Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Elijah’s extreme faith seems far removed from everyday reality. However, at times there are obvious showdowns between good and evil. His absolute trust in God is exactly what is needed in the days ahead. In such moments will you be for God, against God, or wait-and-see? Your decisions and actions now prepare you for future showdowns, whenever they come.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
A combination of peer pressure, hyper-connectivity, secular influences, and the fast-paced rhythms of life can often cause us to focus on other things more than we focus on God. Meanwhile, our deepest needs are for God’s love, a strong connection with Him, a focus on our higher calling, and finding rest through our faith in God. Elijah had an active relationship with God and his faith was strong.
Give each student a paper and a pencil. Ask the students to think of the activities that they spend their time doing. Tell them to make a list of or draw pictures that show these activities. They may wish to include singers or bands they like, or famous people they admire. After about ten minutes of reflection, ask for volunteers to share what they have included. Discuss how they spend their time and how God can be part of their daily lives.
This week we are learning to keep God first in our lives as we reflect on Elijah’s experiences with the prophets of Baal. When we have a strong relationship with God, He can help us determine what is right and what is wrong. Elijah stood up and proclaimed Jehovah as the true God. Others lost their faith in God and did not oppose the 450 prophets of Baal and unfaithful rulers like King Ahab and Queen Jezebel.
Read 1 Kings 16:30-33 (NIV).
30 Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. 31 He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. 32 He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. 33 Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.
Read Exodus 23:2 (NIV).
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd.”
King Ahab and Queen Jezebel led many faithful people into idolatry. Many of those people may not have fully believed in what they were doing, but they still went along with it. Pretty soon people believed that Baal was responsible for things only God can do. We should always turn to God first, because He is our all-powerful Creator and our ever-present help.
Read 1 Corinthians 5:6 (NIV).
6 Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?
Read Galatians 5:7-10 (NIV).
7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.
Read Matthew 12:30 (NIV).
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Read Matthew 6:24 (NIV).
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Focusing on other things besides God changes us. If we allow other things, even good things, to crowd out God in our lives, we will soon find our relationship with Him falling apart.
Read 1 Kings 18:22-24 (NIV).
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
Read Luke 22:31-34 (NIV).
31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
33 But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
34 Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Read Revelation 2:1-7 (NIV).
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
It was important that Elijah show them strong evidence that would get their attention and snap them out of their deceptions. Once we let idols in, it is like a flood, and evil desensitizes us to more evil.
Return to God
Read 1 Kings 18:21 (NIV).
21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
Read Matthew 5:37 (NIV).37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Read Matthew 4:4 (NIV).
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Read Hebrews 11:6 (NIV).
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
QUESTIONS
God gives us the wisdom and strength to choose good. Without a constant connection to God, we are easily influenced. We do not want to place ourselves in danger of spiritual death like the Israelites who began worshiping false gods. Maintaining a meaningful connection with God will produce good fruits in our lives. We can be His messengers of salvation and love when we stay focused on God.
APPLICATION
Get creative with how you spend time with God. Here are a few ideas to try this coming week! Let’s read through them together and you can choose which might work for you.
As a result of this lesson, we want the students to learn that God shows up when we take a stand for Him.
OPENING ACTIVITY: LOOK AT ME
What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done to get someone’s attention? Have you pretended to be really into a certain music group? Bought clothes from a certain store because you thought it would impress someone? Changed your personality? Changed your hairstyle?
Along with any other adult leaders, share such a story from your own life, then invite your students—taking care to not make anyone feel awkward—to share stories of their own. If no one is comfortable sharing, simply move on to the next activity, letting your own vulnerability that you’ve shared speak for itself. Your rapport with your students should guide you here.
For the next activity, have one person sit in the middle, then have the class designate two teams of one or two people. Then, timing it on your smartphone or other device, give both teams 65 seconds to get the central person’s attention. Both teams are to act at the same time, and are welcome to do whatever it takes (within reason and within good taste) to get the central person’s attention. Teams might sing, do jumping jacks, freestyle rap, perform gymnastics, or recite the Gettysburg Address. Everyone watches to see which group is best able to capture and keep the judge’s attention, and at the end of 65 seconds, the class and the judge each give their take on which team did the best job.
How can you be a person who dares to stand up for what’s right?
It’s easy to follow God in a community of believers. But sometimes following God is not a team sport. It’s not so easy when everything is stacked against you. Then it requires true courage and commitment to the truth, no matter what.
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
For the past three years, Israel has been gripped by a devastating drought. Elijah has become all the more famous because no one has any idea where he is. There have been endless rumors that he’s been sighted, and stories about what he’s been up to all this time. And then he shows up, as suddenly as he vanished, and the nation teeters on a knife’s edge, anxious to see what will happen next.
Ironically, the one man you might expect to be most glad to see Elijah again isn’t thrilled at all. In fact, he’s pretty freaked out. His name is Obadiah, and though he is a high official in King Ahab’s court, he is also a devout follower of the one true God. In fact, he once personally protected a hundred prophets of God by hiding them in caves so Queen Jezebel couldn’t have them killed. But when Elijah finally turns up again, the dramatic turn of events makes him fear that his time is up.
Let’s read 1 Kings 18:1-19 (NIV).
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 4 While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.
7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”
9 “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 13 Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”
15 Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”
Elijah on Mount Carmel
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
People in Canaan viewed their gods as strictly regional—which explains why, in 2 Kings 5:17, Naaman asks for two mule-loads of dirt to take home from Israel so he can worship God at home. Canaanite gods were not omnipresent, so the priests of Baal go to great lengths to try to get their attention. This includes jumping, crying, shouting “O Baal, hear us!” and even slicing themselves until their clothes are soaked with their own blood. Elijah knows he doesn’t have to do any of this to get God’s attention, and he takes time to rub it in.
The human brain can only truly focus on one thing at a time. It can’t fully focus on two things; it just switches back and forth. This is why, for instance, drivers instinctively turn their music down when making a difficult turn. But God is different. Unlike the way the Canaanites perceived their gods, our God is never distracted, and He can give everyone His full attention at any time.
Let’s read 1 Kings 18:20-29 (NIV).
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
QUESTIONS
The scene looks like a classic reality show setup. Two teams, pitted against each other for an audacious contest that can only have one winner.
And like any good reality show, Elijah makes the audience wait as the tension builds.
After hours of frenzied commotion, the prophets of Baal were exhausted. But while they rested, Elijah, the lone man against hundreds, had everyone’s attention.
And now it’s his turn.
Read 1 Kings 18:30-40 (NIV).
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.
QUESTIONS
The Bible predicts an end-time worship crisis that will echo the Mount Carmel experience. In a time of great deception, people everywhere will have to choose—but this time, it will require much greater discernment, as the false religion will closely mimic the true one.
Revelation 13:11-17 (NIV) says:
11 Then I saw a second beast, coming out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb, but it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercised all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed. 13 And it performed great signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to the earth in full view of the people. 14 Because of the signs it was given power to perform on behalf of the first beast, it deceived the inhabitants of the earth. It ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that the image could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. 16 It also forced all people, great and small, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads, 17 so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.
Jon Paulien writes, “According to Revelation, the Mount Carmel experience will be repeated at the end. Once again there will be a showdown between the true God and a devious counterfeit. But it will be different this time. At the end the fire from heaven will fall on the wrong altar. And it will be the counterfeit Elijah and the counterfeit angels who bring it down (Revelation 13:13, 14). On that day all the evidence of the five senses will suggest that the counterfeit trinity is the true God” (“The Final Deception,” Adventist Review, October 29, 1998).
QUESTIONS
How can we prepare for such a day?
Why will God allow Satan to so closely replicate divine miracles?
What Bible stories can you think of in which the devil deceived people?
How will the world pressure people to turn from the true God at the end of time?
What are some clear signs that a religion is based on a false god?
What are some examples of ways prominent Christians have warped Christianity so that it stands for something completely different now?
APPLICATION
Discuss with your students what might be coming up in their lives this week for which they could take a stand.
In their community, home, school, or city, are there people being discriminated against or treated unfairly? Are there other things happening that they think Jesus would speak out about if He were here? Discuss with them how “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) is often the same thing as taking a stand.
Read Ephesians 4:15, 16.
15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
QUESTIONS
