Elijah Confronted Ahab
(1 Kings 18-19)
February 22, 2026
Sunday Recap
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Sunday Recap •
Hey Fams!
What is the boldest request you’ve ever made to the Lord? Have you ever experienced God answer your prayers in a uniquely powerful way? In this week’s Bible story, we see how God answered Elijah’s prayers.
King Ahab led the people to worship Baal. The prophet Elijah condemned Ahab for leading the people astray and instructed him to gather all the people and prophets of Baal for an epic showdown. The test was simple: both Elijah and the prophets of Baal would offer sacrifices to see if Baal would respond or if God would respond.
The prophets of Baal cried out, danced, and prayed all day with no response or hint of fire on their altar. When Elijah’s turn came, he prepared the bull on the altar but took his trust in the Lord a step further by asking for water to be poured on top, saturating it completely. Elijah prayed, “LORD, let it be known that you are God in Israel, and I am your servant. Answer so that this people will know that you, the LORD, are God.”
Immediately, fire fell from heaven and completely consumed the offering along with the wood, the stones, and even the water! After the showdown at the altar, Jezebel sought to kill Elijah, and Elijah fled. This time, Elijah’s prayer was one of weariness and desperation. Again, God proved faithful to Elijah and answered his prayer. The Lord spoke to Elijah in a whisper and encouraged him, reminding him that the Lord would save those who remained faithful to Him.
The people of Israel knew that the Lord is the one true God when He answered Elijah’s prayer and sent fire down from heaven. In the same way, people would know that Jesus is God’s Son when the Holy Spirit came down like a dove when Jesus was baptized. Jesus is the Son of God and gave His life up for us.
Remember that God hears and answers the prayers of those who belong to Him. Thank the Lord for His faithfulness to listen and respond to our prayers. Remind the children in your care that through Jesus, we can boldly take our requests to God!
** Next week: The Reign of Ahab (1 Kings 20-22; 2 Kings 1)
Family Discipleship Plan
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Family Discipleship Plan •
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Read 1 Kings 18–19 from the Bible.
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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.
In Scripture, God invites people to a spiritual taste test. 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!
This week’s story from the Bible also involves a test—one that the prophet Elijah issued to false prophets who worshiped idols. Elijah wanted to show the people who the one true God is. As hard has the false prophets tried to show the power of their gods, no one answered their prayers. When Elijah called on the true God, however, the Lord 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!
God sent fire down from heaven to prove that He alone is Lord. God sent the Holy Spirit like flames of fire on Jesus’ disciples to empower them to tell others that Jesus is God’s Son who saves people from sin.
Pray: 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. Amen.
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Preschool:
"May all people know the Lord is God. There is no other!”
1 Kings 8:60
1st-5th:
”Then all the nations on earth will know that the Lord is God. They’ll know that there isn’t any other god.”
1 Kings 8:60 (NIRV) -
Mornings
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?
Evenings
Thank God for giving His love based on what Jesus has done and not on our performance. Praise Him for loving us even when we have done nothing to earn His love. How did God show us His love through Jesus? How can we share God’s love with others?
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For Fun
Set up a soda challenge for your family. Serve each family member two small cups of different brands of soda, but don’t tell them which soda is in each cup. Share the taste test results with the family and talk about how Psalm 34:8 tells us to taste and see that the Lord is good. Remind kids that the God of the Bible is the One True God and there is no one like Him!
To Serve
Pick a morning to serve water, soda, or other drinks at a local park. Offer the drinks for free to people who may be passing by. Print Psalm 34:8 onto small cards and pass them out with the drinks. Ask God to give your family opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with others.