Last week's sermon looked at the birth of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of a covenant (rather than as a gift or a promise). In this way, we saw that there was some kind of a requirement associated with the Christmas covenant. The lingering question has been: were we (or Israel) able to keep our end of the covenant?

One of the overlooked aspects of Christmas is that the birth of Jesus Christ is not only a gift or a promise, but part of God's covenant with us. What is the difference between a gift or promise and a covenant? There are at least a few, but for the purposes of this sermon series, we will focus on one. A promise is something that is freely given with no sense of obligation from the recipient. A covenant, however, is something that implies some kind of an agreement or obligation; with a covenant, there is an associated cost. When we reduce Christmas to merely a promise, we overlook the cost. As a result, we can cheapen the value of the birth of Jesus Christ…

As we wrap up this sermon series, we take another close look at Elijah's character as an opportunity to appreciate the gospel of Jesus Christ. Although he has been wrongfully complaining that he has been the only prophet of the Lord, Elijah does not welcome his successor with any kind of warmth or love. He is aloof and even cold toward Elisha. If Elijah was really discouraged that he was the only prophet of the Lord (which is not true), should he not have been more welcoming to Elisha?

In this sermon, we focus on how God relates with King Ahab. Although Ahab is one of the most evil kings in Israel's history, God nevertheless is patient toward him, giving him ample opportunities to repent. Because of God's mercy, Ahab experiences God's power in ending the drought and also a military victory against Syria that would not have been humanly possible. Toward the end of his life, we even see Ahab repent…

Soon after experiencing God's miraculous victory, Elijah is running for his life yet he desires to die out of sheer hopelessness. Moreover, Elijah continues to distort the truth by repeatedly claiming that he is the only prophet of the Lord (even though Obadiah explained to him that he himself is a prophet of the Lord and that he has saved 100 other prophets of the Lord). Elijah’s character flaws and sin that were hinted in previous chapters are fully exposed and we see Elijah, though one of the greatest prophets of God, as very self-centered…

In the long-awaited showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, we see Elijah at the height of his boldness and faith. He stages a theatrical contest that not only puts Baal to shame, but that unequivocally proves that the God of Israel is the only God. As a result, all of the prophets of Baal have been defeated, king Ahab is no longer a threat to Elijah, and the drought is over!

After three long years without any rain, Elijah and Ahab finally meet. In the eyes of Israel, Elijah (and God) have been the source of their problem, the enemies of Israel. The land has been devastated and the people have been suffering a severe famine…

God has now proved his power and faithfulness to Elijah and the widow in miraculous ways. He has withheld the rain, fed Elijah through ravens, and multiplied the paltry amount of flour/oil for the widow. Despite experiencing these miracles, we see that the faith of Elijah and the widow is ultimately fickle. When the widow's son becomes ill, the widow immediately blames Elijah (1 Kings 17.18), upon which Elijah immediately blames God (1 Kings 17.20)…

After the miraculous provision of ravens, God sends Elijah to an even more precarious situation. God commands him to go to Sidon, which is known for Baal worship. Moreover, God tells Elijah that he will be fed by a widow (at the time, widows were socially marginalized and had no resources to provide for themselves, let alone others). When Elijah meets the widow and asks for food, she says that she only has enough food for her and her son to have one final meal before their death. Yet, Elijah unashamedly insists that he be fed first! Even more surprising, the widow actually listens to Elijah!

Elijah is a biblical hero and was one of the two people who appeared at Jesus's transfiguration. What makes him so special? As we will see throughout this sermon series, Elijah was a man just like us (James 5.17). It was not he who was special, but it is that God did something special through him. As we will see in this sermon series, Elijah is another window that points us to Jesus Christ and his gospel…

Especially in this portion of 1 Kings, we see God's people in a state of darkness. They disrespect God's Word and have been led to idolatry, especially under the influence of one evil king after another. Despite their miserable state, God still orchestrates redemption for his people, but in an unexpected way…

Who crucified Jesus Christ? At a superficial level, we can say that it was the Roman authorities. Some would say that it was the religious leaders who incited the crowds to turn against Jesus. However, the way the Gospels are written, we see that there is a deeper reality. Even Jesus's disciples betrayed Jesus—not only only Judas, but also Peter…

One of the last roles that we think about is Jesus's role as an employer. In Scripture, he is mostly portrayed as lord or savior, but in this passage, he is portrayed as an employer…

One of the things that is the same with Jesus's society is that everyone desires to be rich and nobody desires to be poor. Jesus, therefore, gives a parable about a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. This parable is a warning to those who try so hard to enjoy their present life and a comfort to those who might be living a life of suffering…

At first glance, Jesus's requirements for being his disciple might seem harsh. If someone wants to follow Jesus, then that person must (1) hate his/her family and his/her own life, (2) bear his/her own cross, and (3) count the cost that is required to be committed to Jesus…

This week's passage focuses on something that the church does not speak much of these days: Jesus's rebuke on the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers. Indeed, the gospel of Jesus Christ should be known for love; but we would be distorting the character of Jesus if we do not reflect upon his rebukes…

Even though glorifying and worshiping God are so central to the Christian faith, it is rare that we actually know the essence of glorifying or worshiping God. For many of us, we think of it is serving God or singing songs. Understanding this as loving God can be helpful, but this raises another question: what exactly is love, especially in the context of a human-to-God relationship?

Christians often pressure themselves into thinking that they always need to be nice and generous, or that they are never allowed to make any judgements. A common misunderstanding is if you are Christian, then you should not judge. Usually these distortions of Scripture come from Luke 6.27.38…

Known as the Beatitudes, this passage describes what it means to have a blessed life. Jesus addresses this teaching directly to his disciples and envisions the kind of life that they will live. As Luke writes further in the Book of Acts, the disciples, who are later called the apostles, live a life of poverty, hunger, sadness, and persecution. Yet, according to the Beatitudes, they live a blessed life…

A few months ago, we reflected upon what it meant to live a life filled with the Spirit (from Ephesians 5.15-21). It is essentially living a God-centered life where we edify others and honor God. Often times, we overlook this understanding of a Spirit-filled life because of our own selfishness…