A Widow Feeds Elijah: 1 Kings 17:10-24
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!
- SNACK Items Needed: 1 cup cornmeal, 1 T. sugar, 1 T. salt, 1.5 cups boiling water, bowl, whisk, spatula, skillet & oil
You’re going to make a mini “cake” similar to the cake that the widow made in this week’s Bible story.
Mix the cornmeal, salt and sugar. Add the boiling water and stir. Drop the batter onto a greased about 3 tablespoons at a time onto a hot skillet. Fry the cake until it’s pale brown (about 5 minutes) and then flip to cook the other side. These are called johnnycakes.
As you eat your johnnycakes, think of the widow who obeyed God when she made cakes similar to these for Elijah. God provided for the widow and her son. Talk about ways that God has provided for your family, and together, thank Him for His blessings.
- ACTIVITY items needed: wooded area
In our story this week, there was a woman who was picking up sticks to make a fire. She thought she was making a fire to cook the last meal, a couple of cakes, for herself and her son. Elijah asked the woman to make him a cake, also, and the woman trusted that God would provide.
Go out to a wooded area and see how many sticks each member of the family can gather in 5 minutes. If anyone gets more than they can hold in that amount of time, designate a place where the sticks can be deposited so more can be gathered. Then, take the sticks to a place where it’s safe to build a campfire. Enjoy sitting around the fire together … and maybe roast some marshmallows!
- SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS: items needed: tall clear glass, water, white paper, thick black marker
Draw a horizontal arrow on a piece of white paper using a thick black marker. The arrow should be 1”-1½” long and have a filled-in arrowhead.
Here’s how the experiment works. Hold the piece of paper up next to the glass, and have the kids tell you which way the arrow is pointing. Fill the glass with water. Then, move the paper over behind the glass. The kids should continue to look through the glass to see the arrow. Ask them to show you which way the arrow is pointing now. You may have to move the paper closer to or further from the glass until the arrow switches directions. Play with it beforehand, so you’re aware how it works with your particular glass.
Sometimes, we might think one thing is going to happen. When we trust God and obey Him, it may not always go the way we thought it would, because we don’t cling to our plans. We submit to God’s plans. God may turn the situation around and do something you weren’t expecting.
In the Bible story, who trusted God? Both the widow and Elijah trusted God. Did their lives go the direction they thought they were going to go? Did everything turn out exactly the way they thought it would? Probably not, but trusting God led to some great things! That doesn’t mean that bad things never happened. After all, the widow was a widow because bad things happened in her life. For starters, her husband died! She was gathering firewood because she was poor. That’s not a good thing. And she was gathering sticks because she was going to make her last meal for herself and her son. So things were bad. But, when she trusted God, He brought miracles and amazing things out of her bad circumstances. God took the widow in a completely different direction!
Pour the water into the glass. God poured out His grace on them. He poured out His blessings and His favor. He poured His faithfulness into their lives. And you know what? He changed the direction they were going. They were on a path of following God and trusting Him. Now that the glass is full, look at the arrow. What happened to it? It changed direction!
How many of you expected the arrow to change direction when the water was poured into the glass? I bet the widow didn’t expect God to change the direction of her life so dramatically the day she met Elijah AND the day her son died. But God knew what He was doing! And, God already knows how He is going to take care of you and bless you!
- KNOW YOUR BIBLE items needed: Bibles
Look up these verses together and then discuss the questions.
1 Kings 17:14-16
- What did the widow say when Elijah asked for food? What do you think she was thinking?
- How would you have responded, if you were the widow?
- How did God provide for them?
- How has God provided for you today?
John 14:1
- If we trust in God, what should we not do?
Psalm 33:21
- What can we do, if we trust in God?
Proverbs 3:5
- What should we not depend on?
- 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 EVEN WHEN WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING DIFFICULT!