Timeless Truth: God is more powerful than any other god.
Bible Basis: 1 Kings 17:1-6, 18:1-39, 19:3-18, 2 Kings 2:1-15, Amos 3:1-11,
4:2-10, 5:14-15, 9:8
Key Verse: [Elijah said] “I serve the Lord.
He is the God of Israel” (1 Kings 17:1).
Get the Point:
Preschool: God encouraged
Elijah in hard times. God encourages me.
Elementary: God encouraged
Elijah in hard times. God encourages me.
Middle School: God raises up
mighty people—such as Elijah and Elisha—in hard times to point people to him.
High
School: God raises up mighty people—such as Elijah and Elisha—in hard times to
point people to him.
Table Talk
Preschool/Elementary
• Elisha
was an awesome man of God. He did many miracles, including making the blind see
and raising a child from the dead. In 2 Kings 2:23-24, it tells of a time that
some young people made fun of Elisha’s bald head. Elisha called down a curse on
them, and two bears came out of the woods and attacked 42 of the young fellows.
What do you think is the main point of this story?
• Has
anybody ever made fun of you?
• What
did you do?
• How do
you think God would want you to act when other kids make fun of you?
• Is it
ever a good idea to make fun of people?
Middle/High
School
• Elijah
often felt alone—maybe because Ahab and Jezebel killed all of God’s other
prophets and birds fed him when he lived alone in a valley. Have you ever felt
alone in your stand for God?
• Have
you ever prayed for God to show his mighty power, like Elijah did? What was the
result?
• There
are a lot of temptations that pull teens and tweens away from God—drinking,
drugs, rebellious music, sex—what area is the biggest problem at your school or
among your friends?
• What
area would you like to make a difference in? Pray to ask God to help you make a
difference in your world in one of these areas. Then find teachers, parents and
adults who can help you.
Living Faith
When Ahab became king of Israel,
he did more evil things than any of the kings who had ruled before him. God
sent Elijah to tell Ahab that he was judging the land because of the king’s
poor choices. Elijah told Ahab that the living Lord is the God of Israel and to
prove it “there won’t be any dew or rain on the whole land” (1 Kings 17:1). For
three years it didn’t rain.
Have your
family make it rain by gathering a clean glass jar with a metal top and ice
cubes. Begin this activity by filling the jar half-full with super hot tap
water. Put the lid upside-down on top to trap the heat. Place several ice cubes
in the lid. In about 15 minutes, raindrops will start to splash inside the jar.
As it
starts to rain, ask these questions:
• What
would the biggest problems be if it didn’t rain for three years?
• What
was God’s point in stopping the rain?
• What
are some ways mentioned earlier in The
Story where God showed his power in mighty ways?
• Rain is
one way that God provides for our needs. What are some other ways that God
provides for us?
• Have
family members talk specifically about an area of their lives where they’re
especially grateful of God’s provision.
At the
end of the draught, Elijah had a showdown against the 850 prophets who
worshiped false gods. He challenged the false prophets to pray and have their
god send fire down to earth. The false prophets tried and tried, but nothing
happened. Elijah had the altar doused with water three times. Elijah prayed and
God sent fire from heaven that burned up everything—even the water! The people
of Israel turned back to God and he sent rain.
Extra Mile
Do you like
walking in the rain? How about singing in the rain. Elijah enjoyed running in
the rain. In fact, he outran Ahab’s chariot from Mount Carmel to Jezreel—and
that’s over 20 miles!
In honor of Elijah’s amazing feat
mentioned in 1 Kings 18:46, go jogging as a family. Run around your
neighborhood or a local park. You may even want to race each other. God gave
Elijah amazing power to beat Ahab to Jezreel. You could put somebody on a bike
and have him stay on the sidewalk as another family member sprints across a
field. See who wins to a predetermined point.
Make an effort to get outside and
exercise as a family a few times this week. It could be jogging, running,
biking—anything. And it doesn’t have to be for long, even 15 minutes can be
beneficial. Maybe it’ll become a habit. As you exercise, use the time to talk
about what’s happening in your life and how you see God moving.
LESSON 16: The Beginning of the End
Timeless Truth: God’s saving power is great.
Bible Basis: Isaiah 3:1-13, 14:1-5, 49:8-9, 53:1-12
Key Verse: “When it is time to save you, I will help you. I will keep you
safe” (Isaiah 49:8).
Get the Point:
Preschool: God doesn’t give up on his people. God
won’t give up on me.
Elementary: God doesn’t give up on his people. God
won’t give up on me.
Middle School: God punishes,
instructs and guides his children to help them grow more like him.
High
School: God punishes, instructs and guides his children to help them grow more
like him.
Table Talk
Preschool/Elementary
• Israel
and Judah followed other gods and ignored the one true God. The sins of the
people of Israel caused God to allow them to be taken to Assyria. The prophet
Isaiah warned the people of Judah about what would happen if they continued
their bad decisions. He told the people the truth, even though the truth was
difficult. Have you ever told the truth, even though it was hard?
• Have
you ever stopped a friend from making a bad decision?
• What
did you say or do to change your friend’s mind?
• Why is
it so important to always speak the truth?
Note: Young readers will enjoy hearing
this story in the Jesus Storybook Bible
on page 144.
Middle/High
School
•
Isaiah’s name means “God to the rescue.” What does your name mean? (Parents
share with your children how you chose their name.)
• Isaiah
tried to rescue the people by telling them God’s truth. What would you have to
do to live up to your name?
• How
does it feel when people try to change you by telling you things that you’re
doing wrong?
• Is it
easy to take advice? Is it easier to follow if you know it’s from God’s Word?
• What is
the best way to share difficult truths with people?
Living Faith
God gave
Isaiah great insight to write about the future and the coming of Jesus the
Messiah. Test your ability to predict the future by playing this game as a
family. All you need is a coin. Have family members pair up. If there’s an odd
number of people, the person who sits out automatically wins and advances to
the next round. Have one person flip and the other person call “heads” or
“tails.” The winner is the one who guesses the best three-out-of-five flips
correctly. Continue playing until there is one grand champion. When you’re
finished, read this:
The book of Isaiah is filled with
prophecies about Jesus.
• Isaiah 7:14 says Jesus will be
born of a virgin.
• Isaiah 35:5-6 says when Jesus
comes the blind will see and the deaf will hear.
• Isaiah 53:12 says Jesus will die
with criminals.
There
more than ten different prophecies recorded in Isaiah. The chances of guessing
a flipped coin correctly are 50 percent. That means you have a 1 in 2 chance of
being right. Mathematician Peter Stoner figured out the chances of one man in
all of history fulfilling just eight prophecies. The probability is 1 in 1017,
or a 1 with 17 zeros behind it. Stoner wrote that if you took
100,000,000,000,000,000 silver dollars and put them in Texas, it would cover
the state two feet deep. “Now mark one of these silver dollars and stir the
whole mass thoroughly,” Stoner says. “Blindfold a man and tell him that he can
travel as far as he wishes, but he must pick up one silver dollar and say that
this is the right one. What chance would he have of getting the right one? Just
the same chance that the prophets would have had of writing eight prophecies
and having them all come true in any one man."
Jesus
is truly amazing. He didn’t fulfill just eight prophecies written hundreds of
years before his birth—he fulfilled nearly 50! That’s an awesome God. It didn’t
happen by chance. It was all part of God’s plan.
Extra Mile
Isaiah 53
says a lot about Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Watch this 4:49 video on YouTube:
“Jesus the Messiah – Via Dolorosa - Isaiah 53.” Some of the illustrations may
disturb younger children. But if your children are old enough, have them watch
the video as you read Isaiah 53 out loud.
The power of Isaiah’s words and the
images will bring home Jesus’ sacrifice in a tangible way. God gave his only
son and Jesus gave everything for us.
Ask
the following questions:
· Why Jesus was willing to go through all that?
How was Isaiah able to
write these words more than 700 years before Jesus was born?
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