After experiencing the power and authority of the God of Israel on top of Mount Carmel, where fire fell from heaven to consume Elijah’s sacrifice, the prophet runs to Jezreel ahead of King Ahab. Upon hearing Jezebel’s threats to execute him, Elijah then flees in despair to a distant mountaintop. Later, King Ahab of Israel goes to battle with Ben-Hadad of Aram. The Lord sends an unnamed prophet to alert Ahab that the Lord will win the battle for Israel so that Ahab will know that He alone is God over the whole earth. Then, when Ahab disobeys the Lord’s command and spares Ben-Hadad instead of destroying him, the Lord sends another unnamed prophet to pronounce judgment.

1 Kings 19 – 1:09 .

1 Kings 20 – 6:35 .

Psalm 94 – 18:23 .

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Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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The string of men who reign as king over the ten tribes of Israel continue to get worse and worse, each king being more corrupt than the last. King Ahab should be worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought Israel out of Egypt, but instead he marries a Baal worshiper, turns to serve Ball himself, then builds a temple to Baal in Samaria. Elijah boldly confronts the king in the name of the Lord of Armies. God works wonders through Elijah, and by God’s strength, Elijah performs miraculous signs.

1 Kings 16 - 1:09 .

1 Kings 17 - 8:14 .

1 Kings 18 - 12:43 .

Psalm 92 - 23:49 .

Psalm 93 - 25:38 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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Now that King Solomon has died, the prophecies of God spoken through his prophet Ahijah have come to fruition. In our last episode, Ahijah tore a new robe into 12 pieces and gave 10 pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing the number of tribes he would rule over. Remember that Solomon’s son Rehoboam insults Jeroboam, who formerly worked under Solomon as a supervisor over forced labor. After Jeroboam led a revolt, he became king over those 10 tribes. Despite the Lord’s kindness to Jeroboam, he also turned away from God and immediately set up two sanctuaries, each with a golden calf. Today, God’s wrath and impending destruction are announced by an unnamed prophet.

1 Kings 13 – 1:09 .

1 Kings 14 – 9:06 .

1 Kings 15 – 16:06 .

Psalm 91 – 22:20 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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Even though Solomon’s life is marked by the goodness and grace of God, even though Solomon has built the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem, and even though Solomon’s wisdom is unsurpassed, his devotion to the Lord and to his statutes wanes in his latter years. Why? Because in his power and in his lavish wealth, he has accumulated hundreds of wives for himself. In marrying wives from surrounding nations, he has disobeyed the direct command of the Lord and fallen into idolatry. As such is the case, the Lord vows to take the kingdom away from Solomon’s family after he is gone. Sadly, the wisdom that Solomon had passed on to his sons doesn’t take root, as the foolishness of his son Rehoboam causes a revolt and a division in the nation of Israel.

1 Kings 10 - 1:10 .

1 Kings 11 - 7:31 .

1 Kings 12 - 17:08 .

Psalm 90 - 24:30 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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Today’s reading contains the second-longest chapter in all of Scripture, which is 1 Kings chapter 8, and it’s long for a great reason: King Solomon gets excited and is full of prayer and praise as he conducts the first worship gathering at the Lord’s temple. Though the tabernacle existed before the temple, this is the first permanent structure built for the worship of God in a particular geographic location. As you can imagine, it’s a pretty big deal. The party lasts for two full weeks, after which the Lord appears to Solomon a second time echoing both the blessings and curses he gave to Moses before him.

1 Kings 7 - 1:05 .

1 Kings 8 - 10:13 .

1 Kings 9 - 24:08 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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As always, the Lord God makes good on His promises, and Solomon flourishes under the Lord’s lavish provision. Blessed with peace on every side and abundant wealth, Solomon does not kick back and take it easy; instead, he sets His mind on things above and gets to work. Knowing that the Lord had promised David a son who would come from his family and would establish God’s house forever, Solomon builds a center of worship for God that reflects the plans for the original tabernacle. In work, wealth, and worship, Solomon is a foreshadow of the Son of David who would establish a greater kingdom where God is worshipped by the nations and the people dwell with Him in peace.

1 Kings 4 - 1:12 .

1 Kings 5 - 6:13 .

1 Kings 6 - 10:41 .

Psalm 88 - 17:18 .

Psalm 89 - 19:39 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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With King David on his death bed, the royal family knows that the time to transfer power is drawing near. David’s oldest son, Adonijah, gains support for himself from well-known leaders like Joab and Abiathar, calling Judah together for a feast to celebrate his bid for kingship. Nathan the prophet catches word, and teams up with Bathsheba to alert the king. Later, the Lord appears to King Solomon in a dream, and instead of asking for wealth or long life, he asks the Lord for wisdom to lead God’s people. This pleases the Lord, who promises blessing upon Solomon’s reign.

1 Kings 1 - 1:15 .

1 Kings 2 - 12:49 .

1 Kings 3 - 23:28 .

Psalm 87 - 29:00 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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Paul catches word from fellow workers in the Gospel that the church at Colossae is wrestling with some false teaching that had entered their church. While the heresy is not fully identified, we gather that it had an inferior view of Christ, involved worship of angels and asceticism, and promoted man-made traditions. Paul directs their hearts and minds to give glory to Christ and to seek the things that are above, where Christ is. He is Lord over all Creation, and therefore, no elemental, created thing could be as glorious or as powerful as Him.

Colossians 1 - 1:11 .

Colossians 2 - 5:49 .

Colossians 3 - 10:47 .

Colossians 4 - 14:39 .

Psalm 85 - 17:45 .

Psalm 86 - 19:22 .

:::

Christian Standard Bible translation.

All music written and produced by John Burgess Ross.

Co-produced by Bobby Brown, Katelyn Pridgen, Eric Williamson & the Christian Standard Bible

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