After the dramatic showdown — and Elijah's decisive victory — on Mt. Carmel, Ahab and Jezebel immediately put out a threat on his life.
We’d expect our prophet to take a stand against their implacability. But, no, Elijah was so scared he made a run for it, a hundred miles across the hills of Samaria. He collapsed, with blistered feet and weary limbs, beneath a juniper tree. In what he thought would be his final request, the once triumphant but now truant prophet prayed, “‘Enough of this, God! Take my life — I’m ready to join my ancestors in the grave!’” (1 Kings 19:4–5 MSG).
We should stop and thank God for telling us this story.
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Bible News
The latest Bible-related and Bible-adjacent news
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Prayer Leads Young Adults’ Reasons for Attending Church — September 15: Barna found 34% of Gen Z and Millennial adults attend church more often than a year ago, while 21% attend less. Growth is strongest among young men and Black adults, both at 41%, followed by Hispanic adults at 36%. Prayer ranks as the leading spiritual motivation at 45%, ahead of worshiping Jesus with others at 38%, suggesting increased attendance reflects devotional priorities rather than a sweeping revival. (Barna)
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Faith Leaders Warn Unchecked AI Could Erode Human Relationships — September 15: Evangelical, Catholic, and Latter-day Saint leaders at Washington’s Pro-Human Assembly urged stronger moral safeguards for artificial intelligence. While acknowledging benefits for translation and pastoral support, they warned that AI left unchecked could amplify religious bias, weaken relationships, and undermine our humanity. The speakers called for human control, regulatory oversight, and caution around superintelligence. (RNS)
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Southern Baptist Churches Face Worship Leader Shortage — September 16: A survey of 4,530 Southern Baptist churches — the denomination’s first comprehensive worship study since 1938 — found looming leadership challenges. More than 65% of worship leaders are at least 40, while 33% are 60 or older; an estimated 20,000 could reach retirement age by 2040. Nearly half of churches need more music volunteers, 42% need technology workers, and 51% lack a plan for developing future worship leaders. (Baptist Press)
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Few sermons will make you squirm in the pew more than one on forgiving others.
We love to hear that God forgives us, but the rest gets uncomfortable. Grudges have a long, long shelf life and a natural ability to justify all kinds of reasons to stay fresh.
The latest State of the Bible report from the American Bible Society (ABS) zeroes in on forgiveness. From it, two complementary facts emerge: First, forgiveness is a personal struggle for all of us. And second, an inability to forgive can harm us.
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If you’ve ever picked up a Bible from another Christian tradition, you might have been surprised to find it contains a slightly different book list than you’re used to. It’s true: while most of their books are the same, Catholic and Orthodox Bibles have just a few more than most Protestant Bibles.
That’s because they each have a different canon. A canon is the collection of books a religious community recognizes as Scripture.
But why are their canons different? Which books, exactly, are found in each Bible? And what do they contain?
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A ring by any other name is still a ring, except when Pontius Pilate is involved.
The ring in question has been excavated twice: once from its ancient home, Herodium, in the late 1960s, and again about 50 years later, when Israeli scholars pulled it from storage, where it had been forgotten, and brought it into public view in a 2018 article.
Based on the evidence, the Israeli scholars theorized that the ring was somehow associated with Pontius Pilate's administration, if not Pilate himself. But not everyone agreed with their conclusions.
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Must-Have Recommendations for Your Library
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NIV Application Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print
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52 Weeks with Women of the Bible
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