CONTENTS
About the Straight to the Heart Series 9
Introduction: The Story Behind the Story 11
1 KINGS 1-11: FATHER AND SON
Yesterday's Man (1 Kings 1:1-2:12) 16
Truth Will Out (1 Kings 2:13-46) 20
The Currency of Kings (1 Kings 3:1-28) 24
Cracks (1 Kings 4:1-34) 28
Second Home (1 Kings 5:1-8:66) 32
Bodybuilder (1 Kings 6:1-7:51) 36
The Hope of Israel (1 Kings 8:1-66) 40
Fork in the Road (1 Kings 9:1-28) 44
What They Could Have Won (1 Kings 10:1-29) 48
Kerplunk (1 Kings 11:1-13) 52
Son of David (1 Kings 11:14-43) 56
1 KINGS 12-16: NORTH AND SOUTH
The Pampered Prince (1 Kings 12:1-24) 62
Antichrist (1 Kings 12:25-33) 66
The Prophet (1 Kings 13:1-34) 70
Final Warning (1 Kings 14:1-20) 74
Dumb and Dumber (1 Kings 14:21-15:24) 78
Game of Thrones (1 Kings 15:25-16:34) 82
1 KINGS 17 - 2 KINGS 8: REBELS AND REVIVAL
Israel's True King (1 Kings 17:1-6) 88
Resurrection (1 Kings 17:7-24) 92
Showdown (1 Kings 18:1-40) 97
Middleman (1 Kings 18:41-46) 101
Discouragement (1 Kings 19:1-21) 105
What Winning Looks Like (1 Kings 19:9-18) 109
Right Here, Right Now (1 Kings 20:1-28) 113
One Swift Cut (1 Kings 20:29-43) 117
Second Chance (1 Kings 21:1-29) 121
Sin Spreads (1 Kings 22:1-40) 125
Now-But-Not-Yet (1 Kings 22:41-53) 129
Second Time Around (2 Kings 1:1-18) 133
Double Portion (2 Kings 2:1-25) 137
Hollow Victory (2 Kings 3:1-27) 142
Multiply (2 Kings 4:1-44) 146
Little Things (2 Kings 5:1-27) 150
Next Generation (2 Kings 5:19-27) 154
Do You See? (2 Kings 6:1-7:20) 158
The Back-Up Plan (2 Kings 7:3-20) 162
School's Out (2 Kings 8:1-29) 166
2 KINGS 9-17: NORTHERN LIGHTS
Lights Out (2 Kings 9:1-37) 172
Botched Messiah (2 Kings 10:1-36) 176
Trojan Horse (2 Kings 11:1-3) 180
Counter-attack (2 Kings 11:4-21) 184
False Hope (2 Kings 12:1-21) 189
The Way Back (2 Kings 13:1-25) 193
What Might Have Been (2 Kings 14:1-22) 197
Have It Your Way (2 Kings 14:23-15:7) 201
Dynasty (2 Kings 15:8-31) 205
The Next Player (2 Kings 15:32- 6:20) 209
Behind the Scenes (2 Kings 17:1-23) 213
King of the Nations (2 Kings 17:24-41) 218
2 KINGS 18-25: SOUTHERN COMFORT
Graceland (2 Kings 18:1-8) 224
Daily Battle (2 Kings 18:9-37) 228
The Real King of Judah (2 Kings 19:1-37) 232
Half-Time Substitution (2 Kings 20:1-21) 236
Forgetfulness (2 Kings 21:1-26) 240
Jewish Idol (2 Kings 22:1-20) 244
Inside Out (2 Kings 23:1-30) 248
Avalanche (2 Kings 23:31-24:20) 253
The End of the Road (2 Kings 25:1-30) 258
Conclusion: The Story Behind the Story 264