This is the study guide for the thirteenth and final installment of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version(coming soon!) to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 13.

Passing the Mantle

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. (2 Kings 2:13-15, NIV)

Relationships are the life line of the Christian faith. Christianity is, at its core, a relationship with the Creator through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is also relationships with others through our common Lord, example, and teacher, Jesus. Loving God with all our being and loving others as we love ourselves is the focus, purpose, and end of all that the Scriptures teach. This is how the mantle of a living faith is passed from one generation to the next and this is how Elijah spent the last decade of his fourteen year ministry.Read More »Study Guide XIII – Passing the Mantle

This is the study guide for the twelfth installment of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version(coming soon!) to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 12.

When God Disappoints Us

“What are you doing here, Elijah? . . . I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” (I Kings 19:9- 10, NIV)

I came very close to leaving the ministry. It was in my first full time church. I served for three years and during that time our church in Texas saw incredible growth. Large numbers of people came to Christ and the church expanded considerably. Unfortunately, the “powers to be” in this century old church felt threatened by the growth and changes and engineered a church vote based on absentee ballots, many of which came from out of town and out of state. As a result I was terminated as pastor.Read More »Study Guide XII – When God Disappoints Us

This is the study guide for the eleventh installment of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 11.

Rock Bottom

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die.” (I Kings 19:3-4, NIV)

“. . . he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness” is a telling phrase as we read Elijah’s story in I Kings, chapter nineteen. The emphasis of the writer is clearly on the fact that the prophet is now alone, all alone. Collapsing under a broom tree in the middle of nowhere he hits rock bottom, praying for God to end his life.Read More »Study Guide XI – Rock Bottom

This is the study guide for the tenth week of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 10.

“Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice . . . meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling.” (I Kings 19: 38, 45, NIV)

After three and one half years of obscurity and hiding, Elijah emerges to challenge the prophets of Baal to a very public showdown.  Mount Carmel, one of the most fertile places in Israel, is where the confrontation between God’s prophet and the false prophets of Baal took place.Read More »Study Guide X – Fire and Rain

This is the study guide for the ninth week of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 9.

The Spirit of Jezebel

Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” (I Kings 18:19, NIV)

My wife gave me a birthday card a few years back. On the front cover was a picture of a lion seated on a throne. The card read, Happy Birthday to the King! When the card was opened a lioness popped out from behind the throne and the inside of the card read; From the power behind the throne.Read More »Study Guide IX – The Spirit of Jezebel

This is the study guide for the eight week of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 8.

Trouble Makers

Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

“I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have.

(I Kings 18: 16-18, NIV)

To Tell the Truth is one of the most popular television game shows in American history with twenty five seasons and six decades of air time. The object of the show is simple. Four celebrity panelists seek to identify a person with a unique occupation. The “real” person is accompanied by two impostors and the celebrity panel tries to guess who he or she is by asking a series of questions of the three challengers. The imposters are allowed to lie, but the central character must always “tell the truth”.Read More »Study Guide VIII – Trouble Makers

This is the study guide for the seventh week of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 7.

In the celebrity driven popular culture of our day, God through His Son, Jesus Christ, is calling us to become anti-celebrities.

The Greatest of All

“Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” I Kings 17:24, NIV

Who is Paris Hilton? I wonder how most of us would answer that question? For me, she is clearly a sign of the growing phenomenon in recent years of the celebutante, someone who is famous for being famous. In this sense, she serves as a living metaphor of the signs of the times and the popular culture in which we live. In today’s world, anyone can reach celebrity status. In fact, in a real sense many today are legends in their own minds, posting their celebrity illusion (or is that delusion?) on Facebook with status updates, pictures, and profiles that are frankly just TMI (Too Much Information) for those of you who are OOS (Out of Style).Read More »Study Guide VII – The Greatest of All

This is the study guide for the sixth week of the Elijah Series.  You can read it below, or download a pdf version to review or print.  Click here to download or listen to the sermon for Part 6.

The Refining Place

“How badly do you want me?” This is the question God is asking those who are seeking Him in these days of spiritual drought. Jesus counsels us as he did the church at Laodecia to buy gold refined in the fire. Painful? Yes. But worth it.Read More »Study Guide VI – The Refining Place