Lesson 11: God Speaks to Elijah in a Whisper (Nov. 13/14) Bible Point: When we feel alone, God is with us. Key Verse: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand Isaiah 41:10 Pre Activity 10 min Everyone Starting in Room 203 First 5/10 Min: Welcome ren to the classroom as they arrive. Have each find their teacher and sit in a circle with their class. Ask ren one fun thing that they did this past week or weekend. Ask what they remember from last week s lesson. (Elijah challenges the Prophets of Baal) Younger kids, use a ball to pass to each other when asking someone a question. Make it a game. Small Group Icebreaker: Split into your small groups (boys and girls split- one classroom leader per group). Discuss the Question of the Day: What is the bravest thing you have EVER done? (each will give an answer, then the group decides on the most creative; they will then share their group answer at the beginning of large group lesson time: may the group with the most creative answer win!) Worship 15 min WORSHIP: Lesson Leader (LL): Welcome ren and state the lesson name and bible point. Open in prayer. Begin worship by getting kids excited! Live It Out DVD DVD Player Worship: 1. Live It Out 2. Happy Day 3. We Shine When songs are completed, have the kids sit with their classes and teacher. (teachers joining the circle; preferably sitting near those that are more quick to distract) TITHING: Lesson Leader (LL): We are going to start each Sunday morning with tithing, because of its importance and so that we can share this experience. Question: Can anyone explain why we tithe and what it means to tithe? Lesson 15-20 min LARGE GROUP LESSON: Please note, the large group is shorter then previous lessons, you will have more structured teaching in individual classes today. Stickers for winning small group
LL: Before we begin our lesson today, let s let each small group share their best answer for the fun question of the day! What is the bravest thing you have EVER done? Have the kids vote by applause on the winner. LL: Wow! That really is brave! It is a lot easier to be brave when we know that God is with us isn t it? Well, today we are going to continue to learn about Elijah and how God was able to help him with his fears and be brave! Now I want you to sit in circles with your small groups as quietly and fast as you can! READING: LL: For the last two weeks we have been learning about Elijah, so lets quickly review: We first learned that Elijah trusted God to provide for him, and he did! Then, we learned how Elijah won the contest with the Prophets of Baal because he chose to serve the one true God, but in today s Bible story, Elijah felt just as we all do sometimes- afraid and alone. Let s find out more and see how Elijah learned that when we feel alone, God is with us. Strips of paper (1 x 6 ): 2 per Markers: 1 per tape Reading: (1Kings 19:9-18) Elijah s Worries and Fears LL: We just mentioned how Elijah prevailed over the prophets of Baal, but one of his enemies heard of this and decided to get revenge on (kill?! I really hate to go there with kindergarteners in the room ) him. Elijah was scared and ran for his life. LL: Read 1 Kings 19:3 (LL, ask the following questions. Write each answer big on a piece of paper and tape it to the wall; encourage many answers) Question: How would you feel if someone wanted to hurt you? Question: How would you feel if you had been running and running for a long time? Question: Elijah ran into the desert to try to hide. How do you think he felt adding that location to his other concerns? Question: What would it be like running all by yourself? LL: Wow! Look at how much we covered this wall with fears and worries! (Read some of these out loud, to really hit home) Even though he was a great prophet of God, he was still scared and tired, and felt alone. Elijah was truly feeling bad; how do you think God might have responded? LL: Read 1 Kings 19:4-5a LL: As you can see, Elijah is in the desert at this time, and he felt so bad that he actually told God that he was ready to give up. He said, I have had enough Lord and lie down under a tree and fell asleep. Question: Have you ever felt bad and tired like Elijah? What did you do? Question: How do you think God felt? -- What do you think God did when Elijah was ready to give up? Bible White Printer Paper, Markers, Tape
LL: God didn t get mad at Elijah at all! God knew how truly tired Elijah was, so he did something special for him. Now, I need you all to close your eyes. Cover them with your hands so there is no peaking! LL: read 1 Kings 19:5b (teachers, set one cookie by each ) LL: Open your eyes. God sent an angel who said, get up and eat. When Elijah got up, he saw a cake of bread and a jar of water. He ate, and when back to sleep. So close your eyes one more time! LL: read 1 Kings 19:6-8 LL: Open your eyes. God sent the angel a second time with more food. Elijah was then able to feel strength and continue his journey. Elijah had felt alone, but god was with him the whole time and cared for and protected him when he felt down. (you will read the rest of the story, 1 Kings 19:9-18 separately in your classrooms) Go straight into your key verse-- Key Verse: LL: Our key verse today tells us what we should remember when we feel alone. The verse comes from the book of Isaiah. It is chapter 41, verse 10. So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 Ask kids to repeat the Key Verse with you line by line. Question: so what does this verse mean to you? If you had to explain to your mom or dad what this verse means when they pick you up, what would you say? *ask for volunteers to give answers. In your small groups, you will talk about another way that God helps us when we are feeling alone by giving us other Christians to help us out from time to time. Cookies (seriously simple cookies, like Nilla wafers or something; Graham crackers? really small and easy!) Napkins (or little cups?) Dry Erase Marker *Dismiss by grade. (starting with the quietest grade!) SMALL GROUPS: Small Groups 25 min Continue Reading: read the rest of the story, 1 Kings 19:9-18 Activity: Share the Burden (a visual interpretation of burden) LL: Elijah was a great man and prophet, but that does not mean that he never worried or felt that he had a lot on his plate. On these strips of paper that we are passing out, we want you to write fears and worries that you have. *younger kids can draw a quick picture. (Give each two strips Strips of paper (1 x 6 ): 2 per Markers: 1 per tape Worksheets
of paper (1 x 6 ) and a marker. Give each teacher a role of tape before large group.) Each small group should make a chain (making round links) with your worries and fears strips. When all groups are done, have one volunteer from each group come to the front with your chain. Next, I need one more volunteer. We are now going to take all of our chains and put them together and wrap them around our volunteer. (LL, make sure that your volunteer is good and locked in; movement should be difficult then have the small group volunteers sit back with their groups when the chaining is complete). Have the volunteer attempt to walk around the room for a second. LL: Are you having some trouble carrying all of those fears and burdens? (Yes!!) Ok, so let s see what we can do about that; I need one volunteer from each grade; please come up front and take some of the chain away, then distribute the chain among your classmates. (everyone should now be settled and seated with their small groups) Markers Tithing Buckets Question: directed to the now freed volunteer What was it like to carry all of those burdens all by yourself? Question: Have any of you ever tried to keep your fears and worries to yourself? Feeling alone? Question: directed to the now freed volunteer How was it having other help carry the chain of fears? Question: How is that like having someone with you when you are afraid? Question: When we feel alone, how can we know God is with us? Small Group Leader (SGL): We all have fears, just like Elijah did. But we are never alone, because God is with us. God gives us friends so that we can have encouragement when we feel low. We are going to make our own reminders of how that is so true. K-1 nd Small Groups: Person Worksheets Pass out the worksheets so that kids can draw themselves looking happy and excited make sure that they write their own name underneath the picture. Then pass the sheet around and have each sign the paper with an encouraging picture next to it (ex- a heart, flower, of super hero, etc.) 2 rd -5 th Small Groups: Worksheets Have kids write fears and worries in the center of their sheets, making sure that they have their names in the center. Then, have the kids pass their sheets around, each writing an encouraging message to each other, to remind them that they have brothers and sisters in Christ. SGL: These notes are a clear reminder that we have a special bond we have Christ and God has given us each other so that we can learn about his Son together, and know that we are not alone.
ALL SMALL GROUPS: Key Verse/Prayer/Tithing Key Verse Let s remind ourselves of the key verse. Question: Does anyone remember Isaiah 41:10 yet? Question: How can we try to memorize it as a group? (repetition, turn into song, write it, turn it into pictures.) Repeat the verse one more time together! Prayer Take prayer requests from the ren. Write them down and then repeat them in summary to the group before you pray. Pray as a group for one another (popcorn prayer, or in order around the circle, or have 2 volunteers- 1 opens and 1 closes)