Prayer
Because the primary goal of our time together is to establish relationships and learn how to walk with one another in all that God has called us to be and do, we’d like to begin by praying for one another. So, does anyone have anything you’d like us to pray for or anything to share regarding how you’ve seen God moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
Opening Question
Do you have a favorite “summer blockbuster” kind of movie you like to watch?
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
– 1 Kings 17:1-7
Strangers from Tishbe
In the sermon, we heard that by describing Elijah as “the Tishbite, of Tishbe,” the writer of Kings is telling us that he was a stranger in the land, and that being someone whose devotion to the one true God causes them to wander or not fit in is central to the Jewish and Christian faith.
How do you see this idea of being a stranger revealed in the lives of other Bible characters (ie. Abraham, Moses, Esther, and Jesus)? What do their lives show us about the intersection of our faith and our daily lives?
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
– 1 Peter 2:10-12
Peter highlighted our status as “strangers” several times (see example below). How does your faith cause you to feel like a stranger or wanderer? How does this impact your spiritual life? What challenges does it present?
Conspirators in Cherith
God sends Elijah to a remote place in Cherith, where a brook provides water and ravens bring him the food he needs, leaving Elijah lives in total dependence on God.
What does God’s command to Elijah to retreat to a place of utter dependence on him show us about our success—and comfort—obsessed culture?
God used ravens as his “conspirators” to provide for Elijah. Who or what “conspirators” has God used to provide for you in difficult times?
In Philippians 4:11-13, Paul wrote:
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
– Philippians 4:11-13
What do think is the secret to being content in times of plenty and in times of great need?
Stand-ins in Samaria
Elijah insisted he stood before God as he delivered God’s word in our passage. Alexander McLaren, the 19th century Bible expositor, explained Elijah and Elisha’s repeated insistence that their souls stood before God like this:
“So that the consciousness that they were servants of the living God was the very secret of the power of these men. This expression, which thus started to their lips in moments of strain and trial, lets us see into the very inmost heart of their strength.
The same grand thought is available to brace and ennoble our little lives, that will soon be forgotten but by a loving heart or two, and yet may be as full of God and of God’s service as those of any of the great of old.
We too may use this secret of power, ‘The Lord liveth, before whom I stand.’”– Alexander McLaren
What spiritual practices help you to keep your soul standing before God?
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
– Hebrews 6:13-15
Consider this passage from Hebrews 6. How are Cherith seasons opportunities to practice wearing the full armor of God?
How can you wear truth, righteousness, and the gospel of peace in your current season?
Closing Thought
In your final time together, spend some time praying for those present, particularly anyone who is in a wilderness season.