Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Hello, and welcome to a new Superbook adventure, titled “Elijah and the Widow.” What does “widow” mean? A woman whose husband has died.

In Bible times, widows were often very poor because they had no way to make money. Elijah was a courageous and bold prophet of God. He trusted God and obediently did all that he was asked. We will learn more about Elijah and the widow after we check in with Chris, Joy and Gizmo, who are about to take a very unusual shopping trip.

Play Video 2: Intro to Bible Story (2 minutes)

Chris and Joy’s Dilemma

Chris’s mother sends him out shopping for a list of items that she wants him to buy at many different specialty stores. Chris secretly decides he knows better and can get everything at a “one-stop shop.”

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Why didn’t Chris want to obey his mom? He didn’t want to take the time to go to many stores.

How did he want to get everything on her list? Buy everything at one big store.

Name some people you obey because you trust them. Parents, grandparents, teachers, coaches, instructors, leaders, pastors.

It isn’t always easy to obey—especially when you are asked to do something boring or difficult. However, God asks us to trust Him and obey Him even if we don’t understand why He is asking us to do something.

That’s why our SuperTruth today is: “I will put my total trust in God and obey Him.” Let’s say that together. “I will put my total trust in God and obey Him.”

Let’s watch the rest of the video and find out if Chris’s plan works. We will also see how the prophet Elijah trusted and obeyed God, even when it meant risking his life!

Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution (21 minutes)

Bible Story and Resolution

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to meet Elijah, who is fed by ravens during a famine. In Zarephath, a widow gives Elijah bread even though she and her son are starving—then God miraculously provides food for them until the famine ends. Later, when the boy dies, Elijah raises him to life. The children learn to obey even when they don’t understand. Back home, Chris finds that his mom was planning a surprise party.

Play Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic

SuperVerse

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

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperVerse today is Proverbs 3:5—let’s say it together:

Imagine for a moment that you are Elijah, boldly confronting King Ahab, then having to flee for your life because the king was so angry. Based on what Elijah could see all around him, there was little hope. Yet he did not depend on his own understanding—he chose to trust in the Lord. God was faithful to Elijah; He protected and provided for him in miraculous ways.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group. If any children are not able to memorize the entire verse, be sure they understand its meaning.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Dear God, help us to trust Your Word and obey Your leading in all areas of our lives—even when we don’t fully understand why You are asking us to do something. We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.

In Small Group today we are going to play a game called “You Decide.” It is an action game about choices and obedience. Let’s go find out how to play!

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

You Decide: Play a game of obedience and choices.  

It must have been difficult for Joy to remain silent when Chris planned to disobey his mother’s request and only shop at one store.

Why did Chris’s mother want him to go to several stores? To give her more time to prepare for his birthday party.

Have children line up single file, straddling the lines with one foot on either side of the line, facing the leader. Leave as much room as possible between the children.

Right now you are straddling the line; that means you have one foot on either side of it. This represents when we can’t decide if we should trust and obey God, or if we should depend on our own understanding. This is not a good place to be. God wants us to trust Him with all our hearts—all of the time.

Now, I want you to move to the right side and shout our SuperTruth! “I will put my total trust in God and obey Him!” 

Good! You just made a choice to trust and obey God instead of straddling the line any longer. Here is how the game is played: I will shout commands and end each one saying either “to the right” or “to the left.” You will immediately jump to the correct side—or stay on the same side—and do the command. If you jump to the wrong side or stay on the wrong side, you must sit out of the game for one command before returning.

Have another leader control when children return to the game.

Game play 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—to the right.

·    Touch your toes—to the left.

·    Hum a tune—to the right.

·    Pat your back with both hands—to the left.

·    Shout, “Trust God!”—to the left. 

·    Spin around two times—to the right.

·    Reach for the sky—to the right.

·    Bounce an imaginary balloon up and down—to the right.

·    Raise your arms to your sides to make the letter “T” for trust with your body—to the left.

·    Run in place—to the left.

Let’s end with a command you will need to think carefully about:

·    Turn and face the right side—to the left.

Conclusion: What was the most difficult part of the game? Children answer.

Did you ever just copy what other people did? Children answer.

Why is that not a good idea? People can make wrong choices.

Every day we will need to decide to trust and obey God or to depend on our own understanding and go our own way. To trust and obey God is always the best choice.

Now, let’s learn more about trust and obedience in today’s teaching time. 

Teaching

All Your Heart: Discuss obedience and trust in God.

Elijah needed to trust God every day and depend on Him for all of his needs. God sent ravens to bring him food every morning and evening—yet ravens were considered to be unclean by Jewish law. (See Deuteronomy 14:1–14.) By doing this, God was preparing Elijah to be fed by a widow who was a Gentile. Jewish law considered Gentiles, or non-Jewish people, to be unclean. Elijah could not depend on his own beliefs and understanding; he had to fully trust God.  

Elijah also trusted and obeyed God by traveling to Zarephath, which was dangerous for him. Zarephath was ruled by the father of Queen Jezebel—and Jezebel wanted to kill Elijah! The people who lived in Zarephath were Gentiles who worshiped Baal. They could have told Jezebel or her father that Elijah was there. Elijah probably would not have chosen to go there if he had been depending on his own understanding! Instead, Elijah chose to trust God with all his heart, and obey Him. 

Choose two volunteers—preferably taller children. Have them stand on either side of you, about 2 feet away.

Our SuperVerse, Proverbs 3:5, says:

Other Bible versions say we should not LEAN on our own understanding. 

Let’s pretend that [first child’s name] represents my human thinking and understanding, and [second child’s name] represents God. Every day, I have to make choices. Stand on one foot and lean sideways on the first volunteer’s shoulder. I can lean or depend on my human understanding and wisdom. Switch feet and lean sideways on the shoulder of the “God” volunteer. Or, I can choose to lean or depend on God.

By leaning on “God” I am depending on Him—trusting His wisdom and not my own. Volunteers can return to their seats.       

Elijah also demonstrated his trust in God when he declared that the widow’s oil and flour would never run out until God sent rain. Indeed, God performed a miracle in the midst of a terrible famine, and her containers of flour and oil never ran out.

And when the widow’s son suddenly died, Elijah trusted God and prayed for her son. God heard his prayer and raised the boy back to life. Through Elijah’s obedience, God performed miracles and demonstrated that He is the One True God.     

Have you ever heard the expression, “I’m all in”? That means you are totally committed to something or someone. Elijah was “all in” with God because he trusted Him with his whole heart.

Stand beside the “God” box. For us to be “all in” with God, we want to trust and obey Him at all times. Hold up each “All In” Card, have the class read it aloud together, then put it in the box after you discuss it.  

1. What are some ways we can trust and obey God at home? Obey our parents, be kind to our sisters and brothers, pray, read the Bible.

2. How can we trust and obey God at school? Obey the teachers, share God’s Word, stand up for kids being bullied, eat lunch with children who have no one to eat with.

3. Name some ways we can trust and obey God at church. Welcome visitors and sit with them, help with church events, pray, worship God.

4. What if we are with friends who pressure us to do something we shouldn’t—how can we trust and obey God? Do the right thing even if people laugh, pressure and mock us.

5. When we are alone and no one is looking—can we do something God doesn’t want us to do, even if we think no one will ever know? No.         What should we do instead? Pray, ask God for help, share our problem with a parent or trusted adult.

6. Where are some other places we trust and obey God? In the neighborhood, at soccer practice, everywhere!     

Pull all six cards out of the box, hold them up, then put four back in. Is this what it means to be “all in” with God? No!

Put one more card back in the box. How about now? No!

Place the remaining card in the box. Are we “all in” with God now? Yes! 

No matter where we are or what we are doing, we are to trust and obey God. God doesn’t expect us to do this on our own. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, God places His Spirit in us to strengthen and help us to trust and obey Him. He gives us the desire and the power to obey—even when it’s hard!

SuperVerse

Puzzle Game

All My Heart: Play a game to reinforce the SuperVerse.

Divide the class into groups of 3–6, mixing older with younger children.

A minimum of two teams is needed. The larger the groups, the more fun and challenging the activity will be.

Have each group sit in a circle on the floor or around tables.

Give a Heart Page and two sheets of cardstock to each child.

Give scissors, glue sticks, and pencils to each group.

Each child should glue the heart pattern onto the blank sheet, then cut the pieces apart.

Have each group of children place all their heart pieces in one big pile in the middle of the circle or table and then scramble all of the pieces. 

Let’s say our SuperVerse together: Proverbs 3:5: 

Like Elijah, we must learn to trust God with ALL of our hearts, nothing less! We need to be “all in” with Him, as we learned today. In this game each of you must find all eight parts of your heart and put it back together again.

When I say “Go,” everyone will look through the group pile as quickly as possible to find the eight different pieces to make one heart, then glue them on your blank sheet. If someone finishes early, see if someone else in your group needs a little help. As soon as everyone in your group is done, hold your hearts in the air and shout the words on your sheets together. The first team to do this wins. You can then take your hearts home as a reminder to trust in the Lord with all your heart.   

Be prepared to assist younger children or those with special needs. Afterward, have children write their names on their puzzles to take home.

Match Game

Make two double-sided copies each of the three Rock Card Pages on cardstock.

Cut the Rock Cards apart from each of the eight pages for a total of 24 cards. Scramble them in a pile.Scatter the Rock Cards, image side down, randomly on the floor; not in rows and columns.

No Stone Unturned: Play a match game with people, objects and events from the Bible story.

There is a saying, “Leave no stone unturned.” It means to search everywhere and try anything to find the solution to a mystery or problem. There were many rocks and stones in the wilderness by the brook where Elijah stayed. We are going to play a match game to find images from the Bible story. To do this, you will leave no stone unturned!

Divide the children into two teams; they do not need to be even.

Have teams sit together so everyone can see the Rock Cards on the floor.

Teams will alternate turns. A turn consists of a player turning over two Rock Cards to try and match images. The player will show the class each image.

If the images match, the leader asks the class how it is associated with the Bible story. The player returns to the team with the matched cards. 

If the images do not match, the player returns the Rock Cards to the floor, image side down, and returns to the team.

Play continues until all image pairs are removed from the board. The team with the most pairs wins.

Conclusion: Elijah trusted and obeyed the Lord. God has a solution to every problem and need that we have; He will leave no stone unturned to protect and provide for us!

Prayer

Earnest Prayers: Communicate with God.

Elijah declared that Israel would have a drought—meaning no rain for a long time—because King Ahab worshiped Baal and influenced the people to turn away from God. The story of Elijah is found in the Old Testament, yet the New Testament talks about him, too! 

James 5:16–18 says:    

Elijah was a man of earnest prayer. That means he prayed with purpose and passion.  As a result of Elijah’s prayer, God moved powerfully. What does this passage say about Elijah—was he some kind of superhero? No, he was as human as we are. 

Elijah trusted God and boldly stepped out to declare His Word. He completely depended on God to answer his prayers. When Elijah declared a drought, it didn’t rain for 3 and 1/2 years! Then Elijah prayed again, and rain came. Another time, Elijah prayed for fire, and God sent fire from heaven. He stepped out in faith, and God answered his prayers!   

Today in our prayer time, I want you to think of someone you care about who needs something. They may need to be healed, or they may need a job, or they may need food, or they may need to know Jesus loves them. God cares about these people, too. And like Elijah, we will be praying for God’s will to be done. When we do that—God answers! Allow children time to think of someone and pray silently.

Pray: Heavenly Father, Elijah was a person just like us, and You answered his bold prayers. We believe You will also hear and answer our earnest prayers today. Help us to continue to pray at home with passion and purpose. Let us come back to this place to testify and praise You for the results. There is nothing too small or too big for us to bring to You. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Remember to keep praying throughout the week, and pay attention to see how God is answering your prayers. Next time we get together, you can share it with all of us.

Coloring Activity

Safe in God’s Care: Color a page about Elijah by the brook.

Give a coloring page to each child, along with crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers to share. Lead a discussion using the questions below as children color their pages. 

1. Why were King Ahab and Queen Jezebel angry at Elijah? He confronted them about worshiping the false god Baal and declared there would be a drought.      

2. In the picture, Elijah is standing beside the Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan River. Why did he go there? He was hiding from the king; God told him to go there.

3. What did God tell Elijah to do while he was there during the drought and famine? Drink from the brook and eat the food that the ravens brought to him.

4. Elijah needed to trust and obey God when the water dried up in the brook. Where did God send him? To a city called Zarephath, where a widow fed him.

Conclusion: Elijah put his trust in God instead of his own understanding. He put his life in God’s hands during the drought as he fled from the wicked king and queen. Because of Elijah’s obedience, God protected him and took care of his needs in miraculous ways.   

Bible Activity

Make sure there is a clear path between the children and the board.

If you would prefer not to use sticky notes, have groups raise their hands to answer.

He Is Faithful: Race to find verses about trusting God.

Let’s say the SuperVerse together. Proverbs 3:5: 

Is the story of Elijah in the Old Testament or the New Testament? Old Testament. 

Let’s look up verses about trusting God—all in Old Testament books.  

Have the children sit in pairs. Try to pair an experienced Bible user with a child who isn’t as familiar with the Bible. Give each pair a Bible. The experienced Bible user can quickly look up the verse while the other player writes the answer on a sticky note. The notes are then stuck to the board. If both players are experienced Bible users, the players can alternate looking up a verse and writing down the answer. Have children close their Bibles before you announce the next verse.

Note that the suggested answers are from the New Living Translation. If children are using different translations, their answers will vary. 

I will say a verse reference and write it on the board. You may then start to look it up. I will read a fill-in-the-blank question for that verse. One player in each group will write the answer on a sticky note and then walk quickly to stick it on the board. You have 30 seconds to do that. The first team scores 10 points for the correct answer; all other teams score 5 points for the correct answer stuck to the board within the time limit. Every pair will have a chance to finish, so don’t give up! The team with the most points wins.     

Allow spelling errors because of the fast pace of the game. Do as many verses as time allows. Be prepared to help any children with special needs.

1. Jeremiah 17:7. When we trust in the Lord God, we are _____. (Blessed)  

2. Proverbs 28:26. Those who trust in their own insight instead of God’s wisdom are _____. (Foolish)

3. Psalm 56:3. We can put our trust in God when we are _____. (Afraid)  

4. Isaiah 26:3. When we trust in God, He will keep us in perfect _____. (Peace) 

5. Nahum 1:7. (You may want to allow 60 seconds to look up this less familiar book.)  God is _____ to all who trust in Him. (Close)

6. Psalm 9:10. We will trust in God when we _____ His name. (Know)  

7. Psalm 28:7. When we trust God with all our hearts, we will be filled with ______. (Joy)

8. Psalm 118:8: It is better to trust in the Lord than in _____. (People)  

Conclusion: God is faithful even when we aren’t. People will fail and disappoint us; God never will. Hebrews 10:23 says: