Family Resources: Elijah Fed By Ravens - 1 Kings 16: 29-17:9

• Elijah Fed by Ravens: 1 Kings 16: 29-17:9

We believe that spiritual development happens in the home as well as at church.  We hope that these ideas will help you engage as a family.  It’s designed to help you connect with your child about the lesson they had this past week.  Use all the ideas one night, or spread them out throughout the week.    Enjoy!

• ACTIVITY  Items Needed:  Outdoors

In this week’s Bible story, we learned about how God used birds—ravens more specifically— to deliver food to Elijah. God told Elijah to go to a brook named Cherith and hide there during the drought. Go outside to an area with trees and look for birds.

Watch them closely. What sounds are they making? What are they doing? Do you see them taking care of their young? Can you see them getting food? Where do they get food or water?

1. Can you imagine getting your food FROM birds?
2. Why do you think God chose birds to deliver food to Elijah?
3. Do you believe God will provide for you?

• GAME items needed: feathers

Play a game using a feather. (A craft feather works best). Give everyone a feather, and when you say “Go,” everyone will try to blow their feather to keep it in the air. The person who can keep their feather in the air the longest, wins the game. Play several times, so others get the chance to win.

In this game, we tried to keep a feather floating in the air by using our own breath. Sometimes in life, we think that we can keep ourselves afloat all by ourselves. We think we can handle it on our own. But, this Bible story shows us that we need to depend on God to provide for us and take care of us. God knows what we need and He knows what’s best for us. He will give us what we need.

• GAME: items needed:  3 oz paper cups,  oyster crackers, appetizer tongs, bowl

Pour a supply of oyster crackers in a bowl that is easily accessible to everyone. The kids/parents will work (play) in pairs. One person in each pair (representing Elijah) will lie on the ground and hold the bottom of a 3-ounce paper cup in their mouth. The other person in each pair (representing a raven) will “fly” over to the bowl of oyster crackers with his appetizer tongs and pick up a cracker. He’ll fly back to his partner and try to drop the cracker in the cup his partner is holding. BUT, they have to hold the tongs at their shoulder height. If it misses, the “raven” must fly back for another cracker and try again.

The first pair to get 3 crackers in their cup will yell, “Elijah has been fed!” Play will stop for everyone. Then, the pair who “fed Elijah” will answer one of the questions below about today’s Bible account. Either switch positions or choose new pairs to participate. Continue until all the questions have been answered.

Questions:

1. What was the name of the King in the Bible story? (King Ahab)
2. What was the name of the King’s wife? (Jezebel)
3. Why was Jezebel so bad? (She worshipped pagan gods.)
4. Why was God angry with King Ahab? (King Ahab disobeyed God and made other people worship the pagan gods.)
5. What were the names of the pagan gods? (Baal and Asherah)
6. What was the name of the prophet? (Elijah)
7. What did Elijah tell King Ahab? (there would be a drought, and that it would not rain until He said so)
8. Where did God tell Elijah to go when the drought was coming? (to a brook called Cherith, east of the Jordan river)
9. How did Elijah get food, when he was by the river? (Ravens brought it to him.)
10. What did the ravens bring Elijah? (meat and bread)
11. How often did the ravens bring the bread and meat? (every morning and evening)
12. When the brook dried up, where did God tell Elijah to go? (to a widow’s house)

• KNOW YOUR BIBLE items needed:  Bibles

Look up each of the following verses.

2 Corinthians 9:8

1. Do you trust God to provide all you need?
2. How has God provided for you recently?
3. Is it easy to depend on God to provide for you?

Psalm 33:4-5

1. How was God good to Elijah?
2. What upset God in the Bible story of Elijah being fed by the ravens?
3. How has God been faithful to you?
4. How have you been faithful to God?

Matthew 6:25-26

1. What should we not worry about?
2. What does God do for the birds?
3. Do these verses give you confidence in God? Why?

• Scripture Memory

Psalm 34:8-9 (NLT)

“Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
Fear the LORD, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.”

• Thought For The Week

WE CAN TRUST GOD BECAUSE HE PROVIDES FOR US!