Characters of Faith: Shunammite Woman

September 4, 2016 Speaker: Joel Sutton Series: Characters of Faith

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:8–37

Characters of Faith: Shunammite Woman

2 Kings 4:8-37

 

The Ups and Downs of Life

A life of faith calls us to an attitude of contentment. vv. 13, 23, 26

A life of faith makes room for God. vv. 8-10

A life of faith trusts God - no matter the situation. vv. 27-28, 30.

Take Home Idea: Up or down, always trust in God.

 

 

"Characters of Faith: Shunammite Woman" Discussion Questions

 

Opening:

How many friends would you have to go through to get a personal message to your city’s mayor?

Review Pastor Joel's sermon and Take Home Idea. What struck you about the sermon?

What do you have questions about?

 

Dig:

Read Hebrews 11:35. Look at this verse in context. What strikes you as different about this verse? How does it fit with the surrounding verses?

Do some discovery. Who is Elisha? What is unique about him?

Why does this Shunammite woman and her husband build a room on their roof for Elisha? What does this tell you about their relationship with this “man of God”?

What does this woman mean when she says, “I have a home among my own people.”?

Knowing what you know about her, what does that indicate?

Why do you think she lays her dead son on Elisha’s bed? How does she respond to her husband? Do you think he knows his son is dead or not?

Do you think Elisha knew for sure he was going to raise the boy to life? How is this similar to the account of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-24?

What stands out to you about this Shunammite woman’s faith? How about her husband’s faith?

 

Reflect:

Many people pray fervently for a terminal ill loved one, yet death comes anyway. What happened to those prayers? Have you ever felt like the woman in Jill Briscoe’s story –who felt like God was standing there with his hands in his pockets?

How has this story encouraged you in your faith? What is the challenge for you?

 

Close this time sharing and praying together as a group.

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