Elephant in the Room is a six-week sermon series that dares to confront the topics many churches avoid but every believer needs to face. From favoritism and exclusivity in church culture, to politics, sexuality, generosity, modern idolatry, and the return of Christ, this series brings biblical clarity and gospel-centered conviction to the conversations shaping our lives. Each week exposes an “elephant” that quietly undermines our witness, and replaces it with the truth and grace of Jesus. Grounded in Scripture and guided by the Holy Spirit, this series calls the church to repentance, renewal, and courageous love—so that our community becomes not a safe haven for the comfortable, but a mission outpost for the redeemed.

Week 1 of Elephant in the Room exposes the subtle but destructive tendency for churches to become inwardly focused—creating a culture for people we already know or who look like us. Rooted in James 2:1–13 and supported by Luke 14, Acts 10, and Ephesians 2, the message declares that favoritism is incompatible with the gospel. God’s heart is radically inclusive in His invitation and uncompromising in His truth. From Abraham’s call to bless the nations (Gen 12:3) to Christ’s tearing down of the dividing wall of hostility (Eph 2:14), Scripture reveals that the church exists not for the comfort of insiders but for the redemption of outsiders. The gospel dethrones status, wealth, and familiarity as measures of worth, replacing them with mercy that triumphs over judgment. This week challenges believers to repent of partiality, to recover biblical hospitality (philoxenia, the love of the stranger), and to embody the royal law—“Love your neighbor as yourself.” A gospel-shaped church must mirror heaven’s coming reality: a multiethnic, Spirit-filled family where the poor, broken, and forgotten are welcomed as honored guests at Christ’s table.