Sermons

What Faithfulness Actually Looks Like – 1 Kings 17:1-7 – Livestream for 4/30/23

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Small Group Guide:

Open with prayer.

Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?

If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.

1 Kings 17:1-7

Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe[a] 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.” 2 And the word of the Lord came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 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. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

Message Outline:

In this passage of God’s Word a new prophet comes on the scene: Elijah. Elijah was an important prophet during an important time. Israel had been fading away from God and were worshiping idols. Elijah is faithful to what God called him to do. However, his circumstances afterwards weren’t necessarily enjoyable. By taking a close look at this part of Elijah’s life, we can learn what the outcome faithfulness often looks like.

We need to realize that the outcome of faithfulness is often not prestigious. God will often:
  1. Put you in difficult situations, so that your faith is deepened

1 Kings 17:2-3, Gen. 39:19-21, Acts 16:16-24, Jam. 1:2, Ps. 23:4

  1. Provide in way that’s unconventional, so that you trust in him over the provision

1 Kings 17:4-6, Matt 6:24-34, 7:7, Phil. 4:19, 2 Pet. 1:3, Ps. 145:15-16

  1. Point to only the next step, so that you continually lean on Him

1 Kings 17:7-9, Prov. 3:4-6, 37:23, Phil. 1:6, Rom. 8:28

Reflection Questions:

  1. Have you ever heard this passage of Scripture or topic taught on before? What stood out to you?
  2. Have you ever read Elijah’s story? What comes to mind when you think about Elijah?
  3. For Elijah, the outcome of faithfulness wasn’t pleasant. Was there ever a time in your life where you were faithful to what God wanted you to do, but the outcome of that decision was not pleasant?
  4. As we talked about in the message, often times the outcome of faithfulness isn’t prestigious, and isn’t what we thought it would be. Think about this season of your life. Is it what you thought it would be like? Why or why not? What has led up to this season looking like it does now?
  5. What difficult situations have you found yourself in, in the past? How has God used those situations to grow your faith?
  6. How can you help those around you to deal with difficult situations better?
  7. What is your biggest take away about how this passage affects your life? What do you need to work on? Who can you share this with and ask you to keep you accountable to accomplishing this?

Prayer Time:

Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.

Staying Missional:

Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:

Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?

What’s next?

Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?