Rooted || Solomon || November 16, 2025

This message invites us into the complex and cautionary story of King Solomon, whose life began with extraordinary promise yet ended in tragic compromise. Using the striking image of the Leaning Tower of Pisa—a beautiful structure built on unstable ground—we're reminded that even the most gifted among us can drift when our foundation shifts. Solomon's story in 1 Kings reveals a man who asked God for wisdom rather than wealth or power, and God was so pleased that He granted both. Solomon built the magnificent temple where God's glory dwelled, yet his heart slowly turned away through compromise with foreign wives and their gods. The sermon powerfully explores how spiritual drift doesn't happen overnight but through small, seemingly innocent compromises—a skipped church service here, a tolerated influence there. We're challenged to examine what we're praying for most, because our prayers reveal what we truly value. Solomon's life teaches us that it's possible to start well and finish poorly, but also that God's grace meets us even in our messy beginnings. Just as God called Solomon 'Jedidiah'—loved by the Lord—despite being born from David and Bathsheba's sin, God looks at each of us with love and promise, regardless of our past. The message culminates with the reminder that we need someone greater than Solomon: Jesus, who never drifts, who builds us as His temple, and who offers us the Holy Spirit to guard our hearts daily.