Some Assembly Required: Follow the Directions

Opening:

How many of you like to build things? Do we have any fans of Lego or Mega Blocks here this morning?

Legos are one of the most popular toys in the world. Legos, Mega Blocks, and other building blocks are incredibly flexible toys. You can use them to build just about any- thing you can imagine. You can make cars, rockets, boats, houses, skyscrapers, animals, monsters, and everyone’s favorite - space ships!

Sometimes it’s fun to freestyle and build whatever your imagination can dream up, but there are times when it’s helpful to have some direction. For example, have any of you ever received a Star Wars Lego kit? Or a Spider-Man kit? These kits come with specific parts made for a specific purpose. Kids and adults buy these sets because they want to make something specific, like a Millennium Falcon or a Spider-Man & Hulk Adventure. You can play around with the kits and build other things, but if you want to build this Millennium Falcon or this Spider-Man & Hulk Adventure, the best way to do it is to follow directions.

Following directions is crucial to living for God. God made each one of us with a specific purpose in mind, just like those special Lego kits.

Only you can fulfill that purpose, and the only way you can make it happen is to follow God’s direction.

Today we’re going to look at a passage from the Old Testament. In this story, a man and a woman are both asked to follow directions. The directions given to them seem foolish at first, especially to the woman, but when they follow the directions, we see how God blesses them both.

Text:

1 Kings 17:7–16 NIV

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’ ” 15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For 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 spoken by Elijah.

Body:

Elijah was a prophet. Elijah was in need of a place to stay and food to eat. God told him to find a poor widow who had almost nothing and ask her for food. Sounds foolish, I know, but it’s God’s direction.

Sometimes, God’s directions don’t make sense, but they always work out.

The woman probably thought Elijah was crazy, asking her to sacrifice some of her food for him, but just as Elijah found God’s directions to be good, the woman found them to be good as well. She kept on making food for her, her son, and Elijah, and her food never ran out. Because she obedient, and followed the directions, she was blessed.

Obedience puts us in position to receive God’s blessings.

Obedience doesn’t mean we’ll never face difficulties.

The widow was obedient, but tragedy eventually struck.

1 Kings 17:17–24 NIV

17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”

The woman’s son dies, and the woman questions whether or not God really loves her. But God gives Elijah the power to raise the woman’s son from the dead.

Had Elijah not obeyed God, he would have gone without food. Had the woman not obeyed Elijah, she’d have run out of food. She would also have lost her son forever. God blessed the prophet and the woman for following his directions and for showing us the way to live.

God has a plan for each and every one of you. You are as unique and special as the pieces created in each custom Lego set. You were designed to fulfill a plan that God has laid out for you. It’s up to us to follow directions.

Follow God’s directions.

Have the kids repeat this to an adult or teen around them, then have the adults & teens repeat it to a kid.

We can start following directions by following the Bible. God gave us the Bible to teach us who He is and how we should live. Through the Bible we learn to love others. We learn what sin is so we can avoid temptation. We learn how to live a life that pleases God.

We gain further direction when we pray. When we take our problems, our hopes, and our requests to God, He not only hears us, He answers us. God will open doors that need opening. He will close other doors to keep us from going the wrong way.

God has big plans for you. Some of you in here may one day be full-time ministers or even mission workers. Some of you in here have a simpler plan. It may be as simple as being a friend to a new kid who moves into the house down the street. Whatever God’s plan is, follow His lead. Big or small, obey God and follow his direction.

God blessed the prophet who obeyed him. He blessed the woman who obeyed the prophet. He will bless us when we obey his direction and do the work, He gives us to do.

Object Lesson:

Has anyone here had any experience planting seeds? Can someone tell me what I need to do with these four things in order to plant a seed that will grow?

Have one of the kids give you directions. Put the soil in the cup, plant the seed, then water it. Have one of the adults follow the steps as they are laid out and plant the seed.

What would happen if we added the water without the soil? What would happen if we poured the water outside the cup instead of inside the cup?

Often in life, we have to follow directions. We have to do things in a specific order if we want to be successful. That goes for planting. That goes for learning in school. That goes for serving the Lord.

God gave us a book of directions, it’s called the Bible.

If we follow God’s plan for our lives, He will make us successful. God will lead us down the road He has prepared for us, and He will use us to do great things in his name.

Don’t neglect the directions.

Read the Bible.

Learn God’s plan for living and follow it.

God will bless you greatly when you live life His way.

Memory Verse:

Joshua 1:8 NIV

8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Memory Verse Challenge – Post a video on social media of you (and your family) saying the verse, be sure to use the hashtag #LHCBoerne. The most creative video will be shown in the service next week.

Pass out memory verse cards.

Play Video Recap

Closing:

Let’s accomplish the plans God has for us! To do that, we must study, learn, and obey His directions.

Altar call

Ugly sweater picture

Remind people about prayer