Left On Read

Sunday School Chronicles

Me: Do y’all know what your parents expect of you?
Kids: Yeah.
Me: They want you to clean your room. Do your chores and stuff. The same goes for God and King Ahab. Ahab knew exactly what God expected of him and did the opposite. God said, “Don’t marry an ungodly chick.” Ahab was like, “Marry that ungodly chick Jezebel. Got it!” God said, “Don’t worship those fake gods.” Ahab said, “I hear you God. But my wife is into it so I’m gonna worship Baal and Asherah. We still good?”
Kid 1: What????
Me: Yes! So God said, “Ok! No rain for you!” Cut to a long time later. The people have Ben going through a drought. God sent the prophet Elijah to Ahab. It was time for God to remind King Ahab, his unbelieving wife Jezebel, and the people exactly who He was. Because clearly they forgot.

Kids: Aww yeah!

Elijah said, “Bring all your fake prophets and meet me on Mount Carmel. This ends tonite!”
Kids: Ooh.
Me: Ahab came through with 850 fake prophets like, “Now what, E?” Elijah speaks to the people and says, “Look here! Y’all have been tiptoeing between real God and fake gods for too long! Pick one and stick to it!” But the people go silent. Elijah has the fake prophets sacrifice a bull and put it on the altar to Baal. They keep the sacrifice dry because the whole point is for their fake gods to send fire from Heaven.
Kids: Ohhh!!!!! What happens next?
Me: So they’re calling on their fake gods for HOURS! Elijah starts messing with them like, “Ha!!!! Where’s your fake god??? He in the bathroom?” After Baal leaves his prophets on read, it’s Elijah’s turn. He rebuilds the altar to the real God then prepares the bull. Elijah told a couple guys to fill up 4 jars with water. Not water pitchers but super huge jars. He tells them to pour the water on the altar. Then he tells them to do it again.
Kid: Again?
Me: Yes. Again. Then he had them do it a third time. Elijah prayed and God answered. He sent fire from Heaven to burn the offering, sucked up the water, and everything else. The people were like, “We clearly chose the wrong team.”

Reflect: It’s easy to choose the newest things. Sometimes worshipping God doesn’t seem that cool. You may even be misunderstood by friends and family who choose to worship other things. But remember, God will never leave you on read. He always answers and proves why He’s trustworthy.