Rio Vista Community Church

Teaching Elder David Richardson leads the study of a chapter that details a series of miracles performed by the prophet Elisha. The nature of the miracles and the order in which they occur is a clear and intentional foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.

Moab rebels against Israel and once again, the king of Israel asks the king of Judah for help. Judah's king, Jehoshaphat, proves he didn't learn anything from the last disastrous outing. How can we avoid making the same mistakes over and over?

Elijah is about to be taken up to heaven by God. Elisha will be assuming the mantle of Elijah, that is, taking his identity in some sense. By the power of God's Spirit we are to take the identity of our master also--the identity of Jesus. Will we do this?

Our study comes to the end of the wicked king Ahab, which comes to pass in part because he listens to the wrong people. Pastor Tom answers the question of how we can find God's will for us, so we don't listen to the wrong voices also.

Naboth was a righteous man, by all appearances, living in Jezreel. He runs afoul of the entitled and wicked king Ahab, the ruthless queen Jezebel, and the cowardly leaders of his city. It's a story of unfairness, full of contemporary applications.

What is the good life? Co-Director of Student Ministries Will Buschmann asks that probing question as he looks at Elijah's calling of Elisha to the prophetic office. Can we see the good life as yielding to whatever God has called us to do?

Elijah returns to Jezreel after defeating and killing the prophets of Baal. Queen Jezebel swears she will kill Elijah, which causes him to run and experience something of a meltdown. God comes and ministers to him physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest proving which god was real—Baal or Yahweh, the God of Israel. (Spoiler alert! It was Yahweh.) One of the most dramatic stories in all of the Bible and one that Pastor Tom makes contemporary for us.

Today we meet the prophet Elijah. Bold and brash, he was not afraid to confront the enemies of the Lord. He delivers a message to King Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, that Yahweh would withhold rain, for years, to prove he is the true God.

This week surveys ten kings of Israel, just one of which did what was right in God's eyes. The others worshiped idols. Pastor Tom asks us to think about what idols we might have and offers some sage advice on how we might discover what they are.

Solomon is gone and we're on to what transpires with his son Rehoboam and the rival king Jeroboam. Both have the chance to choose wisely and both fail that test. All of this happens according to the will of God. Who is to blame when things turn out bad?

This week mark's the end of Solomon's story as it is recorded here, and it's not a happy ending. Pastor Sam reviews Solomon's life, begun in promise and ending in disobedience, in a eulogy that serves as a warning to everyone who thinks they cannot fall.

As we come near the end of Solomon's story, we see more evidence that his heart is somewhere else except with the Lord. Despite all the advantages he had, Solomon suffered from loving the wrong thing. This week, we ask ourselves: who do WE love?

God appears to Solomon a second time and promises that he will inhabit the Temple, consecrating it as his dwelling place on the earth. But God also gives Solomon a solemn warning. How did Solomon respond? What IS a wise response to God?

Solomon presides over dedication of the Temple. In his prayer, Solomon anticipates a day when God's people will turn away from him. Solomon asks God to take them back when they repent. Pastor Tom connects that with the story of the prodigal son.

The Ark of the Covenant was brought to the completed Temple. No other religious artifact was more important to Israel than the Ark. Co-director of Student Ministries Will Buschmann brings us a look at the meaning behind its design and its contents.

The Temple contains elements that seem unusual to modern day Christians. However, each of these elements has rich meaning, not only for the people of that day but for all believers today as well. Pastor Sam Kastensmidt walks through them all.

God asked Solomon what he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom. This pleased God so much that he not only gave Solomon wisdom, but also great wealth. This week's message examines what Solomon, in his great wisdom, had to say about wealth.

Wisdom begins with humility. You can't begin to live skillfully until you understand that you don't have all the answers. Pastor Tom Hendrikse challenges us to look for those areas where we are living out of alignment with the wisdom of the Lord.

Have you recognized your need for King Jesus? And if you have, are you standing on the sidelines of the spiritual battle before you? Or are you engaged in it?