Elijah on Mount Carmel: Sunday School Lesson for Ages 6-10
Ages 6-10 · 45 minutes · free lesson plan · 1 Kings 18:20-39
An interactive lesson on Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Children build a cup altar, make a flame poster, and learn that the LORD alone is God and answers when we call.
Memory verse
And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God. (1 Kings 18:39, KJV)
Lesson objectives
- Retell in order what happened when Elijah met the prophets of Baal.
- Explain that the LORD is the one true God, and idols cannot answer.
- Choose one way this week to follow God fully.
The full lesson plan
Two Leaders at Once (5 min)
Setup: Ask a helper to be a second leader. Stand about 10 steps apart.
Say: Welcome! Today we meet a brave man named Elijah.
Play "Follow Two Leaders" (2 min). You and the helper do different motions at the same time (clap vs. jump in place). Children try to copy both. Switch motions twice. Keep it in place, no running.
Say: Was it hard to follow two leaders at once? (Yes! You can't do both.)
Say: In our story, God's people were trying to follow the LORD and a false god named Baal at the same time.
Background: Baal was a false god that many people in Israel had begun to worship.
Say: Let's hear what happened. Now let's listen to the story!
Elijah on the Mountain (9 min)
Setup: Open your Bible to 1 Kings 18:20-39. Teach these actions first:
• "Cried out": cup hands around mouth.
• "No answer": hands up, shake head, whisper "nothing."
• "Fire": wiggle fingers high.
Tell the story in order:
Say: Elijah gathered all the people and the prophets of Baal. (v20)
Say: Elijah asked, "How long halt ye between two opinions?" That means, "How long will you wobble back and forth?" The people did not answer a word. (v21)
Say: Elijah was the LORD's only prophet there. Baal had 450 prophets. (v22)
Say: Each side would prepare a bull on wood, with no fire lit. The God who answers by fire is God. The people said, "It is well spoken." (vv23-24)
Say: Baal's prophets cried out from morning until noon. There was no voice and no answer. (vv26-29) [Actions]
Say: Elijah told them to cry louder. Still, no answer. (v27)
Say: Then Elijah rebuilt the LORD's broken altar with twelve stones. He dug a trench and soaked the wood and bull with water three times. (vv30-35)
Say: Elijah prayed a short prayer. He asked God to show that he is God. (vv36-37)
Say: Then the fire of the LORD fell! It burned up the offering, the wood, the stones, the dust, and the water. (v38) [Fire action]
Read verse 39 aloud from the KJV together.
Only One God Answers (7 min)
Say: Elijah asked the people to stop wobbling between two choices.
Point 1: We can't follow two gods. Hold up two fingers, then fold one down. Say: The people could not follow both Baal and the LORD. Jesus said something like this too. We can't serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).
Point 2: Idols can't answer. Say: Baal's prophets shouted all day, and nothing happened. Ask: What is an idol today? (Anything we trust more than God: games, money, being popular.) Say: Those things can be fun, but they can't hear us or save us.
Point 3: The LORD hears and answers. Say: Elijah prayed a short prayer, and God sent fire. God wanted the people to know he is the true God and to turn their hearts back to him (v37).
Say: God still wants us to know him. He showed us most clearly who he is by sending Jesus.
Say: When all the people saw the fire, they fell on their faces and said the LORD is God. Now let's build and play!
Build the Altar Challenge (8 min)
Setup: Put a tape line on the floor. Set 12 paper cups per team on a table about 5 steps away. Make teams of 4-5.
1. Say: Elijah built an altar with twelve stones. We will build one with cups.
2. On "Go," one child at a time WALKS to the table, carries one cup back, and places it on the team's building spot.
3. Each team builds a pyramid (5 cups on the bottom, 4 in the middle, 3 on top). Team members may help steady it.
4. When a team finishes, they count "twelve!" together and sit down.
5. When all are done, say: Now fire falls! Everyone shout "The LORD, he is God!" and wiggle fingers high.
Say: The prophets of Baal got no answer, but our God answered.
If a team's pyramid falls, they simply rebuild it. Time: 8 minutes.
Flame and Stones Poster (8 min)
Safety: Supervise scissors and glue. Pre-cut tissue strips for younger children. No food is used.
Setup: Put paper, crayons, glue sticks and tissue strips on tables.
1. Draw an altar on your paper: twelve stones in a pile at the bottom.
2. Glue crumpled red, orange and yellow tissue strips above the stones to make flames.
3. Write or copy the memory verse across the top: "The LORD, he is God."
4. Decorate the poster, then say the verse out loud to a neighbor.
5. Write your name on the back to take home.
Time: 8 minutes. While they work, ask quietly: What would you tell a friend about God from this story?
Talk About It (4 min)
Ask each question and take one or two answers.
1. Why did Elijah ask the people to choose? (They were trying to follow two gods, and you can't follow both.)
2. What happened when Baal's prophets called to Baal? (Nothing. There was no voice and no answer.)
3. What happened when Elijah prayed to the LORD? (God sent fire from heaven.)
4. What might we be tempted to trust more than God? (Examples: video games, friends' opinions, being the best. Take any honest answer.)
Say It and Pray It (4 min)
Memory verse (1 min): Read 1 Kings 18:39 aloud. Say it line by line, with children repeating. Use motions: "fell on their faces" (bow head), "The LORD, he is God" (point up).
Prayer (2 min): Say: Let's pray together. Pray one line at a time and have children repeat.
• Thank you, God, that you hear us when we pray.
• Help us to follow you and not other things.
• Help us to trust you, even when others don't.
• Thank you for sending Jesus so we can know you.
Say: Take your poster home and tell someone, "The LORD, he is God!" Amen.
Materials
- Bible (KJV)
- Paper cups (12 per team)
- Masking tape
- White paper (1 sheet per child)
- Crayons or markers
- Red, orange and yellow tissue paper, pre-cut into strips
- Glue sticks
- Safety scissors
Teacher notes
- Read 1 Kings 18:20-39 yourself before class. Keep to what the text says, and keep any background brief.
- Allergy and safety: the craft uses scissors and glue, so supervise closely. No food is used. Games are walking only.
- Adaptation: for children with special needs or mixed ages, pair younger or anxious children with a buddy. Use picture cards for the story, and offer a quieter role such as counting cups.
- If time runs short, shorten the discussion to two questions and let children finish the craft at home.
Send it home with parents
Today we studied 1 Kings 18:20-39. Elijah challenged God's people to stop wavering between the LORD and the false god Baal. Baal's prophets called all day and got no answer. When Elijah prayed, the LORD sent fire from heaven. The people fell down and said, "The LORD, he is God." Children learned that only the LORD is God, he hears us, and we are to follow him alone.
- What did you learn today about how God answers when we pray?
- What is something people trust instead of God today?
- How can our family show that we follow the LORD only?
Stack 12 cups, books or stones together as an altar. Read 1 Kings 18:38-39 aloud. Each person says one thing God has done for your family, then say together, "The LORD, he is God!"
Each day, pray a short prayer like Elijah's. Ask God to help you follow him in one specific situation, and notice how he helps.
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