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Sermon-Based Discussion

Week of 7/6/25

Pastor Nate Gallagher

I Kings 18:1-40

“Spirit Filled Life Rises Against Resistance”

Pastor Nate began by reminding us that we are promised that the world will hate us because they hate Jesus Christ. We are to expect opposition and persecution. The opposition is real, so we need a plan to prepare for the resistance.

Q: Have you ever felt hatred from the world? If so, share what that was like.

Cultural Resistance (vs. 1-4)
The drought was a direct attack against Baal since he was the “god of fertility and rain.”

In our culture over the past several decades, we have seen a shift in the world’s view of Christianity from positive to neutral, to the current negative view. This has led to a new “soft-totalitarianism”—unspoken threats on Christian views. Our response has become quietly censoring ourselves to avoid being persecuted.

Q: How have you censored yourself in todays’ culture?

Q: How can you still be true to your faith while loving the lost who have made negative assumptions about Christianity?

Another danger we face today in America is Cultural Christianity—“Family, Football, and Faith”—where being a Christian is a convenience with little to no surrender or transformation. The Bible clearly states in Luke 14 that Jesus must be number one in our lives. We are called to have an undivided heart.

Q: How have you found yourself participating in or fighting Cultural Christianity?

Personal Resistance (vs. 22-37)
There was a large audience standing against Elijah and God. This was surely a stressful situation for Elijah, as it can be for us when we take a public stand for our faith and God.

Q: Have you ever been in a position where it felt like everyone was against you (or against you and God)?

In verses 25-37, Elijah’s response was to pray. He prayed for God to hear him, strengthen him, and be glorified through him.

Q: What’s your initial response when you are met with resistance? What practices help you remember to turn to God first?

Spiritual Resistance (vs. 38-40)

God’s fire consumed the entire sacrifice including the water. No god compares to our God (Yahweh), the true and living God. Elijah’s response is to worship and wait. We worship by giving our lives to him in reverent obedience. Waiting is an act of trust and a demonstration of our belief that God is sovereign over our lives and all circumstances.

Q: In what ways have you leaned on your own ability rather than waiting on God to act?

Q: How do you incorporate worship and waiting in your walk with the Lord?

It is God’s desire to make Himself known to all. That those who have placed their faith in Him would continue to trust Him with their lives in all situations, even in harsh opposition and great resistance, and that those who don’t know Him would turn to Him and put their trust in Him as they witness our faith in action. The world is watching and our faith is on display, that the power of God might be revealed in and through us for His glory.

“Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” 1 Kings 18:37