Soma Spokane Sermons

With one short sentence from Jezebel, Elijah runs for his life. He’s gone from the mountain top of spiritual revival on Mt Carmel to the depth of despair, ready to quit. God meets him in the wilderness and provides a snack and a nap, and he’s enabled to carry on. As he arrives at Horeb, he’s still spiritually uncertain and feeling abandoned by God — but God meets him and gives him fresh direction....

Elijah prays for the rain to come and... nothing happens. But Elijah persists in prayer until a breakthrough comes. Like Daniel in Babylon, or the widow before the unjust judge, there is a persistence and tenacity in his prayer life. We likewise are called to be consistent and tenacious in our prayers, trusting in God's goodness, and recognizing prayer as an act of war. James says Elijah is a man...

In this famous story of Elijah's bold challenge to the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, we learn the importance of confronting idolatry and false gods in our lives and society with unwavering faith in the one true God. In particular, we're looking this week at political idolatry, and the ways in which political partisanship has gained our allegiance, deformed our faith, and tarnished our witness....

In a surprising twist of events, the widow to whom Elijah was sent finds her son near to death, and blames Elijah! Elijah moves in faith and prayer and puts his life on the line to give life to the widow’s son. How can we go to the places where death is currently reigning, and stretch out like Elijah to bring life and wholeness? How does the gospel empower us to do justice, love mercy, and walk hu...

Elijah is called out of "Babylon”, but also sent back in, on mission. God sends him to a widow's house, in weakness and vulnerability. As he steps out in faith, God does a miracle. This isn't a one-off, it's a pattern for how God wants us to live. We're sent into Babylon, on mission, in weakness and vulnerability, and it's in this context that God will supply the bread.

Elijah found himself in the middle of one of the worst national apostasies in Israel’s history and yet was determined to be faithful to YHWH. Elijah is willing to be out of step with his cultural moment in order to be faithful to God and the Covenant He’s made with Israel. And that makes him a Trouble Maker (1 Kings 18:17). In this series, we’ll consider 7 Practices that help anchor our allegiance...

Our study in Hebrews comes to a close with an incredible one-sentence summary of the entire book: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever! Over 13 chapters, the author of Hebrews has shown us the sufficiency and uniqueness of Jesus, urging us to leave behind all the substitutes and distractions, and to press on in faith and obedience. In this Easter message, we celebrate all Jes...

This Palm Sunday, we look at a savior who entered the holy city, only to leave it again. The shouts of the crowds and the bustle of the elite's religion didn't entice Jesus to stick around. Jesus was compelled by a deep compassion for all people, especially the lost. Jesus was constantly finding his way to the margins. He constantly drifted toward the outsiders on the edges of society. Hebrews 13...

Hebrews 11 is a long list of biblical figures who “by faith” conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, quenched the power of fire, and were tortured unto death. They were made strong out of weakness, because of the one in whom they placed their faith. Hebrews 12 turns the corner and says “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses… let us run with endurance the race that is set before us...

Hebrews 8-10 is a rich exposition of the supremacy of Jesus and his sacrifice over the sacrificial system and high priests of Judaism. The old system was a mixed bag: God gave his people a way to deal with the sin problem, but it actually served to continuously remind them of the sin problem. It was simply insufficient, unable to really cleanse the conscience of the worshipper, and sin's guilty we...

Hebrews 5-7 contains one of the strongest warnings in the entire New Testament, a text that has been a cause of anxious concern for disciples across the ages. On one hand, the authors are befuddled at the ongoing immaturity of the church, and are challenging the seeming passivity: They are like nursing infants when they should be mature adults helping to feed others. On the other hand, they know t...

The unknown author of Hebrews has a 2-fold purpose in this profound letter: To wake us from spiritual slumber and to compel us to see the all-sufficiency of Jesus. Built around 6 strong warning texts, Hebrews is designed to call the reader to wake up, pay attention to their spiritual state, and turn from anything and everything that is clouding their vision and numbing their experience of the all-...

The unknown author of Hebrews has a 2-fold purpose in this profound letter: To wake us from spiritual slumber and to compel us to see the all-sufficiency of Jesus. Built around 6 strong warning texts, Hebrews is designed to call the reader to wake up, pay attention to their spiritual state, and turn from anything and everything that is clouding their vision and numbing their experience of the all-...

It feels almost impossible to believe: Jesus says it is better for us to have the Holy Spirit with us than for us to have Jesus himself with us. The arrival of the Helper, the Holy Spirit, is a magnificent upgrade to Jesus' mission and ministry! In the Spirit, every single disciple of Jesus across time and space has direct access to the same presence and power of God that Jesus himself enjoyed. If...

In the Upper Room, as Jesus prepared his disciples for his departure, the anxiety grew and the fear was likely palpable. What would it be like without Him right in front of them? How would they make it in an antagonistic world without Him as a compass? Jesus assured them that it would be better for them after he departed. The Helper (The Ghost) would arrive! This wouldn’t only be to the advantage...

Depending on your church background, there are a lot of misguided notions about the third member of the Godhead. Thankfully, Jesus is really clear and spends quite a bit of time explaining to his disciples what exactly they ought to expect when he sends the Spirit. In John 14-16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, and for their role in carrying on his mission and ministry. They’re...

Depending on your church background, there are a lot of misguided notions about the third member of the Godhead. Thankfully, Jesus is really clear and spends quite a bit of time explaining to his disciples what exactly they ought to expect when he sends the Spirit. In John 14-16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, and for their role in carrying on his mission and ministry. They’re...

Depending on your church background, there are a lot of misguided notions about the third member of the Godhead. Thankfully, Jesus is really clear and spends quite a bit of time explaining to his disciples what exactly they ought to expect when he sends the Spirit. In John 14-16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, and for their role in carrying on his mission and ministry. They’re...

Depending on your church background, there are a lot of misguided notions about the third member of the Godhead. Thankfully, Jesus is really clear and spends quite a bit of time explaining to his disciples what exactly they ought to expect when he sends the Spirit. In John 14-16, Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, and for their role in carrying on his mission and ministry. They’re...

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to humanity....

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real-time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected back on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to human...

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real-time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected back on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to human...

In the days of Jesus’ life, people came to know him from the ground-up — they walked with him, watched and listened to him, experienced his reality, and in real-time came to know him as Savior and Lord. After his death and resurrection, as the first disciples reflected back on all he was and all he did, they came to know Jesus from the heavens-down, comprehending his deity and his descent to human...

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, p...

A.W. Tozer has said what we conceive God to be like in our deepest heart is the most important thing about us. At a deep level, our image of God shapes almost everything about us, particularly how we relate to God, to one another, and even to ourselves. In Exodus 33-34, Moses makes a bold request of God: Show me your glory! It is a desire to know what God is really like and to know it at a deep, p...