Day 1 (Monday)
3 Kingdoms (1 Kings) 19:1-21
Last time we saw Elijah confront Ahab and the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, and challenge them to see whose god was true. He prepared one sacrifice, and they prepared another, and both called on their god to send fire from heaven. The prophets of Baal tried all morning and into the afternoon, but there was no fire. Elijah prayed once, and Yahweh immediately sent fire from heaven. The people who were assembled confessed that Yahweh was the true God, and the prophets of Baal were killed. It looked like a great victory had been won, and the people would return to the Lord. What we’ll see this time, however, is that it ended up very different from how Elijah hoped it would go.
Elijah Flees from Jezebel
19 Ahab told Jez′ebel all that Eli′jah had done, and how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jez′ebel sent a messenger to Eli′jah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree; and behold, an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, else the journey will be too great for you.” 8 And he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
Elijah Meets God at Horeb
9 And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the Word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And when Eli′jah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Eli′jah?”
14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the people of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” 15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, you shall anoint Haz′ael to be king over Syria; 16 and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel; and Eli′sha the son of Shaphat of A′bel-meho′lah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And him who escapes from the sword of Haz′ael shall Jehu slay; and him who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Eli′sha slay. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Ba′al, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Elisha Becomes Elijah’s Disciple
19 So he departed from there, and found Eli′sha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Eli′jah passed by him and cast his mantle upon him. 20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Eli′jah, and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again; for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Eli′jah, and ministered to him.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that Elijah was having a hard time in this chapter; he thought the victory on Mt. Carmel would change things, but it seemed like it didn’t change anything, and he was all alone, with Jezebel’s soldiers chasing him to kill him. What he learned in the wilderness was that he wasn’t alone, that God would bring justice to Jezebel, and that there were in fact many people in Israel who were faithful to God as well. Elijah had thought he was going to win a final victory, but what he learned was that the victory was God’s, and he only had to fulfill his part and be faithful, and others would be raised up to continue the work. This is a good lesson for all of us; we don’t need to fix the world, we just need to be faithful to God, and leave the end result in God’s hands. A couple other points; we see both the Angel of the Lord and the Word of the Lord spoken of here…both of these are Jesus Christ Himself, present and encouraging Elijah prior to His Incarnation, preparing the ground for His own coming into the world in the flesh several centuries later.)
2) What do we learn about God in this reading?
3) What do we learn about human beings in this reading?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 2 (Wednesday)
Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) – 10
We return now to the Didache, the earliest text from the life of the Church outside of the New Testament. Last time we saw what the Didache says about traveling teachers, and how to receive them, but also be careful not to be led astray by them if they were not faithful teachers. This time, we will see how the Apostles instruct the Church to worship on Sunday, Κυριακή, the Day of the Lord.
Concerning the Lord’s Day
On the Lord’s own day gather together and break bread and give thanks, having first confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure. But let no one who has a quarrel with a companion join you until they have been reconciled, so that you sacrifice may not be defiled. For this is the sacrifice concerning which the Lord said, “In every place and time offer me a pure sacrifice, for I am a great king, says the Lord, and my name is marvelous among the nations” (Malachi 1:11,14)
Bishops and Deacons
Therefore appoint for yourselves bishops and deacons worthy of the Lord, men who are humble and not avaricious and true and approved, for they too carry out for you the ministry of the prophets and teachers. You must not, therefore, despise them, for they are your honored men, along with the prophets and teachers.
Discussion questions:
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should note that this passage shows us that the early Church worshipped on the same day as we do, on the 1st Day of the Week, the day that the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead, the day that we call Sunday, but that they called the Lord’s Day, Κυριακή in Greek. We see too that the Apostles assume that everyone will participate, everyone will offer themselves in thanksgiving to God, and everyone will receive Communion, and are simply instructing the people to confess their sins first and to reconcile themselves with anyone they were quarreling with before Communion. These are important things for us to do as well.)
2) What do we learn about God in this reading?
3) What do we learn about human beings in this reading?
4) What do you find difficult about this reading? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always. )
5) Does this reading make you think that you need to change anything in your life?
Day 3 (Friday)
Luke 13:1-35
Last time we saw Jesus tell His disciples to always be ready for His return, giving them several examples to help them understand that His Kingdom is the true reality, and that it is overtaking and transforming everything else, so that anyone who ignores the Kingdom, or lives as though anything else is more important, is opposing God, and coming under judgment. This time, He continues with the same point, preaching that change and transformation and judgment are coming, and coming quickly, and already at the door, so that it is time NOW to repent.
Repent or Perish
13 At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 He asked them, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4 Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.”
The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ 8 He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” 13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. 14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day.” 15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?” 17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in the garden; it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.”
The Parable of the Yeast
20 And again he said, “To what should I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
The Narrow Door
22 Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the owner of the house has got up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then in reply he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 But he will say, ‘I do not know where you come from; go away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrown out. 29 Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”
The Lament over Jerusalem
31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Discussion Questions
1) What did you notice in today’s reading? What surprised you or what was memorable to you? (Leader should point out that there are several different parables and points here that Jesus makes, and all of them are getting at the same basic point, that the people to whom He is preaching are distracted by many unimportant, or even sinful things, and they need to repent and turn to God immediately. This is difficult for them to believe, because nothing in the world around them looks like it is changing, so He tells them the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast, two things that act so slowly that, if you sit and watch them, you would swear that nothing is happening…but in truth, from a tiny beginning, a huge change takes place. He is telling them that with His presence in the world, everything is changing, and they, and we, need to take part in the Lord’s transformation of the world, and not make ourselves God’s enemies in holding onto the world as it is.)
2) What do we learn about God in this story?
3) What do we learn about human beings in this story?
4) What do you find difficult about this story? Is there anything confusing about it, or anything that you dislike? (This is an open question, as always.).
5) Does this story make you think that you need to change anything in your life?