Leader Guide

Teaching

Two clear measuring cups: the larger the better
Cooking oil: small amount, no more than ¼ cup
Flour: about 1/2 cup
Clear bowl
Two tall, clear plastic drinking cups or storage containers—32-ounce size is ideal
Table
Large baking pan on which to do the demonstration
Towel for cleanup
Paper: approximately 20 sheets
Bibles or the Superbook Bible App
Optional: choose a child to look up and read aloud 1 Kings 17:13–16

Discipleship Challenge materials for children who missed Lesson 1:

Flat Raven Pattern for Grades 1–3, OR Folded Raven Pattern for Grades 4–6
Cloud Hanger, one per child
String or yarn: four 12-inch lengths for each child
Sample craft made in Lesson 1

Optional: ask a child who is a good reader to prepare to read aloud 1 Kings 17:13–16.

Put ¼ cup cooking oil into one large measuring cup, and 1/2 cup of flour into the other measuring cup. The larger the measuring cups, the better to demonstrate how the widow gave the very last bit of her oil and flour.

Place the measuring cups on the large baking pan, on the table.

Crumple each sheet of paper into a loose paper ball; don’t compress tightly. Place them in a pile on the table.

Put the two tall drinking cups on the table near the paper balls.

Discipleship Challenge (for children who missed Lesson 1):

Make copies of the Cloud Hanger, one per child; plus the Flat Raven Pattern for Grades 1–3, OR Folded Raven Pattern for Grades 4–6. See Lesson 1 for details.

Soak and Share: Demonstrate how we should receive and then give.

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I will share what I have with others.”

Last time, we discussed how Elijah trusted and obeyed God. The widow showed her faith by giving Elijah water and bread, even though she and her son were starving. This is especially amazing when you consider that she was not a Jew who served the one true God. Many years later, Jesus talked about how God sent Elijah to her.

Optional: read Luke 4:24–26:

²⁴ “But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. ²⁵Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. ²⁶Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon.”

Slowly pour the measuring cups of oil and flour into the bowl as you speak. The widow gave the last of her oil and the last of her flour to make bread for Elijah to eat.

Hold up the clear bowl so children can see the contents. Does this look like enough to make a meal for even one person? No.

Think about it: the widow had to feed three people with just a tiny amount of oil and flour! Yet because she generously shared what little she had, God performed a miracle to return much more than she gave!

Optional: have a child read 1 Kings 17:13–16:

¹³But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. ¹⁴For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!” ¹⁵So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. ¹⁶There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the LORD had promised through Elijah.

This is what today’s SuperVerse is all about. Let’s say it together. Luke 6:38:

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap.”

This verse is often used to talk about giving money, and it certainly applies. Yet in the verses immediately before it, Jesus is teaching about giving love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and mercy—even to our enemies!

Stand behind the paper balls and the tall container. Raise your hand to guess how many paper wads will fit into this cup. Children guess.

Let’s see if anyone guessed correctly. Count aloud as I place the balls in the cup. Slowly place balls into the cup as they count. Add only enough to fill to the rim—not over.

Raise your hand if you guessed {correct number} balls.

I am still not sure if that number is correct! Let’s see. Press down on the paper balls and tap the bottom of the cup on the table to make room for more. Count aloud as you add one ball at a time until the cup is full, then compress the balls again. Repeat, adding and counting until the balls are above the rim and overflowing the cup.

Look what happens when we do what the SuperVerse says. Pressed down and shaken together, {number} balls filled the cup until it overflowed! This is how God promises to give back to us!

What did Elijah share with the widow? His faith, God’s Word, God’s gift of healing, and God’s miraculous power to provide.

What did the widow share? Water and her last bit of flour and oil; a room in her house for Elijah to stay.

The widow did not just receive a few drops of oil and a tiny handful of flour —she received enough to make food during the famine. She also received God’s mercy and the gift of life when her son was raised from the dead!

Is God generous toward us so we can keep everything to ourselves? Read 1 John 3:17 (NKJV):

But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

We have so many things to share: possessions, spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, forgiveness, mercy, hope, the Good News of salvation, and the many blessings we are given in Christ.

Pour the paper balls into the empty cup. He gives generously to us so that we can generously and cheerfully share what we have with others.

Now let’s think of ways to cheerfully share as part of our Discipleship Challenge!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give any child who missed Lesson 1 a Raven Pattern and Cloud Hanger to assemble the craft at home.

Hold up the sample craft. Last time, your challenge was to learn to do a task you have never done before, then do it cheerfully. Would anyone like to share what task you did and what happened as you did it?

The challenge was also to memorize Proverbs 3:5, which was our SuperVerse last time. Can anyone say it for the class?

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.

Now let’s read the challenges on Raven #2. Joyfully share something with someone. Memorize Luke 6:38.

Your challenge is to give or share something that you have with others. Even better, share something you wouldn’t usually think about sharing with others. Of course, if it’s valuable, get your parents’ permission to allow someone else to use it. But even if you may think it is too small to be important, God can use what you share to help others, to bring glory to Himself, and to give blessings back to you. I’ll ask you how it went the next time we meet.

The other part of your challenge is to memorize Luke 6:38a, our SuperVerse today, then if possible, discuss what it means with your family. Let’s start working on that right now.

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