Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Week 1
Prayer
1 Kings 17
Leader Prep
Memory Verse
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
(Hebrews 11:6)
Materials Needed
• Elijah DVD and DVD player
• Stick-on nametags and markers (optional)
• Index cards or sticky notes (optional — Scriptures and Prayer Requests)
Session Outline
Note: Refer to the format templates onpages 9–10 for suggested time allotments.
Welcome
Offer a word of welcome to the group. If time allows and you choose to provide food, invite the women to enjoy refreshments and fellowship. (Groups meeting for sixty minutes may want to have a time for food and fellowship before the official start time.) Be sure to watch the clock and move to the All Play icebreaker at the appropriate time.
All Play
Ask each group member to respond briefly to the following prompt. Read aloud or paraphrase:
• Who is the person you spent the most time talking to yesterday? (This should be a physical person.)
Say something like this after everyone has shared:
• This week we learned about prayer. It can be challenging to have a conversation with someone we can't see or hear, but God invites us to talk with Him. Let's open today by doing just that.
Prayer
Before playing the video segment, ask God to prepare the group to receive His Word and hear His voice.
Video
Play the video for Week 1. Invite participants to complete the Video Viewer Guide for Week 1 in the participant book as they watch (page 47). (Answers are provided on page 216 of the participant book and page 61 of this leader guide.)
Group Discussion
Video Discussion Questions
• How is prayer a contact point between the natural and the supernatural — between us and God?
• Have you ever been in a weary waiting season? What was that like, and what value can you see in it now?
• What is the "impossible request" that you wrote on the chalkboard of your mind?
• Can you name a time when you were persistent in prayer and saw an answer from God?
Participant Book Discussion Questions
Note: Page references are provided for those questions that relate to questions or activities in the participant book.
Before you begin, invite volunteers to look up the following Scriptures and be prepared to read them aloud when called upon. You might want to write each of the Scripture references on a separate index card or sticky note that you can hand out.
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 30:20 and Proverbs 4:13
Day 1: True Grit
• What are some things that are wearing you out right now? These aren't necessarily bad or wrong things; they are simply situations, relationships, or routines that require your stamina in this season. (page 15)
• While we can seek God in a variety of ways, prayer is a vital way the Lord has given us to connect with Him. We won't find spiritual stamina apart from prayer. How has prayer helped to build spiritual stamina in your life?
• Jeroboam put his faith in human wisdom rather than God's Word. He sought his own interests rather than closely following God's clear instructions, and His legacy of compromise filtered down to every king who ruled after him. Are there any areas of compromise where you sense God calling you back to a more complete obedience? (page 20)
Day 2: Calling Us Back
• What did you learn about the kings of Israel in your readings this week?
• Read Deuteronomy 30:20 and Proverbs 4:13 aloud. According to these verses, what is the key to life? (page 24)
• The Lord is always calling us back to relationship with Him. That's why even when His people completely turned their backs on Him with drunkenness, murder, and idolatry, Yahweh still sent a prophet to call them back. He loved them, and He never gave up on them. When have you experienced God calling you through people, circumstances, thoughts, feelings, the Holy Spirit, or His Word?
Day 3: Hiding Out
• Hiding out doesn't always mean we are scared or in trouble. Some seasons require withdrawing in obedience. Elijah's seclusion provided time for solitude to prepare him for ministry in the years to come. Have you ever sensed God calling you to withdraw from something or someone in obedience to Him? If so, what were some things you discovered about God or yourself during that time? (page 30)
• Another key concept we find in Elijah's story is the supernatural provision of God. How did God provide for Elijah? How has the Lord provided for you in a supernatural or unexpected way at some point in your life — whether it was a physical, spiritual, emotional, or relational need? (page 31)
• The good news is that the Lord wants to walk us through each and every challenge, just as He did for Elijah. How has the Lord walked you through a challenge recently?
Day 4: Changing Providers
• Elijah didn't get a three-year plan for his personal provision when he spoke God's message to Ahab about the drought. As he sought God in prayer, his first instruction was to go east and hide by the Kerith Brook. When has God shown you only one next step at a time?
• Has God ever used an unlikely place or event to provide for you? (page 35)
• In what area(s) do you need God to give you some reassurance or direction in regard to His provision for you? How is the principle of God's abundant provision in our scarcity hitting home with you? (page 38)
Day 5: When Life Doesn't Make Sense
• During some waiting seasons, I have resorted to watching Netflix and scrolling social media when I feel restless. We have so many choices to fill our time. What is your go-to activity when you're forced to wait? What are some practices that can help build spiritual stamina during a season of waiting? (page 40)
• God invites us to cry out to Him, and I believe He cries with us in the tragedies of life. He is both compassionate and powerful. When things in life don't make sense, we have two choices: we can give in to despair, or we can continue to cry out to God with shameless persistence. Where is God asking you to grow in prayer? Do you need to work through some disappointments in prayer? Is God calling you to more boldly ask of Him and believe Him? What does that mean for you? (page 45)
• What did you discover about Elijah this week? What about his story is sticking with you?
Optional Group Activity (for a session longer than sixty minutes)
Divide into smaller groups or pairs to review the Weekly Wrap-Up (pages 45–46). Ask small groups to share and discuss their wrap-up statements and one or two ways that they will put into practice something they learned from their readings this week.
Prayer Requests
Invite the group members to share prayer requests and pray for one another. Use index cards or sticky notes, popcorn prayer, or another prayer technique included in "Tips for Tackling Five Common Challenges" (pages 15–20) to lead this time with intentionality and sensitivity.
CHAPTER 2
Week 2
Choices
1 Kings 18:1-40
Leader Prep
Memory Verse
Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.
(Proverbs 2:11-12)
Materials Needed
• Elijah DVD and DVD player
• Stick-on nametags and markers (optional)
• Index cards or sticky notes (optional — Scriptures and Prayer Requests)
Session Outline
Note: Refer to the format templates onpages 9–10 for suggested time allotments.
Welcome
Offer a word of welcome to the group. If time allows and you choose to provide food, invite the women to enjoy refreshments and fellowship. (Groups meeting for sixty minutes may want to have a time for food and fellowship before the official start time.) Be sure to watch the clock and move to the All Play icebreaker at the appropriate time.
All Play
Ask each group member to respond briefly to the following prompt. Read aloud or paraphrase:
This week we explored how our choices impact our spiritual stamina. Over time, bad choices can lead to grave consequences. However, knowing who we are before God and believing that our God loves us and has a purpose for us helps us to choose Him every step of the way. I'm going to give you a few fun choices to make here. Raise your hand for the one (in your opinion) that is the best:
• Chocolate or fruit dessert?
• Beach or mountains for vacation?
• Convertible or Jeep?
• Giant backyard party or small quiet gathering?
• Summer or winter?
• Morning or evening?
Prayer
Before playing the video segment, ask God to prepare the group to receive His Word and hear His voice.
Video
Play the video for Week 2. Invite participants to complete the Video Viewer Guide for Week 2 in the participant book as they watch (page 79). (Answers are provided on page 216 of the participant book and page 61 of this leader guide.)
Group Discussion
Video Discussion Questions
• When it seems like life is happening to you, how can you shift your perspective to expect that God can work through you?
• Do you find it easy or difficult to choose Jesus when offered counterfeit truths or answers to prayer? How do you discern the difference between the movement of Jesus in your life and a counterfeit truth?
• What comes to your mind when you think about God? How does what you think about God impact your choices?
Participant Book Discussion Questions
Note: Page references are provided for those questions that relate to questions or activities in the participant book.
Before you begin, invite volunteers to look up the following Scriptures and be prepared to read them aloud when called upon. You might want to write each of the Scripture references on a separate index card or sticky note that you can hand out.
Scriptures: 1 Kings 18:1-8; 18:9-15; 18:16-19
Day 1: Assurance
• Discerning God's voice can be tough, especially in a world with so much noise. Can you think of a time when you needed assurance that you were headed in the right direction? (page 49)
• Read 1 Kings 18:1-8. Obadiah was an Israelite who felt the same need for confirmation in discerning God's leading that we often experience. He heard God's message from Elijah clearly, but he had some fears and concerns. What do Obadiah and Elijah have in common? How are they different? (page 50)
• Read aloud 1 Kings 18:9-15. Obadiah confessed that he was struggling, and Elijah reminded him that they were on the same team serving a powerful God. Who is your person or people who point you back to God's faithfulness when you need assurance? How can we all do better about pointing one another to God and encouraging one another with boldness?
Day 2: Sitting on the Fence
• Read aloud 1 Kings 18:16-19. Elijah said that Israel's trouble was not outer and circumstantial but inner and relational. He dug below the surface to identify the problem in his land, proclaiming that it was not the lack of rain but the people's lack of faithfulness to God. How would you identify any outer, circumstantial trouble in your world right now? Do you have any inner, relational issues right now? (page 57) How does what troubles us reveal what we value most?
• God calls us to make the choice to fall in love with Him. When we set our hearts and minds to love Him, the disciplines of following Him become less tiring.
We find our spiritual stamina building as we choose to imitate His faith, hope, love, and forgiveness. Yet rather than try to do it on our own, we invite the Holy Spirit to do it in and through us. We choose rather than waver. Is there an area in your life where you sense you have been wavering, dabbling in both cultural accommodation and intentional Christian community? (page 60)
Day 3: Choosing to Challenge
• The lure of pursuing wealth, prestige, beauty, power, and selfish gain instead of Kingdom priorities can be compared to the Siren song. What are some of the Siren calls of temptation for followers of Christ today? (page 61)
• We often lack clarity concerning the sovereign plan God is unfurling in our lives and the lives of others, but God asks us to trust Him, believing that He will prove Himself real at just the right time. Where do you need clarity right now about whether to speak up, act, or wait? (page 65)
• Sometimes God leads us, like Elijah, to confront the counterfeits we see in the lives of others. But more often God calls us to challenge the counterfeits that deceive and entrap us personally. Have you ever had to call out a counterfeit to someone? What was that experience like? What counterfeits have you been clinging to lately? Think of things that may distract you from God rather than draw you toward Him. (page 66)
Day 4: Believing in Something
• Some people embrace the notion that the object of our belief is second to the amount of passion and personal benefit we find in our faith. Do you agree that passion is pointless if the object of our belief is not real? Why or why not? (page 68)
• What are some of the counterfeit gods in our culture today that, regardless of someone's passion, are not real or beneficial?
• What do you think the scene was like when Elijah challenged the counterfeit gods of his day? What might the onlookers have been thinking and saying to one another? What do you think was Elijah's state of mind?
• We can so easily wander off track and find ourselves spending our time, talents, and treasures pursuing counterfeits. What are some practical ways you might draw nearer to God so that you have eyes to see any counterfeits that are deceiving your mind and heart? (page 72)
Day 5: Undeniable
• When have you sensed God's undeniable presence or power in your life? Describe a time when you were assured that God is real and at work in the world — whether it came through circumstances, people, Scripture, church, or something else. (page 73)
• We learn through Elijah's story that spiritual stamina without prayer is impossible. We must talk to God and listen to God. This is prayer, and it is a gift that God offers to us. Is there a specific idea or practice regarding prayer that you sense God calling you to implement? (page 75)
• As Redeemer, God delights to restore relationships. His people had been wayward, serving Baal, a counterfeit god. God's desire was to help them find their way back to Him, and Elijah was His mouthpiece. In your own times of wandering, how has God drawn you back to Him? (page 76)
Optional Group Activity (for a session longer than sixty minutes)
Divide into smaller groups or pairs to review the Weekly Wrap-Up (page 78). Ask small groups to share and discuss their wrap-up statements and one or two ways that they will put into practice something they learned from their readings this week.
Prayer Requests
Invite the group members to share prayer requests and pray for one another. Use index cards or sticky notes, popcorn prayer, or another prayer technique included in "Tips for Tackling Five Common Challenges" (pages 15–20) to lead this time with intentionality and sensitivity.
CHAPTER 3
Week 3
Soul Care
1 Kings 18:41–19:18
Leader Prep
Memory Verse
So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.
(Galatians 6:9)
Materials Needed
• Elijah DVD and DVD player
• Stick-on nametags and markers (optional)
• Index cards or sticky notes (optional — Scriptures and Prayer Requests)
Session Outline
Note: Refer to the format templates onpages 9–10 for suggested time allotments.
Welcome
Offer a word of welcome to the group. If time allows and you choose to provide food, invite the women to enjoy refreshments and fellowship. (Groups meeting for sixty minutes may want to have a time for food and fellowship before the official start time.) Be sure to watch the clock and move to the All Play icebreaker at the appropriate time.
All Play
Ask each group member to respond briefly to the following prompt. Read aloud or paraphrase:
This week we studied the need for soul care in order to maintain our spiritual stamina. What is a favorite way you like to relax? Maybe it's a day at the spa or a lingering meal at a favorite restaurant. This week we saw the importance of allowing our souls to exhale stress and inhale God's grace and goodness. What would your dream soul-care day be like?
Prayer
Before playing the video segment, ask God to prepare the group to receive His Word and hear His voice.
Video
Play the video for Week 3. Invite participants to complete the Video Viewer Guide for Week 3 in the participant book as they watch (page 115). (Answers are provided on page 216 of the participant book and page 61 of this leader guide.)
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Elijah Leader Guide"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Abingdon Press.
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