Message Theme & Verses: 1 Samuel
Memory Verse: 1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
Happy Family Lesson:
Samuel the Prophet was the last of the Judges and the man God used to establish the monarchy in Israel. Samuel anointed both Saul and David as we see the differences between the king men choose and the king God chooses.
This is the story of how God exercises His rule by setting up a kingship in the house of David. 1 Samuel is the kingship of Saul and 2 Samuel is the kingship of David. The two books are written to contrast one another as Saul is chosen by men and rejected by God as he fails to live under God’s rule. David is selected by God and though he also sins, he is a man after God’s own heart.
1 Samuel is about God establishing the monarchy in Israel and God preparing David to sit on the throne. In order to be acceptable to God, the king must obey the word of God. This is what Jesus the Messiah-King did in His life of obedience to God the Father, even up to “death on a cross.”
God promised Abraham that kings would come through him and David is the fulfillment of that promise.
Read 1 Samuel 17
Have the kids act out the story as it is read.
Paint stones and maybe add a word like power or deliverance to remind them of God
Have the kids put their hands in different bags with different contents to prove their bravery.
Make a paper or cardboard Goliath and have kids throw marshmallows at his head.
Barkadang Lesson:
While Judges shows the problems of the people of Israel and their leaders, 1 Samuel shows how a loving God cares for His people and raises us a king to be their champion, representative, and example. David is of course representing the coming King Jesus. David is just a preview, a taste of what is to come. All through his kingship, Saul pursues what is good for Saul, David is for the people and is willing to sacrifice himself for them. David is willing to fight bears and lions to save his flock and the giant Goliath who defies the Lord and terrifies the people of Israel. Only King Jesus can defeat Satan the prowling lion and free us from the oppression of our sin.
Questions
1. Who is the tallest person you have ever seen?
2. Did you ever have to fight an animal?
3. What is the scariest animal?
4. How would you feel if you had to fight a giant?
5. What is the best weapon to use in a fight? (Remember that David didn’t win because he had the best weapon. David won because God was really fighting the battle to destroy the enemy who was shaming God and His people.)
6. Has anyone ever made you feel ashamed? What did you do? (David did not listen to Goliath when Goliath was trying to shame David. Instead, David remembered that He was one of God’s people. God’s people are special not because of who they are, but because they follow the perfect God.)
7. In the story of David and Goliath, who do you think you are most like? (Many people pick David as the person they are most like. They think they are brave and will do the right thing. However, the Bible wants us to know that we are not David in the story. We are more like the Israelite soldiers. We are weak and afraid and we need someone to fight for us. In the story, David is like Jesus who comes to defeat the enemies of sin and Satan for His people.)
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