PAULSGROVE BAPTIST  CHURCH

Heart matters

Faith that stands out - 1 and 2 Kings

A divided kingdom and divided hearts form the backdrop to our series set in the times of Elijah and Elisha. Two of the great Old Testament Prophets God used during the often dark days of 1 and 2 Kings. We will see how Israel tried to combine worship of Yahweh with the worship of Baal. It had a disastrous impact on every area of their lives. Israel became a dangerous place for God’s people to stand firm in their faith.

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We do not find it dangerous to be people of faith today, but we do face the challenges of unpopularity as we live lives of faith. We do face relentless criticism from the media for holding true to God’s Word. We do face the accusation of being fundamentalists with all the negative connections that come with that label. How does faith stand firm today when tolerance is so highly valued?

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This series will help us examine our hearts as we explore the adventures of Elijah and Elisha. We start a hundred years earlier in Psalm 86 with King David pleading with God to ‘Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.’ We move on to see the contrasts between divided and undivided hearts on Mt Carmel. We see the challenge of standing firm and having a faith that stands out as Elijah struggles with depression. We see Elijah’s heart for God and we will end in Deuteronomy 6 hopefully better equipped to obey God’s command ‘to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.’

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It may feel as if the church is on a downward slope of decline and faithless compromise. But faith that stood out did and still can influence and change culture. Our prayer is that this series will help us join with David’s plea to God for an undivided heart and to follow Elijah and Elisha’s example of a life of faith that stands out and impacts our community today.

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