God is far larger than anyone can imagine, yet still available to us.

Discussion Questions:

• Have you ever been caught doing something wrong by your parent, or someone in authority?

• What do you remember about how the father responded to his son’s wrongdoing in the parable of the lost son?

Say something like this:

“In these two sessions, we’ve been building a solid picture of God as our firm foundation and learning about His dependable love for us. We’ve also started to see something of His personality through the playfulness of the character Kana.

Now, we’re going to focus on how God makes Himself accessible. In the Bible passage we’re about to explore, God speaks in a whisper—a surprisingly gentle way to communicate, especially when you consider how huge and powerful He is!

To set the scene: we meet a man called Elijah. Right before this moment, Elijah had been part of a huge miracle where God proved He was real. It was basically a big showdown between Elijah and a group of false prophets. God showed up in dramatic style—fire from heaven and everything! After that, Elijah gets scared of the consequences and runs away. He’s feeling low, terrified, and completely worn out.

And it’s in that place—when he’s at his weakest—that God meets him.”

“And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.

When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””

Discussion Questions:

• Which words or phrases jumped out to you in this Bible passage?

• Which parts did you struggle to understand?

• Read it again—are there any words or phrases you’re confident you understand?

• Why do you think God made Himself so small when He spoke to Elijah?

• How do you think it benefits us when God makes Himself small for us?

Say something like this:

“It might be difficult to think of Kana in the Hikaru story as an allegory for God the Father. For one, Kana is a young girl—and the youngest of her siblings. But try not to let her image get in the way of seeing a little bit deeper into why she was written that way.

Sometimes God shows Himself in big, dramatic events—but sometimes He appears in small, gentle ways. A flame in a bush, a whisper on a mountainside, and even in the form of a baby (Jesus). The truth is that God the Father is so much more complex than we could ever fully imagine.

In 1 Kings 19 God deals with Elijah in a quiet, tender way—even though God is powerful enough to shake the earth.”

For this activity, we’re going to lean on the young people’s understanding of what we’ve been discussing. Invite them to spend a few minutes thinking about the larger themes. Depending on the maturity or faith journey of the group, they might want to do one or both of the following:

• Reflect on the firm foundations in their own lives: parents, friends, relationships.

• Reflect on God as a firm foundation: write a prayer of thanks, praise, or worship to our loving God.

Encourage them to write a personal prayer. This could be an honest reflection on what they want to understand about God as Father, or a prayer accepting the gift of salvation—whatever fits best for your group.

Try to set the scene for this activity using the fingerprinted foundation from last time, and perhaps a candle. You may also want to play a worship song that reflects God as a Father, such as Good Good Father or How He Loves.

Leader Tip: Share a personal testimony of how God has been dependable in your own life.

Say something like this:

“Last week we looked at a story Jesus told. In it, God was like a father—waiting to show love to a son who had come back after being away. That’s a dependable type of love, and it’s available to all of us.

We’ve also talked about God being playful, gentle, powerful, and bigger than we can imagine. The good news is that God is available in all these ways—for each of us.

In the Bible, one of Jesus’ disciples asked Him if He would show them the Father. Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.’

That’s even more good news—because if we follow Jesus, we have access to every part of who God is.”

You will instinctively know how best to pray for your young people. Begin by asking them if there’s anything they would like the group to pray about together. Depending on your group, you may also want to invite them to pray for one another. Below are a few points you might want to pick up on:

• That young people would experience God’s closeness and love personally.

Pray that each young person would come to know God not just as a distant or powerful being, but as a loving Father who meets them gently—in whispers, in stillness, and in everyday moments.

• That hearts would be open to seeing God in unexpected ways.

Pray that the group would not limit God to certain images or experiences, but would be open to encountering Him in new and surprising forms—whether through stories, people, nature, or quiet moments of reflection.