1 Kings 10:1–5; Matthew 11:12; Mark 1:15
What makes a church worth visiting? Guest speaker Pastor Audrey Carmona of People Church shows from 1 Kings 10 that the Queen of Sheba was not won over by a sermon but undone by a culture of surrender, worship, excellence, unity, and God's presence. Then from Matthew 11:12 she calls Elan to contend for the kingdom with holy hunger, refusing spiritual passivity, because the kingdom is taken by the committed, not the curious.
Key takeaways
- God's presence is not earned or manufactured; it is prepared for, as Solomon built according to God's design, with sacrifice, order, unity, and dedication to God's rule.
- The world will come with hard questions, and a Spirit-led, Bible-literate church can give answers the world actually needs.
- The kingdom is both violently opposed and violently pursued; the violent are the hungry, repentant, all-in pursuers, not the cautious religious observers.
- Contending for the kingdom looks like prayer before power, confronting opposition with authority, costly discipleship, and desperate faith rather than casual belief.
- The kingdom runs on hunger, not hype, and advances through surrendered bodies rather than buildings; it is taken by the willing, not the gifted.
Message notes
A church with vitality
Pastor Audrey Carmona, who leads People Church in Chicago with her husband Chris, honors Pastors Max and Juliet and encourages anyone waiting on a promise to hold on because God is in the process. Looking up the name Elan, she found it means vitality, confidence, and forward movement, something rising from within rather than forced from without. Elan happens when people are surrendered, God's presence is hosted, and the kingdom is taken seriously.
Undone by a culture
Reading 1 Kings 10:1–5, Pastor Audrey points out that the Queen of Sheba came with hard questions and was overwhelmed not just by Solomon's wisdom but by the house he built, the order of his servants, the burnt offerings, and the presence of God resting on it all. "She wasn't converted by a sermon. She was undone by a culture." When the world comes knocking with hard questions, a people who know the Lord and His Word can bring the answers it needs. The temple was powerful not because of gold but because surrendered people built it according to God's design.
Five lessons from Solomon
God's presence is not earned or manufactured; it is prepared for. First, Solomon built according to God's design: obedience before glory, and presence follows alignment. Second, he built with sacrifice: cost before celebration, a temple soaked in surrender. Third, he built with order and excellence: stewardship before spectacle, where excellence is honor rather than performance. Pastor Audrey recalls packing her father's old briefcase with crayons at age nine and walking to the church around the corner because she had to be in the house of God. Creativity and excellence without soul are pointless. Fourth, Solomon built with corporate unity, a people rather than a personality. Fifth, he dedicated the house to God's rule: rule before rest, and God filled what was yielded.
Jesus shows us how to contend
From Matthew 11:12, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force, and John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Preparing for presence is one thing; contending for it is another. Jesus announces a kingdom that demands a response; repentance is a decisive reorientation, not a drift. He models contending through prayer, dependence before power, choosing presence over popularity. He confronts opposition directly, because where the kingdom advances resistance appears. He calls for costly discipleship, following over admiration, and Pastor Audrey warns against being enamored with online voices whose theology and church life are unknown. He praises desperate faith, like the woman with the issue of blood, never rebuking hunger, only passivity. And He warns against casual belief, because proximity is not possession.
Who are the violent?
The Greek word means to press in, seize, and push through resistance: holy desperation and spiritual hunger. The violent were not the Pharisees but tax collectors who left everything, prostitutes who wept at Jesus' feet, fishermen who dropped their nets, and anyone who refused to stay the same. Observers are religious, cautious, and unmoved; pursuers are hungry, repentant, urgent, and all in. Only one group enters. Pastor Audrey describes her burden for families behind closed doors in Naperville and Aurora, and how she and Chris course correct what their kids hear at school around the dining room table, determined to give them purpose, love, and Jesus. Elan's assignment this year is to refuse passivity.
How to choose holy violence
God has already kicked the door open; the kingdom is here, and if you have breath God is not done with you. The kingdom advances through bodies, not buildings, and moves when we go, not only when we gather. It runs on hunger, not hype. When God shows up things get loud, and she expects a holy ruckus as Elan finds its voice and shares testimonies. The violent simply make decisions, without waiting for perfect timing.
Become a dwelling worth visiting
Solomon shows how a dwelling place is prepared; Jesus shows how the dwelling place became a person; now we are not visiting a temple but becoming it. God's presence rests where His rule is honored, and People Church has done far more by becoming obsessed with His presence than by lifting heavy things in its own strength. "The kingdom is not taken by the curious. It's taken by the committed." When God finds a home, He is unapologetic about the real estate He takes up, and He is for you.
