Rotation.org Writing Team

ELIJAH AND THE WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH

COMPUTER WORKSHOP

PASSAGE

Scripture reference: 1 Kings 17
Key/Memory Verse: 1 Kings 17:24

PURPOSE

At the end of this lesson the children will:

Be able to find the story of Elijah in the Old Testament.

Understand that you can count on God's Promises, and know what those promises are.

Understand that Elijah's time away hiding was a time to strengthen his trust in God, and prepare for bigger challenges that were coming.

PREPARATION

Read Bible Background.

Materials List

• Bibles
  
• Chalk or dry erase markers
  
• Chalkboard or whiteboard
  
• Computers
  
• Elijah & Jonah CD
  
• Paper
  
• Printout of the CD's outline from www.sundaysoftware.com/Elijah-Jonah/Elijah-Jonah-Tips.pdf
  
• Printers
  

Advance Preparation

Install and preview the Elijah & Jonah CD.

Read the Teaching Tips (pdf) for the program.

PRESENTATION

Open – Introduction

Greet the children as they enter. Gather for discussion and ask them to list "Promises that people make to each other." Discuss what it feels like to break a promise, and have someone break their promise to you. Now have them come up with a list of "Promises God has made to us."

Ask: How do you know those Promises can be trusted?

Distribute Bibles and turn to 1 Kings 17:24. Remind your students where they are in Scripture (context), who the Kings are, and what is happening in Israel at this time.

Say: The widow in today's story had the same question. She didn't know if she could trust Elijah or his God. Today's memory verse is 1 Kings 17:24 (NLT). Find it and read it together.

Write the memory verse on your whiteboard, and go over it with your students.

Say: Today's story is about Elijah and God's compassion. But the story also has a "secret meaning" which you're going to discover today (that the Widow represents Israel and the son represents her future). We're going to find out who the Widow and the son represent. Write this question on the whiteboard.

Dig - Main Content

Split up into work groups of two to three students at your computers.

Start Elijah & Jonah CD and go to the Elijah & the Widow of Zarephath story.

Play through the entire story in sequence. Stop at all the interactive questions to answer them. Select options at the end of the story to dig deeper, reflect, and play.

Outline of the "pages" in the CD's story

The story is presented as a series of interactive and narrated "comic book" pages. Clickable notes and activities are embedded in each page.

Page 1: Introducing the story

Page 2: Elijah flees to be fed by ravens. (Stop and play the feeding game.)

Page 3: Elijah goes to Zarephath “a town just outside the Promised Land” and finds/tests the Widow’s faith. Study notes you’ll encounter will help describe the Widow as one who represents Israel, and her son – the future of Israel.

Page 4: When the son dies, the widow asks if she is being punished for her sins. But Elijah immediately attempts to revive the son.

Page 5: Elijah questions God in his prayer wondering if God had taken the widow’s son, and asks for his life back, which God grants. The widow replies, “Now I know you are a man of God and the word of the Lord in your mouth is to be trusted.” We don’t get a direct answer as to whether God caused this situation, or used it to his advantage to teach Israel and Elijah an important lesson. It’s important to remember that Elijah also was learning what God had in store for God’s people.

Choose from the following Options found at the end of Page 5:

Listen to story again and every time you hear the word "Widow, she, or woman" say "Israel."

Play the Zaresphlatt game. Answer questions in between levels to continue playing.

Rewrite the story using images from the world.

“Questions to Ponder” ...for deeper study.

Gather back in your discussion area or around one computer and review the "Questions to Ponder" content from the CD.

Reflect – Closure

Gather in a circle and review the memory verse. Then go around to each student, having them repeat the verse, but substituting in their own words for what they know about God from this story. You may preview this with examples and write down suggested words on the whiteboard.

Now I know that God promises to (what)______________________,

and that __________________ is to be trusted.”

Amen!

Alternates

There are no other software programs that cover this story. If you can't run Elijah & Jonah CD, I suggest you illustrate it in Kid Pix CD, or retell the story as a story about "Israel and God's promises" using the lesson builder module in Let's Talk CD. You can also do the memory verse in Cal & Marty's Scripture Memory Game CD.

All the CDs mentioned in this lesson are available at www.sundaysoftware.com or Cokesbury.com

CONTRIBUTOR: Neil MacQueen