Emily Bailey

Immanuel: God with Us 

Pastor Jim Thomas

Matthew 2:1-12

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. ‘What if Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?’”
– Dr. Seuss

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near:  a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” 
– Numbers 24:17

“The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them.”
– Isaiah 9:2

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!”
– Isaiah 14:12

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, 
Too little to be among the clans of Judah, 
From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. 
His goings forth are from long ago, 
From the days of eternity.”
– Micah 5:2

Moving from “Whatever…” to “What If?”

1. Spiritual curiosity  (v. 1-9)
2. Joyful pursuit  (v. 10)
3. Grateful devotion  (v. 11)
4. Dynamic obedience  (v. 12)

“If you’ve ever wondered how far the Lord would go to make sure you were His own, look down into the manger, look up onto the cross. There’s your answer.”
– Chad Bird

“The power of a metaphor is contained in the fact that it ultimately points towards something that exists in reality. We cannot live on metaphors alone. We cannot use poetry, psychology and myth to hold God at arm’s length forever. What if the 2000-year-old story is only able to reconnect with our deepest desires for meaning, purpose and identity because it is the true story to which all other stories point?” 
– Justin Brierley, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God

“Gospel narratives are telling you not what you should do but what God has done. The birth of the son of God into the world is a gospel, good news, an announcement. You don’t save yourself. God has come to save you.” 
– Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas

“It should be obvious by now that putting on the new nature is far more radical than attitude adjustments and behavior modifications. The life hidden with Christ in God is one of such growing union with God in love that God’s presence becomes the context of our daily life, God’s purposes become the matrix of our activities, and the values of God’s kingdom shape our life and relationships; God’s living presence becomes the ground of our identity, the source of our meaning, the seat of our value and the center of our purpose.” 
– M. Robert Mulholand, Jr.

“The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets.… The real difficulty, the supreme mystery with which the gospel confronts us… lies not in the Good Friday message of atonement, nor in the Easter message of resurrection, but in the Christmas message of Incarnation.… This is the real stumbling block of Christianity… But once the Incarnation is grasped as a reality, these other difficulties dissolve.”
– J.l. Packer

“The only New Year’s Resolution I make every year is to collapse more fully on Christ. I trust in Jesus’ resolve, not mine.” 
– Jack Miller

Immanuel: God with Us 

Pastor Matt Pierson

“God became man; the Divine Son became a Jew; the Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, unable to do more than lie and stare and wriggle and make noises, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child… the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as is this truth of the Incarnation.”
– J.I. Packer

“A God who was only holy would not have come down to us in Jesus Christ. He would have simply demanded that we pull ourselves together, that we be moral and holy enough to merit a relationship with Him. A deity that was an ‘all-accepting God of love’ would not have needed to come to Earth either. This God of the modern imagination would have just overlooked sin and evil and embraced us. Neither the God of moralism nor the God of relativism would have bothered with Christmas.”
– Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas

Isaiah 11:1-5 + Luke 2:25-32

1. God is weaving a tapestry throughout Redemption history.
2. God never gives up on us.
3. The God who is with us is the God who is for us.

“This story is so miraculous in every way that it could have only come out of the mind of God in eternity before the foundations of the earth were laid down by His mighty hand… This story is itself an argument for the existence of God and is a portrait of His holy character.”
– Paul David Tripp, Come Let Us Adore Him

“The cumulative testimony of the four Gospels is that when Jesus Christ sees the fallenness of the world all about Him, His deepest impulse, His most natural instinct, is to move toward that sin and suffering, not away from it. And if the actions of Jesus are reflective of who He most deeply is, we cannot avoid the conclusion that it is the very fallenness which He came to undo that is most irresistibly attractive to Him.”
– Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers

“For God so loved that world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
– John 3:16

God so loved YOU that He gave His only Son!

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
– Romans 8:31b

“You rescued me because you delighted in me.”
– Psalm 18:19

“You can know the glories of God from the Old Testament, so overwhelming and daunting, but in Jesus Christ they come near. He becomes graspable, palpable. He becomes above all personal, someone with whom to have a relationship. Christmas and the incarnation mean that God went to infinite lengths to make Himself one whom we can know personally.”
– Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas

“How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.”
– Phillip Brooks, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

“He comes, and all our
Words though wide as worlds, and all our songs
Though voiced in grandest composition
Can never carry the incomparable weight
Of this one who comes, whose incarnation
Is our hope, our joy, heaven’s confirmation
That though light from us was long withheld
God has shattered the sin that was our hell
He comes, he has come, Immanuel.”
– Andrew Roycroft, “He Has Come”

Immanuel: God with Us 

Pastor Jim Thomas

Micah 5:2 + Luke 2:1-20

“The church has a recovery program of sorts for lost wonder and trampled anticipation leading toward Christmas. That recovery program is called Advent, which means ‘appearing,’ coming from the Latin word adventus.” 
– Matt Erickson

Advent 2023

1. Commemorate the birth of Christ
2. Saturate in and celebrate the life of Christ 
3. Anticipate the return of Christ 

Week 1

Isaiah 7:14 + Matthew 1:18-25: The Dawn of Redeeming Grace

1. A Sign
2. A Son
3. A Savior

Week 2

Isaiah 9:1-7 + Matthew 4:12-22: The Joy of Every Longing Heart

1. Wonderful Counselor
2. Mighty God
3. Everlasting Father
4. Prince of Peace

Week 3

Micah 5:2 + Luke 2:1-20: The Incarnation of the Son of God

1. A Divine Invasion
2. A Glorious Wonder
3. The Greatest Good News Ever  

“But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.”
– Micah 5:2

“Despite our efforts to keep Him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities:  a virgin’s womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked ‘No Entrance’ and left through a door marked ‘No Exit.’” 
– Peter Larson

“The central miracle asserted by Christians is the Incarnation. They say that God became Man. Every other miracle prepares for this, or exhibits this, or results from this… There is no question in Christianity of arbitrary interferences just scattered about. It relates not a series of disconnected raids on Nature but the various steps of a strategically coherent invasion — an invasion which intends complete conquest and ‘occupation.’”
– C.S. Lewis, Miracles

“In a culture that uses this season to get children to dream about how their lives would be made better by possessing a certain material thing, where Christmas has been reduced to a shopper’s nightmare and a retailer’s dream, it is vital to draw the wonder of our children away from the next great toy and toward the wonder of the coming of our great Lord and Savior, Jesus.” 
– Paul David Tripp, Come Let Us Adore Him

“The Incarnation may be devastating or rubbish, but if we call it dull, what in heaven’s name is worthy to be called exciting?” 
– Dorothy Sayers

“Gospel narratives are telling you not what you should do but what God has done. The birth of the son of God into the world is a gospel, good news, an announcement. You don’t save yourself. God has come to save you… Christmas shows us that Christianity is not good advice. It is good news.”
– Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas

“The nub of the matter is that we have been chosen to be the bearers of good news for the whole world, and the question is simply whether we are faithful in communicating it.” 
– Lesslie Newbigin, Evangelism in the City

How did the shepherds respond and how should we respond?

1. Wonder
2. Worship
3. Witness

Immanuel: God with Us 

Pastor Tommy Bailey

Isaiah 9:1-7 + Matthew 4:12-22

“A blend of homesickness, nostalgia and longing, ‘hiraeth’ is a pull on the heart that conveys a distinct feeling of missing something irretrievably lost.”
– Lily Crossley-Baxter

• Where are we?
• Who are we?
• What has gone wrong?
• What is the solution?
• Where are we going?

“The sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which the child of God rests his head at night, giving perfect peace.”
– Charles Spurgeon

“…and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6

“God is on the move toward us, not the other way round. In the very midst of our confusion and incapacity, we are met by the oncoming Lord.”
– Fleming Rutledge, Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ 

Wonderful Counselor

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
– John 8:12

Mighty God

“Death is no longer a threat in the way it was. It has been defeated in Christ. The signs of aging are no longer a threat, but a promise. Gray hair and deepening lines on my face don’t need to speak to me of a past I can’t recover, but of a future I can barely conceive. The real glory days are not behind, but ahead.”
– Sam Allberry, What God Has to Say About Our Bodies

Everlasting Father

Prince of Peace

“Only when our greatest love is God, a love that we cannot lose even in death, can we face all things with peace.”
– Tim Keller, Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering

“We can never anticipate Him. He always makes the first move. He is always there ‘in the beginning.’ Before we existed, God took action. Before we decided to look for God, God had already been looking for us. The Bible isn’t about people trying to discover God, but about God reaching out to find us.”
– John Stott, Basic Christianity

Immanuel: God with Us 

Pastor Jim Thomas

Advent comes from the Latin adventus meaning arrival, appearing, coming or presence. 

Join TVC throughout Advent as we:

• Commemorate the birth of Christ
• Saturate in and celebrate the life of Christ 
• Anticipate the return of Christ 

Isaiah 7:14 + Matthew 1:18-25

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” 
– Isaiah 7:14

“The essence of hope is not the downplaying, justifying or avoidance of present pain and sorrow. Rather, hope is the ex­pectation that as real as the pain is now, it will one day feel as foreign as our faintest memories.” 
– Brett McCracken

“It is noteworthy that the clearest promises of the Messiah have been given in the darkest hours of history… Immanuel is a grand word. ‘God with us’ means more than tongue can tell.” 
– Charles Haddon Spurgeon

The Dawn of Redeeming Grace involved:

• A Sign
• A Son
• A Savior

“If there were to be an invasion of the immanent by the transcendent, all for the salvation of sinners, would we not expect it to be mysterious, to defy human comprehension? Such mystery would be a mark of reality, not human invention.” 
– James N. Anderson

“It’s one thing for God to be with us as God, but it’s on a whole different level for God to be with us as a fellow human being who spent forty weeks in utero, learned how to crawl then walk, suffered through puberty and eventually faced the firing squad of Roman crucifiers. We have that God.” 
– Chad Bird

“The central belief of Christian theology is what we call the Incarnation – the belief that God became man. It is a staggering idea on many levels, but most breathtaking of all, perhaps, is what it reveals of divine humility.” 
– Gavin Ortlund, Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness

“God has appointed us a captain of our salvation, and made Him responsible for seeing us through this world home to glory. Thank God we can count on His faithfulness and know that He will never fail, never once lose His patience or His temper with any of us, but will fulfill His appointed task to the very end. He will save to the uttermost all who come to God by Him.”  
– David Gooding, An Unshakeable Kingdom

“‘Immanuel’ means the ideal has become real, the absolute has become a particular, and the invisible has become visible. The Incarnation is the universe-sundering, history-altering, life-transforming, paradigm-shattering event of history.” 
– Tim Keller, Hidden Christmas

Pastor Tommy Bailey

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 11:1-13

Three lessons from the life of Solomon:

1. The Peril of Drift
2. The Priority of Worship
3. The Provision of Mercy

“The Bible never offers a drink from shallow waters. There, you do not find a set of petty maxims, but the everlasting love of God; you do not find any shallow views of sin, but a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And that is the secret of the Bible’s permanence — when our little systems have ceased to be, for sin and sorrow and life and death and duty, it gives us drink ‘as abundant as the seas.’”
– George Herbert Morrison

“Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father…”
– 1 Kings 3:3

“…Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.”
– 1 Kings 11:6

“We feed sin by coddling it, pining after it, daydreaming about it, giving vent to it. We suffocate sin by redirecting our gaze to Christ.”
– Dane Ortlund, Deeper

“It is only human to want more. God made our hearts for abundance. We desire to know more of the goodness of God personally and particularly. But we also stray, chasing after substitutes. This is why advertising is so effective: it offers us counterfeit versions of what God created us to crave, keeping us busy and distracted.”
– Sandra McCracken

1. The Peril of Drift

“Temptation — for the entire human race, for the people of Israel and for each of us personally — starts with a question of identity, moves to a confusion of the desires and ultimately heads to a contest of futures. In short, there’s a reason you want what you don’t want to want. Temptation is embryonic, personality-specific and purpose-directed.”
– Russell Moore, Tempted and Tried

An anatomy of temptation

• External
• Internal
• Opportunity
• Decision

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
– Proverbs 4:23

2. The Priority of Worship

Diagnostic questions for my spiritual health

• What is my current spiritual trajectory?
• Where is my trajectory leading me?
• What am I building?
• Whose name am I building it for?
• Do I delight in my savior?
• Do I grieve over sin?
• Am I being governed increasingly by God’s word?
• Am I sensitive to God’s presence?
• Do I love God’s people?
• Do I love my neighbor?
• Do have an active hunger and thirst for more of God?

Resources

• Ten Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health, Donald Whitney
• Watchfulness, Brian Hedges
• Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard

3. The Provision of Mercy

“We can begin each day with the deeply encouraging realization, I’m accepted by God, not on the basis of my personal performance, but on the basis of the infinitely perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ.”
– John Owen

“A guilty conscience is a great blessing, but only if it drives us to come home.”
– John Stott, The Cross of Christ 

“Restore to me the joy of Your salvation…”
– Psalm 51:12

Ryan Motta, Director of Youth Ministry

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 10

“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” 
– C.S. Lewis

41 “Even for the foreigner who is not of your people Israel
but has come from a distant land
because of your name —
42 for they will hear of your great name,
strong hand, and outstretched arm,
and will come and pray toward this temple —
43 may you hear in heaven, your dwelling place,
and do according to all the foreigner asks.
Then all peoples of earth will know your name,
to fear you as your people Israel do
and to know that this temple I have built
bears your name.”

1 Kings 8:41-43

16 “However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 
17 He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.”
– Deuteronomy 17:16-17

1 Kings 10
More Money, More Problems

1. Experience the glory of the King for yourself.  (1 Kings 10:1-9 & Matthew 12:42)
2. Beware of the allure of affluence.  (1 Kings 10:13-29)
3. There is a greater kingdom that is coming

“The queen of the South [Sheba] will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look — something greater than Solomon is here.”
– Matthew 12:42

“Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
– Psalm 34:8a

“Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they make take hold of what is truly life.”
– 1 Timothy 6:17-19

“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of triviality we drink in every night.” 
– John Piper

“Demas has deserted me, since he loved this present world and has gone to Thessalonica.”
– 2 Timothy 4:10

“Fading is the worldling’s pleasure,
All his boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasure
None but Zion’s children know.”

⁃ John Newton; “Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken”

Pastor Jim Thomas

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 8:54-9:28

• v. 1-9:  God’s blueprint for a healthy spiritual life
• v. 10-14:  Ongoing diplomatic relations
• v. 15-24:  Military preparedness 
• v. 25:  Religious practices
• v. 26-28:  Expansion of international commerce

1. A heart of devotion:
   • Is my love for God faithful, steadfast and true? 
   • Is Christ preeminent in my heart and mind? 
   • Am I looking for ways of delighting my Heavenly Father and honoring Christ as my King? 
   • Do I humbly submit myself to the work of the Holy Spirit?
2. A life of obedience
   • Does my life display the kind of whole-hearted obedience that testifies to the veracity of what I claim to believe about God? 
   • Is there internal and external consistency and coherence in my faith? 
   • Am I walking in God’s wisdom, God’s will and God’s ways? 
   • Does my walk match my talk?
3. Always aiming for the glory of His Name
   • Do I delight in speaking the name of Jesus? 
   • Am I moved by the splendor and beauty of the LORD?  
   • Do I glory in God’s good name? 
   • How am I representing the Name? 
   • How are we as a local church doing with our calling to bring glory to His name?

“The living God is infinitely perfect and quintessentially, overwhelmingly beautiful in every way: His righteousness, His graciousness, His majesty, His mercy, His all. And so we do not love Him aright if our love is not a trembling, overwhelmed and fearful love.” 
– Michael Reeves

“Calling is the truth that God calls us to Himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived out as a response to His summons and service.” 
– Os Guinness, The Call

“I suspect that we have developed, as Christians, such a fear of legalism that we’ve lost sight of the power of love that leads us to detailed faithfulness.” 
– Sinclair Ferguson

“My fear is that as we rightly celebrate, and in some quarters rediscover, all that Christ has saved us from, we are giving little thought and making little effort concerning all that Christ has saved us to. Shouldn’t those most passionate about the gospel and God’s glory also be those most dedicated to the pursuit of godliness? I worry that there is an enthusiasm gap and no one seems to mind.” 
– Kevin DeYoung, The Hole in Our Holiness

“It is a very important consideration that we are consecrated and dedicated to God. It means that we will think, speak, meditate and do all things with a view to God’s glory.” 
– John Calvin

“What matters is not that I should succeed, but that God should be honored.” 
– Lesslie Newbigin

“[God is] making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
– Ephesians 1:9-10

“The temple was but a symbol, and Jesus is the substance; it was but the shadow of which He is the reality… the Redeemer is greater than the temple, because He is a more abiding evidence of divine favour. God forever dwells in Christ Jesus, and this is the eternal sign of His favour to His people.” 
– Charles H. Spurgeon

Pastor Tommy Bailey

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 8

The Temple in 1 Kings 5-9

• Preparing for the Temple  (ch. 5)
• Constructing the Temple  (ch. 6)
• Furnishing the Temple  (ch. 7)
• Dedicating the Temple  (ch. 8-9)

“You’d think we wouldn’t need reminding that God is God and we are not. But sanity is a rare thing in a mad society. Worship is where a return to wisdom begins. ‘Come let us worship and bow down…’ (Psalm 95).”
– David Cassidy

7 Petitions of Solomon  (1 Kings 8:30-53)

The pattern of Solomon’s petitions:

• States the need of God’s people
• Appeals to God’s character and promises
• Requests the provision of God

Petition 1  (v. 31-32)

• Who is he praying for?
  • Individuals who sin against one another.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • Justice
  • Righteousness

Petition 2  (v. 33-34) 

• Who is he praying for, and why?
  • God’s people who have been defeated because of their sin.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • Repentance
  • Forgiveness
  • Restoration

Petition 3  (v. 35-36) 

• Who is he praying for, and why?
  • God’s people who face drought because of their sin.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • Repentance
  • Forgiveness
  • Guidance
  • Restoration

Petition 4  (v. 37-40) 

• Who is he praying for?
  • God’s people who suffer famine, disease, natural disaster and attacks from their enemies.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • The fear of the Lord
  • Repentance
  • Forgiveness
  • Restoration

Petition 5  (v. 41-43) 

• Who is he praying for?
  • Other nations who turn to God.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • That all the peoples of the earth would know God. 
  • That all the peoples of the earth would fear God. 

“Love means doing all we can, at whatever cost to ourselves, to help people be enthralled with the glory of God. When they are, they are satisfied and God is glorified. Therefore, loving people and glorifying God are one.”
– John Piper

Petition 6  (v. 44-45) 

• Who is he praying for?
  • God’s people in battle against their enemies.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • Guidance
  • Protection

Petition 7  (v. 46-53) 

• Who is he praying for, and why?
  • God’s people who have been taken captive because of their sin.
• What provision is he praying for?
  • Repentance
  • Forgiveness
  • Compassion from their captors
  • Restoration

“We cannot hold together human vulnerability and God’s trustworthiness at the same time unless there is some certain sign that God loves us, that He isn’t an absentee landlord or, worse, a monster… it takes the whole story of redemptive history to shape our questions about God’s presence in the darkness.”
– Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer in the Night

“The day is coming when there shall be a congregation that shall never break up, and a Sabbath that shall never end, a song of praise that shall never cease, and an assembly that shall never be dispersed.”
– J.C. Ryle

Pastor Matt Pierson

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 7

1. Solomon builds his palace  (v. 1-12)
2. Hiram crafts the furnishings of the temple  (v. 13-47)
   1. Hiram the craftsman  (v. 13-14)
   2. The two pillars  (v. 15-22)
   3. The sea  (v. 23-26)
   4. The 10 stands and basins  (v. 27-39)
   5. The smaller bronze pieces  (v. 40-47)
3. Solomon crafts the golden vessels in the house of the Lord  (v. 48-51)

Solomon’s Temple

Lost Wax Process

What’s He Building?

1. God is building His Kingdom now.
2. What foundation is your life resting on?
3. Jesus is in the restoration business, not the demolition business.

“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
– Luke 17:20-21

“While it looks like things are out of control, behind the scenes there is a God who has not surrendered authority.”
– A.W. Tozer

“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”
– Isaiah 33:6

Matthew 7:24-27

“The foundation of our love for the Lord lies in the recognition of His holiness, our sinfulness and His grace… those who are forgiven much, love much.”
– Sinclair Ferguson 

“God didn’t make junk, and He doesn’t junk what He made.”
– Al Wolters, Creation Regained

“I am not my own and now my heart is free
O Maker come and make what You will of me
There is nothing broken that You cannot repair
So Lord, I leave my life in Your loving care”

– Skye Peterson, “I Am Not My Own”

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of… you thought you were being made into a decent little cottage, but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
– C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Pastor Jim Thomas

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 6

• v. 1, 37-38:  The chronological and covenantal context
• v. 2-10:  The temple exterior
• v.  11-13:  The covenant at the center
• v.  14-38:  The temple interior

1. The King of Redemption History rescues, redeems and saves His people.  (v. 1)
2. The King of Redemption History is a “Who,” not a “What.”  (v. 12)
3. The King of Redemption History calls us to walk in His ways and keep His commandments.  (v. 12)
4. The King of Redemption History delights to dwell among His people and He will never forsake us.  (v. 13)

“The story of the Bible is the story of God coming to the rescue.” 
– Fleming Rutledge, Means of Grace

“Holiness is always the saved sinner’s response of gratitude for grace received… A holy person’s motivating aim, passion, desire, longing, aspiration, goal and drive is to please God, both by what one does and by what one avoids doing.” 
– J.I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness

“The temple was but a symbol, and Jesus is the substance; it was but the shadow of which He is the reality… the Redeemer is greater than the temple, because He is a more abiding evidence of divine favour. God forever dwells in Christ Jesus, and this is the eternal sign of His favour to His people.” 
– C.H. Spurgeon

“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 
– 1 Corinthians 3:16

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 
– 1 Peter 2:5

“It can be God-honouring to desire a building that is a physical reminder of His existence and greatness, yet God is more concerned with building His people as a covenant-keeping community known by its lifestyle of doing what is just and right, that shares with and cares for all, especially its weaker and less powerful members. People are drawn to God by the beautiful lifestyle of His people, not by the buildings they erect.” 
– John W. Olley, The Message of Kings

“Worship is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with ourselves and attend to the presence of God.”  
– Eugene Peterson

Pastor Jim Thomas

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 5

• Success Favors the Prepared
• Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

“One of the great dangers for Christians and for the world is that we are far, far too religious. We go to religious movies, we read religious books, we associate with religious people, we eat religious cookies and we wear religious underwear that is far too tight. Don’t get me wrong. I’m religious too. The problem is that the Holy Spirit isn’t.” 
– Steve Brown, What Was I Thinking?

1. Let’s become more eager to allow whatever we are “building” to stir within us a passion to worship God and increasing compassion to serve our neighbors.
2. Let’s become more eager to extend the invitation of the Gospel to the “Hirams” in our lives. 

“The whole of our life belongs to God and is part of His calling, both before conversion and outside religion. We must not imagine that God first became interested in us when we were converted, or that now He is interested only in the religious bit of our lives.” 
– John Stott

“A right conception of God is basic not only to systematic theology, but to practical Christian living as well. It is to worship what the foundation is to the Temple; where it is inadequate or out of plumb, the whole structure must sooner or later collapse.” 
– A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

“Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the LORD our God, this being required forever in Israel. The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods. But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?”
– 2 Chronicles 2:4-9

“But I say unto you, that in this place is one greater than the temple.” 
– Matthew 12:6

“The temple was but a symbol, and Jesus is the substance; it was but the shadow of which He is the reality… the Redeemer is greater than the temple, because He is a more abiding evidence of divine favour. God forever dwells in Christ Jesus, and this is the eternal sign of His favour to His people.” 
– Charles H. Spurgeon

“Your life as a Christian should make non-believers question their unbelief in God.” 
– Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“Do you want to know a truth that in the momentous challenges of our modern world will be at once a quest to inspire you, an anchor to hold you fast, a rich fare to nourish you and a relationship you will prize above all others? Listen to Jesus of Nazareth; answer His call.” 
– Os Guinness, The Call 

Pastor Tommy Bailey

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 4

Solomon’s High Officials 

1 Kings 4:1-6

• Religious
  • Azariah the son of Zadok – High Priest
  • Zadok and Abiathar – Priests 
  • Zabud the son of Nathan – Priest and Friend/Advisor
• Military
  • Benaiah the son of Jehoiada – Army Commander
• Economic
  • Azariah the son of Nathan – Chief of the Officers   
  • Adoniram the son of Abda – Chief of Labor
• Administrative
  • Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha – Secretaries 
  • Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud – Recorder
  • Ahishar – Palace Manager 

“I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
– Genesis 22:17-18

“On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…’” 
– Genesis 15:18

“But I trust in You, O Lord, I say, ‘you are my God.’ My times are in your hand…”
– Psalm 31:14-15a

Regulations for Israel’s Kings

Deuteronomy 17

• “…he must not acquire many horses for himself…”  (v. 16)
• “…he shall not acquire many wives for himself…” (v. 17)
• “…nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold…” (v. 17)
• “…when he sits on the throne of the kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law… and it shall be with him… he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God…” (v. 18-19)

“The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.” 
– Charles Spurgeon

“Before we can pray, ‘Lord, Thy kingdom come,’ we must be willing to pray, ‘My kingdom go.’” 
– Alan Redpath

Pastor Matt Pierson

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

1 Kings 3

• Verses 1-15:  the prayer for wisdom
• Verses 16-28:  the proof of wisdom

“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
– Jim Carrey

1. Solomon’s prayer reveals:

• An obedient heart (v. 3)
• A thankful heart (v. 6)
• A servant heart (v. 7-9)
• A humble heart (v. 7-8)
• A discerning heart (v. 9)
• A worshiping heart (v. 15)

Solomon is asking God to equip him to serve in the role God has for him.

“To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice and equity…”
– Proverbs 1:2-3

“Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!”
– Psalms 72:1-2

2. How do we walk in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord?

“Thus says the Lord:  ‘Keep justice and righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness will be revealed.’” 
– Isaiah 56:1

“But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”
– Amos 5:24

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
– Micah 6:8

“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’”
– Matthew 22:37-40

What role might Christ be calling you to fulfill in the ongoing, unfolding story of redemption history?

3. Jesus Christ is the only King who is truly wise, completely righteous and fully just.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and execute justice and righteousness in the land… and this is the name by which he shall be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”
– Jeremiah 23:5-6

“You and I experience a lot of perversions of justice in this world. And the good news… is that justice is going to be done by one who is perfectly just and perfectly righteous.”
– Nancy Guthrie

“I am going to judge my circumstances by Jesus’ love, not Jesus’ love by my circumstances.”
– Tim Keller

“That is the hint we have in 1 Kings 3. The wisdom, discernment and justice of Solomon point to one who will outstrip Solomon, to one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And if such a King already has begun to reign, must we not assume, as his subjects, that he will never ordain or order anything in our circumstances, except what is in line with wisdom at its highest and best?”
– Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly

Pastor Jim Thomas

1 & 2 Kings: The King of Redemption History

“I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong… If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favour will not be taken from him… Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.” 
– 2 Samuel 7:12-16

“Of all my sons (for the LORD has given me many sons), He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him. I will establish his kingdom forever if he resolutely performs My commandments and My ordinances.’”  
– 1 Chronicles 28:5-7

Verses 1-12:  David’s dying words and advice to Solomon

Verses 1-4:  Advice regarding character and spiritual life

1. Be strong.
2. Show yourself a man.
3. Keep the charge of the LORD your God.
4. Walk in His ways.
5. Keep God’s statutes/laws, commandments, ordinances/rules and testimonies/admonitions.
6. According to what is written in the Law of Moses.
7. That you may succeed in all that you do/wherever you turn.
8. That the LORD may carry out His promise.

“Kingdom stability is not anchored in our experiences or profession, not in our education or pedigree, nor in our ministerial achievements, but only in obedience to the clear word we have long possessed.” 
– Dale Ralph Davis

God’s kingdom will be established in us as we…

1. study God’s Word.
2. walk in God’s ways.
3. seek God’s glory.

1 Kings 2

Establishing God’s Kingdom 

1. God’s kingdom will be established despite formidable opposition from without.
2. God’s kingdom will be established despite significant failures within.
3. God’s kingdom will be established despite undesirable circumstances and unseemly events.
4. God’s kingdom will ultimately be established by one greater than King David and greater than King Solomon. His name is Jesus.

“Christ is everywhere throughout the Old Testament. It speaks of Him explicitly and implicitly, in promises, patterns, types, hints and images. Through these various ways, the Old Testament reveals and anticipates the richness of His character:  His work, His life, His glory, His hope, His might, His love, His suffering, His wisdom, and so much more, and it does this all before the historical event of His incarnation.” 
– Scott Redd

“Stressed? Scared? Anxious? Distracted? Remember King Jesus. Take time to avert your eyes from everything else and look squarely at Him. Look to His perfect life in your place. Look to His death on the cross for your sins. Look to His resurrection victory. Look to His exaltation as king. Look to His promise to come again.”
– Trevin Wax

“Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendant of David, according to my gospel.” 
– 2 Timothy 2:8

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
to his feet thy tribute bring;
ransomed healed, restored, forgiven,
who like me his praise should sing?
Praise him, praise him,
praise the everlasting King.

Praise him for his grace and favour
to our fathers in distress;
praise him still the same for ever,
slow to chide and swift to bless:
Praise him, praise him,
glorious in his faithfulness.

Henry Francis Lyte, “Praise, my soul, the King of heaven” (1834)

“The Bible tells us that God did not originally make the world to have disease, hunger and death in it. Jesus has come to redeem where it is wrong and heal the world where it is broken. His miracles are not just proofs that He has power but also wonderful foretastes of what He is going to do with that power. Jesus’ miracles are not just a challenge to our minds, but a promise to our hearts, that the world we all want is coming.” 
– Tim Keller, The Reason for God