1 Kings 12 sermon, Part 1 of 2: “Despite Human Folly”

From a sermon series on 1 Kings by See Huang Lim, a missionary at IBF. Intro Last time, we read a sad story about how the wise king Solomon turned away from God in his old age. As a result, God declared that Solomon’s kingdom would be split. Today, as we read 1 Kings chapter 12, we see the kingdom of Israel beginning to split. Two messages from today’s story: First, despite human foolishness, God is in control. Second, despite human foolishness, God is gracious. Let us pray. [Read 1 Kings 12:1-24] There are two important characters here: Rehoboam and Jeroboam. It’s easy to confuse them because their names sound the same. To recap: Rehoboam

Shoeboxes

Once again, we at IBF church decided to collaborate with Samaritan’s Purse. Samaritan’s Purse is a relief organization that takes its name from Jesus’s Parable of the Samaritan. The parable tells of a man from Samaria who helps a wounded traveler who was robbed. The Samaritan pays for the man’s lodging and dresses his wounds, then tells the innkeeper, “Look after him. And when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” (Luke 10:35) In the past, a young man who works for Samaritan’s Purse — the son of our former missionary Henry Lake — brought volunteers from America to aid in relief work after

Advent

Merry Christmas! In December, Christmas is celebrated across the world in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s birth. From December 3, the period of Advent begins. At our church (IBF), we prepare 5 candles. In the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, we light one new candle per week in anticipation of December 25. On the big day, we light the fifth candle as well. At IBF, we light the first candle to symbolize and commemorate the light of the world who was born, Jesus Christ. The second candle, lit on the second week, commemorates the humility of Christ. He set aside his high and divine position as God and was born