FAITH QUEST
David and Goliath
CREATION STATION
Thank you for teaching David and Goliath. Given the present situation in the Middle East and the subject matter of the curriculum, please defer any questions you may be asked about the war, aftermath of the war, rebuilding of Iraq, etc., to the parents. Please affirm the child’s question, but encourage them to ask a parent, saying something like, “That is a great question, but I think your mom or dad might like to answer that question for you. Christians don’t always agree about a particular war, and I think your parents should probably be the people you ask first about our war with Iraq.”
We believe that it is
important for the parents to respond to their child’s questions, and share
their thoughts and beliefs, instead of the Workshop Leader responding and
possibly giving a differing point of view from what a parent would like his/her
child told regarding the war. Thank
you.
Scripture: 1 Samuel 17:1-50
Key Scripture Verses: 1 Samuel
17:45- 46a “You’ve come out to fight me
with a sword and a spear and a dagger.
But I’ve come to fight you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel’s army, and you have
insulted him too. Today the Lord will
help me defeat you.” (Contemporary
English Version)
Memory Verse:
“Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever
you go.” Joshua 1:9 (CEV)
Concepts:
·
God is with you in
difficult situations.
·
God gives us hope even
when everything seems hopeless.
·
God works in ways we do not expect and through
people we do not expect.
Objectives:
1. Learn that David
relied on God’s power and his own simple but skilled ability rather than fancy
weapons and armor to win the battle for God’s people.
2. Understand that even a
child can do God’s work.
3. Know that David had enough
faith in God to bravely face the giant Goliath.
4. Children will use acrylic paint to decorate stone paperweights to
remind them of David’s deeds.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1. Welcome the children and introduce yourself. Wear your nametag.
2. Start the “lesson time”
with prayer. Ask for volunteers, but plan on praying yourself. A short prayer
thanking Jesus for being a part of our lives always would be appropriate.
Bible Story:
David was a young boy who cared for his father’s sheep. Being a shepherd in his desert land was sometimes easy, but other times it was very dangerous. Wild animals like lions or bears try to eat the sheep. David would beat off the animal and, if it attacked, he would have to kill it. David learned to use a sling made of a piece of leather with a cord on each side. He would put a stone in the leather and twirl the sling by the strings. When he let go of one cord, the stone flew out.
David lived 3000 years ago in the town of Bethlehem in Israel. The Israelites who worshipped God were under attack by a tribe called the Philistines. One day David’s father asked David to take some food to his older brothers who were helping King Saul defend the Israelites from the Philistines. When he reached the battlefield, he discovered that a very large Philistine named Goliath had shouted out that he was the best soldier in his army and the Israelites should send their best soldier to fight him. Whoever won the battle, would win the war for his army.
Everyone was so frightened that they couldn’t do a thing. Then David told King Saul that he wanted to fight the giant. King Saul first said that David was too young. Then he tried to protect David with military clothes and armor to protect him when he fought Goliath. David did not feel right dressed like that. He took them off and with his shepherd’s staff in his hand collected five smooth stones from a nearby stream. Then he walked toward Goliath, putting one stone in the leather sling.
Goliath laughed when he saw the shepherd boy coming toward him. David said: “You’ve come out to fight me with a sword and a spear and a dagger. But I’ve come to fight you in the name of the Lord All-Powerful. He is the God of Israel’s army, and you have insulted him too. Today the Lord will help me defeat you.” Then David used his sling to throw one stone at the giant’s head, killing him. David the shepherd boy from Bethlehem had won the battle for the people of God.
Application:
1. Create! Take a minute to talk to the children about the creation
they are going to be doing in this workshop. Tell them that they will be
painting the top side of a stone paperweight with a picture to remind them of
David’s bravery.
2. What are some things you remember about David’s story? Brainstorm
ideas, symbols, and scenes they remember about the story. What are some of the
objects in the story? Tell them to choose one scene or symbol (shepherd’s
crook, sling) of David to paint on the upper side of a stone. A background may be painted.
3. Steps: Have children put
on smocks. Give each child a stone and
a pencil. Tell them to lightly sketch
their design on the stone. Have paint
pens and thin brushes and disposable plates with small amounts of acrylic paint
ready to place on each table for children to share. Cups of water should be used to wash brushes when changing
colors. Tell the children to depress
the shaken pens until the paint flows.
Painting is best when colors are applied side by side, not atop each
other. The paint pen color can be
applied as lines or dots rather than solid areas. Have the children initial their stone when their picture is
finished and place them off to the side on individual paper towels.
4. Clean up! The paint will
wash off hands before it dries. Involve
everyone in cleaning up so that you will have time to share together in the
closing. You may want to have a prearranged signal for clean up and tell them
at beginning of art project what that will be - perhaps giving them a 5 minute
warning and then the final clean up notice to allow those who need a bit more
warning that they need to complete whatever they are working on.
Reflection Time:
Ask the shepherds to pass out
Journals and pencils/markers. The
children should spend a few minutes reflecting upon the morning's lesson – Who
was David? Even though he was probably
afraid, what made him brave? David
proved that God was at a child’s side to do a good thing. Can you think of some things you can do to
please God?
Closing:
1. Encourage the children to think about how God helps us when
everything seems hopeless.
2. Tell them that their offering will be given to the Kirk’s
missionaries, Dan and Elizabeth Turk so that they may share stories about God’s
help with people in Madagascar.
3. Say the Key Memory Verse together (see above). Post this verse
printed on a banner and hung in the room, write it on the white board in the
room, or have it on slips of paper that each child can take home.
4. Pray! Ask the children if they have any prayer requests. Thank
God for being with us in difficult situations.
Teacher preparation in
advance:
1. Read the scripture passage and attend the Faith Quest
Leaders Workshop.
2. Check the art room to see what supplies exist. Make a sample of a painted stone.
3. Prepare all the materials you will need for the
creation process. Line the tables with
paper. Have the materials ready to go.
Shake markers and depress so that paint starts to flow. Pour small amounts of acrylic paint onto a
plate. There will be limited time for
the creation process, so do everything you can to conserve time.
4. Decide how you want to close the lesson. Prepare a
prayer or use one of the group suggestions.
Materials:
2” D smooth flat stones
Pencils
Thin paintbrushes
Cups of water to rinse
brushes
Liquid acrylic paint
Nontoxic, fumeless paint
markers “Painters”
Paper towels