Kaleo Church Podcast

How would you respond if you looked into the future and perceived a new political leader coming to power that you knew for certain was bent on bringing untold suffering on you and the ones you loved? This was the position Elisha found himself in here in 2 Kings 8. However, Elisha is not the only one who finds himself facing an enemy that is stronger than he is and bent on bringing him harm. Paul tells us that, as Christians, we too find ourselves in a similar situation. In this message, we will consider one of the ways that the Bible calls us to respond to it.

  What do we do with our regrets? And how does the promise of restoration deal with all that we end up missing out on in life because of the things we have lost? In this passage, the author of 2 Kings writes to a people who have lost everything and are struggling with regret. He gives us a glimmer of hope and helps us see why we should continue to wait for the LORD even in seasons of significant loss.

Sometimes, what makes God’s promises seem difficult to believe is how big they are. In the midst of terrible loss, it can be hard to believe that God has a plan to use even loss for our ultimate good. In the midst of deep loneliness, it can be difficult to believe that God is with us, and in the midst of inexcusable failure, it can be hard to fathom that he continues to enjoy loving us. These are some big promises, and in this passage, we will consider some different ways that people respond to things they consider too good to be true. 

Description: Psalm 23 is a well-known Psalm about God as our Shepherd. With lush imagery about green pastures and waters of rest, it is no wonder it's a favorite of many. But what happens when we find ourselves in the valley of deep darkness? Listen and hear about the good news of a Shepherd with his people in the darkness, using it all to help us better know him.

ave you ever found yourself asking, “Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” It is a question born out of pain and disappointment. A question that comes when we don’t understand why God isn’t fixing something that we care about and we don’t know why. For any of you who have ever wondered, “Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” this sermon is for you.

Summary: Sin is a failure to believe in God's promises to us, God's presence with us, and God's power for us. When we fail to believe the gospel, we blindly give into the temptations to grasp for control, to be lured away by the enticements of the world, or to give into fear and despair. And so, the constant refrain of scripture is to repent and believe the gospel - to turn away from that which has stolen our gaze and to fix our eyes of faith once again upon Jesus so that we might see with a right perspective.

Have you ever really struggled to forgive someone because you didn’t think they deserved it? Have you ever tried to extract from someone just a little bit of the pain that their sin had caused you? Have you ever hidden your failures in order to feel superior to someone else? If you find yourself resonating with any of these questions, then this sermon is for you.

 All of us have people in our lives who we find difficult to love, but what do we do? How do we love people who have hurt us? In this message, we will consider God’s love for his enemies and how it can enable us to love the people in our lives who we find difficult.

Have you ever tried your best at something only to find out that it wasn’t enough? That is a tough feeling, isn’t it? That feeling that comes over us when we realize that we are not good enough. In this message we will see why it is that we work so hard to be enough. We will also discover how it is that God has chosen to deal with the areas in which we have fallen short.

Have you ever tried to help someone and ended up doing more harm than good? Have you ever found out after the fact that you had deeply hurt someone? How does the Gospel help us deal with the harm we may unwittingly cause? Is there hope that harm can be healed both for ourselves and for those we have hurt? These are the questions we will consider in this passage.

In a world where nothing feels safe, how are we supposed to protect ourselves from being crushed by disappointment? How can we open our hearts to unfiltered joy when happiness often feels like a setup for heartbreak? These are just a few of the questions we will consider in this sermon.

Have you ever heard someone share a miracle story and wondered, “Why did God answer their prayer for a miracle and not mine?” In this passage, we will consider the purpose of miracles and how we are supposed to deal with the difficult times when God says No.

Where do you turn in the midst of a crisis? Do you turn to God or do you double down on your own wisdom? If you do turn to God, do you turn to him in humility to ask for help or in frustration to blame him for everything that is going wrong? And how do you respond when the crisis is over? Do you continue to live in dependence upon God or do you drift back into self-reliance until things fall apart again? In this passage we will be reminded of just how desperately we need God’s help and why we can trust that his help will always be there for us.

On what do you place your confidence? Whether we like to admit it or not our confidence is often misplaced in things that are fleeting. Elisha teaches us that for those who follow the LORD, the foundation of our confidence is the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God. The Word of God alone is always true and always accomplishes the purposes of God. Jesus Christ died and rose to ensure that his Word will overcome all opposition and his promises to us are certain.

Anyone who has ever been discipled knows how God can give you respect and admiration for the one who discipled you. But what happens when God calls that person elsewhere? Should you find someone else to disciple you? Should you disciple others? Listen and hear how the gospel forms us into men and women who count the cost of following Jesus and call others to follow him with us.

What does the call of Elisha have to teach us about the call of God to each and every follower of Jesus Christ? Have you counted the cost? Is following Jesus worth it when it leads to a life of service and sacrifice? Elisha's call reminds us that "God is my salvation." Jesus answered the call of God perfectly so that he could now call us out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

      How do you respond when someone points out an area in your life where you were wrong? Do you get defensive? Do you return the favor and point out all of the areas where the person who corrected you has fallen short? In I Corinthians 16:10-11 Paul calls the Corinthians to welcome Timothy’s correction rather than despising him for it. In this message we will consider what it might look like for us to apply this advice towards anyone who chooses to correct us out of love.   

      What do you do when you work really hard to put together a plan only to find that nothing turned out the way you expected it to? It can be hard right? Now what about when your plans involved a relationship? When our relationships don’t go the way we planned we often find ourselves feeling lonely and heartbroken. In this passage we will see how Paul responded when his relationship with the Corinthians didn’t end up going the way he planned it to.

What is it that makes money so attractive? Is it the freedom and the control that it offers? Is it the security it gives in the midst of all the uncertainties of the future? Or maybe it’s the comfort and pleasure that money promises? In this message, we will compare the promises of money and the promises of the Gospel and find that, in the end, Jesus is better. Lastly, we will consider what it would look like to live as if Jesus and not money were our greatest treasure.