Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Welcome, everyone! Today is the second lesson of our Superbook story, “Elijah and the prophets of Baal.” Elijah wanted God to be #1 in the Israelites’ hearts. God is the one true God, and He is holy! Let’s praise God today as we sing and do the motions to “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

Play Video 11: (Song) Holy, Holy, Holy (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along and do the motions with the children. They may clap and do freestyle movements during the animation sections.

Holy Holy Holy

SuperTruth and Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperTruth today says: “I will not trust the idols of this world.” Let’s shout that together: “I will not trust the idols of this world!”

What does the word “idol” mean?

An idol is anything that distracts us from putting God first in our lives. We will talk more about that in Small Group.

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in the previous lesson, you may skip it here and go straight to the Bible Background Video.

If you were here last time, why did Joy think that Chris was obsessed with the video game he was playing? It was all he thought about and did.

It was all he thought about, and all he wanted to do. Did it seem like that video game was the most important thing in his life?

For the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version of “Elijah and the Prophets of Baal.” If you have already seen the full video, watch closely to find out the answer to this bonus question: According to Elijah’s instructions, how many times were the helpers supposed to pour four large jars of water over the altar?     

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (10.5 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo back to ancient Israel. They meet Elijah, a prophet of the Lord, who boldly stands alone to challenge 450 prophets of the false god Baal in an epic showdown. The Lord clearly demonstrates that He is the one true God.

Discussion (1 minute)

Do you think Elijah ever doubted if God would answer his prayer and send fire—why or why not?

Have you ever known someone who trusted in a good luck charm to help them?

Remember that only the one true God can help us—no object can.

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

Now let’s watch our Bible Background Video and learn more about the time when Elijah was God’s prophet. When Gizmo asks a question in the video, wait for him to suggest some answers, then call out the one you think is right!

Play Video 5: Bible Background (8.5 minutes)

Bible Background

Play Video 10B: SuperVerse Graphic 2

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 2

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. 1 John 5:21:

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

Our SuperVerse is a warning to all of us to not let anything take God’s place in our hearts. When you read the words, “Dear children,” what does that say to you?

It is not a stern threat written in anger, but rather a loving warning for our own good to keep us safe. We must be careful not to allow anything to take God’s place.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group.

Note: Younger children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times, while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray: Dear God, You are the one true God, and we want to put You first. Help us to notice anything that is becoming too important in our lives and taking our attention away from You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.   

Let’s go to our Small Group where you will play a game with quick choices—are you ready for the challenge? 

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Game

Before we play our game, let’s answer the bonus question from Large Group. According to Elijah’s instructions, how many times were the helpers supposed to pour four large jars of water over the altar? Three times.

Have you ever been told to make up your mind?

This means to make a decision and stick with it—stop going back and forth!

That’s what Elijah was telling the people in 1 Kings 18:21:

Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.

Elijah called the people to choose God or the idol, Baal! How did they answer? They were silent.

Let’s not be silent today. Let’s shout our SuperTruth! “I will not trust the idols of this world!”

We all just made a choice, didn’t we? We made a firm decision to trust God!

Divide the class into teams of up to 10 children each. Teams do not need to be even. If the class is small, have the class play as one team. Have the teams line up single file, straddling their line with one foot on either side of the line, facing the leader. Leave as much room as possible between the children. 

The leader shouts a command and ends each one by saying either “to the right” or “to the left.” Children immediately jump to the correct side—or stay on the same side—and do the command. If any children jump to or stay on the wrong side, they must sit out of the game for two commands before returning. Alternate game options are listed below. Have another leader control when children may return to the game.

Gameplay options:

• For younger children or those with special needs, play just for fun—no one is removed from the game when an error is made.
• Eliminate players from the game as they err. The last child standing wins. 
• For older children, play several rounds, then divide each team in half and have them face each other. Game play is the same but the difficulty level increases as children see those facing them move in the opposite direction!   

Use the commands below or add your own instructions. You may repeat the same command twice in a row to try to trick the players.

• Clap your hands as fast as you can—to the right.
• Sit on the floor—to the left.
• Stand up—to the right.
• Jump up and down three times—to the right.
• Do five jumping jacks—to the left. 
• Shout the SuperTruth—to the right.
• Hop on one foot—to the right.
• Wave hello—with both feet on the line.
• Touch your toes—to the left.
• Hum a tune—to the right.
• Pat your back with both hands—with both feet on the line.
• Shout, “Trust God!”—to the left. 
• Spin around two times—to the right.
• Touch your toes—to the left.
• Reach for the sky—to the right.

Conclusion: What was the most difficult part of the game?  

Did you ever just copy what other people did?

Why is that not a good idea? People can make wrong choices; we must make your own choice and not follow the crowd.

Sometimes people move back and forth between trusting God and trusting the things of this world. This is not what God wants. We need to choose to trust and serve God all the time!

Teaching

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I will not trust the idols of this world.”

In our Bible story about Elijah, what was the name of the false god or idol? Baal.

In the video, Israel’s king had a huge statue of Baal made so his wife and everyone in the kingdom could worship a false god. King Ahab cared more about pleasing his evil wife, Jezebel, than obeying and pleasing the Lord, the Creator of heaven and Earth!   

Idols like Baal are common in some cultures of the world. However, idols are not only figures or statues; they can be anything that distracts us from putting God first in our lives.  

God is very clear about this in the Ten Commandments, which we can read in Exodus 2. The first two commandments say this: 1. You must not have any other god but Me. 2. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind. 

Did you notice that God said an idol of “any kind”?

He did not limit an idol to a certain shape or material! So, let’s take a look at how different things—even good things—can become idols in our lives and distract us from putting God first!

Place the “God” bag on the table. Do not let the children see that there is anything in it. In the beginning, God created the universe. He is first, He is supreme, He is all-powerful, He made everything in the world, and He made us! 

Place the “Me” bag on the table directly next to the God bag. This bag represents each one of us—including you and me! God created us to have a close relationship with Him; that is His will for everyone. He should be first in our lives. He created us, so He knows what is best for us. God wants us to spend time with Him each day, to read His Word, pray, and listen to His voice in our hearts. Why? So He can show us His love, protect us, guide us, etc. So we will know how to live our lives to please Him.

We also have other things in our lives.

One by one, hold up the four remaining bags. Read the bag’s title aloud and ask the children to describe what that category may include. Use that bag to push the “God” bag aside, and put the new bag next to “Me.”

• Relationships: Family, friends, teachers, coaches, pastors, etc.  
• Work: Tasks, chores, jobs, and careers.
• School: Studying and education.  
• Fun: Sports, music, hobbies, video games, movies, TV/computer, volunteer or charity work with clubs and organizations.    

Are these things good or bad?

There is nothing wrong with any of these things. The problem is if we think something good is more important than the best. And Who is the best? God!

Oh no! What happened to the “God” bag?

Other things took God’s place and pushed Him away. He no longer holds first place in our lives. We don’t want to become so busy doing something good that we don’t have time for our relationship with our Creator!

This is important—each of these things is fine as long as they aren’t a distraction and take God’s place in our hearts. If this happens, it becomes an idol to us and God is not pleased! Let’s say our SuperVerse together. 1 John 5:21:

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

One by one, hold up the Relationship, Work, School, and Fun bags to show the children that they are empty.

Then hold up the Me bag and show that it is empty. Without God, our lives are empty.

Finally, hold up the God bag and show that it is full. God is the source of everything! What are some things that God gives us? Life, salvation, love, forgiveness, power, healing, family, joy, peace, hope.

God is up in heaven. So how did He show us all of these wonderful things? Jesus.

Jesus died on the cross to pay the punishment for our sins.

Put a cross into the Me bag. I want God’s salvation, love and forgiveness in my life! So I asked Jesus to come into my heart. 

Put crosses into the other bags as well. When we ask Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, He is at the center of our lives, then we can serve Him through our relationships, in our work, at school, and even while we are having fun! When we pray, He will show us how to spend our time, and what things we should not do.

Give a cross to each child, then place the “God” bag next to the “Me” bag. Here is a reminder to keep Christ at the center of your life. Let’s read the verse on the cross together. Isaiah 26:13:

You alone are the One we worship.

Conclusion: When we allow other things to take God’s time and place in our hearts it becomes an idol to us. We need to be careful to keep balance in our lives. Never allow things to replace our time with God—even good things! This is what our Discipleship Challenge is all about!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application 

Hand out a My Time Wheel Pattern to children who were not present for lesson one and explain how to make it at home. Display the model you made.

Who can share an experience of what happened when you put God first last time? 

Remember, there is nothing more important to us than our relationship with God. We want to spend time with Him every day—worshipping Him, reading our Bibles, praying, and listening to His voice in our hearts.

SuperVerse

This verse is a warning written in love. We are God’s dear children and He wants us to guard our hearts so that nothing takes His place. 1 John 5:21:

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

Have the girls form one line standing side by side, and the boys form another line facing the girls with several feet between the two lines. Start the time. The first girl on one end will shout the first word of the SuperVerse, then the first boy directly across from her will shout the next word. Continue in a girl/boy alternating pattern until the entire SuperVerse is shouted. Stop the time and record it on the board.

Start another round with the next child in line. Record the times and continue as time allows, doing it in the fastest time possible. Children may look at the board as needed. If the ratio of girls to boys is too uneven, mix the sides as necessary. If the class is small and the entire SuperVerse is not completed when all children have shouted, continue with the first child again.

Prayer

Our SuperTruth says: “I will not trust the idols of this world.” In our Discipleship Challenge Time Wheels, we have been looking at how we spend our time and adjusting this so we can have proper balance in our lives. Let’s name a few things—even good things—that could become idols to us in our world.

Allow children to name some things that could become idols and discuss how to keep a proper balance in our lives.

Have children bow their heads and think about any activities or things that may have begun to take God’s place in their hearts. Have them silently confess these things to God and ask Him for help to bring things into proper balance again.

Close in prayer: Dear God, You are the one true God. Today and everyday—open our eyes to anything that could begin to take Your place in our hearts. Thank You for Your love and Your strength to worship You alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Toss Game

Divide the children into two even teams. Give a bag of color paper strips to each team and instruct each child to take out five strips. The children will then crumple their own strips to make five small paper balls. Have each team make a single file line behind the mark.

The game we are about to play is based on our SuperVerse, 1 John 5:21. Let’s say it together:

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

As we have been discussing, nothing should take God’s place in our hearts. God must always be first! We all will have relationships and interests in our lives; however, they must not become a distraction that takes us away from God. The balls you made represent different things in our lives that we like to spend time doing. You are going to roll the balls toward the heart. You will score one point for each ball you place anywhere inside the heart except for the middle area. That is God’s area, and nothing must take His place! If a ball lands inside that area, your team loses three points! 

Start the game by having the first player for each team roll or toss their paper balls toward the heart at the same time. Balls will be knocked in and out of the heart areas during the game. The score will not be tallied until all players have taken a turn. Tally the score and play another round if time permits. The team with the highest score wins.  

Conclusion: Having hobbies, friendships and interests is not sinful. However, we shouldn’t allow these things to take God’s place in our hearts. We need to actively work to keep balance in our busy and full lives so that God is always first!   

Balloon Game

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. 1 John 5:21:

Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

The game we are going to play today is about staying away from things that could become idols to us. We are going to play for the fastest time to complete this course as a group. We need to keep away from each rectangle on the floor because they represent things that could become idols to us.

Divide the children into two groups, although the class will play as one team. Have each group stand behind the marks at either end. Give a balloon to the first child at one end. Start the time. The player walks forward while batting the balloon in the air and jumping or stepping over the rectangles. If a child catches the balloon, lets it touch the floor, or steps on a rectangle, he or she must start over. The first player at the opposite end repeats this to move to the other end. Play goes back and forth until all players have taken a turn. Stop the time and record it. Play another round to try and beat the previous time.

Conclusion: What was the most challenging part of this game?

It takes effort and determination to live our lives each day and stay away from things that could take God’s place in our hearts! The best thing we can do is pray each day and ask the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love and power!

Sketch Game

Read Exodus 20:4:

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.”

Our SuperTruth says: “I will not trust the idols of this world.” We have learned that idols come in many shapes and forms. God commanded us not to make an idol of any kind. Today, we will play a game where someone will draw an image on the board and everyone else will try to guess what the image is. Each image is something we will find in the world that isn’t necessarily bad; however, it could distract us and take God’s place in our hearts. When that happens, it can become an idol to us. After the image is guessed we will briefly discuss ways that the image could become an idol. 

Have children come forward one at a time. Quietly whisper an item the child should draw. Start the timer. Allow about five seconds to think about the drawing, then start the timer for one minute. Other children should guess as the artist draws without using any words.

Drawing List:

• Sports—a ball, racquet, bat, etc.
• School or education
• Job
• Friend
• Internet
• TV
• Music
• Hobby or interest
• Idol or statue
• Pet
• Money
• Cell phone
• Video game
• Add your own

Option: For a fun challenge, blindfold the artist and see if children can guess what the image is. 

Conclusion: Great job drawing and guessing! God wants us to keep away from anything that may take His place in our hearts. Anything can become an idol to us if we are not careful to keep God first in our lives.

Bible Study

Have children take turns reading aloud the verses in each passage, then lead a discussion using the questions below:

1. Read Joshua 24:14-16:

¹⁴ “So fear the Lord and serve Him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.” ¹⁶ The people replied, “We would never abandon the Lord and serve other gods.”

Read 1 Kings 18:21:

Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.

• What is similar between the two passages? People were challenged to make a decision about serving idols or God.
• How is the people’s response different in the two passages? In Joshua the people replied; in 1 Kings, they were silent.
• In Joshua 24:15, did Joshua wait to see what everyone else would do before he made up his own mind? What did he choose? He chose before they answered, he chose God for himself and his family.
• Do you think some people today try to serve both God and idols? If so, give an example.

2. Matthew 6:24:

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

• Who is speaking here? Jesus.
• What idol is Jesus talking about? Money.
• How can people serve money? Driven or obsessed with gaining more, spending time trying to earn it.
• Why can’t we serve both God and idols such as money or other possessions?     

3. Exodus 23:24–25a:

²⁴ “You must not worship the gods of these nations or serve them in any way or imitate their evil practices. Instead, you must utterly destroy them and smash their sacred pillars. ²⁵ “You must serve only the Lord your God.” 

• In verse 24, what did God warn the Israelites not to do? Don’t worship or serve other gods or imitate evil practices.
• Was it all right to have some idols around just as decorations? What if the people just removed some of them? No! They were to completely destroy all of them.
• What is the danger of keeping something that you know is sinful or evil? Tempted by it, attracted to it.
• Does God still speak to us—how? Yes, through the Bible and the Holy Spirit. 
• Do you think it is harder or easier to make a choice to serve only God today compared to in Bible times? Please explain.
• Don’t answer this question out loud—but silently think about the answer. Has God ever spoken to your heart about removing something in your life that that was harmful or sinful to you in some way?  

Conclusion: God has not changed since the beginning of time. He still desires for all people to love and to serve Him over anything else. When we make the choice to serve God, we open the door for God’s blessings in our lives. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, we pray that You will speak to our hearts and show us what is right and what is wrong. Help us to guard our hearts from anything that does not please You. You desire that we put You first in everything that we say and do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.