Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

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To view the Leader Guide for this week, click here.

To view a .docx version of this guide, click here.

Introduction 

Last week, we talked about the book of Ecclesiastes and the wisdom of reverently following God’s commands and putting him first in your life because compared to God nothing else in the world is truly meaningful.  

Discuss one way you have tried to incorporate this into your daily life beyond what you were already doing. How have you been putting God above the other things in your life in a new way this week? 

After your time of connecting, begin your meeting with prayer.  

Connect  

• What is a fun uncommon opinion you have (Example.: Cereal is a soup)?  
• What in your life is easy to believe in? Why is it so easy to believe these things? 
• Why do you think people put trust in some things but not others?
  • What criteria do you use to decide what is trustworthy? 

Opening Thought 

Sometimes people believe things because they are easy and seem like the obvious choice. It’s easy to trust what you can see. We might see sunshine, so we think it’ll be a warm day and don’t check the weather until we go outside and realize we still need a jacket. Similarly, we can look at the world around us and think that we can trust that we can put our hope in those things, but in reality the world doesn’t have all the things we need. God, however, can provide for all the things we need even though it can be scarier or less obvious that we can trust him. When we pay attention to what God is doing in our lives and the lives of those around us, however, we can see that God is trustworthy and able to do the things he says he can. 

This leads us to our main idea for this week:  

Main idea for the week
We can trust God’s faithful provision in our lives 

The Story so Far 

The time of King Solomon’s rule was thought to be the most prolific period of time for the nation of Israel or their “golden age”. After Solomon died, however, his son Rehoboam, despite all of his father’s wisdom, listens to unwise counsel regarding the people of Israel, which causes a split in the kingdom; some people go to the northern part, calling it Israel and the others stay in the southern part of the kingdom, called Judah. After this, the books of 1 and 2 Kings are full of summaries of kings from both Israel and Judah. Some are faithful to God, but most are unfaithful; even the faithful ones eventually become unfaithful, which eventually results in both kingdoms being conquered and their people taken to other lands.  

Here’s where we are this week 

This week, we’re talking about the prophet Elijah and his confrontation with the prophets of Baal during the reign of King Ahab in Israel, who was the most unfaithful king of Israel up to this point in their history. He was seen as so unfaithful, he even married a woman Jezebel, who influenced Ahab to worship other gods specifically Baal. Elijah was told by God to tell Ahab that until God said otherwise, there would be a drought in the land of Israel. This drought lasted three years. At the end of this drought, God told Elijah to approach Ahab again and tell him there would be rain, which he did. After this, Elijah demanded that the people of Israel choose to serve God or Baal, but when they didn’t respond, he challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest to see which of their gods was true, theirs or his. 

Unpack 

Read each set of verses out loud as a group, making observations as you go. Afterward discuss each of the connected questions before moving to the next set of verses: 

Read  

1 Kings 18:22-29 

1 Kings 18:30-35 

Unpack 

• Why did Elijah challenge the prophets of Baal to a contest? Why do you think the people of Israel were no longer committed to God? 
  • If you’re comfortable sharing, when have you found yourself forgetting who God is?  
• The prophets of Baal cried out, danced, and even harmed themselves trying to get Baal to respond.
  • What can this tell us about the difference between false gods and the true God? 
• Why do you think Elijah was so extreme in the way that he had the altar to God built?
  • What do you think this says about Elijah’s faith in this story? 
  • In your world, what could it look like to be bolder to present the glory of God to those around you look like today? 

Read  

1 Kings 18:36-40 

Unpack 

• Why do you think Elijah was so confident that God would answer his prayer to burn up the altar and to bring rain? Where do you think Elijah gained this confidence?  
  • How confident are you that God will answer your prayers? What causes you to feel that way? 
    • How does your confidence in God’s faithfulness affect your life? Why do you think this is important? 
• Why do you think the people’s declaration of faith in God was so immediate after witnessing the miracle?  
  • How does the sudden end of the drought symbolize God’s mercy? 
    • How can knowing God is merciful even when we disobey him encourage us in our relationship and connection with him? 

Read  

1 Kings 19:2-4 

1 Kings 19:11-18 

Unpack  

• Share a time when you have felt discouraged by how the world views your faith. 
  • Why do you get discouraged by what the world thinks? How has God shown he is faithful to take care of you during those times?  
• What do you think makes people run away from God even though he has shown himself to be faithful when they trust him? 
  • How has God taken care of you in times where you felt like you were alone or couldn’t get through a situation? 
  • Why do you think people consistently need proof or reassurance that God is trustworthy to continue to be faithful to him?  
    • What assurances do you look for God to show you in your life? Why are these so important to you? 
    • How could you start being more confident that God take care of you and will be faithful in his promises instead of constantly looking for proof?  

Apply 

Based on the verses we just read, there are some things that we can do in response. Take a moment to discuss these questions as a group to decide what your personal action steps for the week can be: 

• How will you try to remind yourself daily to keep God first in your life this week? 
• What is one prayer you will confidently trust God to answer this week? 
• How will we as a group encourage one another to engage in confident faithfulness to God this week? 

Closing 

Read this section with your group then move to the Prayer and Verses section: 

When we trust in the things around us in this world, eventually they will let us down. Instead of trusting in perishable things that we think will give us confidence and save us from challenges in our lives, God invites us to trust in him. He has shown throughout time and generations that he is faithful and that he keeps the promises to provide for those who trust in him, even sending his son Jesus to make a way for us to forever live life with him. This week let’s do our best to look towards God as a source for our confidence, hope, and provision because he has shown himself to be trustworthy and faithful.  

Prayer and Verses 

Ask for prayer requests and conclude your time with prayer then share the Thematic Reflection Verse and Daily Devotional Verses with the group. 

Thematic Reflection Verse for the Week  

*Read this verse, then encourage the practice of memorization through the week. 

Isaiah 25:1 

“O Lord, I will honor and praise your name, for you are my God. You do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them.” 

**When practiced consistently, memorizing Bible verses can be an important spiritual practice that centers your mind around the truth that God has given us. 

Daily Devotional Verses  

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Use the S.O.A.P. method to reflect on the verses below. 

Scripture: Read the verses several times. Reading out loud can be helpful as well. 
Observation: What can you see about the scripture you read? 
Application: What is God wanting you to believe, do, or feel, based on what you have read? 
Prayer: This is a chance to talk to God about what you have read and ask him for help in living out what you’ve learned. 

Day 1: 2 Timothy 2:13 

Day 2: 2 Corinthians 5:7 

Day 3: Lamentations 3:22-23 

Day 4: Psalm 36:5 

Day 5: 2 Thessalonians 3:3 

Day 6: Psalm 91:4