Theme: Seasons: Summer
Bible Story: Elijah and the great rain
Value: Trust in God’s promises
Elijah and the rain
Long ago, there was a man named Elijah who loved God very much. Elijah was a prophet, one of God’s special messengers.
One day, God sent Elijah to tell the evil King Ahab, “There will be no rain for a long time because My people have not listened to Me.” And just as God said, the sky stayed dry and no rain fell. The ground was dusty, and the plants stopped growing. The people also didn’t have any water to drink.
After many, many days, God spoke to Elijah again. “Go back to King Ahab. I will send rain on the land.” Elijah obeyed and told King Ahab to gather everyone at Mount Carmel. There Elijah prayed to God and said, “Show everyone that You are the true God.” God sent fire from the sky to show His power, and everyone knew that God was real. They realised that they were wrong to think other things were more important than God.
Then Elijah and his helper climbed up the mountain and prayed. He asked God to let it rain and trusted that God would keep His promise. He looked and waited, but there was no cloud at first. He prayed seven times, and finally, a tiny cloud appeared.
Suddenly the sky turned dark, the wind began to blow and the rain poured down! The rivers and dams filled with water again. The drought was over! The Israelites were thankful that God had sent rain at last.
God had heard Elijah’s prayers and sent the rain. Everyone saw that God is powerful and keeps His promises.
(1 Kings 17:1; 18:1-2,20-45)
- Opening
What happens when it rains? We get wet, plants get watered and dams are filled. What happens when it does not rain? Plants die and rivers and dams dry up.
Today we’re going to read about a time in the Bible when it didn’t rain for a long time. Let’s read the Bible story.
- Discovery
Can you remember the story that you heard yesterday?
Yes, we talked about the time when there was a big drought, followed by a lot of rain. Let’s read the story again.
What is your favourite part of the story?
What do you see in the picture?
Where does rain come from?
- Retell
Can you tell me what happened in our story yesterday? (Ask leading questions and guide the child using the picture and story).
How many times did Elijah pray for rain?
What would happen if he stopped praying after the first time there were no clouds?
How did Elijah feel when God answered his prayers?
When do you feel that way?
- Value
This week we’ve been talking about how Elijah trusted God to bring rain during a drought. When we trust God, wonderful things happen! God loves us and wants what’s best for us. He always keeps His promises. All we have to do is ask and He will help us.
What can you trust God to help you with? Let’s pray and ask Him to help you.
- Activity
In our story this week, Elijah trusted God to let it rain during a terrible drought. Today we will make our own raincloud that we can put up on a wall to remind us that we can always trust in God, just as Elijah did.
(Give each child a piece of paper and a few cotton balls to paste onto it, to create a cloud. Hand them crayons to draw rain pouring from their clouds. Talk about how Elijah asked God for rain and how God kept His promise. We can always trust God to keep His promises.)