Listening to God: Samuel Anoints David
Silverdale United Methodist Church

This is the third of a series of rotation Sunday school lessons for Silverdale United Methodist Church (SUMC) on the theme “listening to God”. It was written for November 2005. This lesson focuses on Samuel’s last major act as prophet and priest of Israel, the anointing of young David as the future king of Israel.

SUMC’s rotation Sunday school is called Kids’ Faith T.R.E.K. (Totally Receiving and Embracing God’s Kingdom)

Lessons are taught in the following workshops:

Creation Cove – Art: do a self portrait and add a heart with the memory verse.

Master’s Mountain Theatre – Puppets: children do a puppet drama of the story.

Scripture Tent – Storytelling: a telling of I Samuel 16:1 - 13

Video Viewpoint – Video and Games all together on the fourth Sunday of rotation: View a video about the anointing of David and play games

Scripture References: I Samuel 16:1-13 and other scriptures cited in the Biblical Explanation and Background
All scripture references are from the NIV Bible unless otherwise noted.

Memory verse: “…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7
Bonus verse: “LORD, you have searched me and you know me…you are familiar with all my ways.” Psalm 139: 1,3

Theme: God the Holy Spirit knows our innermost being and guides the obedient believer in all his ways.
Goals and Concepts:
1. The children will become familiar with the story of how Samuel, the prophet and priest of God, followed God’s guidance in choosing and anointing young David as the future king of Israel.
2. The children will know that although they know each other on the outside, and they know a limited amount about others or themselves on the inside, God knows them as they really are inside.
3. The children will know that God loves them as they are and has provided God his Son, Jesus Christ, to take their sins away.
4. The children will know that God has a good plan and purpose for each of their lives, and that He provides the Holy Spirit to empower them to fulfill that purpose.
5. The children will know that when God commands or leads them to obey Him in a particular matter, God also provides the guidance and power to do what He commands.

Biblical Explanation and Background for Teaching
The story of Samuel anointing David begins in approximately 1020 BC after Samuel learned that God had rejected Saul, the first king of Israel, because of disobedience. Samuel grieved for Saul, hence I Samuel 16:1, God says to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil [a ram’s horn, a convenient oil receptacle] and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” Samuel’s protest that Saul will kill him when he hears of Samuel anointing a new king reveals that Saul and Samuel were no longer the best of friends. Samuel (I Samuel 15:23) had told Saul, “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.” Saul had failed to obey God’s command to annihilate all the Amalekites (idol-worshipping neighbors), and Samuel had to finish the job himself. God had chosen a new king of Israel, one who would worship and obey God in spirit and in truth.
As a prophet and priest of Israel, Samuel traveled a regular circuit. His main “office” was in Ramah, about 6 miles north of Jerusalem. His northern office was in Bethel, 5 miles north of Ramah, and Mispah, 3 miles west of Jerusalem, was his western office. Bethlehem was about 4 miles south of Jerusalem.
God sent Samuel to “make a sacrifice” in Bethlehem with Jesse and his family of eight sons, one of whom was young David (probably about age 15 or 16) who was left in the fields to tend the sheep. I Samuel 16:4, “The elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, ‘Do you come in peace?’” Samuel had recently acquired a somewhat frightening reputation because he had completed the slaughter of the Amalekites that Saul had failed to complete. So Samuel wasn’t the only one who had fear in this situation; Samuel was afraid of Saul, and the elders of Bethlehem were afraid of Samuel. God, in His wisdom, planned events that required careful listening and obedience to God by Samuel.
I Samuel 16:5, “…Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.” Jesse and his sons were made ready for a holy occasion. They did not yet know how important this occasion would be.
Samuel had learned to listen to God and to obey God from the time he was first called to be a prophet and priest of Israel. God had been able to use Samuel to accomplish his plans and purposes for Israel because Samuel listened to God and obeyed God. This time was no different, but if Samuel had followed his own opinions, he would have picked the wrong man to be the next king of Israel! God had to remind Samuel that He looks at the deep, inner person and knows that person’s thoughts and motivations. He knows the secret strengths and weaknesses of the each individual. Samuel was impressed with Jesse’s handsome eldest son, Eliab, but God said, “no”. Then Samuel examined Abinadab, Shammah, and the four other sons of Jesse present. When God whispered “no” in Samuel’s heart for each of these, Samuel was bold enough to ask Jesse if he had another son. Samuel knew God hadn’t misspoken, and that he, Samuel, had not misunderstood God; he knew there had to be another.
Indeed there was another son, young David, whom Jesse hadn’t even bothered to call to the occasion. David has often been called, “a man after God’s own heart.” David expressed his love for God in many of the Psalms he authored. Psalm 8:1, “O LORD, our LORD, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 9:1, “I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders.” Psalm 23:1, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.” And our bonus memory verse, Psalm 139:1, “O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.” God knew the deep, inner thoughts and motivations of David. He knew the qualities that would make a godly king and a good leader of Israel. Even though He also knew David’s weaknesses, God had chosen David, and He let Samuel know that David was his choice.
What an honor God gave to David! At the time when Samuel anointed him the future king, David had no idea that he would be one of the human ancestors of our redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. David only knew he wanted to love, listen to, and obey God, and God filled David with His Holy Spirit to enable him to do the job he was anointed and appointed to do.
The act of anointing with oil for service confers upon the recipient the authority to do the appointed job with the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. When Sunday school teachers are anointed for their teaching jobs at the beginning of each Sunday school year, they receive the authority to do their jobs and the empowerment and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Even a child may offer himself or herself in service to God, loving and obeying God. God will respond and fill that willing child with the Holy Spirit and enable his or her service.
After Samuel anointed David, David became the focus of the story in I and II Samuel. God placed David in Saul’s court as a musician so he could learn the ways of a king and connect with the king’s people. Eventually David fought the giant, Goliath, whom all the other Israelites feared. He was victorious in the strength of the LORD upon whom he had learned to depend as a shepherd boy. [Note: We won’t include the detailed story of David and Goliath in this rotation.] God continued to teach David to depend on God’s timing and wisdom until Saul died and David was crowned king.
God also has plans for each and every individual. He will teach each of us to depend upon his wisdom and strength, and when we do so, God will receive glory. It’s good for a child to begin to depend on God and to grow up loving and obeying the LORD.

General Tips for Teachers:
1. Study the background material and the scripture references ahead of time, asking God to help you understand and to apply what He has for you.
2. Prepare you lesson prayerfully for the specific age group you will teach each Sunday. Simplify and/or summarize some parts for the younger children, if necessary.
3. Teach purposefully, with the goals and concepts in mind, but also teach as the Holy Spirit leads you.
4. The questions/journal part of your lesson will cue you on things to emphasize in your teaching section. Often questions are more effective if they’re asked during the teaching time rather than added on later.
5. Do not assume students have Bible background or Christian experience; many do not, so teach simply and clearly with the Bible as your reference.

Story Summary: See the summary located in the games lesson at: 5Dhttp://rotation.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/308106178/m/521602081 (from a “Lesson Set from Kirk of Kildaire” posted by Catherine, on the anointing of David by Samuel)

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Creation Cove – Art

Welcome the children and their guide to the workshop, introduce yourself, and begin in prayer. Please try to start on time and end on time, and focus your attention on the children.
Guides do the attendance, and they can help with the workshop activities and the discussion questions. They should help students with journaling and with the closing prayer circle.
Review the memory verse, 1 Samuel 16:7, “…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Also review the bonus verse, Psalm 139:1,3, “LORD, you have searched me and you know me…you are familiar with all my ways.”
Children will complete a partial self-portrait for this workshop that especially incorporates the memory verse and the bonus verse. Have the children find I Samuel in the following way before telling the story summary, unless you choose to have the children read the story from I Samuel 16:1 - 13: Have them open their Bibles to the middle, where they will probably find Isaiah or Psalms. Then have them find the middle of the left side, where they will probably find I Kings or II Samuel. Then have them page backward (toward the front cover) to find I Samuel 16. Tell them that this is part of the Old Testament, the part of the Bible before Jesus came. Ask if anyone wants to read I Samuel 16:7 from the Bible before you tell the story. For groups coming on the second or third Sunday of rotation, you may want to start by asking them to tell you the parts of the story they’ve already learned, and then fill it in.

Supplies to prepare:
· sheets of white roll paper about 2 feet long (you’ll turn it and use it as 2’ wide and 30” long), one for each child
· crayons and felt pens
· scissors
· 4” X 4” squares of red paper to be cut into heart shapes
· printed copies of the Bible memory verse to glued on beneath the heart
· masking tape

Procedure:
Use the masking tape to tape the large sheets of paper to the wall before the class begins (test to be sure it removes easily without damaging the wall).
When you’re ready to begin the art project, have the children come up two at a time so you and the guide can quickly trace the outline of the upper portion of their torso on the paper. You may have to adjust the height of the paper on the wall to do this. Then remove the paper from the wall, and instruct the student to draw in and color his/her hair, eyes, face and clothes. Afterward, they can cut out their portrait. Last of all, they should cut out the heart from the square of red paper and glue the Bible memory verse beneath it on their self portrait. You should tell the children that in old times people referred to the “heart” as the place where our inner thoughts and feelings are. They’re not in our real, physical heart, but are more likely in our physical brains, but it is God who knows us on the inside and on the outside, completely.
When you have finished outlining children for self-portraits, continue to teach the lesson while they are completing their portraits. You may use the discussion questions at this time.
Discussion questions: (These are a teaching opportunity. Feel free to also read from some of the Psalms David wrote.)

1. God knew David’s innermost thoughts and feelings. What do you think are some good things God knew about David that would make him a good and godly king someday? (ANS: Children may mention that David loved God, that he was brave or courageous, honest, loyal, truthful, prayerful, obedient to God and a good listener-to-God. You could discuss the kind of character David might have developed working as a shepherd when he had to defend the sheep from wild animals, decide where to take the sheep for good pasture, and be alone with God in the wilderness. As a shepherd, David also had to be humble; it was not a proud kind of job.)
2. Why did Samuel ask Jesse if he had any other sons? (ANS: Samuel had heard God say “No” about each of the other seven sons that he had seen, and he knew God had told him to anoint a son of Jesse as the future king.)
3. The Bible says the Holy Spirit came on David after he was anointed. What does this mean, and why is it important? (ANS: It means that after God gave David the authority, the anointing, to be the next king, God also gave David the power and wisdom to be the next king by giving David the Holy Spirit.)
4. Do you know that God loves you just as you are, and God has a plan for your life? God loves you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and take the punishment for your sins. Because of this, you can ask Him to forgive your sins and to give you eternal life. He will be your stay-inside-you friend; He will fill you more and more with the Holy Spirit if you ask Him to do this.

Journal question: Write or draw about something that is “in your heart” today.

Close with a circle of prayer, and invite the children to return next week and to bring their Bible and a friend.


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Master’s Mountain Theatre – Puppets Workshop

Welcome the children and their guide to the workshop, introduce yourself, and begin in prayer. Please try to start on time and end on time, and focus your attention on the children.
Guides do the attendance, and they can help with the workshop activities and the discussion questions. They should help students with journaling and with the closing prayer circle.

Review the memory verse, I Samuel 16:7, “…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Also review the bonus verse, Psalm 139:1,3, “LORD, you have searched me and you know me…you are familiar with all my ways.”

You will do a puppet drama of Samuel anointing David. Before doing the drama, you should teach the Bible story. You may want to use the summary of the story provided in this rotation, or you may to have the children read the story from the Bible. You will want to keep this part short, however, since the children will also learn the story as they perform it.
Since this is the first time some of the children have used puppets in our theatre, you should review with them some rules about caring for the puppets. Puppets never bite, but they always face the audience. They open and close their mouths for each syllable of a word. They can yawn, shake their heads, move their hands (if they have any), and they always take turns talking. They never lie on the floor or hit each other.
Have your scripts taped to the inside of the puppet theatre so the players will have their hands free to work the puppets. Older children can do more complicated scripts and those involving more ad lib lines. The play is written simply, but can be simplified further, or it can be made more complicated by having Samuel speak out what he is thinking.

PLAY: Samuel Anoints David
characters: Samuel (as an old man), God’s voice, an elder of Bethlehem, Jesse, Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, 4 other sons of Jesse, David (The seven sons, excluding David, could be spoon puppets made with a face on the convex side of the wooden spoons and dressed in fabric.)
(note: “Samuel” and “God’s voice have the most difficult lines; they could be played by teachers, if necessary.)
Stage note: Consider using the large, front-back curtain puppet stage if you want all of Jesse’s sons lined up in a row along the top of the curtain. If you want them to appear one at a time, the smaller framing of the box puppet theatre may work best.
SCENE I: God speaks to Samuel
(Samuel is pacing back and forth, and then he kneels to pray. As he is praying, he hears the voice of God.)
God’s Voice: “Samuel! How long will you go on feeling sad about King Saul? Get up now, get your anointing oil, and go to the house of a man named Jesse in Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
Samuel: “How can I do that? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me!”
God’s Voice: “Bring a calf with you to sacrifice to the LORD. Ask Jesse and his sons to come to the sacrifice, and there I will show you what to do. I will show you the one you should anoint.”
SCENE II: Samuel arrives in Bethlehem
(The scene is in Bethlehem. An elder of Bethlehem, followed by Jesse, comes out to greet Samuel as he arrives.)
Elder: (He is shaking and looking fearfully at Samuel) “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel: “Peace to you. I’ve come to make a sacrifice to the LORD.”
Samuel: (speaking to Jesse) “Get yourself and your sons ready to come to the sacrifice.”
(If you wanted to add some humor to the play, you could insert a short scene here of Jesse and his sons rub-a-dub-dubbing with soap and towels and getting ready.)
SCENE III: Samuel anoints the next king of Israel
(Jesse and seven of his sons line up to meet and greet Samuel before the sacrifice.)
Jesse: “This is my eldest son, Eliab.”
Samuel: (As he walks up the first and tallest of Jesse’s seven sons…) “So, this is Eliab! Samuel turns his head aside and says to the audience, “Surely, this is God’s choice!”
God’s Voice: “Pay no attention to how handsome he is. I have rejected him because I do not judge as man judges. Man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart!”
Jesse: “And here is my second son, Abinadab.”
Samuel: “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
Jesse: “Here is my son, Shammah.”
Samuel: (Shaking his head to say “no”.) “This is not God’s choice.”
Jesse: “And here are four more of my wonderful sons!”
Samuel: (Samuel walks down the line, pausing and examining each son carefully. After each son, he shakes his head to say, “no”.)
Samuel: “The LORD hasn’t chosen any of these. Do you have any more sons?”
Jesse: “There’s just one more, the youngest son. He’s out taking care of the sheep.”
Samuel: “Tell him to come!”
(One of the seven sons moves offstage as if to get David, and returns with David who is a handsome teenager.)
God’s Voice: “This is the one; anoint him!”
Samuel: (Samuel goes up to David and pours anointing oil on his head. David bows his head, as if in prayer. Then Samuel leaves, and Jesse and the sons look at David with surprise and joy.)
Jesse and 7 sons: “Who would have thought?” “David?” “He’s just a shepherd!” “He’s so young, and he smells like sheep!” “He’s such a dreamer!” “God knows best.”

Discussion Questions: (These are always teaching opportunities. Feel free to also read from some of the Psalms David wrote.)
1. What are some things about outward, physical appearance that people consider important? What other outward things do people consider important? (ANS: Being handsome or beautiful, being strong or graceful are physical things. Other things might be athletic ability, acting ability, fame, singing ability, or the ability to entertain other people.)
2. Why do you think God chose David, who wasn’t yet fully grown (probably a teenager), to be the next king of Israel? (ANS: Kids will have various ideas. God could have been getting David ready to be a king, so he started with a strong, spiritual young man who loved God and who was willing and able to learn to be the kind of king God really wanted.)
3. How do you think Samuel “heard” God when the other people around him did not hear God? (ANS: Samuel had a relationship with God. He believed and obeyed God. He obeyed whatever he knew of God’s Word, the Bible, and he obeyed whatever he heard God tell him to do. Maybe other people didn’t bother listening to God, or did not begin by obeying the laws of God they already knew.)
4. What are some things you know about God and about what God wants you to do in being obedient? (ANS: Ideas: Obey God’s moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, love one another just as God loves us, talk to God in prayer, worship God, give offerings, serve God and serve one another.)
5. Is it possible for a child like you to hear and obey God? (ANS: Yes; David heard and obeyed God when he was a child caring for his father’s sheep. His faith is expressed in the 23rd Psalm, one often called “the shepherd’s Psalm”.)
Journaling: Write or draw (1) your prayer to God and/or (2) something you’ve heard from God that you should obey.
Close with a circle of prayer and invite children to return next week and to bring their Bible and a friend.


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Scripture Tent – Storytelling workshop

Welcome the children and their guide to the workshop, introduce yourself, and begin in prayer. Please try to start on time and end on time, and focus your attention on the children.

Guides do the attendance, and they can help with the workshop activities and the discussion questions. They should help students with journaling and with the closing prayer circle.

Review the memory verse, I Samuel 16:7, “…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Also review the bonus verse, Psalm 139:1,3, “LORD, you have searched me and you know me…you are familiar with all my ways.”

Before starting the Bible story, ask everyone to do the following exercise: Tell them to look at you and pretend they are a mirror. They should do everything you do. When they understand, practice doing some things. Raise one hand, and they should do likewise. Stand up, and they should stand up. Sit down, and they should sit down, etc. Then have them practice in pairs, numbering off by 1s and 2s, so that everyone 1 is paired with a 2. Tell them the 1 is the mirror first, and then they can trade off, and the 2 can be the mirror. They can choose the motions to do as mirrors, but they must not move around the tent.

Ask the following questions: “What do we see in a mirror?” (We see the outside of ourselves.) “Can we see what we’re thinking on the inside?” (Not really, although we might get some clues.) “Who can see us on the inside?” (Only God really knows us as we are. We don’t even know ourselves very well sometimes.)
Tell the children, “We’re going to hear a story about someone God knew on the inside.” Show the children your Bible, and show them how to find the book of I Samuel, in case any of them want to also open their own Bibles. Open the Bible to the middle, then open it to the middle of the front (left) section, and turn back to the book of I Samuel.

STORY: Samuel, the prophet and priest of God, was now an old man. He had been listening to God and obeying God for his whole life, since he was a little boy. He had chosen a tall, handsome man named Saul to be the first king of Israel, but Saul had not loved the LORD with all his heart. Saul had disobeyed God, and now Samuel was feeling very sad.
Samuel often spent time talking to God in prayer. He prayed for Saul, he prayed for the people of Israel, and he prayed about what God wanted him to do. One day Samuel heard God speaking. He probably didn’t hear God out loud speaking with a voice in his ears, but he heard God on the inside, and he knew when God was speaking to him. He knew that whatever God said was true and right and good, and that whatever God promised would always happen. This time God said, “Samuel, how long will you go on feeling sad about King Saul? I have rejected him as the king of Israel. Take your anointing oil, get up, and go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
Now, Samuel knew that if King Saul ever found out that another person had been chosen to be king, he would be very angry. Samuel said to God, “How can I do that? If Saul hear about it, he will kill me!”
God answered Samuel, “Take a calf with you and say you are in Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. Invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice, and I will tell you what to do.” (Sacrificing an animal was part of the way people worshipped God in the days before Jesus came.)
Samuel did just what God said to do, and when he arrived in Bethlehem, the city leaders came to meet him. They were trembling with fear when they saw that it was Samuel, the prophet of the LORD! They asked Samuel, “Have you come in peace?”
Samuel answered them, “Yes, I have come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and come with me.” He also told Jesse and his sons to get ready and come to the sacrifice.
Jesse and his seven grown sons arrived at the place where Samuel said to come. Jesse’s sons looked like fine, strong, handsome young men, especially the oldest one, Eliab. As Samuel looked at Eliab, he thought, “Surely this is the one God has chosen!”
But Samuel heard God speaking inside him, and God said, “Pay no attention to how handsome and tall he is. I have rejected him, because I do not judge as man judges. Man looks on the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” This means that God sees our true, inner character and thoughts. He knows why we do the things we do, and He loves each one of us, although not everyone chooses to love and obey God.
Jesse brought his next oldest son, Abinadab, to Samuel. Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen him either.”
So Jesse brought his son Shammah, but Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one.”
One by one, Jesse introduced his seven sons to Samuel, and each time Samuel said, “No, the LORD hasn’t chosen this one either.”
Finally, since God had promised Samuel that he had chosen a king from among Jesse’s son, Samuel asked Jesse, “Do you have any other sons?”
Jesse replied, “Yes, but he’s the youngest, and he’s out taking care of the sheep.”
“Tell him to come here,” Samuel said. So Jesse sent for David.
David was probably a teenager as this time. He loved taking care of his father’s sheep. He wore shepherd’s clothes, not fancy things like kings wear in palaces. He liked to be out at night and look at the beautiful, starry sky. Sometimes lions or bears would come prowling after the sheep; David had to be alert to protect the sheep both day and night. David knew God was his helper, and he often prayed and sang to God as he watched the sheep. With his trusty sling and a sharp knife, David could kill a huge bear that was after the sheep.
We don’t know, but probably David stopped to wash his hands and face and maybe even changed out of his shepherd’s clothes before he went to meet Samuel and his father and older brothers at the sacrifice. When David came in, Samuel immediately heard God speaking in his heart and saying, “This is the one; anoint him.” Samuel looked at David. He wasn’t the tallest young man; he wasn’t even full grown yet. He looked strong, and wise, and healthy, and he had lively, sparkly eyes. When Samuel anointed David, God sent His Holy Spirit on David to be his helper so he could do the job that God was preparing him to do. From this time on, David would prepare to become the king, and God was with him.
You can read many other stories about David in the Bible. David wrote some poetry in the Bible. It’s called the book of Psalms. Let’s read one that David could have written when he was out taking care of his father’s sheep.
Read the 23rd Psalm. If the children are third grade or above, show them how to open their Bibles to the middle and find the book of Psalms. Then find the 23rd Psalm. Some of them might want to volunteer to read all or part of it. Tell them it a very good one to learn my heart, to memorize. David wrote it about 3000 years ago, and people have loved it and learned it ever since that time.

Discussion questions:
1. David knew that God loved him and cared for him. How do you know God loves and cares for you? (ANS: Learn it from parents and Sunday school teachers, learn it from the Bible, hear it in church, feel loved by various family and friends who assure the child that he/she is loved by God.)
2. Look as Psalm 23, verse 4. Should we be afraid of the dark or of scary places? (ANS: No) Why should we not be afraid? (ANS: The Lord Jesus promised us, “I am with you always, even to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) So when David wrote “for you are with me”, he meant that he knew that God’s presence was always with him, so why be afraid?)
3. David knew that God would provide for him. Which verses in Psalm 23 say that God will provide food and rest and comfort? (ANS: Verse 1, “I will not be in want”; Verse 2 mentions “green pastures” and “quiet waters”; verse 5 mentions that God “prepares a table” even though enemies are present.)
4. How would having faith and trust in God help David become a good king? (ANS: David was not afraid to do what God wanted, even though he was threatened for doing it. David was fearless in battle. David could pray for himself, his family and his people. David could hear God’s instructions and obey them.)
Journaling: Write or draw about how you love God, about your faith in God, and/or about how you know God loves you. Have you asked Jesus to forgive your sins and give you the stay-inside-friend, the Holy Spirit?
Close with a circle of prayer and invite children to return next week and to bring their Bible and a friend.


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Video Viewpoint – Video Worksheet

Welcome the children and their guide to the workshop, introduce yourself, and begin in prayer. Please try to start on time and end on time, and focus your attention on the children.

Guides do the attendance, and they can help with the workshop activities and the discussion questions. They should help students with journaling and with the closing prayer circle.

Review the memory verse, I Samuel 16:7, “…Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Also review the bonus verse, Psalm 139:1,3, “LORD, you have searched me and you know me…you are familiar with all my ways.”

Before showing the video about Samuel anointing David, prepare the children for a different kind of snack today. Prepare two containers, one a fancy wrapped box and the other wrinkled, battered paper bag. Ask a volunteer to choose which one has the snack. Inside the fancy wrapped box there should be some odds and ends of small toys, clothes, spools, clothes pins, etc. Inside the scruffy paper bag there should be chocolate candy gold coins; all these items will be part of a game that takes place after the video. Teach the lesson that goes with the memory verse: that we look at the fancy, pretty outside of a person, but God looks on what is inside of a person. Show the video, David and Goliath (Animated Stories: Old Testament, by Nest Entertainment, 1993) while the children enjoy their snacks. The video starts with Samuel confronting King Saul over his failure to obey God in destroying the Amalekites and King Agag, and includes a good section on Samuel anointing David in the first part of the video, about the first 15 minutes. Stop after David is anointed King if you don’t want to include David and Goliath.
After the video, review the concepts by asking some questions taken from the three previous rotations. Here are some other questions:

1. Do you think God knows what we do best? (ANS: Yes; God made us. And our BONUS verse says that God searches us and knows us and is familiar with all our ways.)
2. Did God design each of us for some special purpose? (ANS: Yes, God has a plan for each of us in His Kingdom. Read I Corinthians 12:27, “…you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” and explain that just like the parts of a body have different functions and uses, so God has given us difference gifts to use in His Kingdom.)
3. Do you wonder what your purpose is? Are you starting to know God, and starting to find out your purpose as you listen to God and obey God? How can you do this? (ANS: First, it’s important to believe God’s Word, the Bible, and to know that Jesus, God’s Son, has forgiven your sins. Then it’s important to pray and obey God as you learn His will and ways.)

GAME:
Have the children number off, “1,2,3” so that all the 1s will be on one team, all the 2s on another team, and all the 3s on another team. Find a space for each team to gather. One person on each team must volunteer to wear a blindfold. Then, after dividing the “odds and ends” equally among the three teams, arrange the items on a line for each team, with the items about 3 feet apart and a bag of gold coins at the end of each line. Tell the teams they must try to tell the blindfolded person how to walk this blind obstacle course without stepping on any of the items in order to reach the bag of gold at the end of the line. The blindfolded person must listen very carefully, just like Samuel had to listen to God carefully. If the blindfolded person steps on an item, he/she must give up their turn to another child.
When each team completes its obstacle course and obtains the bag of gold candy coins, the children get to enjoy their candy reward.
Close with a circle of prayer, and invite children to return next week with their Bible and a friend for the next rotation lesson.

RESOURCES:
Bible Study Fellowship’s “Israel and the Minor Prophets” by A. Wetherell Johnson, 1971
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, Frank E. Gaebelein, editor, Zondervan Publishing House, 1981
Good News Bible, The Bible in Today’s English Version by American Bible Society, 1976
Halley’s Bible Handbook by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, 1962
I & II Samuel, Vol. 12 by J. Verson McGee, Thru the Bible Radio, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991
The Thompson Chain Reference Bible, New International Version, 2nd edition by B. B. Kirkbride Bible Co., Inc., 1990
Resources from www.rotation.org:
“David – God’s Chosen King – Lesson Set from Kirk of Kildaire”, posted by Catherine, 6/13/2003
“David is Anointed Lesson Set from River Community Church”, posted by Amy Crane, 7/5/2004
“Anointing of David – Link to Art Lesson”, posted by robinsan, 1/30/2003

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