The First Cave Opening
Preparation: Dress a leader as Elijah in a simple costume of burlap robe, bag around waist, cloth head covering, and a wood staff. Have the leader stand in the “Cave” near the burning bush and wait for the class members to arrive. Only the campfire should be lit at this time.
Stop the class outside the Cave (door closed). Have each member enter The Cave individually and address Elijah as follows: “I am (state name). I come for guidance to win my greatest battle.” Elijah will respond “Welcome (state name) to The Cave of Wisdom. I AM is the Father’s Name. I am Elijah. You will learn much here. Please take a seat around the fire.” Continue until all members are seated in the Cave.
Nimbah (Leader)’s guidance to the class: “Welcome to the Circle of Fire. We are now ready to begin your preparation for the ‘Greatest Battle of Your Life’. The forces of darkness are aligned against you in this battle. So we begin your journey in darkness. You have entered “Elijah’s Cave”. Take a look around: only darkness and one light. We were not created for this place of darkness. We are creatures of the light. Our eyes do not see in the darkness as some creatures do. The darkness causes a sense of fear and chills to creep up your spine. Are you brave enough to spend time in this place? If you are to fight and win the Greatest Battle, you must spend time here to gain the wisdom needed for the fight. Listen and learn well for the battle has already begun.
For many months Elijah, a prophet of God hid in a cave like this one. He could hide from people, but not from I AM. God would turn the Cave of Fear and Doubt into the Cave of Wisdom and Courage. To commit yourself to the “I AM” Tribe, you are to wear this special headband, marking you as a member of the Tribe. You must wear this headband the entire time you are with the Tribe. (Pass out headbands.) The Fire symbol on the headband represents the fire of Elijah. You will learn more of this fire as you gain wisdom.
‘The Greatest Battle of Your Life’ is the battle to accomplish your Dream, the desire and passion of your life which I AM has intended as the purpose of your creation and placed within your heart. The Burning Bush will reveal this dream to you. (Turn on the Burning Bush light at this time.) But there is also a dark side that seeks to destroy the Dreams of God by preventing you from following God’s plan. We often call this dark side the world or worldliness. The dark side will be revealed to you by the dead Tree of Darkness for it leads to the death of your Dream here (Turn on the black light of the dead Tree of Darkness at this time). These two forces are constantly doing battle within your heart for control of your actions.
In ‘The Cave’ you will encounter both biblical and historical characters that fought this same battle and won or lost during ‘Circle of Fire’ lesson. As you entered ‘The Cave’, you were introduced to our theme character, Elijah, who faced the dark side and, with God’s help, won the battle to become what God intended for him. In this lesson, Elijah will begin to share his story with you. In the coming lessons, you will face each of the demons that Elijah faced. As a member of the Tribe, you will also participate in activities to help you develop wisdom, courage, and the support of others in your quest to defeat these demons.”
This unit establishes the course learning objective to achieve God’s Dream for us and seeks a commitment from each student to accept the challenge of “The Greatest Battle of Your Life”. In this unit, students are introduced to Elijah’s Cave, the “Circle of Fire”, the “Burning Bush” encountered by Moses, and the concept of being the “I AM Tribe”. A T-shirt with the “I AM Tribe” logo and a headband with the “Circle of Fire” logo are to be provided to the students during this unit. These items are to promote team building. Note that since they are in the presence of the “Burning Bush”, they are to remove shoes when they enter the Cave and no other objects are to be brought into the Cave with them (especially footballs and drink cups!)
