For Parents
On Sunday, Ps Chris Smith brought an encouraging word from 1 Kings 17 and Exodus 3. The big idea is this: God is the great “I AM” — he sees exactly where you are, he knows exactly what you need, and his timing is always perfect, even when it doesn’t feel like it. The widow of Zarephath had nothing left but one last meal, and God showed up right on time through the prophet Elijah. Chris reminded us to look up — to fix our eyes on who God is rather than on what’s in the cupboard or the bank account.
Tip for running this: aim for about 15 minutes a night with phones face-down on the bench. You can do one night, two nights or all three — whatever fits your week. Try to make sure everyone gets a turn to answer, even the littlies.
The Big Idea
God sees me, knows what I need, and always shows up right on time.
Memory Verse
“The jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord.” — 1 Kings 17:16
Fun way to learn it: Do actions together. Pat your hands like you’re scooping flour for “jar of flour was not used up,” tip an imaginary jug for “jug of oil did not run dry,” then point up high for “word of the Lord.” Say it faster each round until someone cracks up.
Night One
When the cupboard looks empty
Warm Up
Would you rather: have a magic Tim Tam packet that refills forever, OR a magic fridge that always has your favourite meal in it? Why?
Story Time
Read it together from your Bible: 1 Kings 17:8–12
There was a woman who lived in a town called Zarephath. Her husband had died, and she had no money, no food in the shops, and no one to help her. The whole land was in drought — no rain, no crops, nothing growing anywhere. That morning she had gone outside to pick up a few sticks for a fire. She only had enough flour and oil to make one tiny piece of bread. Her plan was to cook it, share it with her son, and then… well, that was it. She had nothing left after that. Just when everything looked completely hopeless, a man called Elijah came walking up the road and called out to her. God had actually sent him to find her — this one ordinary woman — even though she lived 137 kilometres away from where Elijah started. God knew exactly where she was.
Talk About It
- Little Ones: If you only had one biscuit left in the whole house, how would that feel?
- Little Ones: Do you think God knew the woman was hungry? How do you think he knew?
- Older Kids: God sent Elijah on a really long walk to find just one woman. What does that tell you about how much God cares about individual people?
- Grown-ups, your turn: Can you think of a time when help arrived at just the right moment, even if it came in an unexpected way?
Try It
Before bed tonight, everyone go and look in the pantry together. Pick one thing on the shelf — a tin of something, a bag of pasta, anything. Put it on the bench and at dinner tomorrow, talk about what it would feel like if that was the very last food in the house. Let it make the story feel real.
Pray Together
Go around the table. Each person prays one sentence out loud starting with: “God, thank you for…” Finish with a parent saying: “And Lord, help us trust you when things feel scary. Amen.”
Night Two
Don’t be afraid — I AM is here
Warm Up
Quick table game: everyone has ten seconds to name something they’d be scared to do. Biggest answer wins a thumbs-up from the table. Then ask — what usually helps when you’re scared?
Story Time
Read it together from your Bible: 1 Kings 17:13–14 and Exodus 3:14
Elijah looked the woman right in the eye and said, “Don’t be afraid.” Then he asked her to do something that probably sounded crazy — make him a small loaf of bread first, before she made anything for herself and her son. That must have been incredibly hard to hear. But then he told her God’s promise: the flour jar and the oil jug would not run out until the rain came back to the land. Meanwhile, hundreds of years before this, God had spoken to another person facing a scary mission. His name was Moses, and he asked God, “Who are you? What should I tell people when they ask who sent me?” And God said simply: “I AM who I AM.” Not “I was” or “I might be.” I AM. Right now. Present. Unbeatable. That is the same God who stood with the widow — and the same God who stands with us.
Talk About It
- Little Ones: If someone really big and really strong said “don’t be scared, I’m right here” — would that help? Why?
- Little Ones: What do you think “I AM” means as a name for God?
- Older Kids: Elijah asked the woman to give away her last food before she kept any for herself. Why is trusting God sometimes really hard, even when we believe he’s real?
- Older Kids: Ps Chris said that worrying doesn’t help, but knowing God is with us does. Do you agree? Is that easy or hard to actually live out?
- Grown-ups, your turn: What is something you find yourself worrying about more than you’d like to? Share honestly.
Try It
Write the words I AM on a sticky note and put it somewhere you’ll see it tomorrow — the bathroom mirror, the fridge, the dash of the car. Every time you spot it, say quietly: “God is I AM. He’s with me right now.”
Pray Together
Each person names one thing that feels scary or hard at the moment. After each one, the whole table says together: “I AM is with you.” Then a parent closes: “Lord, help us look up to you instead of looking at what scares us. Amen.”
Night Three
The never-ending packet
Warm Up
Would you rather: get a million dollars right now all at once, OR have just enough money appear in your pocket every single morning for the rest of your life? Talk about why you chose what you chose.
Story Time
Read it together from your Bible: 1 Kings 17:15–16
The woman did what Elijah said. She went home, made the bread, and gave him the first piece — even though it was all she had. And the miracle started. The next day she went to the jar — flour was there. She checked the jug — oil was there. She made bread. They ate. She put the empty jar and the empty jug back. Next morning — flour again. Oil again. Day after day after day, for the whole time the drought lasted, the jar never emptied and the jug never ran dry. Ps Chris pointed out something really interesting: God could have given her two huge barrels of flour and oil upfront. But instead, he gave her just enough, every single day. Why? Because every morning when she opened that jar, she would remember — this is God doing this. Her faith wasn’t in a barrel she could see. It was in a God she was learning to trust, one day at a time.
Talk About It
- Little Ones: Imagine if your lunchbox magically refilled every day at school. How would you feel every time you opened it?
- Little Ones: The woman shared her last food and then God provided more. Can you think of a time you shared something and felt good about it?
- Older Kids: Why do you think God provided just enough each day instead of all at once? What might that have taught the woman?
- Older Kids: Ps Chris said our faith shouldn’t be in what we can see, measure or count — it should be in God. What are some things people your age trust in more than God?
- Grown-ups, your turn: Where are you personally finding it hardest to trust God “one day at a time” right now?
Try It
Tonight before bed, each person in the family writes or draws one thing they are trusting God for — something real, something you actually need. Fold up the papers and put them somewhere together (a bowl on the table, a box on the shelf). Pray over them as a family. Leave them there for the week as a reminder that you’ve placed those things in God’s hands.
Pray Together
Go around the table. Each person finishes this sentence out loud: “God, I’m trusting you with…” Close together by saying the Big Idea one more time as a family: “God sees me, knows what I need, and always shows up right on time.” Then say amen.
