The Severed Head

Elijah Creek and the Armor of God #1

by Lena Wood

Ancient treasure lies buried in the basement of an abandoned church. And never—not in his wildest dreams—does Elijah Creek imagine that an innocent peek into that old church will change his life forever. But it does . . .

When the treasure mysteriously disappears, Elijah and his friends begin a quest to find it. As discord and difficulties emerge, they realize that this ancient treasure is not what they thought it would be—and someone battling against them wants it lost forever.

Elijah, Robbie, Reece, Mei, and Skid—their discoveries test their friendship nearly beyond its limits, until Elijah withdraws to the forbidden haunts of Telanoo and confronts the old man who knows the secret of the treasure. Together Elijah and his friends begin to understand that God has plans for them beyond anything they have ever dreamed.

Genres: Christian Fiction, Childrens, Fiction

189 pages, Paperback

First published May 2, 2005

Reviews

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series and having read it multiple times myself, I’m so excited to be doing it as a read aloud in my classroom for a second *third* time during my teaching career. The students all love it and are daily asking for a few more pages or another whole chapter if there is time.
I love the Scripture integration and practical life lessons my students are learning about through Elijah, especially about asking for forgiveness and owning up to mistakes. I’m eager to continue it as we learn even more about the Armor of God.

[HaveSomeShawarma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very eager. Sort of a more mature, Christianized Scooby Doo gang. Warning that there is one violent scene at the end that probably isn't suitable for young or sensitive children, though if they're old enough to read the book on their own it shouldn't be too bad.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting adventure!
I love that they have a Japanese friend and a Disabled friend!

The white boy with blonde hair and blue eyes insists he is a “Cree Indian.” He tells us “I do my best thinking when I go full Indian.”

They see a man burying a human arm and a human head, but don’t tell the police — which does make for a more exciting adventure!

[Jenny Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this on a clearance rack and thought I knew why as I read the first chapter. It starts slow, picks up a little in the 2nd chapter, and by the third it’s hard to put down.

Elijah Creek lives at a campground that his dad runs with his mom and twin little sisters. He goes to school with his cousin Robbie, long-time friend Reece, and Japanese transplant Mei. Skid joins the clan later after they make an interesting and mysterious discovery.

I like the fact that the main character is not a Christian and has to learn about the Bible along the way as they all learn about the strange items they discovered buried beneath Old Pilgrim Church and a place they dubbed “Devil’s Cranium.”

[Elzbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as hokey a Christian book as I thought it'd be, though there's the one black kid, the one disabled kid and the one Asian kid in addition to the white kids. This is the first book in the series and it's pretty exciting. Elijah and his friends are looking for a costume for their school play when the stumble across an old suit of amour. However, there's someone who doesn't want them to have the amour and is willing to do anything to keep them away. Even if it means killing them.

[Allison Griswold · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad read this series first and loved it (he is almost 50). I really loved this series. I would read a chapter or two to my sisters before bed (4 girls, ages 5-12) and they loved the series so much that they want me to read it to them again. It is griping, with a strong Christian foundation. We met the author at the International Conference on Missions (ICOM) last year, she was very nice.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started this series out in CO in October and got off the reading wagon during the month of Nov. A Children's series. Very well written, keeps interest, even of an adult. finished the first two in the series.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great Christian based book! Again, this book is full of adventure and mystery, I found it hard to put down. I plan on reading the entire series of this.

[Thumper24 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a great first book in a great series... 5 teens discovor a old suit of armor in a abandond church, but the real adventure starts when they find out that it is the real armor of god.