Many of the miracles performed by Elisha in 2 Kings 4-6 come in moments when the human dilemmas of sin, death, fear, worry, and lack are realized and people are overtaken with doubt. It is often in these moments that we are reminded of just how self-reliant we try to be, and just how God-dependent we need to be.

Elisha's incredible loyalty to the prophet Elijah is recorded in 2 Kings 2. He followed Elijah wherever he went. He committed to Elijah even when others told him Elijah would soon die. Elisha saw something in Elijah that he himself wanted: his spirit. Let's see how Elisha made a request of Elijah.

We are continuing this week in 1 Kings chapters 16-18 with Elijah. Elijah was a prophet sent from God to speak truth, and he lived with boldness in the midst of a desperate and depraved generation. His story shows how he followed God when many others didn’t.

We start off the new year back in 1 Kings 12, with King Jeroboam and the Israelites again turning away from God. Sin and idolatry will always lead us away from God, but Jesus came as a sacrifice so we can have forgiveness for all of our sins. Thank you, God, for making a way to bring us back to you!

We read in Isaiah 44 that God told the prophet Isaiah to tell His people that their idols were worthless. The people looked to them for help, but only God could save them from their sin. God alone is worthy of our worship, and we too can turn from our idols and worship Jesus!

In our unit study of King Solomon and the topic of mercy, we see that though God had blessed Solomon, Solomon continued to want more and more. This angered God, and the Kingdom would become divided. God’s people needed a better King. And we can be glad that later, God did send a better one - His own son, Jesus!