Ages

Elementary, Tweens

Scripture

For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13)

What You Will Need

• Bible
• Tape measure
• To add to the lesson, you may want to make ahead David's Stones

Estimated Time for David Stones

30 minutes to make ahead plus drying time

What You Will Need for David Stones

• Sand Dough 1/2 recipe (See Recipe in Related Activities).
• Small crosses

Preparations for David Stones

• Mix Sand Dough according to directions.
• Take a small amount of dough for each rock. Press the cross in each and mold the dough around the cross in the shape of a rock.
• Allow 1-2 hours to dry.

Bible Lesson

Who is ready to go back to school? (Show of hands).
What do you like about going back to school? (Write on board responses like see friends, things to do, sports).
What do you not like about school? (Write on board responses like homework, mean teachers, bullies, hard tests).

You have a lot of challenges to face when you go back to school. Today we are going to learn about a boy named David who had a lot of challenges to face in his life, and we will see how he handled them.

Saul was the king of the Israelites and they were at war with the Philistines. David was an Israelite who lived with his father in Bethlehem and tended their sheep. David’s older brothers were soldiers for Saul. One day young David’s father told him to take some food to his brothers and see how they were doing. David gathered up the food and left his flock to travel to the Valley of Elah where the fighting was happening.

When David arrived at the army camp, he saw a champion from the Philistines step forward and challenge the Israelites. The man’s name was Goliath and he was a giant! He stood about 9 feet 9 inches tall. (Take out your tape measure and show children how tall that would be). He wore a bronze helmet and armor that weighed about 125 pounds. He carried a spear and a shield.

Goliath came out and stood in front of the Israelites and issued the same challenge he had for the past forty days. If one of them would come forward and fight him and win, the Philistines would bow down and become servants to the Israelites. What do you think? If you were an Israelite, would you volunteer to fight Goliath? The Israelites were terrified of Goliath and no one volunteered.

David heard what Goliath said and started asking questions. The Israelites said that King Saul offered to give great wealth to the man who kills Goliath and they could mary the king’s daughter.

David said that he was God’s servant and he would go fight Goliath. When Saul heard this he commanded that David come before him. He questioned how a mere boy could defeat a giant. David explained that in watching his father’s sheep he had killed a bear and a lion and since Goliath had defied the armies of God, God would be with him to defeat Goliath.

Saul agreed and gave David his tunic, armor and sword to wear into battle. David tried them on but they were too big and heavy for him. Instead of Saul’s armor, David took his staff and sling shot and picked up five round stones for his shepherd’s bag.

(If you elected to make David's Stones, hand at least one to each child). David had stones something like this. How would you like to go out and face a giant with just five stones?

When Goliath saw David, he laughed that such a boy would challenge him. As Goliath approached to fight, David took out a stone, placed it in his sling and slung it. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead and he fell face down into the dirt. David triumphed without a sword because he had a much bigger weapon. Does anyone know what it is? Crack open your rock to see. (Children may need a plastic knife or a hard object to crack open the rock and reveal the cross hidden within). What David had on his side was his faith in God.

In life we will face many giants. Hopefully not too many 9 foot giants, but other giants in our life, like going to a new school or classroom, dealing with bullies, trying to remember what we need to know for a test. All these challenges in life are giants we have to face. Like David we have to trust that God is with us to face each and every challenge. The best way to learn to trust God is to get to know him. How can we get to know God better? (Read the Bible, go to Church, talk to him in prayer). With God on our side, we can face any giant.

Prayer

Dear Lord,
You are our mighty God who watches over us. We know that sometimes like David we will have to face giants in our life. We know you will be with us. We know you will help us triumph over all the challenges we may face. Thank you Lord for being with us always.

Amen