A Table in the Wilderness—Lent 4: For Elijah

By Natasha Vedder, Joan DeVries

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Biblical figure: Elijah
God’s wilderness provision: bread and water
Scripture: 1 Kings 19

Call to Worship

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
—Psalm 145:13–16 ^NRSVUE

Children’s Scripture Summary

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life . . . a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom brush, . . . lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.
—from 1 Kings 19:2–8 ^NIV

Sermon

“A Table in the Wilderness for Elijah”
Sermon Notes
The journey is too long. Every call of God is a journey of great challenge requiring more than what you have and needing what only God can provide. Elijah is exhausted; he has had enough. But a meal of bread and water provides for him. The water provides restoration; the bread provides strength. How have you let the wilderness shape the way you live out God’s call in your life? Have you waited long enough for God to show up with bread and water?