Find daily readings for this week below along with questions for reflection. Join (or begin!) the discussion in the comments. We’d love to hear from you about how reading the Bible daily is bringing you closer to God and one another.
You also may be interested in joining a small group that focuses on exploring the scripture for the following Sunday’s sermon or learning how to approach Bible study in general – or a variety of other opportunities to “seek answers to our questions” as part of a group. Check it out here!
JANUARY 25
Read: 1 Kings 19:1-13
Reflect: What questions do you have after reading this passage?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
JANUARY 26
Read: 1 Kings 19: 1-2
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, how he had killed all Baal’s prophets with the sword. 2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this message: “May the gods do whatever they want to me if by this time tomorrow I haven’t made your life like the life of one of them.”
Reflect: When have you wanted to seek revenge? How did that turn out?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
JANUARY 27
1 Kings 19: 3-5
3 Elijah was terrified. He got up and ran for his life. He arrived at Beer-sheba in Judah and left his assistant there. 4 He himself went farther on into the desert a day’s journey. He finally sat down under a solitary broom bush. He longed for his own death: “It’s more than enough, Lord! Take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 He lay down and slept under the solitary broom bush.
Reflect: Have you ever felt you were at the end of your rope? What led you to that moment?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
JANUARY 28
Read: 1 Kings 19: 5b-7
5b Then suddenly a messenger tapped him and said to him, “Get up! Eat something!” 6 Elijah opened his eyes and saw flatbread baked on glowing coals and a jar of water right by his head. He ate and drank, and then went back to sleep. 7 The Lord’s messenger returned a second time and tapped him. “Get up!” the messenger said. “Eat something, because you have a difficult road ahead of you.”
Reflect: Who has offered you sustenance when you thought you had nothing left? How did that make you feel?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
JANUARY 29
Read: 1 Kings 19: 8-10
8 Elijah got up, ate and drank, and went refreshed by that food for forty days and nights until he arrived at Horeb, God’s mountain. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. The Lord’s word came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?” 10 Elijah replied, “I’ve been very passionate for the Lord God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too!”
Reflect: When have you felt totally alone in pursuing what you believed to be essential?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
JANUARY 30
Read: 1 Kings 19: 11-13
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand at the mountain before the Lord. The Lord is passing by.” A very strong wind tore through the mountains and broke apart the stones before the Lord. But the Lord wasn’t in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the Lord wasn’t in the fire. After the fire, there was a sound. Thin. Quiet. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat. He went out and stood at the cave’s entrance. A voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
Reflect: How has God’s presence surprised you?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
JANUARY 31
Read: 1 Kings 19:1-13
Reflect: How will this message influence what you do this week?
Respond: Comment below to share your response to reading and reflecting on these passages.
Worship: Join us for online worship at 10am on Facebook Live!
I think about the hard things that God asked of Elijah but along with that, God also protected him and provided him with guidance, protection and sustenance during his ordeal. I need to fully trust in God if I am to have the courage to follow Him.
After my husbands sudden death, my friends, family and ministers offered me companionship, comfort, direction as well as physical sustenance. God was showing his love through them.
I have times when I feel alone in what I believe is the path. But I always see eventually, like Elijah, that this is only my perception, my lament, and that there is God and that there are others on this path with me.
I agree, Pam. I think that’s why it is so important to be in community as we work, study and serve. I get inspiration as well as encouragement from my Christian Community as well as scripture.