Tuesday, September 11, 2018

Short Attention Span Sunday School: Primary 6 Lesson 33 Elijah Uses the Priesthood

PRIMARY 6 LESSON 33 ELIJAH USES THE PRIESTHOOD



CLASSROOM PREP

Quotation on the board about Priesthood - for example this one by President Ballard:
“The same priesthood power that created worlds, galaxies, and the universe can and should be part of our lives to succor, strengthen, and bless our families, our friends, and our neighbors.”


Write on the board:
What are some choices the Lord and His prophets have asked you to make that require you to exercise faith? (from the Seminary manual)




OPENING ACTIVITY

(Find an object lesson regarding static electricity - either involving a comb and hair or a balloon and hair and then picking something up - a lot of versions of this online!)

(Some good info on static electricity to share here:
https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_electricity_lesson01_activity1)

(Talk about the unseen powers of the static electricity)

The power of God also cannot be seen, but we often see its effects!
We’re going to be learning about a prophet of God and his use of the greatest power on earth, the priesthood of God.



LESSON - I plan to have a visitor come in and do a reader's theater with me where I narrate and they act out. I will have them dress as Elijah (fake beard and brown long robe) and I will probably have a fake raven, I might have a lady come in as the widow etc. These stories are very visual! The main goal is to be reverent.

So our lesson today starts with the reign of a man named Ahab, he began his reign over Israel.
It says in 1 Kings 16:30 that he did evil in the sight of the Lord - uh-oh!
:31 He took to wife a woman named Jezebel and who does it say they served? (Baal)
Would this please the Lord? (no!)
What does it say in verse 33 that makes Ahab especially bad? (did more to provoke the Lord to anger more than all the kings of Israel before him!)

1 Kings 17 Who are we introduced to in verse 1? (Elijah)
What did he say to Ahab? (As the Lord liveth, there shall not be dew nor rain these years)
What is that called? (a drought)
In verse 3, the Lord tells him to get away and hide.
:4 And he is supposed to drink of the brook and have the ravens feed him.
Did he listen? (verse 5, yes he did)
:6 The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and evening.
So there’s a drought, but Elijah the prophet is okay thanks to the Lord.
:7 the brook dried up! There hadn’t been rain in the land.
:9 the Lord said to him to go to Zarephath as He has commanded a widow to “sustain thee” - what does “sustain” mean in this context? (take care of, feed, keep alive, keep strong and healthy, support, lift up)

When we “sustain” someone in Sacrament Meeting, like for a new calling, we are saying we will support them.
:10 So he went and who did he see and what were they doing? (widow gathering sticks)
He told her what? (please fetch me a little water in a vessel to drink)
:11 What else did he ask her? (please bring me some bread)
:12 What was her answer? (I don’t really have barely any food, we are dying of starvation)
:13 What does Elijah tell her? (don’t be afraid, just do as i’ve said)
What order does he tell her to do it in? (make cake for him first, then for herself and her son)

So the widow is being asked to show faith here - do you see how?
She would be tempted to eat it first or give it to her son first, but he is asking her to show faith and give it to him first.
:14 He is promising her what? (your food/oil will not go away until the Lord ends the drought)
:15 Did she show her faith? (yes)
And was his promise fulfilled? (yes, they ate many days)
:17 What happened to the son? (sick, so sick there was no breath left in him)
:18 How did the widow respond? (Why have you come to me? Am I being punished by my son dying?)
Do you ever feel like you're trying so hard in your life, but you still have challenges that you have to experience? Here's a situation where someone acted in faith but she was still struck with tragedy in her home.
:19 Elijah told her to give her so to him and he went separate from her and laid him down
:20 What did he ask the Lord? (if the Lord has brought evil upon the widow by her son dying?)
:21 He stretches himself upon the boy three times and cries unto the Lord, asking for him to live
:22 A miracle happens!
:23 He brings the boy to his mother to show her that he lives
:24 the widow tells Elijah that now she knows he is a man of God and the word of the Lord is truth



POST-LESSON DISCUSSION

What we see here in this part of the Old Testament is that Ahab and Jezebel brought back the worship of false idols - when else do we remember the Israelites worshipping false gods? (the golden calf with Moses)

How do you think the widow felt when she was asked to take the flour and oil she had left and make a cake for Elijah first? What do you think you would have done?

Her example of faith can inspire us to live the same way - how can we develop the faith in Jesus Christ that we need to follow Him and the words of our prophets?

What we can learn from this is that before we can receive the Lord's promised blessings, we must first act in faith. Why is this important? (from the Seminary manual)



REVIEW GAME

Game to review how all the previous prophets in the lesson so far used the Priesthood.Adam
Enoch
Noah
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph
Moses
Joshua
Gideon
Samuel
David
Solomon
Rehoboam

Have papers for them to pull out of a hat or a bowl with a different prophet name from the above list.

Already have prepared the answers for each one about how they used the Priesthood but have the student try to think and the class can help.





PRIESTHOOD GAME (FROM SUGARDOODLE)

Have the following items and ask them how they relate to Priesthood blessings:

Receiving a name and a blessing - any type of baby item
Being baptized - eight birthday candles tied together
Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost - small "gift" box
Receiving a blessing when sick - consecrated oil
Partaking of the sacrament - slice of bread
Serving a mission - missionary tag
Being married in the temple - a ring




TESTIMONY/TAKE HOME

The Priesthood is a huge blessing in our lives - we may not always think about it or realize it, but when we ponder the ways it blesses our life it can be overwhelming! When you need comfort, when you are sick, when you are being baptized or set apart for a calling, blessed as a baby, etc. The Priesthood is the unseen power of God!

Take home ideas:
Something related to a raven, cake/bread, etc. and a scripture (perhaps 1 Kings 17:24) to accompany, or a quotation about the Priesthood like the above one by President Ballard.

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