Elijah - Women's Bible Study Leader Guide: Spiritual Stamina in Every Season

By Melissa Spoelstra

Go the distance in the life of faith.

Life is like a rollercoaster. One day it seems that everything in life is good, and the next day it can feel like everything is falling apart. Then there are those in between days when we’re coasting along without much thought to the highs or lows. The prophet Elijah experienced this rollercoaster ride as well. One moment he was hiding out in the wilderness during a famine, being fed by the ravens, and the next he was on the mountaintop where God showed up in a powerful way with fire and then rain. Even Elijah grew weary of all the ups and downs, telling God, “I have had enough” (1 Kings 19:4). He needed spiritual stamina in order to keep on going and fulfill all the plans God had for his life. We do too!

In this six-week study grounded in 1 and 2 Kings, we will examine the life of the prophet Elijah, an ordinary man who did extraordinary things for God in the midst of the highs and lows of life. We’ll learn some of the spiritual stamina secrets that helped him to hold on and persevere in faith, including practical habits related to making decisions, caring for the soul, accepting his circumstances, mentoring, and finishing well—which was his ultimate legacy.

Whether we’re currently in a mountaintop season where we’re experiencing God’s power and blessing, a valley season where we feel like running away, or somewhere in between, Elijah’s life will inspire us to go the distance in the life of faith. Best of all, his story will challenge us but not shame us, because we’ll discover that Elijah was just as human as we are. He doubted and struggled just as we do, but ultimately, he chose to believe God. As we study his life, we will grow in faith and develop spiritual stamina that will help us not only to survive but actually thrive in every season.

The Leader Guide, to be used along with the study's workbook and DVD, contains six session plan outlines, complete with discussion points and questions, activities, prayers, and more—plus leader helps for facilitating a group.

Bible Study Features:

Examine the life of the prophet Elijah.
Learn practical disciplines that give us spiritual stamina for every season in life.
Grow in faith and be inspired by an ordinary man who did extraordinary things for God.
Be enabled to not just survive but thrive in the midst of the ups and downs of life.


Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Participant Workbook, DVD with six sessions of about 25 minutes each, and boxed Leader Kit (an all-inclusive box containing one copy of each of the Bible study’s components). A companion Prayer Devotional is also available.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Aug 7, 2018
• ISBN: 9781501838941

Melissa Spoelstra

Melissa Spoelstra is a popular women’s conference speaker (including the Aspire Women’s Events), Bible teacher, and author who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about helping others to seek Christ and know Him more intimately. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Bible Theology and enjoys teaching God’s Word to diverse groups and churches within the body of Christ. She is a contributor to Girlfriends in God online devotional as well as Proverbs 31 ministries First Five app. She is the author of eight Bible studies (Acts, The Names of God, Romans, Elijah, Numbers, First Corinthians, Joseph, and Jeremiah) and four books (Total Family Makeover, Total Christmas Makeover, 30 Days of Prayer for Spiritual Stamina, and Dare to Hope). Melissa makes her home in Waxahachie, Texas, with her pastor husband and four kids.

Book preview

ELIJAH

Leader Guide

ELIJAH

Spiritual Stamina in Every Season

Leader Guide

Copyright © 2018 Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Permission, The United Methodist Publishing House, 2222 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37228-1306, or e-mailed to [e-mail].

ISBN 978-1-5018-3893-4

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents

About the Author

Introduction

Getting Started

Tips for Tackling Five Common Challenges

Basic Leader Helps

Introductory Session

Week 1: Prayer

1 Kings 17

Week 2: Choices

1 Kings 18:1-40

Week 3: Soul Care

1 Kings 18:41–19:18

Week 4: Surrender

1 Kings 19:19–22:9

Week 5: Mentoring

2 Kings 1–2

Week 6: Legacy

Elijah in the Old and New Testaments

Bonus: Thirty Days of Prayer Challenge

Video Viewer Guide Answers

Notes

About the Author

Melissa Spoelstra is a popular women’s conference speaker (including the Aspire Women’s Events), Bible teacher, and writer who is madly in love with Jesus and passionate about studying God’s Word and helping women of all ages seek Christ and know Him more intimately through serious Bible study. Having a degree in Bible theology, she enjoys teaching God’s Word to the body of Christ and traveling to diverse groups and churches across the nation, even to Nairobi, Kenya, for a women’s prayer conference. Melissa is the author of the Bible studies Numbers: Learning Contentment in a Culture of More; First Corinthians: Living Love When We Disagree; Joseph: The Journey to Forgiveness; Jeremiah: Daring to Hope in an Unstable World; and the parenting books Total Family Makeover: 8 Steps to Making Disciples at Home and Total Christmas Makeover: 31 Devotions to Celebrate with Purpose. She has published articles in ParentLife, Women’s Spectrum, and Just Between Us, and writes a regular blog in which she shares her musings about what God is teaching her on any given day. She lives in Dublin, Ohio, with her pastor husband, Sean, and their four kids: Zach, Abby, Sara, and Rachel.

Follow Melissa:

@MelSpoelstra

@Daring2Hope

@AuthorMelissaSpoelstra

Her blog  MelissaSpoelstra.com

(check here also for event dates and booking information)

Introduction

We connect with Elijah on so many levels. Like him, we have seen God show up in real ways. God has encouraged us, comforted us, provided for us, and shown Himself real to us through His Word, His presence, and His activity in our lives. Other times the brook has seemed to dry up, and we’ve been unable to make sense of another challenge, disappointment, or frustration. Sometimes these ups and downs are less momentary and more like seasons. Through all the highs and lows—and especially those times when we want to quit—we need to stay true to our faith and calling if we want to live fully and finish well. We need spiritual stamina not only to endure but also to thrive as we carry out the unique mission God has for each of us.

In this study, your group will examine the ministry of Elijah, who came to be considered the great prophet, the man who stands as the pattern for other prophets.¹ Over the next six weeks we’ll learn some of the spiritual stamina secrets that helped him hold on and persevere in faith, including practical habits related to the following areas:

1.prayer

2.choices

3.soul care

4.surrender

5.mentoring

6.legacy

Together we’ll see that finishing well was Elijah’s greatest legacy, and we’ll explore how to make that our legacy too. Starting is easy, but finishing well requires stamina!

About the Participant Book

Before the first session, you will want to distribute copies of the participant book to the members of your group. Be sure to communicate that they are to complete the first week of readings before your first group session. For each week there are five readings or lessons that combine study of Scripture with personal reflection and application (orange type indicates write-in-the-book questions and activities). Each lesson ends with a Talk with God prayer suggestion.

On average you will need about twenty to thirty minutes to complete each lesson. Completing these readings each week will prepare the women for the discussion and activities of the group session.

About This Leader Guide