Heroes of the Faith, Part 6Sample

The Only God

Bible story: Elijah and the prophets - 1 Kings 18:16-46

Theme verse: Isaiah 25:1

Last time we learned about the prophet Elijah. At that time, Israel was trying to worship multiple gods at the same time. But God does not want us worshiping anything else, because there are no other gods except Him.

Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters, that we will either hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. (Matthew 6:24) The prophet Elijah brought many from Israel and the prophets of false gods to Mount Carmel. He told Israel to pick one real God and serve Him. He told the prophets of Baal to make an altar and prepare an offering, and Elijah would do the same for our God. Whichever god answered with fire would be the true God. The prophets of Baal did as he said, but there was no answer. After a while, Elijah asked if their god was asleep or traveling or busy.

We never have to worry because our one true God never sleeps, never has to travel because He is already everywhere all at once, and He is infinitely wise and can manage the whole world at the same time. The other god Baal never did answer or send any fire for the offering. In the afternoon, Elijah prepared his offering. He built an altar and put the offering on it, then he soaked the offering in water to make it harder to burn. He had them pour buckets of water until they filled a big ditch around the altar with water. It doesn’t matter how hard something is, our God is all-powerful and can do anything. Elijah prayed, and God immediately answered and sent fire from heaven! The fire consumed the whole offering together with the rocks, water, and even the dust around it.

Jesus said that He is the only way to God, that He is the truth and the life. (John 14:6) There is no other way to heaven except through Jesus because there are no other gods except our one true God. Worshiping only our God means not following any other religions or serving any other gods.

But there is another sneaky thing that can easily trap us. Right after Jesus said that we cannot have two masters, He talked about another thing that people serve. Jesus said we cannot serve both God and money. (Matthew 6:24) It is easy to want better clothes, a nice car, house, and status.

You can have these things sometimes, but do not let anything become more important to you than God. Instead, use them to serve God and take care of His people. Remember last time we learned to seek first His kingdom and trust God to take care of us. (Matthew 6:33) Jesus said to worship God and serve Him only. (Luke 4:8)

I choose to worship only the one true God and to put Him first in my life.

Questions:

1. What things are we tempted to serve or worship apart from God himself?

2. What really are the other gods of other religions?

3. Can I take a vacation from God?

Want more?

This reading plan is taken from Equip & Grow's children's curriculum, looking at the lives of heroes from the Old Testament. Enjoy this plan at home, and then do the full curriculum at church with student books, games, crafts, songs, decorations, and more!

https://www.childrenareimportant.com/heroes/