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.