1 Kings 19

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Dick Sanders. His message was based on 1 Kings 19; a portion of the passage is below --

⁹And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
 ¹⁰And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
 ¹¹And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:
 ¹²And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
 ¹³And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?

Funny that our current crisis is always the worst. Elijah forgot who his God is, was afraid, and ran for his life. He's similar to Jonah who also ran away. After Elijah's conversation with God on Mount Horeb, we learn that God gave him further opportunities; He wasn't done with him yet. Don't ever forget that it's all about the Lord, and not about us.
Mr Sanders' message, in full and in context, is available on DVD. Please see Romy.

1 Kings 18

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Dick Sanders. In 1 Kings 18 Elijah is finally showing himself to King Ahab. It became a "contest" between the one, true God versus Baal, supported by 850 prophets. Elijah challenged the people --

²¹And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.

The people were finally convinced when the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice --

 ³⁹And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.

What will it take for us to know and to acknowledge that the Lord, He is God; there is none else, and there is no God beside Him?  Our answer determines our life.
Mr Sanders' message, in full and in context, is available on DVD. Please see Romy.

We welcome our guests: Cindy, Dan, and Baby Andi from Texas:

Kings of Israel

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Dick Sanders. He spoke from multiple chapters of  1 King, on various kings of Israel: King Solomon, King Jeroboam, and King Ahab. Here is God's clear words to King Jeroboam from 1 Kings 11:  

³⁷And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
 ³⁸And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.
 ³⁹And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

As Mr Sanders mentions in his message,  people are slow learners, with a great tendency  to turn from the truth, quite apt to believe the dumbest lies; with the result of provoking God to anger. We can learn from the examples of these men from the Old Testament. Mr Sanders' message, in full and in context is available on DVD.  He will also speak more on King Ahab during next week's message, Lord willing.

2 Chronicles 33

Our speaker during Family Bible Hour was Mr Dick Sanders. He spoke on King Manasseh:

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: ²But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. ³For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. ⁴Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. ⁵And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. ⁶And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. ⁷And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: ⁸Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses. ⁹So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. ¹⁰And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken. ¹¹Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon. ¹²And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, ¹³And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. ¹⁴Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. ¹⁵And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. ¹⁶And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel. ¹⁷Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only. ¹⁸Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. ¹⁹His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers. ²⁰So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.

The life of King Manasseh is another example of our great God who does not deal with us according to our sins. Manasseh, through God's mercy and intervention in his life, eventually repented of his sins and turned his life around. Let us thank the Lord for giving us another new year, and let us heed the warnings of His Word.
Mr Sanders' message, in full and in context, is available on DVD. Please see Romy.

Let's pray for Julie: she is to be induced into labor on Tuesday, January 10th