Elijah and the God Contest

 READ TOGETHER

Read all or parts of 1 Kings 16–18 from the Bible.

Parents, ask your kids what was their favourite part of this true story from the Bible? (And answer it for yourself too!)

FAMILY DEVOTION

In 1975, the world was introduced to the Pepsi Challenge. As part of their advertising campaign, Pepsi set up blind taste tests in supermarkets where participants sipped from two cups—one containing Pepsi and one containing Coca-Cola. Not knowing which soda was in each cup, the participant would choose the drink they liked most. Interestingly, most of the participants chose the sweeter taste of Pepsi, but Coca-Cola continued to be the more popular and better selling brand. Guess that’s why Coca-Cola says you can’t beat the Real Thing!

When Ahab became king over Israel, all the people turned away from God and worshiped false gods. Even after God sent a drought and famine in the land, Ahab continued to let the people choose to follow false gods or the one true God. So, God’s prophet, Elijah, set up a test to show the people who is the one true God. As hard as the others tried to show the power of their gods, no one answered their prayers. When Elijah called on God, He sent fire from the sky that consumed the sacrifice, the wet wood on the altar, and even the dust around it! There was no doubt that He is the one true God!

Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good!” There is no one like God. As we read the Bible and see His power, His wisdom, and His love, we can worship Him because there is nothing as great as Him!

The one true God is not like the false gods. We do not have to work hard to show God we love Him. Instead, He showed His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus. Jesus died to rescue us from sin, and He hears us when we cry out to Him.

PRAY TOGETHER

God, there is no one like You! You are worthy of all our praise because You are the one true God. Help us to cry out to You when we need help and to trust in Your power to save.

When you pray together this week, praise God for how awesome and big He is. Focus on His character or attributes that are greater than everything else. How is God all-powerful, all-knowing, and always present? How do those attributes of God help us to trust Him more?