AGENDA – HERE I AM SEND ME

OPENING PRAYER - Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity to read and study Your Word. Please guide our thoughts and open our hearts to understand the truths You want to reveal. In Jesus' name, Amen.
AUDIBLE READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – Here I Am; Send Me
TRAIL CROSSING - There are many feeding miracles in the Bible: from God sending manna from heaven (Exodus 16) to Jesus multiplying loaves and fish to feed 5,000 people (Matthew 14:13-21).
AUDIBLE READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – ELIJAH REVIVES THE WIDOW'S SON
AUDIBLE READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – ELIJAH'S TRIUMPH OVER THE PRIESTS OF BAAL
SCENIC VIEW - Elijah is going to extremes in order to make a point. By repeatedly dousing the offering with water, he makes it clear that it is God's power, and not some magic trick, that sends fire to burn his offering. Again and again, God's prophets try to convince the people that the power of God is much greater than the power of idols made by human hands.
AUDIBLE READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – ELIJAH MEETS GOD AT HOREB
POINT OF INTEREST - Some of the most beautiful words in the Bible are spoken by the prophets who urge God's people to return their hearts to God. The prophet Amos begged the people of God to "let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream" (Amos 5:24). Micah reminds them that what God requires is for people "to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8b).
AUDIBLE READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – GOD CALLS ISAIAH
SCENIC VIEW - God often appears in the Bible in conjunction with fire. God appears to Moses in a burning bush (Exodus 3), sends a pillar of fire to guide the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:21-22), and shields Daniel's friends in the midst of a fiery furnace (Daniel 3:19-30). Here in Isaiah, we are reminded of fire's purifying power; the fiery coal touches Isaiah's lips and thereby cleanses his sin. The fire of God is often about purification, rather than punishment (Malachi 3:1-18, Psalm 66:10-12). 
AUDIBLE READ THE SCRIPTURE ALOUD – GOD CALLS JEREMIAH
TRAIL CROSSING - God says that he called Jeremiah even before he was born. In Luke we hear about another person who was called before he was born: John the Baptist. Read Luke 1:5-25, 39-45 to hear his story.
TRAIL CROSSING - Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 21:13. Like Jeremiah, Jesus has a big problem with the hypocrisy of people coming and worshiping God but acting unjustly in their daily lives.
SCENIC VIEW - This is Psalm 137, a psalm written during the exile. The psalmist is expressing deep grief and pain yet turning that sadness into a conversation with God. The psalms express everything from joy to sadness, the full range of human emotion, reminding us that God is big enough for all of our emotions.
Scripture Citations 
1 KINGS 17:8-24 | 18:1-2, 17-40 | 19:9-18 
ISAIAH 6:1-8 | 5:8-9, 11-12, 20-25 
JEREMIAH 1:4-10 | 5:19-31 | 7:1-15, 30 
PSALM 137:1-6
QUESTIONS FOR THE JOURNEY AND AI SEARCH ANSWERS:
1.	Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah each encounter and are called by God. How are their encounters with God similar? How are they different? What might we learn about God's presence from these stories? 
The Call: Similarities and Differences
All three prophets experienced a theophany (a visible or audible manifestation of God) that completely redirected their lives. They were all hesitant or suffered deeply because of their call, proving that being "chosen" isn't a vacation. 
Elijah (The Whisper): After a violent showdown with the prophets of Baal, Elijah fled in fear. God didn't appear to him in the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a "sheer silence" or a "still small voice." It was intimate and grounding.
Isaiah (The Majesty): His call was cinematic. In the Temple, he saw God on a high throne with six-winged seraphim. He felt "undone" by his own sinfulness until a coal from the altar purified his lips.
Jeremiah (The Preparation): This was deeply personal. God told Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Jeremiah felt too young and unarticulated, but God touched his mouth and promised to be with him. 
The Lesson: God’s presence isn't "one size fits all." Sometimes God is a roaring king, and sometimes God is the quiet thought you can’t shake. God meets us exactly where our temperament and circumstances are.
2.	Through the prophets, God speaks words of judgment about how the people of God are living. Which parts of the prophecies stand out to you? What seems to anger God the most? How can we hear the words of these prophets in our time?
 Divine Anger and Modern Echoes
When you read the Book of Isaiah or Jeremiah, the "anger" of God usually stems from injustice and idolatry. 
What stands out: God is rarely angry about small ritual mistakes; He is furious when the vulnerable (the widow, the orphan, the poor) are trampled by the powerful.
The core issue: God seems most angered by hypocrisy—people who perform religious ceremonies while simultaneously exploiting their neighbors.
Hearing them today: These words challenge us to look at our global and local "systems." If our economy or lifestyle depends on the suffering of others, the prophets’ words of judgment are directed at us just as much as they were to ancient Israel.
3.	The prophets often speak about the relationship between worship and living justly. What are some of the things that you notice from their words? How do you wrestle with the relationship between how you worship and how you live?
Worship vs. Living Justly
The prophets were the original "keep it real" activists. They argued that if your heart isn't right with your neighbor, your songs in church are just "noise." 
Observations: In Amos (a contemporary perspective) and Isaiah, God says He "hates" their festivals. This is shocking! It means that religious ritual is not an end in itself; it's meant to fuel a life of service.
The Wrestle: It’s a constant tension. It is easy to feel "holy" for an hour on Sunday. It is much harder to maintain that same spirit when dealing with a difficult coworker or voting on policies that affect the marginalized.
4.	The prophets speak persistently to the people, calling them to return to God, but they refuse to hear. What might we learn about God from this persistence? What might we learn about ourselves? 
Persistence: God and Human Nature
The fact that God keeps sending prophets to a people who refuse to listen tells us two things:
About God: God is relentlessly patient. The persistence of the prophets is a physical manifestation of God’s "hesed" (steadfast love). God would rather warn a thousand times than strike once.
About Us: We are stubbornly set in our ways. Humans tend to prefer a comfortable lie over a difficult truth. We often mistake God’s silence or patience for "permission" to keep doing what we're doing.
5.	What connections do you hear between this week's story and the stories of previous weeks? 
Connections to the Larger Story
This week’s stories connect back to the Covenant established with Abraham and Moses. 
The Exodus connection: Just as God heard the cry of the Israelites in Egypt, the prophets remind us that God still hears the cry of the oppressed within the kingdom.
The Monarchy connection: We see the fallout of the people asking for a King (back in the time of Samuel). The prophets act as a "check and balance" to the kings, showing that no human leader is above God’s law.
NEXT STEPS 
•	Some of the most famous references to the words of the prophets are in the preaching of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Read his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" or listen to his "I Have a Dream" speech. What connections does he make between the times of the prophets and his own time? What connections might we then make with our world today?
MLK and the Prophetic Voice
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't just quote the prophets; he "merged" his voice with theirs to show that the struggle for civil rights was a continuation of a divine mandate. 
Amos and "Mighty Streams": In both his "I Have a Dream" speech and his work in Montgomery, King famously paraphrased Amos 5:24: "But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream". By using this, he connected the 8th-century B.C. rebuke of religious hypocrisy and economic inequality to the 1960s American struggle.
Isaiah and the Leveling of Mountains: He quoted Isaiah 40:4-5 to describe a vision where "every valley shall be exalted". To King, this wasn't just poetry—it was a call for the community to actively "exalt the valley" by dismantling systemic racism and poverty.
The "Outside Agitator" Defense: In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, King defended his presence in Birmingham by comparing himself to the prophets who left their villages to carry a "thus saith the Lord" far beyond their hometowns. 
Modern Connection: Today, we can make the same link when we see "valleys" of modern inequality—like the digital divide or food deserts. The prophetic voice reminds us that "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere".
•	The prophets proclaimed God's special concern for the poor, the outcast, the stranger, and the widow. How can you pray for these people? How do the words of the prophets call you beyond prayer to action? Resolve to act on one or two specific ways that you will do justice, welcome the stranger, or care for orphans and widows this month.
From Prayer to Prophetic Action
The prophets make it clear: God is more interested in how we treat the "stranger" than how beautifully we sing. 
How to Pray: Instead of just asking God to "help" the poor, try praying for eyes to see the systems that keep people poor. Pray for the "maladjustment" King spoke of—the refusal to become comfortable with the suffering of others.
Moving to Action: Prophetic action is often "symbolic" and public. It’s not just a private good deed; it’s a sign to the world of what God’s kingdom looks like. 
Two Ways to Act This Month:
Justice for the Outcast: Identify a local "modern-day stranger”perhaps a refugee resettlement agency or a program for formerly incarcerated individuals. Instead of just donating, volunteer your time to hear their stories. This moves from "charity" to the "relational justice" the prophets valued.
Care for the Vulnerable: Many "widows and orphans" today are the elderly living in isolation or children in the foster system. Resolve to advocate for a specific policy (like expanded kinship care or senior housing) by writing to your local representative. This follows the prophetic tradition of "speaking truth to power" rather than just providing a temporary fix.
CLOSING PRAYER - Lord, thank you for this time of study and for Your Word. As we leave, please help us to carry the truths we've learned into our daily lives and to live out Your teachings. May we continue to grow in faith and reflect Your love to others. Amen.