Elijah and the StillSmall Voice1 KingS 19:1-21

Kids will understand:•ThestoryofElijahrunningfromQueenJezebel.•ThatElijahwasnotalone,andwearenotalone,either.•ThatGodwillspeaktousinthequiet,justlikeHedidwithElijah.

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2013June 23

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SUPPLiES•video–“ElijahandtheStillSmallVoice”

• storytellingtechniqueatendoflesson

ActiVity

In this game everyone starts out standing. By the end, only one person will be left standing. Each time an instruction is given, the kids who that characteristic applies to will sit down. The game is over at any point during the instructions that one person is left standing. Depending on who is left when it’s narrowed down to 2 o 3 players and the clues are done, you’ll have to create specific qualifiers to eliminate all but one.

Everyone stand.•Sitdownifyouhavebraces.•SitdownifyourbirthdayisinApril.•Sitdownifyouhavearibboninyourhair.•Sitdownifyouhaveredhair.•Sitdownifyouare8yearsold.•Sitdownifyouhavefingernailpolishon.•Sitdownifyourfamilyhasacat.•Sitdownifyouhaveashirtwithasportsteamlogoonit.•Sitdownifyouhadadonutforbreakfast.•Sitdownifyouarewearingshoeswithshoestrings.

Therewasonlyonepersonleftattheendofthegame.He/shewasallalone!TheBiblestorywe’regoingtolearnabouttodayisaboutamanwhothoughthewasallalone,butGodshowedhimhowhereallywasn’t.

BiBLE AccoUnt

Todaywe’regoingtolookatwhathappenedin1Kings19.Is1KingsintheNewTestamentortheOldTestament?Sinceit’sintheOldTestament,ithappenedBEFOREJesuswasborn.Whatwe’regoingtotalkabouttodayhappenedabout600years(boy,that’salongtime)afterMosesledtheIsraelitesoutofEgypt.PartofthisstoryhappensinthesameplaceasotherimportantthingswereadaboutintheBible.Asyoulistenandwatch,seeifyounoticeoneofthoseevents.

Watch the video of “Elijah and the Still Small Voice.”

We have included a different storytelling technique if you’d like to present the story live. You’ll find it at the end of this lesson.

Know yoUr BiBLE

Anothernameforthebroomtreeisthejuniper.It’scalledatree,butit’smorelikeareallylargeshrub.Mostoftheyear,it’sjustbrownstickscomingoutoftheground.Whenalittleraincomes,therearesmallleavesthatgrowonthebranchesthatlookdeadotherwise.InthedesertwildernesswhereElijahwas,therewereveryfewplants,muchlesstreestogiveshadefromthescorchingsun.ThebroomtreewasawelcomesighttoElijah!

SUPPLiES•PowerPointslide–broomtree

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gAmE

We’regoingtoplayagamewithbrooms,eventhoughbroomsarenotmadefromthebroomtree.Weknowtheword“broom”byacom-pletelydifferentmeaning—it’ssomethingwesweepwithandnotabushwesitunderforshade.But,broomscanbefuntoplaywith…thatis,thesweepingkind.

Form four pairs of kids. Each pair will have someone who will use the broom (the sweeper) and someone who will use the dustpan (goalie). Determine a start line where each sweeper will start and a stand-behind line for each goalie. Place a ball on the line in front of each sweeper. At the signal, they will use the broom to move the ball to the goalie. A pair scores when the ball goes in the dustpan and the goalie is able to stand up without losing control of the ball. Before choosing 8 more kids to participate, ask the scoring pair the first question about the story. (If you’d like, throw around points lavishly!) Address the questions in order.

QuestionsandAnswers

•WhatwasthenameofthequeenwhowasangrywithElijah?(Jezebel)

•WhywasJezebelangrywithElijah?(He made her idols look foolish.)

•WheredidElijahrun?(south to the wilderness)

•WhatkindoftreedidElijahsitdownunder?(broom tree)

•WhydidElijahwakeup?(angel woke him up)

•WhatwasthereforElijahtoeat?(a cake/bread and a jar of water)

•HowmanytimesdidtheangelwakeElijah?(2)

•Afterheatethebreadandwaterthesecondtime,howlongdidElijahgowithouteating?(40 days)

•WheredidElijahhideonthemountain?(in a cave)

•WhenGodaskedElijahwhyhewashidinginthecave,whatdidElijahsay?(I’m the only one left, and now they want to kill me!)

•WhatthreethingshappenedwhileElijahstoodonthesideofthemountain?(strong wind, earthquake, and fire)

•WasGodinthewind,earthquakeorfire?(no)

•WhendidElijahhearGodspeak?(when everything got quiet)

•WhatdidGodtellElijahinthestillsmallvoice?(to go back to Israel, there were 7,000 men in Israel who were still following God, and that he was not alone)

SUPPLiES•4brooms•4dustpans•4verysmallballs

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ActiVity

You can do this activity inside, but if you have the capability to take your kids outside, it’s even better. Closetheireyesandstaycompletelysilentforoneminute.Itisveryimportanttocloseyoureyes.Thatdoesn’tsoundlikealongtime,butit’splentyoftimewhenyou’rebe-ingquiet!Listenclosely.Canyouidentifythethingsyouhear?

Whatdidyouhear?Wouldyouhaveheardthosethingsifwehadcomeoutheretoplayagameoftag?No,youwouldn’thavepaidat-tentiontothesounds,becausetherewouldhavebeenshouting,andtalking,andlaughing,andrunninggoingon.

Wasitdifficulttobequietforafullminute?Woulditbedifficulttobequietfor10minutes?Howaboutforafullhour?It’snoteasytobequiet,becausewehavesomanythingsgoingonandsomany“noises”inourlives.It’shardforustohearGod’svoiceinthemiddleofthenoise.But,whenyougetquiet,whenyoulookintoGod’sWordandlisten,Hewillgiveyoudirectionandhelpyouknowthatyouarenotalone.

gAmE

Themightywindroared,theearthshookandrumbled,andthefirecrackledasthetreesonthemountainburned.But1KingssaysthatElijahknewthatthewind,theearthquakeandthefirewerenotGodspeakingtohim.HerecognizedGodwhenthingsquieteddownanditwasstill.Let’sseeifyoucanrecognizethevoiceofyourfriendsinthisgame.

Choose six children to stand at the front with their backs to the rest of the kids and with their eyes closed. Tap one of the audience kids on the shoulder. They will say, “Elijah.” The children up front will each guess who they think said “Elijah.” Use your discretion to rotate the kids up front.

Now, try this same exercise only this time have the person say “Elijah” into a voice-distorting toy.

SciEncE ExPErimEnt

Take the cap off of an empty 2-liter bottle. Lay the bottle on its side on the floor. Stomp on the label. This should collapse the bottle in the middle. Pick up the bottle and blow into it. The bottle will pop back out into its original shape.

SUPPLiES•one-minutetimer

SUPPLiES•Voice-distortingtoy(optional)

SUPPLiES•empty2-literbottle

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Elijahlosthisoriginal“shape”becausehewasdepressed.Whywashesodepressed?HethoughthewastheonlyoneleftwhowouldnotbowdowntoJezebel’sidols—theonlyonelefttoworshiptheOneTrueGod—andhewasafraidforhislife.WhenElijahlistenedinthequiettothestillsmallvoiceofGod,GodassuredElijahthathewasnotalone.GodbreathedencouragementintoElijah,sothathewasnolongerflat-tenedbydepression,buthadhisboldGod-follower“shape”again.

mESSAgE

IlovelearningfromthepeopleintheBible.Thethingstheywentthrougharethingsthatwestillgothroughtoday.Sometimeswelearnfromtheirmistakes.Sometimeswelearnfromtheirfears.Sometimeswelearnfromtheirvictories.But,wecanalwayslearnsomethingmorefromtheBible,that’sforsure!Let’sseewhatElijahcanteachus.

(show slide #2) Elijahwasrunningawayfromaproblem.

ElijahwasrunningawayfromQueenJezebel,becausehehadmadeherandheridolslookfoolish.HehadBIGproblems!Thefurtherheran,thebiggerhisproblemsseemedtoget.Haveyoueverhadabigproblem,anditjustkeptgettingbiggerandbigger(atleastthat’swhatyouthought)?Blow into a balloon each time you say “bigger.” Theonlythingyoucouldthinktodowasrunaway. Let go of the balloon. Doesrunningawaysolveanything?Doestheproblemgoaway?

(show slide #3) Elijahwantedtohide.

Put someone under a blanket. Doesanybodyknowwhere_______is?Aretheyhidden?Ofcoursethey’renothidden.Weknowthey’reundertheblanket.And,GodknewwhereElijahwas,too.QueenJezebelmightnothaveknownwherehewas,butGoddid.Godknowswhereyouareandwhat’shappeninginyourlife.

Haveyouevergonetoaclosetorgottenunderyourbed,becausetherewassomethingyoudidn’twanttoface? Share with the children a time when you hid when you were a child. (I hid under my bed when I was about 5 years old, because I didn’t want to eat chili that my mom fixed for supper. It had beans in it! It took the police coming to our house to find me tucked under my bed sound asleep.)

Sometimeswehidephysically,butothertimeswedothingsthatmakeusfeellikewe’rehiding.

•Youdon’twalkdownacertainhallway,becauseyoudon’twanttotakeachanceofrunningintoateacheryoudon’tlike.You’rehiding.

•Youdon’ttryoutforthebaseballteam,becauseyou’reafraidthatyouwon’tmakeit.You’rehiding.

•Youmakeanexcuseaboutwhyyoucan’tgotoasleepover,insteadoftellingthetruth.Thereasonisthatyoudon’tlikebeingawayfromhome.You’rehiding.

SUPPLiES•balloon•blanket• longrope•PowerPointslides

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Evenwheneverythinginsideuswantstohide,it’snicetoknowthatwecan’thidefromGodandHeunderstandshowwe’refeeling.Godsays,“Comeouthere.Iwanttotalkwithyou.”That’sjustlikewhatHesaidtoElijah.

(show slide #4) Elijahfeltseparated.

Pull out a long rope. Have one of the kids hold the rope right up against you. Arewetogether?Now, have them move down the rope until they’re holding on to the very end.Arewetogethernow?We’restillconnected,butyoujustdon’tFEELcloseandconnected.ElijahwasstillcallingouttoGodandtalkingwithHim,butElijahdidn’tfeelrealconnected.HethoughthewastheonlyoneleftwhowasworshippingGod.But,Godremindedhimthattherewere7,000menbackinIsraelwhowerestillworshippingHim.TheonlyreasonElijahwasseparatedfromthemwasbecauseheranaway!IthinkElijahfeltalittleseparatedfromGod.IthinkElijahwaswayoutthereattheendoftherope,butGodwasstillholdingontohim.

WhenwefeelseparatedfromGod,it’snotthatGodmoved.We’retheoneswhomoveawayfromHim.We’retheoneswhomovedownthatrope.

(show slide #5) ElijahthoughtGodwouldspeaktohiminabigway.

ElijahwasexpectingGodtospeaktohiminaspectacularway.

(show slide #6) Notinthewind

Lookwhatthewindcando. Elijah knew that God was not speaking to him this way.

(show slide #7) Notinanearthquake

Lookatthedamagefromtheearthquake.ElijahknewthatGodwasnotspeakingtohimintheearthquake.

(show slide #8)Notinafire

Lookwhatafirecando.ElijahknewthatGodwasnotspeakingtohiminthefire.TherewasnotabigboomingvoicethatcamefromheaventotellElijahwhattodo!

(show slide #9) Shhhhhh!

GodspoketoElijahinthequiet.TherearetwoveryimportantwayswehearGodinthequiet:throughtalkingwithGodinprayerandbyreadingourBibles.Let’sopenourBiblestoMatthew6:6andseewhatitsaysaboutthewayweshouldpray.

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PrAyEr

Howdidyourbodyfeelwhenyougotquiet?Didanyonenotice?Youtendtocalmdownandrelaxwhenyou’requiet.Doyoucommunicatebetterwhenyou’recrazyupsetorwhenyou’recalmeddown?Doesyourmindworkbetterwhenyou’reallhyperaboutsomethingthatyou’redoingorwhenyou’recalm?DoyouthinkyoucanthinkaboutGodandtalkwithHimbetterwhentheTVisblaringandyou’replayingRock/Paper/Scissorswithafriend,orwhenyou’requietinyourroom?

Create a quiet, calm atmosphere for your time of prayer today. Bring in some candles, real or battery-operated, and turn down the lighting. Change your voice to low soothing tones. You might be surprised at how quickly everyone enters the “quiet zone” with just these few modi-fications. Help the children spend one minute in silence, but this time not listening to what is going on around them. This time they should be listening to God.

BLESSing

Youarenotalone.Godiswithyou,andIamprayingforyou.

SUPPLiES• candles•matches

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SUPPLiES

• chenillesticks

gAmE

(This activity is for smaller groups.) Give each child 2 chenille sticks which they will use to create a person. Once everyone has their person made, choose several of the kids to hide their person in another area (inside or outside). Then, take the other children to the area to find the hidden chenille stick people.

Inourstorytoday,Elijahwashiding.Whowashehidingfrom?Whywashehidingfromher?Whenhaveyouhiddenfromsomeoneandwhywereyouhiding?GodknewwhereElijahwasandwhatElijahneeded.Elijahwashidingbecausehethoughthewasalone,butGodhelpedElijahunderstandthathewasnotaloneatall.GodwaswithElijahandtherewere7,000moremenbackinIsraelwhoweretruetotheOneTrueGod.

ScriPtUrE mEmorizAtion

Galatians3:22(NLT)“The Scriptures have declared that we are all prisoners of sin, so the only way to receive God’s promise is to believe in Jesus Christ.”

Use the characteristics listed in the opening activity to review the scrip-ture. We’re going to use these characteristics differently in this activity, though. Say one of the characteristics: “Everybody stand who ...”

•has braces.•has a birthday in April.• is wearing a ribbon in their hair.•has red hair.• is 8 years old.• is an only child.•has fingernail polish on.•has a cat.• is wearing a shirt with a sports team logo on it.•had a donut for breakfast.• is wearing shoes with shoestrings.

With each characteristic, the kids who stand will say Galatians 3:22 together.

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SUPPLiES•milkorjuicecaps•blackpermanentmarker

•dustpans•hand/whiskbrooms•2buckets

mUSic

“This Changes Everything” and “Paid in Full” are the two downloads for the current lessons. Jesusmadeanextravagantsacrifice.HealsosendstheHolySpirittoliveinus,andourlivescanbechangedbecauseofthat.InourquiettimeswecanpraiseGod,butthroughourmusicwecanpraiseHim,too.

For more Yancy music, check out yancynotnancy.com.

Know yoUr BiBLE

Get several sets of dustpans with brooms at the dollar stores or round up some sets. You just need the little whisk brooms, not a full-size broom. It doesn’t matter that the sets are not all alike. Write a book of the Bible on each of the juice caps. Then, label one bucket “New Testament” and the other bucket “Old Testament.”

This exercise will help the kids identify whether a book is in the New or the Old Testament. Throw all the juice caps on the floor, but make sure that they are flat side up where the kids can read the book written there. Give several kids a dustpan and broom. They will go to a juice cap, sweep it into their dustpan. Once the cap is in the dustpan, they will deposit it in the appropriate bucket—New or Old Testaments—according to where that book is found. Now, they run to a friend and pass the dustpan and broom to someone else to do the same.

ALtErnAtE StorytELLing

You’ll need 3 actors in costume who will not speak, but just act out what is being told by the storyteller: Queen Jezebel, Elijah, and an angel. You’ll also need something to use as a broom tree, a plate with some bread on it, a small jar of water, and a walking stick.

Instruct your actors to “ham it up” in acting out their part when the storyteller reads about them.

QueenJezebelwasveryangrywithElijah…soangrythatshepromisedtohavehimkilledbeforethenextdaywasover!(Queen appears with a mean look on her face and hands on her hips.)AllElijahcouldthinkwastoescapefromJezebel.Hewasscared…reallyscared! (Elijah trembles in fear, biting his finger-nails.) Whereintheworldcouldhehide?Elijahstartedrunningsouth. (Elijah runs around the room with Jezebel looking around, under things, for Elijah.)

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SUPPLiES•musicDVDdownloads

SUPPLiES•3actors•artificialtree•plateofbread• smalljarofwater•walkingstick

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Hefinallycametothewildernessandsatdownunderabroomtree. (Elijah finds the tree and sits down. Puts his head in his hands.) Hewasdiscouraged.Hehadnoideawhathewasgoingtodo,andheevensaid,“Lord,justletmedieouthereinthewilderness.”(Elijah raises hands and has a questioning look on his face.) Hewassotiredthathefellasleep. (Lays down and starts snoring.)

(Angel taps Elijah on shoulder and motions for him to get up.)Sud-denly,anangeltappedhimontheshoulderandsaid,“Getupandeat.”And,therebyhisheadwasacakethathadbeenbakedonthecoalsandajarofwater. (Elijah picks up the cake and water and eats.) Elijahate…andthenhefellasleepagain. (Elijah lays back down and starts snoring.)

Thistimetheangelwokehimupandsaid,“Getup,you’vegotalongwaytogo!” (The angel reappears and shakes Elijah awake.) Elijahateagain,andhemusthaveeatenalot,becausetheBiblesaysthathedidn’tneedtoeatagainfor40days! (Elijah rubs his full belly, picks up a walking stick, and starts walking, pretending to walk up a mountain.) Thefoodgavehimthestrengthheneededtoclimbthemountain,MountHoreb,thesamemountainwhereGodspoketoMosesfromtheburningbushyearsbefore.ElijahfoundacaveandcreptinsidetohidefromQueenJezebel.(Queen Jezebel reappears in the corner of the room, with her hand up at her brow, searching. Elijah huddles down on the floor and scoots back, looking around.)

Whilehehuddled,scaredinthecave,Godaskedhim,“Whatareyoudoinghere?”AndElijahsaid,“I’mtheonlyoneleft,andnowtheywanttokillme!” (Elijah puts his arms out to his side in bewilderment.)

GodtoldElijahtocomeoutofthecaveandstandonthemountain. (Elijah stands up and takes a few steps forward.) Justthen,astrongwindblewpast. (Elijah pulls his arm and robe up over his face to protect himself from the strong wind. He may stagger a little against its force.) Thewindwassostrongthatsomeoftherockscrumbleddownthemountainside.

ElijahknewthatGodwasnotinthestrongwind.Then,GodsentanearthquakeandElijahshook. (Elijah shakes as he stands there, strug-gling to keep his footing.)

ElijahknewthatGodwasnotintheearthquake.Then,Godsentafirethatburnedupmanyofthetreesonthemountain. (Elijah puts his hands up over his eyes to protect them from the fire.) But,ElijahknewthatGodwasnotinthefire.

Whenthefirehadgoneout,theearthhadstoppedshaking,andthewindhaddieddown,Elijahlistenedinthequiet.(Elijah should look as if he’s calming down. He sits and looks around as if listening to hear a faint sound.) Andthat’swhenElijahheardasmallvoice.Hestoodattheentrancetothecaveandlistened.Again,Godasked,“Whatareyoudoinghere,Elijah?Thereare7,000peoplewhodon’tworshipJezebel’sidols!7,000Elijah!GobacktoIsrael.”

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WhenElijahlistenedtothestillsmallvoice,hefeltbetterandtookheart.Herealizedhewasnotalone. (Elijah stands and then heads toward the door.) HewasnolongerafraidandwentbacktoIsraeltodowhatGodtoldhimtodo.

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