Week 5

1 KINGS 19:3-15

3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.

7 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.

The Lord Appears to Elijah

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for theLord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram.

SYNOPSIS

• Elijah was afraid and ran for his life
• Elijah pleads with God to take his life
• Elijah lays down to sleep
• God wakes Elijah and instructs him to eat and drink
• Elijah falls asleep a second time and it again woken
• Elijah spends the night in a cave
• Elijah is scared and desperate
• God tells him to look for the Lord
• Lord presents Himself in a whisper

TALKING POINTS

• Scripture occurs just after Mount Carmel
• There is a time and place for comfort and crying
• Elijah hides in the cave
• God is patient the whole time
• Elijah displays feelings of loneliness and no longer wants to live
• God has the capacity to create something huge and disastrous (earthquakes), but recognizes the need to gently care for Elijah 

MUFFIN OF THE WEEK

CINNAMON APPLE

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups apples, diced
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven 375F. Prepare muffin pan with paper liners and grease. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cream together butter and sugar in another bowl. Mix in egg and vanilla. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to the butter mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in apples. Using an ice cream scoop, fill until 3/4 full. Bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Mix together melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon. While muffins are still warm, dip the top of each muffin into the sugar mixture. Allow to cool.