1. powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com Adult Bible Study Guide Oct Nov Dec 2010 Adult Bible Study Guide Oct Nov Dec 2010

2. Dear User … This PowerPoint Show is freely shared to all who may find it beneficial. While intended primarily for personal use, some find it useful for teaching the lesson in church. There are those, however, who add illustrations, change background, adjust font size, etc. While their intention may be good, this is not right. Slide #1 says “designed by claro ruiz vicente.” For honest Christians, it is not necessary for another’s creation to be copyrighted in order to be respected. PLEASE USE AS IS. Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide An Appeal

4. Background Characters in the Old Testament Contents 1. Story and History 2. Caleb: Living With the Wait 3. Hannah: Learning to Be Someone 4. Jonathan: Born for Greatness 5. Abigail: No Victim of Circumstances 6. Uriah: Faith of a Foreigner 7. Abiathar: The Priest 8. Joab: David’s Weak Strongman 9. Rizpah: The Influence of Faithfulness 10. The Man of God: Obedience is Not Optional 11. The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith 12. Gehazi: Missing the Mark 13. Baruch: Building a Legacy in a Crumbling World

5. Background Characters in the Old Testament Our Goals {181} T o “learn things that can help us to write a different and better story for ourselves.” To “read Scripture afresh, looking beyond the obvious to discover the joy of learning new truths from God’s Word.” To “remember the power of our own lives and examples.”

6. Background Characters in the Old Testament Lesson 11, December 11 Background Characters in the Old Testament Lesson 11, December 11 The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith

7. The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith Key Text Philippians 1:6 NKJV B eing confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

8. The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith Initial Words {313} T he unnamed woman steps into the biblical narrative and into sacred history, where her story teaches us lessons that we can, thousands of years later, apply to ourselves. We see the great controversy between God and Satan played out in miniature in the life of an unnamed widow who chooses God and is led step by step into a journey of faith.

9. The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith Quick Look 1. FAITH in Unusual Place (1 Kings 17:8-9) 2. The First Test of FAITH (1 Kings 17:13-15) 3. The Second Test of FAITH (1 Kings 17:17-24)

10. The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith 1. Faith in Unusual Place 1 Kings 17:8-9 NKJV T hen the word of the L ORD came to him, saying, ‘Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.’ ”

11. 1.Faith in Unusual Place To Zarephath {314} Z arephath is located on the Mediterranean coast between Tyre and Sidon. Zarephath, situated outside of Israel, is supposedly far removed from the Lord’s area of influence. But no one ever is out of His reach. Right in the very center of Baal worship, God is going to make His presence and power known.

12. 1.Faith in Unusual Place An Unusual Instrument {316} She seems an unusual instrument for God. She is a non-Israelite. She is a widow with no social standing and no influence or power. She herself is on the brink of starvation. God chooses us—not for a particular strength that we may have—but rather in spite of our weaknesses. God is not limited geographically. God is not limited by human limitations.

13. God is in control. Nothing and no one can stand in the way of God’s ultimate will. Even though things and events that are hurtful or detrimental to our lives will be thrown at us, God’s purposes for us always are good, although we may not see this immediately. We need to learn to trust Him in all situations, both the good and the bad. 1.Faith in Unusual Place An Unusual Instrument {316}

14. The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith 2. The First Test of Faith 1 Kings 17:13-15 NKJV A nd Elijah said to her, ‘Do not fear…make me a small cake from it first…and afterward make some for yourself and your son. So she went went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and her household ate for many days.”

15. 2. The First Test of Faith Total Surrender {318} W idows were marginal characters in the biblical world at the best of times. Especially if they had no grown children to take care of them, they easily were victimized and had limited legal recourse. A widow in the time of a great drought was even worse off. Each family was fighting for survival, and there would be no handouts to poor widows.

16. When we give God everything we have, we always gain in the end. 2. The First Test of Faith Total Surrender {318} The woman originally had enough for only one meal. In giving that meal to the prophet first, this pagan woman reached out in raw faith, trusting in what she could not see or understand. Isn’t that what faith is all about—trusting in a God we can’t see and don’t fully understand?

17. What’s amazing, too, is that this isn’t even an Israelite woman but a woman from a pagan land who practiced a degrading form of worship. 2. The First Test of Faith Total Surrender {318} And yet God communicated with her, and she responded in faith, doing what she had been commanded to despite how foolish, from a worldly perspective, her actions might have seemed.

18. 1 Kings 17:17-24 NKJV N ow…the son of the woman…became sick…so serious that there was no breath left in him. … Then the L ORD heard the voice of Elijah…and he revived. Then the woman said…, ‘Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the L ORD in your mouth is the truth.” The Widow of Zarephath: The Leap of Faith 3. The Second Test of Faith

19. Remembering My Sins {320} “Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” A s we come into contact with a holy God, our sins become more apparent. And then, when something terrible happens, we may feel that the Lord is punishing us. The widow blames God’s prophet for being there and consequently bringing her to God’s notice.

20. 3. The Second Test of Faith Remembering My Sins {320} For quite a while both the widow and Elijah were living in the presence of a miracle—the continual supply of flour and oil—which should have been more than enough to keep their faith strong. And yet, even with something as dramatic as that, their faith was put to the test.

21. 3. The Second Test of Faith Remembering My Sins {320} How often, too, we might have had some incredible experience with God, something that really touched us in a powerful way, only to question Him later when events unfold that we don’t like. That’s why, though miracles can have a role in the building of faith, they shouldn’t be the center of it.

22. The Desire of Ages 348 Final Words {324} T he Lord passed by the homes of Israel, and found a refuge for His servant in a heathen land, with a woman who did not belong to the chosen people. But this woman was favored because she had followed the light she had received, and her heart was open to the greater light that God sent her through His prophet.”