Category 11 – Book of 1 Kings: Kingdom Divided

Oct 1 2009

Storyline #60: 1 Kings 17-22 “gods vs. God: time to put up or shut up”

4---titleFree resources for youth pastors and small group leaders:
4 – 1 Kings 17-22 – Elijah Mt. Carmel (mp3)
4 – 1 Kings 17-22 – Elijah Mt Carmel (fillout sheet)
4 – 1 Kings 17-22 – Elijah Mt Carmel (ppt)
4 – 1 Kings 17-22 – Elijah Mt Carmel (Scripture)
4 – 1 Kings 17-22 – Elijah Mt Carmel (outline)
4 – 1 Kings 17-22 – Elijah Mt Carmel (service order)
1 Kings Sermon Intro Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LSGZNhiA7E
A highly respected Christian leader (who I know well) got a call from a church in his state.  The church asked him to send them a good pastoral candidate for their open senior pastor position.  The Sunday the pastor candidate preached to that church (an all-white church), a family of a different nationality came down front to join the church.  The all-white church denied their membership, and because of it, the pastor candidate refused the position.  The church called the Christian leader again asking for another pastor candidate.  The leader then told them, “You already have a pastor, and it’s the Devil!”

There are times in our lives that we call sin, a struggle, a habit, or just a phase…when in reality we are worshipping other gods than the real God through Christ.  So listen up as you may be worshipping Satan through different gods rather than Jesus.   Continue reading →

Sep 24 2009

Storyline #59: 1 Kings 11-16 “Kingdom Divided: How Christ Reunites Relationships”

3---TitleFree resources for youth pastors and small group leaders:

1 Kings Sermon Intro Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LSGZNhiA7E

3 – 1 Kings 11-16 – Kingdom Divided (mp3)

3 – 1 Kings 12-16 – Kingdom Divided (fillout sheet)

3 – 1 Kings 11-16 – Kindom Divided (ppt)

3 – 1 Kings 12-16 – Kingdom Divided (outline)

3 – 1 Kings 12-16 – Kingdom Divided (order of service)

One of the most ridiculously cheesy magic tricks can be when a magician cuts their assistant in half.  But there are versions of this that are so good I can’t explain.  Penn and Teller’s version is like an explanation to the audience of how magicians do it, but their twist comes when they “accidentally” turn one half of the girl sideways and her “guts” fall out.  David Blaine is my most favorite.  He doesn’t cut the girl in half, but he pulls her in half while in a public park on a park bench.  The bottom half of her then stands up, and her top half army-crawls away because she’s so freaked out.  YouTube it!

An even more shocking act of being torn apart is God’s Kingdom.  How do we explain an all-powerful, all-wise, and all-loving seeming to allow His solemn covenant to be torn into pieces?  How does God’s Kingdom getting divided even make sense?  Many of us as Christians have broken relationships.  How does that make sense for Christians?  Continue reading →

Sep 17 2009

Storyline #58: 1 Kings 5-11 “cbsMtv Cribs: Checkin Out God’s House”

2---titleFree resources for youth pastors and small group leaders:

2 – 1 Kings 5-11 – Solomon Temple (mp3)

2 – 1 Kings 5-11 – Solomon Temple (fillout sheet)

2 – 1 Kings 5-11 – Solomon Temple (ppt)

2 – 1 Kings 5-11 – Solomon Temple (outline)

2 – 1 Kings 5-11 – Solomon Temple (Scripture)

2 – 1 Kings 5-11 – Solomon Temple (service order)

            One of the most amazing houses I’ve ever seen is Tiger Woods’.  Is it me, or is there just something sweet about living on the ocean, swimming in a pool overlooking that ocean, having colored-neon lights in your ceiling, and just having the ability to get lost in your own house?!  People can use houses today to represent themselves by how much money the make, their style, how big their family is, and where they live.  What about God?  Is He represented by His house?  Does He even still have a house?  If so, His house has got to be the most important and incredible house in the whole world!  His house is still around today.  Let’s look at where it is and what it has to do with you.  Continue reading →

Sep 3 2009

Storyline #57: 1 Kings 1-4 “Don’t Be Stupid: Understanding What God’s Wisdom Is”

kingdomdividedtitleFree files for youth pastors and small group leaders:

1 – 1 Kings 1-4 – Solomon Wisdom (mp3)

1 – 1 Kings 1-4 – Solomon Wisdom (fillout sheet)

1 – 1 Kings 1-4 – Solomon Wisdom (ppt)

1 – 1 Kings 1-4 – Solomon Wisdom (Scripture)

1 – 1 Kings 1-4 – Solomon Wisdom (outline)

I love to brag on my church…ahem, boast in Christ on my church!  We have some seriously smart people around here in the Huntsville, AL area.  Half of the church’s email addresses are “@nasa.gov”.  We have someone in our church with a masters degree in “theater campaign war strategies” from West Point who helped plan the attack on Iraq.  We have a video game programmer who designs situational combat games for the army.  We have a guy in our church with well over 10 U.S. patents in his name in the area of diffusing bombs.  Apparently, when the L.A. bomb squad has a question, they call him!  Even our students talk smack about who made the highest 30 on their ACTs.  Nerd alert!

The main truth when taking a look at 1 Kings 1 – 4 is wisdom.  I think at times an educated society can become complacent in its intelligence and knowledge which will, in turn, hinder us from becoming truly wise.  Wisdom is far different than facts and smarts.  Continue reading →