Opening Ice Breaker Question

1) What do you have the most difficult time trusting God with? Money/Finances? Children? Health? What is it?

Read Text

Read 1 Kings 17:1-24 again. Have fun with it. Have multiple readers, each one taking a part. Maybe even act it out. Do your best to make the text come alive.

Discussion Questions

1) So the question posed in this text is who is our provider? Who is the one who gives life? Who is the one who is in charge? So who are what might be your Baal? Who or what might be your Jezebel? For me as a Pastor, instead of trusting God with money I can fall into the temptation of "kicking it into high gear" trying to come up with my own ways of making ends meet. Rather than trusting in God I can take all the owness upon myself to make "it" happen. You?

2) Elijah obeyed God, spoke a "hard word" and then had to run for his life. Yahweh actually called him to go into the wilderness. Obeying here led Elijah into harsh circumstances. Later the widow even though she trusted Yahweh and gave out of her poverty, she experienced deep loss. Have you ever obeyed God and ended up in more trouble as a result? 

3) Do you think we are ever in danger of obeying God merely to get blessed? Having a Utilitarian view of God. Utilitarian is defined as "having regard to usefulness rather than beauty." If God always blessed you because you gave a tithe, or were generous with your money in order to advance His Kingdom, would you not begin to view Him this way? If you didn't get blessed financially because you gave, would you continue to give? Why? Talk about that.

4) Elijah asks the widow collecting sticks, who has next to nothing, to give the "first fruits" of what she has to make him something to eat, then take care of herself. But he gives her a promise, that as she takes this step of faith, Yahweh would meet her every need. Have you seen this to be true in your own life concerning giving a tithe (Old Testament a tithe was considered to be 10%. Paul in II Corinthians 9 says we are to give what  we have decided in our heart to give, out of joy). When did you take this faith step in your walk with Jesus? What was the outcome? Did it reflect the promise out of Malachi 3 where God promises to open up the windows of heaven?

5) Elijah experienced God in the wilderness. His "presence". How does the quote by Brian Grogan resonate? He says, “If someone asked you to give them another name for God, you could use the word 'Presence', for that is what God is. When Moses asked Yahweh His name, Yahweh replied, 'I am who I am', which means 'I am present'. God is really saying, 'I will be there for you.'" How have you experienced God's "presence" in the wilderness? Talk about that.

Pray. Enjoy His Presence.