Elijah on Mount Carmel

This page takes you through some of the activities we had at Messy Church on 13^th May,  2017.  Have a look and try a few.

Peg people

Dress two wooden people in nice clothes to look like Queen Jezebel and King Ahab.

Dress one person in plain clothes to look like Elijah.

King Ahab was married to Queen Jezebel.  They ruled Israel but they did not follow God.

Elijah did follow God and told the king and queen that they were wrong.

Why do you think the people followed the king and queen and their god?

Where’s Wally

Can you find Wally in any of these pictures?

There were 450 prophets choosing to follow Baal, but only Elijah chose God

Have you ever had to stand out from the crowd?

Swingometer

Make an arrow out of card and fix it to a big piece of card with a split pin.

One one side the card says God, and on the other Baal.  Which one will you choose?

The people had to choose whether to listen to the prophets of Baal or to listen to God.

What choices have you had to make today?

Choices

Choose which box you want to take something out of.  You can only choose one so choose carefully!

The people had to decide whether to follow the 450 prophets who the king supported, or whether to follow Elijah

How did you decide which one to choose?

Newspaper boulders

Make a boulder out of newspaper.  Add it to the pile to make an altar.

Elijah challenged the supporters of Baal to build an altar and to ask their god to light the fire on it.  Elijah would also build an altar and ask God to light it.  Whichever one answered ‘He is God’

Can you think of a prayer that God has answered for you?

Names on stones

Paint your name on a stone and decorate it. 

Elijah had 12 big stones in his altar, one for each of the tribes of Israel

Where will you put your stone at home to remind you that God listens to what you say to him?

Shaving foam fire

Squeeze some shaving foam into the tray.  Sprinkle on some powder paint to look like fire. 

Baal didn’t light the fire his worshippers made but the Lord did light Elijah’s fire.  So the people knew that the Lord is God.

What helps you to know that the Lord is God?

Food sacrifice

Make an altar out of marshmallows.  Make a fire on top with chocolate sticks and sweets

Elijah asked God to light the fire he had made, and God did it.  Elijah did it so that people would know that the Lord is God.

What would you think if you saw a fire light without matches?

Model fire

Make a fire out of clay and twigs.  Then add the flames using tissue paper

Elijah poured water on his altar before he prayed to God and then asked him to light it

How would you light a fire?  Would you pour water on it?

Paint blowing fire

Put a big blob of paint in the middle of the paper. Then blow it with a straw to look like flames

God sent fire down and it burnt up the sacrifice, the wood and the stones.  It scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench.  It was a very hot fire.

Have you ever been near a fire?  How hot was it?

Cloud prayers

Stick cotton wool on the card to make it look like a cloud.  Also stick on one of the prayers.

It had not rained for three years.  Elijah said it was because the king did not follow God.  So Elijah prayed and a cloud appeared.  Then it rained.

What do you want to pray for today?

Rainsticks

Take a cardboard tube and cover one end

Put some aluminium foil and some rice in it

Then cover the end

Decorate it

When you turn it over it will make a noise like rain

It had not rained for three years, but when Elijah prayed it rained heavily

There are places in the world now that don’t have enough rain.  What happens when you don’t have rain?

Collage

Add to this collage picture of the story

The followers of Baal prayed but their fire wasn’t lit.  Then Elijah prayed to the Lord, and his fire was lit.  It was so hot it burnt everything up.  Then the people said ‘The Lord, he is God’

Which part of this story do you like best?

Wristbands

Scratch into the wristband the words ‘One God’

The Lord showed that he is God by lighting Elijah’s fire

What is special about following God?

Adult colouring

Colour in one of these pictures or draw your own picture of flames

The followers of Baal prayed but their fire wasn’t lit.  Then Elijah prayed to the Lord, and his fire was lit.  It was so hot it burnt everything up.  Then the people said ‘The Lord, he is God’

What shows you that ‘the Lord, he is God’?

Prayer Cross

Take a piece of paper and write on it or draw a picture of anything you would like us to pray for you.

The prayers in here will be passed on to a team of people who pray every month for Messy Church

Roll your paper up and put it in one of the tubes in the cross