I Kings 18

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to read The Prairie Church Newsletter!

Upcoming events:
  • Christmas Sweater Sunday December 21st.
  • No Wednesday night worship December 24th.
  • New Years Eve Service Wednesday December 31st.
  • Connect Groups Start Sunday evenings January 4th. Links for signups will be attached.
  • Membership Training Sunday after church January 18th. Lunch will be provided. This meeting is for anyone interested in becoming a part of the church or just wanting to volunteer. We will go through our beliefs and take a spiritual gifts survey to help guide us in our talents and areas we like to serve.
  • Friday January 30th we will take a group to Winter Jam in Wichita KS.

    Yesterday's service was a beautiful time in the Lord for our church. We were blessed that many people came to be part of this day. Pastor Rana shared her vision behid the name "The Prairie Church". How the prairie fires in Kansas clear out all the old unnecessary dead things to allow for new fresh growth. That is the vision of The Prairie Church, for a fire to take place in our hearts, lives, community.

    We would also like to share that Sarah Melvin will be our newsletter editor each week. She will carefully and prayerfully study the text from each weeks sermon and do a newsletter devotional. We are excited to share what God gives her on a weekly basis, and know it will be a blessing to everyone who reads it. This weeeks devotional is below.

    May God bless you, guide you, and bring us all back together this week!

    “At the usual time for offering the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet walked up to the altar and prayed, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant. Prove that I have done all this at your command. O Lord, answer me! Answer me so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God and that you have brought them back to yourself.” Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the young bull, the wood, the stones, and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! And when all the people saw it, they fell face down on the ground and cried out, “The Lord—he is God! Yes, the Lord is God!”” 1 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭36‬-‭39‬ ‭

    “Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. Then the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to the entrance of Jezreel.”1 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭44‬-‭46‬

    Why did God want Elijah to reach Jezreel before King Ahab? Was it so Ahab couldn’t lie about what happened on Mount Carmel? Maybe Elijah’s presence at the gate kept the truth intact. Or could it be that God was simply making a statement that He was able to cause His prophet to run ahead of the King who trusted in idols over the Lord? Whatever the reason, we know that God absolutely empowered Elijah to run the 20 or so miles to Jezreel ahead of King Ahab and his chariots.

    In our own lives, if God causes or allows something to happen, there is a reason for it. Sometimes we do not need to know why. We just need to know Him; to have faith in Him. God’s character is threaded throughout scripture. It is sung out in our worship. If we are struggling, if we have stood up in the face of an accuser like King Ahab, we can trust that there is a God who loves us. He is fighting for us, carrying us ahead of our enemy. He is an all consuming fire. Burning up all that we are willing to lay down on the alter. Surrender unlocks our access to God’s presence. And God’s presence will keep us for all eternity.

    “So they shouted louder, and following their normal custom, they cut themselves with knives and swords until the blood gushed out. They raved all afternoon until the time of the evening sacrifice, but still there was no sound, no reply, no response.”

    ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭28‬-‭29‬

    During difficulty, who do we cry out to? The One True God, or the modern day idols such as materialism, success in our career, money, food, etc. Those gods will remain silent to our plea for help. They will never satisfy our spirit who is created to long after the Holy One.

    “Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe.”Hebrews‬ ‭12‬:‭28‬ ‭

    I call You, Jesus

    I call You, I call You healer

    Risen and reigning in power

    Something comes out of the grave

    Every time I call You, Jesus

    I call You, I call You Savior

    Worthy of glory forever

    Something comes out of the grave

    Every time I call Your name

    Chains break, dry bones wake

    Every time I call Your name

    The gates of hell shake

    Every time I call Your name

    Dead things come alive, yeah, dead things come alive

    Dead things come alive in the name of Jesus

    *Elevation Worship “I Know A Name”