Illuminate Community Church

Illuminate Community Church
  • 4.9 (29)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

We are a church that believes in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, therefore we exist to know Jesus and make him known in the valley and throughout the world. We desire to bring renewal, restoration and redemption as we tell those around us of the life-giving message found in Jesus. We act by serving those who are in need because we are called to be people of faith and action.

  1. 2d ago

    What Is Success?

    Our Sunday study brings us to1 Kings chapter 9. This passage asks us to wrestle with a question that is incredibly relevant to all of us: What is success?  Solomon certainly looks like he has it all. He has completed the temple, built his palace, expanded his kingdom, accumulated wealth, and established international influence. By almost every human measure, Solomon is succeeding. But when God speaks to him, He doesn’t congratulate him on what he has built. Instead, God speaks to him about his heart. This really caught my attention because it’s easy for us to become so focused on what we are accomplishing that we forget to pay attention to what is happening inside of us. We can look at our careers, families, finances, ministries, or achievements and assume that if those things are going well, then we must be doing well spiritually. But God sees something deeper. Solomon is building an impressive kingdom, while God is looking for a heart that is wholly devoted to Him. This causes us to ask the question: While we are building the life we want, what kind of person are we becoming? Success isn't ultimately about what we accomplish with our hands, but about who we are becoming. God’s desire is that we would be a church whose hearts remain wholly devoted to Jesus. Because at the end of our lives, the most important things are not what we build, but what has been built in us.

    What Is Success?

  2. Sep 27

    God Hears and God Forgives

    This week we’re continuing our journey through 1 Kings chapter 8. We'll read Solomon’s beautiful prayer at the dedication of the temple. What strikes me about this prayer is how clearly Solomon understands that Israel’s greatest need isn’t simply relief from difficult circumstances. Their real need is forgiveness. Solomon knows that God’s people will sin, experience the consequences of their sin, and yet, when they turn back to God, they can trust that He hears them and forgives them. That is an incredibly hopeful picture of the character of God: He is holy enough to take our sin seriously, but merciful enough to welcome us when we turn back to Him. Praise the Lord for this! As we walk through the prayer, we’ll see him describe many difficult circumstances from the nation's past. This includes defeat, drought, famine, sickness, and exile. But the response is remarkably consistent: turn toward God, confess your sin, and ask Him to hear and forgive. Solomon understands that sin can disrupt our fellowship with God and bring painful consequences, but it does not have to be the end of our relationship with Him. God calls His people to repentance. When we turn back to Him, He is faithful to forgive and restore. Ultimately, this passage points us toward the heart of the gospel. We don’t simply have a God who knows our sin; we have a God who has made a way for our sin to be forgiven through Jesus. And God’s goal is not merely to forgive us and leave us where we are. Solomon prays that God would “incline our hearts to Him” so that we would walk in His ways. My hope this week is that we would not hide from God when we sin. We are encouraged to turn toward Him, receive His forgiveness, and allow His grace to change the direction of our lives.

    God Hears and God Forgives

  3. Sep 20

    When God Takes His Rightful Place

    This Sunday we’ll continue our journey through 1 Kings as we come to chapter 8 and the dedication of Solomon’s temple. After 7 years of planning and construction, the temple is finally completed, the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the Most Holy Place, and the glory of the Lord fills the temple. But as I’ve studied this chapter, I’ve been reminded that the building itself was never the point. The point was the presence of God among His people. That raises an important question for us: Are we keeping God at the center of all that we do? One of the things I love about this chapter is Solomon’s humility. When he looks at this incredible accomplishment, he doesn’t take the credit for himself. Instead, he looks back and says, “Look what God has done!” God had made promises generations earlier, and now Solomon was standing in the middle of their fulfillment. That is such a good reminder for us. We work, we plan, we lead, we sacrifice, and we play our part, but ultimately, God is the one who brings His purposes to pass. And I think there is something powerful about regularly stopping to remember how God has brought us to where we are. That’s especially meaningful to me as I think about our church. Every time we walk through the doors of Illuminate, we can be reminded of God’s faithfulness. The building is not sacred, and we never want to confuse a building with the presence of God, because Scripture tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. But the building itself can serve as a kind of memorial stone. It is a reminder of prayers answered, lives changed, people coming to faith, marriages restored, and the many ways He has been faithful to us. So this Sunday, I want us not only to look at what God did for Israel, but to look back at what God has done among us and say with grateful hearts, “Only God! Look how far You have brought us.

    When God Takes His Rightful Place

  4. Sep 13

    What Has Your Heart?

    As we continue through 1 Kings this Sunday, we come to chapter 7 and examine the building of Solomon's palace, and the completion of the temple. What David had dreamed about, Solomon accomplished. Solomon had spent years preparing and building, and now the house of the Lord was finally finished. And yet, as I’ve spent time in this chapter, I’ve been struck by the tension between what Solomon was building and what we know was happening in Solomon’s heart. From the outside, there's so much to admire. Solomon was building the temple. He was leading Israel. He was experiencing incredible success. God had blessed him with wisdom, wealth, and influence. But if you're familiar with Solomon's story, you might know where it's heading. By chapter 11, Scripture will tell us that Solomon’s heart “was not wholly true to the LORD his God.” Somewhere along the way, a man who had done incredible things for God allowed other things to compete with God for his heart.  I think there’s something deeply challenging about that. It’s possible to do things for God without growing closer to God. We can serve. We can give. We can know our Bibles. We can show up every Sunday. We can even accomplish things that genuinely honor God and still allow our hearts to slowly drift from Him. And sometimes the things competing for our hearts aren’t even bad things. A career. Success. Financial security. Comfort. Relationships. Recognition. Even good things can become competitors for our hearts when we give them a place that belongs to God alone. So, as I’ve studied 1 Kings 7 this week, I’ve found myself coming back to one question: What is competing with God for my heart? Jesus would later warn that no one can serve two masters. Eventually, something will have our greatest allegiance. This Sunday, we’ll explore that tension together in 1 Kings 7 and consider this truth: What we build for God can’t replace a heart that belongs to God.

    What Has Your Heart?

  5. Sep 6

    The Builder Before The Building

    This Sunday we’re continuing our journey through 1 Kings as we come to chapters 5 and 6. This is the beginning of Solomon’s work to build the temple. As I’ve been studying these chapters this week, I’ve been reminded that some of the most important things God does in our lives happen in seasons that don’t seem particularly significant. Before Solomon ever built the temple, there was a great deal of preparation: gathering materials, organizing people, forming partnerships, and simply doing the work that needed to be done. It’s a good reminder that God is often preparing us through the ordinary things long before we see how He intends to use them. I think that’s an important word for many of us. We can spend so much time looking ahead to what we hope God will do next that we miss what He has placed right in front of us today. Maybe your most important ministry right now is loving your family well, being faithful in your marriage, investing in your children, serving someone who needs you, or simply walking faithfully with Jesus in the ordinary rhythms of life. The question isn’t always, “What great thing is God going to do through me?” Sometimes it’s simply, “What has God given me the opportunity to be faithful in today?” And then, in the middle of all the magnificent details of the temple, God speaks to Solomon about something even more important than the building itself: obedience. It’s possible to build something impressive for God while neglecting our walk with God. We can serve, lead, teach, and do good things while our hearts slowly drift. So this Sunday, I want us to be reminded that God cares more about the obedience of the builder than the beauty of the building. My hope is that as we look at Solomon’s story, we’ll each ask a simple but important question: Am I just building something for God, or am I faithfully walking with God?

    The Builder Before The Building

  6. Aug 30

    The Fruit of Wisdom

    This Sunday we're continuing our journey through 1 Kings, and at first glance, chapter 4 may seem like one of those passages you're tempted to skim over because it's filled with names and numbers. But beneath the surface is a powerful picture of what happens when God's wisdom moves beyond a single decision and begins shaping an entire life, and even an entire nation. Solomon asked God for wisdom, and now we see what that wisdom actually produced. One of the questions we'll wrestle with together is this: What does God's wisdom look like in everyday life? Most of us think of wisdom as making the right decision in a difficult moment. But Scripture shows us something much bigger. God's wisdom is seen in how we lead our families, steward our responsibilities, build teams, make decisions, and create environments where others can flourish. This chapter reveals far more than just a list of ancient names. My hope is that we will discover how God's wisdom brings order, peace, and flourishing, and why those blessings are never meant to replace our dependence on the God who gives them. I pray this passage will do for you what it has done for me - encourage, challenge, and remind all of us where true wisdom is found.

    The Fruit of Wisdom

  7. Aug 23

    When Knowledge Isn't Enough

    This Sunday we come to one of the most famous moments in Solomon’s life. God essentially gives the young king a blank check: “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon could have asked for wealth, success, a long life, or the defeat of his enemies. Instead, he looks at the enormous responsibility in front of him and admits, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” So he asks God for wisdom. I love that! Solomon’s wisdom actually begins by recognizing how much he needs God. We’ve never had more information available to us than we do right now. Google can give us answers in seconds, and AI can gather and process more information than all of our ancestors combined. But more information doesn’t necessarily make us wiser. Biblical wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective and choosing accordingly. And we need that kind of wisdom in our marriages, parenting, work, finances, relationships, leadership, and the decisions that shape our lives. I hate to say it, but Solomon’s story comes with a severe warning: there’s a big difference between knowing what is wise and actually doing it. The wisest man in the world would eventually make some incredibly foolish choices. I can relate to that, and I’m guessing you can too. This Sunday we’ll discover why wisdom begins with humility, what it means to have a “listening heart,” and why our greatest source of wisdom isn’t Solomon or any other human or human-made thing; it’s Jesus.

    When Knowledge Isn't Enough

  8. Aug 16

    Before You Lead

    This Sunday we'll continue our journey through 1 Kings by looking at the opening verses of chapter 2. Last week we watched David pass the crown to Solomon. This week we'll discover that receiving a crown is much easier than carrying one. As David nears the end of his life, he gives his son one final charge before taking the throne. What he says may surprise you. Rather than offering military strategy, political advice, or leadership techniques, David points Solomon to something much deeper. At the heart of this passage is a timeless principle that applies to every one of us: before you lead anyone else, you must first lead yourself in walking faithfully with God. Whether you're leading a family, a business, a classroom, a ministry, or simply influencing those around you, the greatest leadership challenge isn't "How do I lead others?" but "Am I faithfully following the Lord?" We'll also explore what biblical strength really looks like in a culture that often gets manhood, leadership, and success wrong. I'm looking forward to opening God's Word together as we see how a promise God made to David over a thousand years before Christ ultimately finds its fulfillment in Jesus, the greater Son of David whose kingdom will never end. Looking forward to seeing you this Sunday, and come expecting God to encourage and challenge your heart through His Word!

    Before You Lead
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About

We are a church that believes in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, therefore we exist to know Jesus and make him known in the valley and throughout the world. We desire to bring renewal, restoration and redemption as we tell those around us of the life-giving message found in Jesus. We act by serving those who are in need because we are called to be people of faith and action.

Information

  • Creator
    Illuminate Community Church
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    197
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Illuminate Community Church - AZ
  • Show Website
    Illuminate Community Church

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