Lesson: Elijah the Prophet Proves Baal is False

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Bible Heroes Coloring Book: Elijah
By Carine Mackenzie

Elijah knows who the real God is so he starts a competition to prove it. The alter is ready--everyone is watching. Who will win the day?

To find out about the competition and who the winner is, color in this book and read the story. You can read about Elijah in the book of Kings. Recommended for ages 6 to 8.

This coloring activity book is ideal for the child who is looking for something a little bit more demanding. With the extra detail and block words for coloring in, this book challenges children to develop their hand eye coordination that little bit further. Very affordable!

God's Fire for Elijah
By Arch Books

For more than 35 years, the best-selling Arch Book Bible story series has captivated children. Each book presents a complete Bible story in a fun-to-read way children can understand and remember. This book is about Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Softcover from Concordia. Very affordable! Recommended for ages 5-9.

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Elijah the Prophet Proves Baal is False

To Remember: You can only serve one Master.

Vocabulary:

prophet: someone who speaks for God (chosen by God)

Elijah: God' Powerful Prophet
.pdf take home sheets

Memory Cards: Print out the cards with a graphic on business card paper! Front Back

1 Kings 18:21 "...How long are you going to waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!..."

Lesson Outline

1 Kings 18:17-40

Elijah challenges the priests of Baal to a contest

450 priests of Baal make sacrifices, even hurt themselves, to get Baal's attention

nothing happens after several hours

Elijah prepares his sacrifice

He pours water on it three times, and prepares a moat to keep the water in

This makes the offering difficult to set fire to

Elijah calls on God once

The Lord sent fire which not only consumed the wet offering, but also all the wood, the stones, the very dirt under the alter, and also took all the water!

The people recognize God and worship him

They destroy all the false prophets who had led them into idol worship.

Discussion/Activity: Have the students stand up in a line. Tell them they have to go in whatever direction you tell them. Call out left, right, right, left, left right, etc going faster and faster until they can't keep up. Have the sit and discuss: Can you walk in two directions at the same time? No! When I said left, you went one way. When I said right you went another. Elijah compared worshipping idols as trying to go two directions at the same time. He told the people they would have to decide what direction (or path) they would take. Going toward God meant going away from Baal. They couldn't have it both ways. Jesus said something similar: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 6:24. He said that serving mammon (money, the world and its things) would lead you away from God, even to the point of hating Him! We have to decide, like Joshua did (Joshua 24:15) to serve the Lord.

Sing: Our God is an Awesome God

Worksheets:

Coloring Page: Elijah on Mount Carmel
Coloring Page: God speaks to Elijah on Mt. Sinai
Coloring Page: A Widow's Jars of Oil

True/False:

God had the most worshippers on Mt. Carmel. F
Baal did a miracle on Mt. Carmel. F
God answered Elijah immediately. T
The people did not believe the miracle. F
The people had to choose who they would worship. T

Review Questions for gameboard

	linguistic questions
	What is an idol? (a man-made object or idea that is treated like god.) What is a prophet? (a messenger of God) Spell Elijah.
	activity questions
	Act out the Baal priests hurting themselves. Quickly sketch an altar. Locate Mt. Carmel on a map.
	emotion questions
	How did the priests feel when Baal would not answer? (embarrassed, hurt, exposed) How did Elijah feel when God answered him? (happy, thankful) What feeling did the people have toward the false prophets after they were exposed? (anger and hatred, enough to kill them)
	application questions
	How many masters can we serve? (1) If we do what we want all the time, who are we serving? (ourselves, Satan) How many of us have to follow God for Him to hear us? (He will hear even 1 of his children)
	fact questions
	How many priests of Baal offered sacrifices? (450) How many prophets of God offered sacrifices? (1) Which God answered the sacrifice? (God)
	review questions
	What did the priests of Baal do? (called out, hurt themselves, offered sacrifices) How did Elijah avoid any doubt that the sacrifice was burned by God? (he covered it with water to make it hard to burn) Why did God respond to Elijah? (to demonstrate to Israel that Elijah's message was from God)