This week. Reading. Here.

1 Kings 15 (this bit is to give ya'll a feel for how the author presents the different kings; more on that in the discussion); (if you want to read the story of Elijah it is found in chapters 17-19, but I don't plan on talking about it unless ya'll really want to); 2 Kings 17; 22-23; 25:1-21. Again, we will be skipping over a lot of material, and it would be excellent to read over all that we're skipping because there is too much good stuff in here. Please remain in prayer for one another, for we all are needy of God's grace and care. Thanks brothers, I'll see you soon.

Also, I got a crazy idea for an assignment. For the next meeting, I would like you all to go through the books we have read thus far and note some of the major events and themes that pop up. I pray this will help us to keep the big picture of the Old Testament in mind. You won't be turning it in, but write it well enough that you can share your findings with the group. Thanks men!!

Stretch out those Bibles, we're going in. How about some 1 Kings 1, 8 (feel free to graze over chapters 2-7 to get a bit more info), 9:1-9, 11-12.

Important information for this week:

Here's a list of names to help decrease the confusion (as always, pronounciation isn't too important):

David: you know who he is
Solomon: David's son and heir to the throne
Jeroboam: the guy who is given the kingdom of Israel
Rehoboam: Solomon's son and heir to the throne of Judah
After the kingdom splits we have two kingdoms. Israel is in the north, and Judah is in the south. Judah is where Jerusalem and the temple are located.
Ahijah: a prophet who tells Jeroboam that he will be king
Bathsheba: David's wife (you know, "that" wife)

A lot of our discussion will (hopefully) revolve around the kingdom, the king, prophets, and the temple. Come with questions/insights into those issues; I hope our discussions from the past few weeks will aid in your understanding of these themes. Feel free to mention Jesus and what he has to do with all this.