This week’s bulletin                                        YouVersion Bible App                                      Listen to the podcast of this week’s message on Spotify

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 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. 5 The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” 7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.” 9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12 But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king 16 and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” 17 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

1. We should seek answers only from God. (2 Kings 1:1-8, 21:6, 23:24, Jer. 17:9, 27:9, Mark 7:21-23, Lev. 19:31,20:6, Is. 8:19-20, Deut. 18:10-12, 1 Chron. 10:13, 2 Chron. 33:6, James 1:5, Acts 19:11-2, 1 Pet. 1:3)(We should never seek answers from mediums, horoscopes, tarot cards, astrology, fortune tellers, divination, palm readers, psychics, the occult, ouija boards, magic arts, witchcraft, or spiritism)
2. Our attitude in prayer matters (2 Kings 1:9-14, James 1:6, 4:1-3, 5:16, Rom. 12:2, Phil. 2:14, 4:6, James 4:10, 1 Pet. 3:7, Matt. 6:7-8, 1 John 3:22, 5:14, Matt. 26:39, Heb. 13:15, Col. 4:2)
3. Take God’s answer as an opportunity to grow in your relationship with Him. (2 Kings 1:15-18, 2 Cor. 12:7-10, James 1:2-4, Rom. 5:3-5, 8:18, 2 Pet. 1:5-8, 3:18. Matt. 5:6)
   
   

Reflection Questions:

1. 1. Have you ever heard this passage of Scripture or topic taught on before? What stood out to you?
   2a. Read 2 Kings 1:1-8. It is evident that King Ahaziah went looking for answers from the wrong source. When you have a question, where do you go looking for answers?
   2b. Looking at your answers above, are those God-honoring places to look for answers? Why or why not?
   3a. Read 2 Kings 1:9-14. Clearly, the attitude of the 3rd captain differed drastically from the attitude of the 1st and 2nd captain. Take some time to read the verses below, and compare how the Bible says our attitude in prayer should be vs. what your attitude in prayer usually is.James 1:6, 4:1-3, 5:16, Rom. 12:2, Phil. 2:14, 4:6, James 4:10, 1 Pet. 3:7, Matt. 6:7-8, 1 John 3:22, 5:14, Matt. 26:39, Heb. 13:15, Col. 4:2.
   3b. After reading through the verses from question 3a, how can you improve your attitude in prayer to be more Biblical?
   4a. Read 2 Kings 1:15-16. King Ahaziah doesn’t get the answer that he is looking for. Some would say that it was mean of God to give him this prognosis; however, it may have been one of the most merciful answers God could offer him. Consider this: God could have caused Ahaziah’s fall to kill him immediately. Afterall, Ahaziah was an evil king just like his father. However, Ahaziah didn’t die immediately. God gave him one last chance to turn from his evil ways and onto Himself. Read Romans 2:4. How has the Lord been kind to you, even though your circumstances were not the best? Take some time to reflect over God’s kindness towards you, even when you didn’t deserve it.
   4b. King Ahaziah didn’t turn from his evil ways and onto the Lord, even when he had a death sentence. How can you learn from Ahaziah’s mistake, and take God’s answers, even if they aren’t what you want them to be, as an opportunity to grow in your relationship with Him.
   5. 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?