Speaking Judgement

2 Kings 2:23-25 

Good morning! Today our main passage is just three verses of scripture, one briefly recorded event in the life of Elisha, as a part of our series on Elisha. Following a discussion of this passage, we will spend time remembering our Lord Jesus through the bread and cup, and then we will have our monthly sharing time, an opportunity for all of us to share what the Lord has been teaching us and helping us to do in this past month.

Today’s passage is considered a “hard” passage by many people – hard to understand, hard to reconcile with our understanding of God, hard to square with general things we might say about the overall message of Scripture – and because of this, one might be tempted to kind of “tack it on” at the end of another message on a longer section of Scripture about Elisha and only gloss over this passage, claiming that time limits a more detailed discussion.

I didn’t want us to do this, because I really believe 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which states that all Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. I really like how this is worded in the New Living Translation, going back to verse 15:

Taking up the Mantle

Kings 2:12-22

Good Morning!  We will continue today with our series on the prophet Elisha.  Last week, Carl set the stage for us with an overview of Old Testament history from the time of King David through the first part of ministry of the prophet Elijah, a period of about 150 years.  Yes, we really heard about 150 years of history from David until Elijah.  Actually, it is only about 100 years from David’s death until the beginning of Elijah’s ministry; literally, a drop in the bucket of time.  I think for me I expect it to be far removed because that century span begins with the pinnacle moment of the temple of God being completed at Jerusalem.  Spiritually and politically, the people are united.  But just 30 years later, the united kingdom of the twelve tribes of Israel has been divided into two nations, Israel in the north and Judah in the south.  In 24 more years, the dynasty of Jeroboam, king of Israel, is ended violently with the death of his son.  Twenty six years after that, the succeeding dynasty is ended violently after only two kings.  The next king lasted only 7 days before he burned the palace in Tirzah down around himself.  The following king moved the capital of Israel to Samaria.  King Ahab was his son.

Becoming a Disciple

I Kings 19:9-21

Welcome! I am excited to begin a new series, a series on the life of the prophet Elisha. If you don’t know much about Elisha or where he fits into the chronology of the Old Testament, don’t worry; that is one of the things we are going to talk about today. We will also look at the events surrounding his becoming a disciple, or follower, or student, of the prophet Elijah.

Now, all of Old Testament history is linked, so it is difficult to know where to begin. But I think a good place to start is with David. The story of David and his son, Solomon, are described in I and II Samuel and I Kings. During their reign, we see the establishment of a kingdom that seeks, from the very top (meaning the king), to worship, follow, and obey God. It did not come without trials or without hardship – David had to deal with Saul, who did not follow God and tried to have David killed, and David also had to deal with border wars. But as time went on, the kingdom was established and stabilized, and under Solomon there was a time of peace and the first Temple of God was built, a place where God, in His glorious Spirit actually took up residence.

Gentle Restoration

John 21:1-25

Good morning! Today we finish our more-than-year-long journey through the book of John. We began back in January 2012. We haven’t gone through John non-stop; we have had a series on love and relationships, a short series called Broken and Made Whole (on the cross and on the resurrection), a series on Law and Grace (looking at the Mosaic Law and on the book of Galatians), a series on Titus, and a short Christmas series. Together these other series might have taken roughly 6 months, but the remaining 9 months or so have been in John.

You could rightly call the first chapter of John a prolog to the book. It lays out the major themes. Recall: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. – John 1:1-4