; the one in whom our sins and are forgiven and in whom we find the most profound promise, that if we abide in Him, we will never taste death.

This week in Zechariah 3:1-5, we see a stunning picture of grace and God’s righteousness. Zechariah sees a vision of the high priest Joshua guilty of all charges brought against him, but he’s rescued by being clothed in clean garments given to him by the Lord. This vision communicates something important about our need and God’s provision: we can’t save ourselves. Our help is in the name of the Lord. We need a substitute, our Savior Jesus, to stand in for us where we’re found wanting.

This week, we explore the ministry of the prophet Elijah amidst the spiritual bankruptcy of the northern kingdom under King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Elijah leaves Israel after pronouncing judgment to the king, and God’s powerful Word is the move; being rejected in Israel it finds a place to be heard, even in the heart of Baal country. Elijah is a prophet of the God whose shows His power isn’t limited to Israel, but brings life to the world and Elijah’s story prepares us for our greater prophet, Jesus.

In our new series, “The Gospel According to Elijah and Elisha” we’ll look at the dramatic events that come out of the lives of these two prophets, to see where they fit in redemptive history and what that means for our lives. We’ll begin by looking at the spiritual darkness of Israel preceding the unexpected and unanticipated arrival of Elijah the prophet and how this ancient history from 1 Kings speaks to the destructiveness of sin, the interruption of God’s grace, and the anticipation of the better king to come.

We begin the new year with Psalm 84. “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord,” is a beautiful portion in Scripture that shapes and directs our hearts to find the fullness of life in God. Our culture spends so much time presenting alternative pictures of the good life with paltry visions of joy that do not satisfy and fleeting promises of security that leave us exposed to fear and anxiety. Psalm 84 reorients our hearts, minds, and desires to see the goodness of the Lord, our Sun and Shield.