(WT) Elijah Super Set ~ Cooking Workshop

Rotation.org Writing Team

Elijah Super Set

Cooking Workshop

"Baking in the Meaning of Elijah"

Summary of Activities

Students are assigned a part of Elijah's story, read it, answer a question about it, and then design a "mosaic story cookie" that represents their part of the story. After baking, they will present their part of the story to the class, ask and discuss the question from their study, then share their cookie. All students will also make a special Elijah cookie using the Hebrew spelling of "Eli-jah" to remember the important meaning of his name. (The Elijah cookies can be made in quantity to share.)

If you remember what Elijah's name means in Hebrew, then you also remember his message. Eli-jah = My God is Yahweh. Elijah warned the people and kings to turn away from false gods and serve only Yahweh. Thus, his name is both a reminder of his purpose and his message: “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

See the Elijah's Name discussion and special teaching graphic below.

Scriptures for the Lesson

Cookie Group 1: 1 Kings 17:1-24, Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath
Cookie Group 2: 1 Kings 18:2-46, Elijah, Ahab, and the Prophets of Baal
Cookie Group 3: 1 Kings 19:1-16, Elijah and Still Small Voice
Cookie Group 4: 2 Kings 2:1-14, Elijah recruits Elisha, Chariot of Fire, the Mantle

Cookie Group Assignment Options:
Depending on the age, class size, and time available, you can delete a group, assign it to a volunteer, or prepare that mosaic cookie yourself in advance.

Key Verse and Message:
“How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” (Elijah to the people of Israel on Mt Carmel, 1 Kings 18:21)

There's a helpful outline of each story posted with the Bible Background here at rotation.org.

Lesson Objectives and Background Notes

See the Bible Background at rotation.org for this set's complete list of objectives and a discussion of the meaning and importance of Elijah's life and message.

In addition to introducing the stories, this particular lesson includes a focus on the meaning of Elijah's Name in Hebrew "My God (or Lord) is Yahweh," which is to say, "I Choose to Follow Yahweh!" (See the notes below about "Eli-jah.")

Preparation and Materials

Read the Bible Background and scripture.
Print pictures representing the different parts of the story your cookie groups will be covering. (A packet of illustrations is attached to this lesson plan at rotation.org.)
Write or print out the questions that go with each story (see below).
Prepared sugar cookie dough. (We suggest making this ahead of time so as to not waste valuable class time on mixing ingredients.)
M&Ms, Reese's Pieces, and Skittles to make the mosaics on the dough.
Colored sugar to pour into the Elijah letters.
Cups to hold the sugar, M&Ms, and other decorating ingredients.
"Spoon straws" to carefully place the sugar (see notes below).
Round kabob sticks or popsicle sticks to draw the letters into the dough.
At least 2 baking sheets. Depending on the size of your group, and number of cookies they will make you may need several more.
Preheat oven per dough instructions.
Take-home containers for extra cookies.
Notify/post that the dough may contain ingredients that some children may be allergic too. Provide alternative ingredients/recipe if needed.

The Cookie Dough and Candies

Ahead of time, mix together and roll out any basic sugar cookie recipe. Keep it cool until ready to use. If needed, you can buy ready-to-roll dough or bagged mixes that only require a few ingredients. See the *Dough Preparation and Tips at the end of this lesson for more help.

candies The amount you'll need will depend on your number of students and how many extra Elijah cookies you want to make. The candies won't melt. Reeses Pieces are great because they have yellow and orange -the color of fire, which occurs in three of the stories. M&Ms have blue which can be used for the water which is found in two of the stories.

Lesson Plan

Open

Welcome your students and explain the steps of today's lesson.

Show them the baking supplies and dough. Tell them that they'll receive their dough and "mosaic" candies AFTER they have read their assigned scripture and answered a question about it. Tip: Wait until everyone is done reading their passage and answering their question before giving anyone the dough and candy. Remind them that they will be responsible for sharing their story with the rest of the class.

Study Time in Groups

Assign the Bible passages to individuals or groups. Your best bet is to have at least two students per story assignment, each making a mosaic cookie about their assignment. Here are the passages and questions to be answered and shared.

Cookie Group 1: 1 Kings 17:1-24, Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

The Widow and her son were not Israelites, but likely Baal worshippers! What then is the message of God through Elijah to these Baal worshippers?
Cookie Group 2: 1 Kings 18:2-46, Elijah, Ahab, and the Prophets of Baal

Why do people have such a hard time choosing to follow Yahweh the true God?
Cookie Group 3: 1 Kings 19:1-16, Elijah and Still Small Voice

What does it mean to say God is not "in" the big showy things like fires and earthquakes, but in the little, small voice that speaks to us?
Cookie Group 4: 2 Kings 2:1-14, Elijah recruits Elisha, Chariot of Fire, the Mantle

Let's assume that we are Elisha in this story, and are supposed to be picking up Elijah's mantle -his message. What should we be doing to "be like Elijah"?

Mosaic Cookie Time

Wash hands and put on aprons.

Assemble the groups around various cookie sheets (with the cookie dough pre-cut as described below* and already placed on the sheets ready for decorating), and begin decorating each cookie with a mosaic from their story.

Option: Cookies can be individually placed and designed on small pieces of parchment paper which can then be lifted on to a baking sheet.

Tips on making story scenes and props:
Some passages have great props and visuals, like the Widow's jar, the pile of wood, bull and fire on Mt Carmel, and Elijah's chariot wheel and mantle. The still small voice is more like a scene to be decorated. Help the students pick a design and execute it. Remind them to choose various candy colors and colored sugars to help tell the story. The candies won't melt in the short time they'll be in the oven.

Put the finished Mosaic Story Cookies in the oven and set the timer, then turn to making the Elijah's Name cookies. (Assign a volunteer to keep an eye on oven!)

Reminder: Cooking Making Time is a great time to continue to teach and ask questions.

Elijah's Name Cookie Time

Bring out separate trays of Elijah cookie dough.
Discuss the meaning of Elijah's name. It is also his message! (See the discussion and graphic below.)
Demonstrate making a 2" x 3" cookie.
Demonstrate how to "draw" Elijah's Hebrew letters in the cookie dough using a stick. Be sure not to poke through to the sheet as this will cause the sugar to burn and stick to the sheet.
Demonstrate how to use a straw to pour colored sugar into the grooves of Elijah's name. Make as many as you want in any design you desire.

Baking Time

Assign a volunteer to take care of baking the cookies. Typical sugar cookies bake for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on your recipe and thickness. You want them to be a bit hard so that they won't break. While the mosaic cookies are baking, make the Elijah cookies. While the Elijah cookies are baking, share the Mosaic cookies.

Mosaic Cookie Sharing

Have each story group present their cookie, summarizing the story about Elijah that they read. As needed, prompt them with pictures and suggestions
Have each group ask and answer the question they were assigned.
As each group finishes their presentation, let them break one of their mosaics into small pieces to share in a sort of "story communion." If desired, you may even "ritualize" this with special words, such as "We eat Elijah's story cookie to remember....."

Adaptations, *Dough Preparation, and Time-saving Tips

Use Bible storybooks for younger children. Display the attached packet of illustrations during the mosaic-cookie making.
Assign helpers or older students to each story group to help with the reading and cookies.
Roll out the dough on baking sheets and cut it into individual cookie squares for the students to decorate in place (removing and reusing the excess dough you cut away). Do not make the dough too thin. 1/4" minimum.
For the "story" cookies, cut various sizes of cookies to decorate. 3" x 4" is a good size for smaller hands and is big enough to hold many candies so that the cookie mosaic is recognizable. For the Elijah's name cookies, go with approximately 2" x 3".
Do not press the candies too far into the dough as this will weaken the cookie and may cause the candies to stick on the sheet. Lightly press them into the dough.
Students can also shape the dough to represent something in the story (such as a wheel or jar) before decorating it.
During baking, sugar cookies will expand and spread. Leave about 2 inches between cookies on the sheet.
Depending on the size of your groups and class, each cookie-mosaic group can make several cookies representing their assigned story.

Making the Elijah Cookies

Make them a bit thicker and more rectangular than the mosaic story cookies so that students can lightly press the Hebrew letters of Elijah's name into the dough without poking through to the pan. 4" x 2" x 1/2" is good.
Use "spoon straws" to carefully spoon the colored sugar into the grooves of Elijah's name. These can be purchased online cheaply, or made by cutting the end of a regular straw. Regular spoons will not give students the proper amount of control over where the sugar goes!

The Meaning of Elijah's Name

If you remember what Elijah's name means in Hebrew, then you also remember his message. Eli-jah = My God is Yahweh! Exclamation point added for truth! Elijah warned the people and kings to turn away from false gods and serve only Yahweh. Thus, his name is both a reminder of his purpose, and his message: “How long will you go limping with two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

Your students will find it interesting and weird that Hebrew is read from right-to-left. The big letters are the consonants. The "points" underneath each of the four letters are the vowel sounds. The first letter is "Aleph" but is silent when it appears first.

There is a tremendous amount written about the name of God in the Old Testament. "God" is a generic term, often written in Hebrew as El or Elohim. "Baal" is a contraction of the name of the Phoenician and Canaanite god, "Ba-al" (Ba-el, and sometimes simply, "Bel.")

"Ba-" is thought to mean "Lord" or "owner." Ba-al is thus the same as saying, "Lord" or "Master." Baal was known throughout the region as a storm god or mountain god, hence the significance of the drought on the land which Yahweh created and the contest on top of Mt Carmel as signs that Baal was a false god. Yahweh is in control!

"Yahweh" or YHWH is the sacred name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. It means something like "I am," or "Eternal One." " Jehovah" is a variant pronunciation of YHWH. It is often contracted to simply "jah" or "yah" in people's names ("y" and "j" sound the same in Hebrew). The point is that God is not "a god" but THE God. As Elijah experienced, Yahweh is not a "nature" god like Baal purported to be. God is not in the fire or wind or earthquake, but in the silence -something like a still small comforting and cajoling voice.

For Older Students:
Elijah's challenge to the Israelites, "How long will you limp between two choices: Yahweh or Baal?" is reminiscent of Jesus' words in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth."*

*The Greek word in Matthew 6:24 for wealth is "mammon," which is something closer to the idea of "the false god of materialism and greed." Elijah challenged the Israelites to choose God and reject false gods.