FYI-Scroll to the bottom of the screen to see the following:
(1) Clickable links of Debbie Dunn's books published on Amazon
(2) Blog Archives
(3) About Me - Debbie Dunn: Professional Storyteller & Published Author

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Bible tale: Prophet Elijah trains Elisha to one day replace him as God's prophet

Prophet Elijah trains Elisha to one day replace him as God's prophet

Psalm 46 v 1 God is our refuge Part 5

re-told by Debbie Dunn 









Story highlights:

* Elijah heard God speak to him in gentle whisper after wind-earthquake-fire

* God sent Elijah to train Elisha to one day replace him as God's prophet

* Elisha agreed to leave home to train as God’s prophet


Bible tale begins:









As we continue this series about how we can always call on God to help us in times of trouble, let's have a volunteer read Psalm 46:1.

 

Psalm 46:1 (NLT) God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.


Question: What does refuge mean?

Answer: A safe hiding place.
To help you remember this word better, imagine yourself playing Hide-and-Seek. Just like you try to find a safe hiding place for yourself, God guides us to find safe hiding places, as well.


Psalm 46:10 is another cool Bible verse.

 

Let's get a volunteer to read that one.

 










Psalm 46:10 (AMP) God says: "Be still and know [recognize, understand] that I am God."

 

Last week, we heard an encouraging story about when Elijah was feeling sad and lonely. After spending the night in a cave on Mt. Sinai, God spoke to Elijah and said:





 Father God: Elijah, go out and stand before me on the mountain.

 

You might recall that there was a windstorm, then an earthquake, and then a fire.


RINGLEADER: But, ..., the Lord was not in any of those.

[Group repeats]

 

After that, there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

 

God can definitely choose to speak to us in a loud voice. But perhaps, more often than not, He speaks to us in a quiet voice. That is what happened in Elijah's case. God quietly said:

 

 Father God: Elijah, what are you doing here?

 

That is when God gave Elijah a chance to share his concerns.

 

RINGLEADER: Hooray for God making Elijah feel better!                                                                                                      

[Group repeats]

 

God gave Elijah some tasks to do. The coolest task was this one.


 

 Father God: Elijah, I want you to meet up with Elisha and anoint him as My prophet who will eventually replace you.

 

So, Elijah began his mission. His starting point was Mt. Sinai.


Question: What amazing thing happened when Moses first climbed to the top of Mt. Sinai?

Answer: Moses saw the burning bush and heard the voice of God.



Question: When Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights at the top of Mt. Sinai with God, what did he bring back to show the Israelite people?

Answer: 2 Stone tablets that held the 10 Commandments


RINGLEADER: How far did Elijah have to travel to see Elisha?                                                             

 [Group repeats]

 

Elijah probably had to walk about 250 to 300 miles to reach Elisha. It very likely took the prophet around three weeks to walk that distance.


RINGLEADER: What was Elisha doing when Elijah finally saw him for the first time?                            

[Group repeats]

 

Elisha was plowing his field.

 

RINGLEADER: What did Elijah do next?         

[Group repeats]

 

We learn in 1 Kings 19:19 that Elijah went over to Elisha and threw his cloak across Elisha's shoulders. Then, Elijah walked away.

 

RINGLEADER: What did it mean when a prophet did that?

 [Group repeats]

                                                                                                         

Elisha very likely knew who Elijah was - a great prophet. Back in those days, if a great prophet threw his cloak over your shoulders, it meant that God was calling you to be His special prophet, as well.

 

RINGLEADER: Did Elisha agree to go with Elijah?                                                                                                      

 [Group repeats]

 

Yes, Elisha did agree to go after he kissed his parents goodbye and had one last goodbye party with the people of his town.

 

After that, Elisha went with Elijah to train to become a prophet of God and to serve Elijah as his assistant and helper.

 

RINGLEADER: How long did Elisha's training sessions last?                                                                                                    

 [Group repeats]

 

The Bible doesn't give an exact number of years. Before the Chariot of Fire story, which we will hear about next week, they probably spent 6 to 10 years together.


Question: Any questions or comments?


Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:


Free PDF download of About Elijah part 5.


Do you want more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan? If so, visit the More Prophets of Israel chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.


Click here to get more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan.



My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about



Explore Bible story dot org Business Card designed by Debbie Dunn using PowerPoint
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Location: Athens, AL, USA

Bible tale: Prophet Elijah at end of long drought

What happened to Prophet Elijah at end of long drought?

Psalm 46 v 1 God is our refuge Part 4

re-told by Debbie Dunn 










Story highlights:

* Elijah had to run for his life from Queen Jezebel's rage

* Twice Angel of the Lord provided Elijah with heavenly bread & water

* Elijah heard God speak to him in gentle whisper after wind-earthquake-fire 


Bible tale begins:










As we continue this series about how we can always call on God to help us in times of trouble, let's have a volunteer read Psalm 46:1.

 

Psalm 46:1 (NLT) God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.


Question: What does refuge mean?

Answer: A safe hiding place.
To help you remember this word better, imagine yourself playing Hide-and-Seek. Just like you try to find a safe hiding place for yourself, God guides us to find safe hiding places, as well.



After the contest ended between Elijah and those 450 idol-worshipping prophets, two things happened.

 

The evil king Ahab went to get something to eat and drink.

 




As for Elijah, he climbed to the top of Mount Carmel to pray and wait for rain to appear after the 3 1/2 years of drought.


Question: What does drought mean?

Answer: No rainfall for many weeks, months, or years.


After Elijah's 7th prayer, his servant announced, "Elijah, I see a small raincloud rising from the sea." Relieved, Elijah said:

 

ELIJAH: Hurry to King Ahab and tell him to climb into his chariot and race for home before the heavy rain stops him in his tracks.

 

Very soon, the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrible rainstorm. King Ahab rushed to his home.

 

Then, the Lord gave Elijah a special strength to run super-fast to reach the king's home before the king arrived.

 

But King Ahab ignored Elijah. Instead, he went inside to report to Queen Jezebel that Elijah had killed her 450 idol-worshipping prophets.

 

RINGLEADER: Was Queen Jezebel mad?     

[Group repeats]

 

 












Queen Jezebel was furious! She announced:

 

QUEEN JEZEBEL: May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow, I have not killed you just as you killed them.

 

Naturally, Elijah was afraid for his very life. He fled into the wilderness. Sad and tired, he lay down and took a long nap.

 

As Elijah was sleeping, an angel touched him and said:

 







ANGEL OF THE LORD: Get up and eat!

 

Elijah awakened and looked around. There, beside his head, was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water. Elijah ate and drank. Still feeling lonely and sad, he lay down again.

 

The angel reappeared and touched Elijah and said:

 

ANGEL OF THE LORD: Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.

 

So, Elijah got up, ate, and drank this supernatural food that gave him the power to travel 40 days and nights to reach  Mount Sinai. By the way, this is the same mountain where God appeared to Moses as a burning bush.


Elijah entered a cave on this mountain to spend the night.

 

The next morning, God called out to Elijah.

 


GOD: Elijah, what are you doing here?

 

ELIJAH: Dear God, I have served you faithfully for years. Of all your prophets, I am the only one left. And now, they are trying to kill me, too.

 

GOD: Elijah, go out and stand before me on the mountain.

 

As Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by. A mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose.

 

RINGLEADER: But, ..., the Lord was not in the wind.  

[Group repeats]

 

After the wind, there was an earthquake.

 

RINGLEADER: But, ..., the Lord was not in the earthquake.

[Group repeats]

                                                                                                                           

After the earthquake, a fire broke out.

 

RINGLEADER: But, ..., the Lord was not in the fire.  

[Group repeats]

 

After the fire, there was a sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard this whisper, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. The voice of God quietly said:

 

GOD: Elijah, what are you doing here?

 

ELIJAH: Dear God, I have served you faithfully for years. Of all your prophets, I am the only one left. And now, they are trying to kill me, too.

 

GOD: Elijah, go back the same way you came. Then, you are to do three things. First, you will anoint Hazael [hay-zee-ell] to be the king of the pagan country of Aram [ae-rum]. Second, you will anoint Jehu, the grandson of Nimshi, to replace King Ahab as the next king of Israel. Third, you will anoint Elisha as my prophet who will eventually replace you.

 

ELIJAH: Dear God, what will happen after that?

 

GOD: Any Israelite who still insists on worshipping that false idol named Baal will be killed by either of those two new kings or by Elisha, the prophet who will eventually replace you.

 

RINGLEADER: Were any Israelites faithful to God?  

[Group repeats]

 

Elijah mistakenly thought he was the only faithful follower of God left among the Israelites. But surprisingly, God told this to Elijah:


 

GOD: Elijah, I know you think you are the only one left who has faithfully followed me. But that is not true. There are actually 7,000 others in Israel who are also my faithful followers. In fact, those 7,000 have never once bowed down to that false idol named Baal.

 

After Elijah heard this comforting news, he set out to obey God's three orders.



Question: Any questions or comments? 



Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:


Free PDF download of About Elijah part 4.


Do you want more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan? If so, visit the More Prophets of Israel chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.


Click here to get more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan.



My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about



Explore Bible story dot org Business Card designed by Debbie Dunn using PowerPoint
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Location: Athens, AL, USA

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Bible tale: Contest between Prophet Elijah & 450 idol-worshipping prophets

 

Contest between Prophet Elijah & 450 idol-worshipping prophets

Psalm 46 v 1 God is our refuge Part 3

re-told by Debbie Dunn










Story highlights:

* Contest between Elijah & Queen Jezebel's 450 idol-worshipping prophets

* Elijah won contest vs Jezebel’s idol-worshiping prophets

* Elijah told King Ahab to hurry home before rainstorm broke the drought


Bible tale begins:









As we continue this series about how we can always call on God to help us in times of trouble, let's have a volunteer read Psalm 46:1.

 

Psalm 46:1 (NLT) God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

 

Question: What does refuge mean?

Answer: A safe hiding place.
To help you remember this word better, imagine yourself playing Hide-and-Seek. Just like you try to find a safe hiding place for yourself, God guides us to find safe hiding places, as well.


 

Here is an exciting Bible story of good versus evil.

 

RINGLEADER: Who are the evil ones?      

[Group repeats]

 

The evil ones include King Ahab, the beautiful but cruel Queen Jezebel, and 450 idol-worshipping priests.

 

uestion: What is an idol?

Answer: A false god often taking the form of a sculpture or statue.



RINGLEADER: Who is the good guy in this story?  

[Group repeats]

 

The good guy in this story is the prophet named Elijah.

 

As you may recall, before Elijah hid out for over three years, God told him to say this to the evil king and queen.

 





GOD: Elijah, tell King Ahab that until I, the Lord your God, gives the word, for the next few years, there will be no rainfall.”

 

Near the end of those 3-plus years of no rainfall, God told Elijah this.

 

GOD: Elijah, it is time for you to leave your safe hideout with the widow and her son. Travel back to your homeland and say this to King Ahab, “After your long wait, God will soon send rain to the land.”

 

King Ahab went out to meet Elijah at the bottom of a mountain. Before telling King Ahab the good news that rain would soon fall, Elijah challenged the king to a contest.

 

RINGLEADER: What would the contest prove?

[Group repeats]

 

The contest would prove that God is the real and only God, and the idols the king worshipped were nothing but false gods with no power.

 

ELIJAH: King Ahab, I challenge you to a contest. Gather your people and all 450 prophets who worship the Baal idol. Prepare two altars and bring firewood and two bulls.

 

When the king, those evil priests, and the people of Israel had gathered, Elijah turned to the people and said:

 

ELIJAH: How long will you waver between the opinion of either worshipping the real God or worshipping those false gods?

 

But the people of Israel appeared too afraid to speak.

 

Then, Elijah told those 450 idol-worshipping prophets to choose one of the two altars.

 

RINGLEADER: What is an altar?    

[Group repeats]

 

This stone altar was like an outdoor fireplace where the people would worship either the real God or those false gods by killing an animal and burning it up with the fire. Elijah said:

 

ELIJAH: Choose one of those 2 bulls. I will take the other bull. We both will cut up our bull. We will each lay those animal pieces on the wood of our particular altar. Instead of us lighting the wood on fire, we will each pray to the one we worship to do it for us. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God. You 450 prophets can have the first turn.

 

Those 450 idol-worshipping prophets called on their false god from early morning until noon.

 

The 450 prophets shouted, “O Baal, whom we worship, answer us.”

 

Of course, no fire came raining down from the sky. Elijah mocked those silly idol-worshipping priests. He called out:

 

ELIJAH: Perhaps you need to shout louder. Perhaps your Baal idol is daydreaming, going to the bathroom, away on a trip, or asleep.

 

All afternoon, those 450 silly prophets danced and shouted as loud as they could. They even cut themselves with knives and swords until blood gushed out. But no matter what they did, no fire came down from the sky.

 

Then, it was Elijah’s turn. Before he prayed to God to send down fire on his altar, he dug a trench around it. Then, Elijah had the people fill 4 large jars with water to pour over the stone altar, the wood, the cut-up bull pieces, and the trench. After doing this 3 times, Elijah then prayed out loud. He said:

 

 

ELIJAH: O, Lord God, prove to these people that you are the one and only true God by lighting this altar on fire.

 











Sure enough, God sent fire from Heaven. That fire not only burnt up the cut-up pieces of bull, the wet wood, and the altar stones, but it even burnt every drop of water in the trenches.

 

When the people saw this, they fell on the ground and cried out to the real God: They declared:

 

RINGLEADER: Yes, the Lord is the only true God!   

[Group repeats]

 

After that, Elijah ordered the people to seize all those false prophets and kill them.

 

Then, Elijah told this to King Ahab:

 

ELIJAH: King Ahab, get something to eat and drink, for God says that a mighty rainstorm is on its way.


Question: Any questions or comments?


Are you a Bible enthusiast or do you lead a Youth Group or Family Bible Study? To get a FREE PDF download of this story, click on this link below:


Free PDF download of About Elijah part 3.


Do you want more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan? If so, visit the More Prophets of Israel chapter from my EXPLORE BIBLE STORY dot org website.


Click here to get more stories about prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, & Nathan.



My ever-expanding Explore Bible Story dot org website includes Bible stories and Biblical Family Trees about



Explore Bible story dot org Business Card designed by Debbie Dunn using PowerPoint
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,
Location: Athens, AL, USA
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)