The Single Parent—When Half Must Be the Whole
1 Kings 17:1-24; 2 Timothy 1:1-18
Skip Heitzig
| 1 Kings 17 (NKJV™) | |
| 1 | And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." |
| 2 | Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, |
| 3 | "Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. |
| 4 | "And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." |
| 5 | So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. |
| 6 | The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. |
| 7 | And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. |
| 8 | Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, |
| 9 | "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you." |
| 10 | So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink." |
| 11 | And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." |
| 12 | So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." |
| 13 | And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. |
| 14 | "For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'" |
| 15 | So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. |
| 16 | The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah. |
| 17 | Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. |
| 18 | So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?" |
| 19 | And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. |
| 20 | Then he cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?" |
| 21 | And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him." |
| 22 | Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. |
| 23 | And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!" |
| 24 | Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth." |
| 2 Timothy 1 (NKJV™) | |
| 1 | Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, |
| 2 | To Timothy, a beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| 3 | I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day, |
| 4 | greatly desiring to see you, being mindful of your tears, that I may be filled with joy, |
| 5 | when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also. |
| 6 | Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. |
| 7 | For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. |
| 8 | Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, |
| 9 | who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, |
| 10 | but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, |
| 11 | to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. |
| 12 | For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. |
| 13 | Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. |
| 14 | That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. |
| 15 | This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. |
| 16 | The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; |
| 17 | but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. |
| 18 | The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day--and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. |
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.
The family has changed on the American landscape. There's no denying it; there's no way of getting around it. Many factors have led to this change but now we must deal with it. One of the toughest roles in this new society is the role of the single parent. Pressures from life's demands, family members, friends, and even the church make this role more difficult. What do single parents need to know and what can the church do to help?
In today's society, we get a lot of mixed messages when it comes to marriage and the family. Seemingly endless numbers of self-help books line the shelves of every bookstore, but sometimes it's hard to know which sources to trust. We do know that the Bible is the ultimate source for truth. In this two-volume series, Pastor Skip Heitzig explores marriage and family issues through a biblical lens. Discover God's blueprint for building healthy relationships and a godly home.
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