The scriptures read are 1 Kings 1-3, Psalm 98 and Acts 13.
1 Kings 1. King David is a thin old man, who cannot stay warm. Even the most beautiful woman in the kingfom can't get a rise out of him. So his son Adonijah throws himself a coronation feast. Which causes the supporters of Solomon--Bathsheba his mother, Nathan the prophet and Zadok the priest--to remind David of his promise and motivates him to designate Solomon as his successor and have him enthroned pronto.
1 Kings 2. Partially at David's urging, Solomon takes care of those who threaten his kingdom. After David's death, he has Adonijah, Joab and Shimei killed, very much as Michael Corlioni does at the end of the Godfather. Solomon's wisdom at this point looks like street smarts.
1 Kings 3. Solomon speaks to God in a dream. God offers Solomon whatever he wants. He asks for a wise heart. God gives him wealth and the ability to lead Israel as well.
Then we get a glimpse of Solomon's wisdom. 2 prostitutes were living together. Their babies were born within days of each other. When one of the babies dies in the night, the one prostitute switches babies. Now the other is demanding her living child back. Solomon has no way to determine the truth and so sends for a sword. His shrewd reading of human psychology helps him determine the mother of the remaining baby.
Psalm 98. A joyous psalm about God's righteousness and his coming judgment.
Acts 13. Saul (hereafter called Paul) and Barnabas are commissioned by the church at Antioch to spread the gospel. They take off with John Mark who eventually leaves them and goes back home to Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas are wildly sucessful, especially among Godfearers, Gentiles who attended synagogue but hadn't gone so far as to convert to Judaism. Luke gives us a summary of one of Paul's sermons.
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