How to Bring a Good Man Down…and Back Again - 1 Kings 11:1–14

Sep 4, 2026

A sermon on Solomon’s unraveling in 1 Kings 11:1–14, showing how a life that “had it all” falls apart through divided loyalties. The message connects Solomon’s foreign attachments and idolatry to a warning about the heart turning away from the Lord. It contrasts personal success stories and public “where are they now” disappearances with Scripture’s explanation for collapse. The sermon also emphasizes pursuing effective community and local engagement for reaching people, not merely building locations.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Solomon’s “where it all went wrong”

Reading: 1 Kings 11:1–14

“How to Howto Bring a Good Man Down…and Back Again” // 1 Kings 11:1– 14 // The Man Who Had ItAll \#4 Apex Campus Summit Church, could we put our hands together at all campuses and welcome (for the 1st time) the Apex Campus to the Summit Church? (This is one of many things your MULTIPLY giving has enabled us todo.) We are one church that meets in 11 locations each weekend. ● One church—we gather as one covenant body, we hear the same message, experience the same ministries and pursue the same mission. ● Here’s what is amazing: Every weekend, more than 60% of our people experience the preaching via livestream rather than in person. We have pursued this strategy because we believe it best enables us to reach people, which is at the core of our calling. ● Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and so we, as his followers, believe that means that we should pursue any church growth in ways that best enable us to engage those outside of Christ. And we have found that multiplying smaller campuses across the Triangle is more effective than raising $100 million to build one gargantuan six-flags-over-Jesus kind of building at one location. We think church is best when it is local. ● We don’t think church should be an event you drive 45 minutes to one time a week. ● We believe church is a community you belong to, and communities only work when they are local. ● And, we also know that having a worship place close by is better for reaching out to people. You may be willing to drive 45 min to a church you are committed to, but that person you just met at Starbucks you started sharing the gospel with is likely not willing to drive 45 minutes to a church they have no exposure to. ● So, we say,“Stay where you are, serve where you live, let’s bethe church in your community.” It has never been, and never will be about buildings—it is about reaching people. Buildings are just tools to help us do that. So here we are, 1 church, 11 campuses: 2 in the prisons and 1 in Spanish, but one church: The Summit Church. Could we again put our hands together in thanks to God for what he has allowed us to be a part of? THE BEST IS YET TO COME Introduction: 1 Kings 11… Final week of part 1 of a series on Solomon, ‘The Man Who Had It All.’ Every time I am flipping through the channels and come across oneof those “Where Are They Now?” shows—about some star that was the cat’s meow for a while and then just disappeared’ I just have to stop and watch. It often feels like watching a train wreck—you can’t look away! Here’s someone who had it all—and then just fell apart. And usually I didn’t realize this person had gone off the radar until they tell me. But then I’m like,“Well, now that you mention it, where is Meg Ryan and I haven’t seen Emilio Estevez in any movies recently. Are they still alive?” One of my favorites is Daniel LaRusso, the hero of the second greatest movie in our nation’s history, The Karate Kid, right behind National Treasure. ● Seriously, I’ve been waiting for years to let my kids in on the magic that was Karate Kid, and so we finally watched it over Spring Break this year. ● And, at first, my kids were like,“What… why the old movie, dad? Old movies are all dumb and boring.” ● But I said,“I’m your dad and God put me in your life because I know what is best for you,” and as we pressed on they fell underneath the spell, and they were like,“Dad. This is awesome! And they were doing the “Wax on, wax off” And then they saw on Amazon the recommendation,“Because you liked… we suggest”there was a Karate Kid 2, they said,“Dad, we HAVE to watch that”(which is not as good as the 1st but still good, so we did) . ● And then one day Allie came home and said,“Dad did you know there is a Karate Kid 3? Dad, we have to watch Karate Kid 3.” And I said,“Sweetheart, I’d have to hate a person pretty bad to inflict on them Karate Kid 3. Karate Kid 3 was one of the worst disappointments of my life, right behind the Left

FAQs

What does 1 Kings 11:1–14 explain about Solomon’s downfall?

It explains that Solomon loved foreign women, his heart turned away toward other gods, and he began doing evil in the Lord’s sight.

Why does the sermon describe the chapter as seeming to come “out of nowhere”?

The sermon notes that the breakdown can feel sudden to listeners, but Scripture shows the slow turning of the heart away from the Lord.

How is the idea of reaching people connected to this sermon?

The message stresses that faithfulness focuses on engaging outsiders through effective, local community rather than relying only on buildings or large centralized efforts.

Sep 4, 2026

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