September 2-3, Elijah and the prophets of Baal. 1 Kings 18. God is the one true God.

Transcription

1 September 2-3, 2017 Elijah and the prophets of Baal 1 Kings 18 God is the one true God. Connect Time (20 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Small Group (20 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together. Every sticker, every time. That means we check every single kid s sticker before he/she leaves the room, and we make sure that it matches his/her grown up s sticker. This is vital to the safety of kids, and we want adults to know that they can always count on their kids being safe in Kids Club. Ask kids what they prayed about in Small Group! If we re certain that God is truly GOD, we ll act differently. We ll love him, trust him and want to follow him. We ll know that nothing we face is too hard for him. Today, just focus on this story and the miraculous way he revealed himself to hundreds of people.

2 GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they re going to hear. TRUE OR FALSE Designate one side of the room as TRUE and the other side as FALSE. Have kids stand in the middle of the two sides. Read through the statements below. Have kids decide whether they are TRUE or FALSE by going to that side of the room (you may have to point to a side after you read each statement). After each statement, have them return to the middle of the room to start over. True or False? A chameleon s tongue is longer its body (true) When an octopus gets angry, it shoots a stream of black ink (true) An owl s brain is bigger than its eyes (false) Starfish have two eyes (false: 8, one at the end of each leg) It takes more muscles to frown than to smile (true) There are about 100,000 shipwrecks on the ocean floor (false: there are 3 million) The smallest bones in your body are in your toes (false: ears!) A lightning bolt is 4 times hotter than the sun (true) In Alaska, it s illegal to whisper to someone while they are moose hunting! Cows can sleep standing up (true) Make up a true/false statement about yourself (i.e. My middle is name is John, true or false?) You could also have the other volunteers in the room take turns making true/false statements about themselves. TALK ABOUT IT Have you ever thought something was true, then found out it was a lie? Tell us about it. Talk about the best or worst parts of your week. Before you go to Large Group, you can ask kids how their week went. You can also remind kids of the expectations for Large Group behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader s instructions.

3 Goal: Kids will (1) understand that God is the one true God and (2) recognize that we can and should follow him. Why? There s a lot of idols in the world trying to get kids attention; we want to make sure that kids know there s only ONE true God, and he loves us more than anything! Tip: Part of today s activity involves kids pairing up and praying for each other. This may be a new or strange experience for them, but encourage kids to try praying out loud for each other! REVIEW THE STORY 1. Lay out a large sheet of tear off-paper and set out markers (Make sure the paper is big enough for everyone to draw on. You may need a few sheets.) 2. Tell kids to answer each question by writing/drawing on the paper, either with a word, or with a picture. Then call on one kid to share what they wrote/drew. 3. Ask the following questions, and give kids a little time after each question to respond on the paper. a. Elijah was a prophet. What does that mean? (He heard from God, and shared it with other people.) b. What happened on Mt. Carmel, when Elijah challenged Ahab to see whose god was more powerful? (The false god did nothing, while Elijah s god, the one true God, burned up the altar and everything around it.) c. How would you feel if everyone else was disobeying God by following a fake god, and you were the only one who stood up and followed the TRUE God? d. Why do you think some people worshiped Baal, a false god, in the first place? e. How did God speak to Elijah when he was worried, worn out and overwhelmed? (He spoke in a gentle whisper.) f. How do you think Elijah felt during that time when he was alone? How would YOU feel? g. What s one way God has spoken to you? (Encourage kids to think about how God has helped them, or relieved them of worry or fear. Maybe he s spoken to them during a time like Large Group, or reassured them when they prayed, etc.) (Continued on next page.)

4 MAKE IT PERSONAL Remind kids that when Elijah called on God to burn up the altar, God showed that he was the real, true God by burning it up along with everything around it. Hand each kid an fiery altar template. In the blank space inside the rocks, have kids write down one thing they want to ask God s help for. Then read the verse inside the fire as a group: John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. Next, have kids pair up and pray for each other (this may be a new experience for them!) Each kid should tell their partner what they wrote on their paper, and their partner can then say a quick prayer for them. If kids couldn t think of something to write on their paper (or if they don t want to say it) they can pray for something else! As an extra time option, play another version of Connect Time: Have kids come up with true/false statements about themselves! They can write them down on paper, and then say them aloud to the group. Let the group guess which one is true, and which one is false!

5 Today s lesson calls for prayer at the beginning of the lesson, as well as the end. The purpose of this is to invite God into Large Group before we even get started, and ask him to be an active part of the lesson! WELCOME AND WORSHIP Main Goal: Review Connect Time and actively worship. Notes: Here s a link to today s video: God s Story / Elijah: *Click to play intro music. Welcome: Hi everybody! Welcome to Kids Club. We re so glad to have you here! We re going to do something a little different today. We re going to start off with prayer, before we do anything else! Pray: God, thank you for bringing us to Kids Club today. We want to invite you to be a part of our Large Group. Please open our ears, and help us listen to whatever you want to say. Amen! Say: So in Connect Time, you had to choose if each statement was true or false, right? Were any of you surprised at some of the things that were true or false? (Let kids respond.) Me too! Say: Today, we talking about something that s true, and something that false. What does it mean when something is true? (Let kids respond.) Yep, it s real! And what does it mean when it s false? (Let kids respond.) Yeah, it s fake, or a lie. It s not real at all! Say: Let s check out a video and see if you you can spot what s real, and what s fake! Video: Real vs. Fake Say: Raise your hand if you were fooled by some of those images? (Let kids respond.) Me too. That was a great example of something that seems real, but is totally fake!

6 INTRO: ELIJAH Main Goal: Introduce Elijah, and illustrate the circumstances of God s family under King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. GOD SHOWS UP Main Goal: Understand how God showed up in a big way when Elijah called on him. Say: Today, we re going to hear a story about a guy named Ahab who worshipped a fake God, and Elijah, who worshipped the one, TRUE God. (Image: Elijah) Now Elijah was a prophet, which means he heard messages from God, and then shared them with other people. God actually spoke to him, and showed him things that not everyone could see. Ask: Now even though prophets hear special things from God, can we hear from God too? (Let kids respond.) Absolutely. Sometimes, we just have to make space and listen to Him! Say: During Elijah s time, there was a king and queen, named Ahab and Jezebel, who did not love God. Instead, they worshipped a false god called Baal. Because of this, God decided to let something bad happen: There would be no rain for 3 years. Say: Let s think about this for a minute...what would happen if we didn t have rain for 3 years? (Let kids respond.) Yep, plants would dry up and die, and then we would have barely any food, and of course, we d be dehydrated because there would be less water to drink! Say: Because of this, King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were furious with Elijah when he told them about the rain stopping, and they even wanted to kill him! Say: Let s watch a video and see what happened next. As you watch, pay attention to how God shows everyone that he s the one, true God, and not some fake imitation. Video: God s Story / Elijah Ask: So after hearing that story, which god would you say is more like those fake drawings we saw earlier? (Let kids respond.) Yep, the false god Baal. And who is the one, true, REAL God, who has the power to burn up a whole alter? (Let kids respond.) Yep, Elijah s God, OUR God! (Image: 2 altars) Let s imagine for a minute what this would have been like. Imagine that an epic showdown is about to happen on Mt. Carmel. On Ahab s team we ve got 490 prophets helping him! And then on the other team...it s just Elijah. Say: The two altars are set up, and ready to be burned with fire by the one, true God. First, Ahab and his prophets start praying to their false God...

7 MT. CARMEL COMES TO LIFE Main Goal: Physically reenact the story of how God showed his power on Mt. Carmel. A GENTLE WHISPER Main Goal: Understand that God showed Elijah he was real by comforting him. (Click to play loop of crickets.) (Act embarrassed and awkward that nothing is happening.) Ask: What happened when Ahab and the prophets prayed to Baal? (Let kids in audience respond.) Yep...NOTHING! Because Baal was a false god; there was nothing real about him. Next, Elijah prays to HIS God. The one, true, REAL God. (Click to play loop of fire.) Ask: So how exactly did God show up when Elijah asked him to? (Let kids respond.) Yep, not only did he burn up the altar, he burned everything around it. He did even more than Elijah asked! Say: When God burned up the altar, he showed Elijah that he doesn t just watch from afar. He comes down to earth, and shows up for us. He is real, and he can do incredible miracles that NO ONE else can do. Say: Do you remember what happened AFTER God burned up the altar? (Let kids respond.) (Click to play loop of thunderstorm.) Yep, he sent rain! Finally, at long last, the long, dry, hot horrible drought was over. Ahhh... (Act relaxed and relieved.) Say: Sometimes, God shows up in really BIG ways, like with the fire. But he also shows up in small, quiet ways too. Say: After God showed his power to Ahab and Jezebel, did they believe right away? (Let kids respond.) Nope. And they still wanted Elijah dead! So what did Elijah do after that? (Let kids respond.) Yes, he ran away. But it wasn t because God told him to, like earlier in the story. It was because he was afraid. Ask: Even though God is with us, and he can do amazing things, do we still doubt him sometimes? Yeah, I know I do. We still get scared or worried that maybe he won t take care of us. That s when He might need to speak to us in a different way. Say: When Elijah ran away, he waited for God to speak to him again. And some really big, powerful things happened while he was waiting. (Click to show wind/earthquake/fire loop.) There was a powerful wind, a huge earthquake, and a great fire.but still nothing from God. (Very quietly whisper the next part.) But then, after all that, came a gentle...quiet...whisper.

8 RESPONSE TIME Main Goal: Let kids actively respond to the Holy Spirit. PRAYER AND WORSHIP Wrap up the lesson with group prayer and worship together! Ask: Why do you think God whispered to Elijah, instead of doing something really big this time? (Let kids respond.) Say: Yeah, God knew that Elijah was tired, and worn out. He need a God that would comfort him, and be close to him when he was lonely and scared. Sometimes, we just need to know that God loves us, and will take care of us. And that s what God did for Elijah. Say: You see, even though God is the only true God, and he ll always be with us.life doesn t always go perfectly. But it s during hard times that God will show up for us, and show us that s he s real. Say: Right now, we re going to think of something that s really hard for us. Something that s kind of like the drought in today s story, when people were thirsty, and hot, and really needed help. (Click to play desert/crackling fire loop.) So close your eyes, and think of what that is for you. What worries you? What makes you afraid? What s one way you need God to comfort you? Think of that right now. (Pause and continue to let loop play.) (Click to play water loop.) Keep your eyes closed, but now silently ask God to relieve you of that worry or fear. Ask Him to help you not be afraid, or overwhelmed. (Pause and continue to let loop play.) Okay, open your eyes. Say: One incredible way that God showed us he s the one true God, is by sending his son Jesus to rescue us from all the wrong things in the world. Jesus actually came to earth to be with us, and show us how much God loves us. Say: Let s see what Jesus said about what to do when we re worried, or afraid, like Elijah was. Slide: John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. Pray: God, thank you for being a God who shows up. We re so glad that you want be close to us, and will meet us right where we are. Amen! Say: Let s show God that we want to experience him right now, through worship! Stand up and get ready to sing! Music Video: Falling Into You Music Video: You Come in a Hurry

9 3rd-5th September 2-3, 2017 Tell me about Elijah. How did God show up for Elijah? Connect Time Item Usage Details Provided by Item Usage Details Provided by Markers 1 set per small group, reused site Large Sheet of Tear Off Paper 1 per small group (may need more) site Fiery altar template 1 per kid 8.5x11 paper, print in color, Page 10 site Item Usage Details Provided by Adventure Bible 1 per room, reused No Supplies Needed Small Group Large Group site

10 Fiery altar template

11 3rd-5th Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website) Video: Fun Test: Which is Real? (0:00-1:44; Image: Elijah Video: God s Story / Elijah ( Image: Two altars Loop: Crickets (0:02-0:12; with KC logo slide) Loop: Fire (0:10-0:40; cover with this sound: Loop: Thunderstorm (0:00-0:30; Loop: Wind/Earthquake/Fire (3:31-3:36; no sound) Loop: Fire (0:10-0:40; cover with the sound from this link: Loop: Water (0:00-0:30; cover with KC logo) Slide: John 14:1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. Music Video: Falling Into You ( Music Video: You Come in a Hurry (