David Spares Saul`s Life - Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church

David Spares
Saul’s Life
March 11, 2012
1 Samuel 24
The children will learn:
ON OUR
PL ATE
TODAY
• How David spared Saul’s life.
• That God commands us to love our enemies.
• That we cannot love our enemies without seeking God first.
ACTIVITY
Today, we’re going to talk about something that is difficult! Tie four one-looped knots in an extension cord, with approximately three feet in between the knots. Call four volunteers to the front of the
lesson area. Each volunteer will grab onto the extension cord with his right hand, just to the right of
a knot. The children are not allowed to move their right hands. At all times, they must keep their grips
firmly in one spot. The leader will announce that these four children are going to attempt something
that is very difficult to do. The four children must untie all of the knots in the extension cord without letting go with their right hands. The volunteers are allowed to talk and to touch the cord with their left
hands. As they think and talk their way through the task, remind the children that this is difficult. Once
all four knots are successfully untied, the activity is over.
ING RED IENT S
— large extension cord
That was pretty hard! I can think of something that is even more difficult than that … loving your
enemies! Uuuuugh! That’s a tough one! But, God commands you to love the people that you may
consider an enemy. In our Bible account today, we will learn how a man named David showed love
to his enemy, Saul.
Copyright 2010
KidzMatter Ministries Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
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BIBLE ACCOUNT
ING RED IENT S
A narrator will tell the story as two actors silently portray David and Saul. David will be dressed in a worn out
robe, and Saul will be dressed in a royal robe. Tape a piece of cloth that is the same color as Saul’s robe to
the corner of the robe. When David pretends to cut off the corner of the robe, he can just tear this piece off. As
the story opens, David will be hiding in a cave made out of mats, dividers, blankets, or whatever is available.
When the narrator tells about Saul going to the bathroom in the cave, Saul will approach the cave, and stand
with his back to the children so that his robe is near David.
— two actors: David
and Saul
Saul, the King of Israel, was chasing David to kill him. David loved the Lord, and the Lord had told David that
he would be the next king of Israel. Because of this, Saul was jealous of David and wanted him dead. David
and his men were hiding from Saul in a cave in the desert. Saul enters the cave and stands with his back to the
children so that his robe is very near David. All of a sudden, Saul entered the cave that David was hiding in to
go to the bathroom! Yes, King Saul who wanted to kill David just an arms-length from David. And, Saul had no
idea David was right there! Was this David’s chance to get his enemy before his enemy got him? David’s men
whispered to David, “Can you believe it? This is the day GOD was talking about when He said, ‘I’ll put your
enemy in your hands. You can do whatever you want with him.’”
— piece of cloth
matching Saul’s
robe
— narrator
— royal robe
— worn out robe
— fake knife
David crawls over to Saul with a fake knife and slices off the piece of cloth that is taped to the edge. Then,
David crawls back to his original spot in the cave. Quiet as a mouse, David crept up and cut off a piece of
Saul’s royal robe. King Saul had no idea what had just happened! He had no idea David was that close! Saul
leaves cave.
Immediately, David felt guilty. He knew that he should not have disrespected the king of Israel by cutting the corner off of his robe. David knew that God had made Saul king for this time and that meant that Saul was David’s
master. David exits the cave and acts like he is calling to Saul. Then, David bows down. David came out of the
cave and called to Saul. Saul looked back, and David fell to his knees and bowed before Saul.
David pretends to be talking to Saul and shows Saul the piece from his robe. David confessed that he had cut
the king’s robe and that he could have killed him, but he didn’t. David’s men wanted David to kill Saul, but
David knew that it was wrong because Saul was God’s anointed king for the time being. Even though Saul was
hunting David, David knew that it was God’s job to avenge Saul. David told Saul that God is the judge.
Saul weeps. Saul started to weep. He could not believe that David was being so good to him, even though
he was being evil to David. He couldn’t believe that David was treating him generously even though Saul was
trying to kill him.
The two actors shake hands and exit the lesson area going in separate directions. David promised Saul that he
would not kill off Saul’s family when God made David king, and the two parted ways.
GAME
Let’s have a little bit of fun! Since King Saul entered the cave to go to the bathroom, we’re going to use toilet
plungers in the story reinforcement game. Form teams with an even number on each team (6 or 8). Give each
team an unused toilet plunger (which you can purchase at the dollar store) and some pennies.
ING RED IENT S
— toilet plungers
— coins
In each round of the game, each team will be represented by two of their members. One will toss the pennies
and the other will hold the toilet plunger to catch the pennies. Indicate lines that they will stand behind, 10-12
feet apart. At the signal the tossers in each pair will begin to toss their pennies one at a time. The first team to
get two pennies (both David and King Saul) in the cave (the toilet plunger) at the same time, will yell, “David
and Saul are in the cave!” Those two players will be asked the first question about the story below.
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Two new members of each team will play in the second round for the next question.
•Where was David hiding?
•Why was David hiding in a cave?
•Why did Saul enter the cave?
•What did David’s men want David to do to Saul while he was in the cave?
•What did David do to Saul while Saul was in the cave?
•How did David feel after he cut Saul’s robe?
•David said it was whose job to avenge Saul?
•What was Saul’s reaction to David’s confession and kindness?
MESSAGE
(show slide #1) Are you going to listen to man or God?
David’s soldiers were hiding in a cave, because King Saul wanted to kill them. What did the soldiers want
David to do? They wanted David to kill the king. And, I think David must’ve thought about it. But, David made
a choice. The voice of God was louder in his heart than the voice of his soldiers. If he killed King Saul, David
knew he would be going against the man who had been anointed by God to be the ruler. David chose to listen
to the voice of God in his heart.
ING RED IENT S
— PowerPoint slides
— Bibles
Man’s way gets revenge with “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” What you do to me, I’ll do right back
to you. But, God’s way is to smother them in love. That’ll catch ‘em off guard. Your enemies won’t know what to
think if you react in love.
ACTIVITY
You’ll need 3 small figurines (Lego people or little toy people of some sort). You’ll also need a clear vase, large
pitcher of water, and some kind of pan that will catch overflowing water.
The Bible tells us to obey God rather than men! We’re supposed to follow the Word of God, instead of the
world. If someone treats you unfairly, or if someone does something horrible to you, the world tells you to get
back at that person. The world tells you to hate that person. Let’s read Matthew 5:44 to see how God says
to treat a person who has been horrible to you. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
What’s God’s way of dealing with people who treat you badly? God tells us to love our enemies and to pray
for them. The world tells you to hate our enemies, ignore our enemies, and be mean back to our enemies. But
we’re not supposed to obey men. We’re supposed to obey God. So how can you love your enemy if your heart
is filled with so much anger towards him? Show the 3 figurines. I brought 3 enemies with me today to answer
that question!
ING RED IENT S
— Bibles
— clear vase
— pitcher of water
— baking sheet pan
— 3 small plastic
figures
Place your pan on a tall table so all the children can see the demonstration. Place the clear vase in the center
of the pan. Stand the 3 figurines in a row at the front of the pan. At school on Friday, there were 3 people who
were really mean to me. This vase represents me, and these figurines represent the people who were mean to
me. Pick up the first figurine. This person talked behind my back and said some very nasty things about me. Pick
up the second figurine. This person was a bully to me outside at recess time. On purpose, he shoved me to the
ground during a game. Pick up the third figurine. Then, this kid stole the snack bar I had for afternoon break
… right out of my desk! I have an EMERGENCY that I can’t solve on my own! I know that God says that I am
supposed to love my enemies, but how can I love people who talk bad about me, bully me, and steal from me?
Everything in me wants to get back at all 3 of these people!
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The Bible tells us that God is LOVE, and the only way that I will be able to love my enemies is through Him!
Pick up the pitcher of water, and pour a little bit of water in the vase every time an example of seeking God is
given, until the vase is overflowing. The pan will catch the overflowing water. The more time I spend with God,
the more I am filled with His love. Pour water into vase. I need to go to God in honest prayer, and tell him that
my heart is full of anger towards these three people. I need to ask Him to change my heart. Pour water into
vase. I need to ask Him to fill my heart with His love. Pour water into the vase. I can also seek God and His love
by reading the Bible. Pour water into the vase. Every time I seek God in His Word, I am filled with more of His
love. The more I seek God, the more I am filled with His love … until I am overflowing with His love!
Pick up the first figurine and push it down into the filled vase. The water will overflow. Now, when I find out that
someone has been talking bad about me, what flows out of me? God’s love! Pick up the second figurine and
push it down into the filled glass of water, too. When I encounter a person who shoves me and bullies me, what
flows out of me? God’s love! Pick up the third figurine and push it down into the glass of water. When I have to
deal with a person who stole from me, what flows out of me? God’s love! You see, on my own I can’t change my
heart, but with God’s help I can love my enemies! God has helped me in my EMERGENCY!
MESSAGE – PART 2
(show slide #2) Guilty!
Read 1 Samuel 24:5. “Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.” David
felt guilty for what he did. Even though David could have killed Saul, and all he did was cut off a corner of his
robe, he knew that he had sinned. It was very disrespectful and disloyal to cut the king’s robe.
ING RED IENT S
— PowerPoint slides
— Bibles
Many times we think that our sins are not as bad as someone else’s. Not David. He knew that murdering Saul
would have been a sin, but he also knew that cutting his robe was a sin. Have you ever thought, “Well my sins
aren’t as bad as what so-and-so did”? David looked at his own actions, and knew that he had done wrong.
(show slide #3) The Lord will take care of it!
Read 1 Samuel 24:12 “May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs
you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.” David knew that the LORD would deal with Saul for his
wrong doings.
When someone does something mean to you, what do you normally want to do in return? Yeah, you want to
do something mean back … and even a little more than they did to you. This scripture tells us that the LORD will
take care of the person that wrongs you. Man, that’s hard to do! You just want to take care of it yourself, right
then and there. You want to let ‘em have it real good! But stooooooop! Put it in God’s hands and let Him take
care of it … in His time. He’s not going to send down a lightning bolt at that moment and blast the person so
you can say, “See, don’t mess.” But, trust Him to take care of it.
ACTIVITY
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ING RED IENT S
Choose two kids to come to the front. Give them each a basketball. The leader will instruct them to trade basketballs. Was this a fair trade? Pretty fair. He gave her a basketball, and she gave him a basketball. It seems
fairly fair to me!
— 2 basketballs
Remove the basketballs and hand both children a sweater. The two children will hold up the sweaters and then
instruct them to make a trade. Was this trade fair? Why? Continue the same kind of trading with the candies
and toy cars; discuss the fairness of each trade.
— 2 toy cans
— 2 sweaters
— 2 candies
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The leader will whisper in the ear of one of the kids, “Pretend to punch the other kid in the shoulder.” Ask the
child who was punched in the shoulder (for pretend) what she thinks would be a fair trade to do back to the
child that punched her. The leader will then whisper again in the ear of the first kid, “Tell her she is such a
tattletale!” Ask the child who was called the name what she thinks would be a fair trade to say back to the first
volunteer. The leader will whisper for a third time in the ear of the first kid, “Pretend to stomp on her toes.” Ask
the child whose toes were stomped on (for pretend) what she thinks would be a fair trade to do back to the
child who did the stomping.
Saul tried to kill David. In all fairness, David could have killed Saul in the cave. But, David decided to obey
God instead of the world. David decided to love his enemy, because He loved God. The Bible tells us that
the world believes in the phrase “an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth.” That means the world believes if
someone is mean to you, you can be mean back. But God tells us something totally different. He tells us that this
is not how He wants us to behave. He wants us to love … even love our enemies.
MESSAGE – PART 3
(show slide #4) Sorry!
Read 1 Samuel 24:17b and 24:19. Saul said, “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly.” And
“When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the LORD reward you well for the
way you treated me today.” Saul recognized that David loved him—his enemy! Then, Saul was sorry for being
an enemy to David and asked the LORD to reward David! People expect others to live by the rule “an eye for
an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
ING RED IENT S
— PowerPoint slides
— Bibles
When enemies see you willing to stand on the side of kindness, it has an effect on them. When you don’t retaliate
… when you don’t come back at them with the same kind of mean treatment … people notice and it changes them.
What would happen if you made a commitment to show love and kindness to every person who has ever
treated you mean? What do you think they would think?
OBJECT LESSON
Hold up the game for the children to see. I have the board game Sorry! with me today. Look at what is written
on the box, “The game of sweet revenge.” Wow! That is the total opposite of God’s command to love our enemies. What does it mean to get revenge on someone? How many of you have ever played Sorry!? Whenever
I play Sorry with my friends or family and I land on an opponent’s marker, I get to send him back to his home
base. It’s bad for my opponent—or enemy—right? And when I do get to send them back home, I look at them
and sarcastically say, “SORRY!”
ING RED IENT S
— Sorry! board
game
David didn’t play a game of sweet revenge with Saul. David didn’t look at Saul and sarcastically say, “SORRY!”
David loved his enemy. And because David obeyed God and loved Saul, Saul asked God to reward David for
the love he showed him.
SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
David’s love had an influence on Saul. Saul’s attitude and heart changed just by being near David’s love. Have
you ever noticed that when you are cheerful, it influences the people around you to be cheerful? Have you ever
noticed that when you are grumpy, it influences the people around you to be grumpy? Let’s observe a science
experiment today that will help explain the influence you have on the people around you.
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ING RED IENT S
— candle
— matches
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The leader will show the children a large candle. Light the candle with a wooden match and let it burn for a
little bit. Then, blow out the candle. Quickly, light another match and stick it into the smoke stream coming from
the candlewick. It doesn’t have to be real close to the wick. The candle will relight just by being near the flame
of the match. Show the children this experiment several times. If you have a large group, break the children into
small groups. An adult must light the candle in each group. The flame from the match influenced the candle to
relight! Amazing!
Just by being near the match, the candle relit. You have this kind of influence on the people around you. If you
show love to others, they may be encouraged to love, too! You can have this kind of influence on your enemies,
too. Just like David’s love influenced Saul, your love could influence your enemy!
PUPPETS
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#1: 911. What’s your emergency?
— 2 puppets – one
adult, one child
#2: (panicked) I smell smoke!
— 2 telephones
#1: (calm and in control) You smell smoke. Where are you located?
#2: I’m at my church at ______. (give location)
#1: Do you see fire anywhere?
#2: No! For goodness sake, the smoke is so thick in here I can’t see a thing! (coughs)
#1: Can you look and try to see where the smoke is coming from?
#2: Okay, but I’m getting light-headed! If you hear a thump, just assume I’m passed out on the floor! (coughs)
#1: The emergency crews are on their way. They should be at your church shortly. Can you get out of the
building safely?
#2: Well, I might be able to, but right now I’m looking at a bunch of kids through the thick smoke!
#1: Again, I will ask, can you see where the smoke is coming from?
#2: Well … uh … I guess … it kind of looks like it came from a candle?
#1: A candle? Is that candle still lit?
#2: Uh … no.
#1: Is there smoke anywhere else in the building?
#2: Uh … no.
#1: Do you have an emergency?
#2: I thought that I did.
#1: Is there an adult tending to the candle?
#2: Yes.
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#1: Son, why was the candle lit in the first place?
#2: Well, if ya got a minute … we’re learning that God commands us to love our enemies. See, there was
this guy named David who was hiding in this cave from his enemy Saul.
#1: Why was David hiding from Saul?
#2: Saul was trying to kill David.
#1: Do you want me to notify the police about this Saul?
#2: No, no. This happened a long time ago. Anyways, Saul came into the cave to go to the “little boys’ room.”
#1: The “little boys’ room”?
#2: Yes, they didn’t have toilets back then, so Saul was going to the bathroom in a cave. It just so happened
to be the same cave that David was hiding in. To make a long story short, David could have easily killed
his enemy Saul, but instead he showed God’s love to him by letting him go unharmed.
#1: Wow! What a great story!
#2: Anyways, my teacher lit a candle to show us how our love influences others, and I guess that I got a tad
bit panicked by the smoke.
#1: So there really isn’t an emergency?
#2: Not really.
#1: So I can call off the emergency crew?
#2: I’m thinking yes.
#1: Ok. Can I ask you one other question before we get off the telephone?
#2: Go ahead! I feel that God planned this conversation all along!
#1: What if we find it really hard to love our enemy?
#2: Oh, that’s easy! You don’t have to worry about it. If you turn to God and ask for His help, He’ll do all
the work and change your heart towards your enemy!
#1: Really?
#2: Yeah! God really is the greatest!
#1: It sounds like it. Ya know, I think I may visit your church next Sunday. I have the day off, and I have the
address typed into my computer right here.
#2: That would be great! And then if there really IS a fire that I freak out about, you’d know exactly what to do!
#1: I don’t think you need to worry about that. I’ll see you next Sunday!
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SNACK
Prepare the banana bread before the lesson, but LEAVE OUT the baking soda. The snack will not rise without
that ingredient. Show the children the “flat” snack.
I tried making a snack for you this morning, but something went wrong. The snack doesn’t look quite right. Can
you guess what is wrong with this snack? It’s flat! It didn’t rise! I must have forgotten a key ingredient. Do you
know what that key ingredient is? I forgot the baking soda! Without that key ingredient, the bread didn’t turn
out how I wanted it.
ING RED IENT S
— ingredients for
banana bread
— banana bread
without baking
soda
— banana bread
with baking soda
This is how we will turn out if we try to love our enemies without our key ingredient. Our key ingredient is God!
If we try to love our enemies on our own, we’ll turn out flat, too! But if we spend time with God and ask for
His love to fill us, we will “rise” to the occasion of loving our enemies. You see, it’s impossible to take the bitter
and angry feelings out of our hearts without our key ingredient—GOD! God can, and will, change our hearts
towards our enemies. We just need to seek Him!
Now get out some banana bread that was baked correctly, using all the ingredients. Compare this loaf to the
“flat” one. This time, I remembered ALL the ingredients. What’s different about this loaf of banana bread? The
bread rose, just like we will “rise” to love our enemies with our key ingredient--God!
Share the bread that was baked with the “key ingredient!”
Banana Bread
1 egg
1 c. sugar
¼ c. melted butter
3 mashed bananas
1¼ c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
Mix in order given. Grease pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
PRAYER
Write on the white board, “Trying to love our enemies without God’s help is like …” Trying to love our enemies
without God’s help is like baking bread without the baking soda. It’s like playing basketball without a ball. It’s
like dancing without music. It just doesn’t turn out right! Write these three examples on the white board. The
children will add to the humorous list on the white board. After 10 new examples are given, go to the LORD in
prayer.
ING RED IENT S
— white board
— marker
Dear Lord, we know that we cannot love our enemies without seeking you first! We know that we cannot love
our enemies without your help! Trying to love them without You would be like … (read list). Change our hearts,
Lord. Change us to be more like You. Help us to love our enemies. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
BLESSING
May God help you love your enemies!
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EXTRA ACTIVITIES
SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION
Psalm 18:2-3
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield,
the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved
me from my enemies.”
More than likely, David wrote the verses that we’re memorizing. What experiences do you think caused David
to write these words? David killed the giant Goliath and now he was running from King Saul. What was David’s attitude?
ING RED IENT S
— PowerPoint
scripture slide
— small pieces of
cloth
— music
Divide the kids into groups of about 8. Each group will need a small piece of cloth from Saul’s robe. The
children will randomly pass around the piece of cloth while music is being played. When the music stops, who
has the piece of Saul’s robe? The kids holding the piece of cloth in each group will say the memory passage
together. Start the music again and find new kids to say the verses.
MUSIC
We have provided two songs by Yancy, a wonderful contemporary musician who creates music especially for
preteens. The songs are “You Alone” and “God is With Us.” For more of Yancy’s music, go to
yancynotnancy.com.
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ING RED IENT S
— music DVD
downloads
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