LESSON 6

Four Step Lesson Path

▫▫ This symbol will appear whenever preparation takes more than five minutes or whenever supplies are needed that are not included on the list of standard materials (on page 6).

Bible Readiness

Bible Study:

Bible Response

43

Bible Activity Choices

Understanding the BibleAfter David left Jonathan, he became a fugitive. Always keeping a step or two ahead of Saul’s murderous intentions, David fled from place to place. David’s first place of refuge was Nob. There he was fed and armed. Next, he fled to the Philistines at Gath, where he feigned insanity to escape harm at their hands. After Gath, David set up headquarters in a cave at Adullam (uh-DULL-um), with a side trip to Moab to ensure the protection of his parents with the king there.

After an Edomite named Doeg told Saul that David was at Nob, King Saul had all the priests and people of Nob killed. Shortly thereafter, David saved Keilah (key-EYE-luh) from the Philistines. He then went to the desert of Ziph with his company of 600 men. When Ziphite informers told Saul where David was, David fled to the Desert of Maon, and from there to En Gedi (en-GHEE-dye). It was at En Gedi that David could easily have killed Saul, but chose to spare his life. David returned to the Desert of Ziph, where for the second time he spared Saul’s life. Ziph was a city in the desolate hill country of southern Judah.

Abishai (uh-BISH-ay-eye), who volunteered to go with David down to Saul’s camp, was David’s nephew.

Bible Basis: 1 Samuel 26

Lesson Focus: God’s way is better than getting even.

Memory Verse: Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12

Children will apply the Bible story by planning to choose God’s way when they feel like getting even.

- Discovery Pack, Project F, stapler, paper clips, Friends, Lesson 6

Children will practice how to choose God’s way rather than get even.

▫▫ Balloon Volleyball: Two balloons or soft foam balls, marker, yarn

- Maze & Signs: Bible Discoveries, pp. 1, 4, Bibles, pencils, markers

▫▫ Animated Flip Books: Bible Discoveries pp. 2-3, pads of self-stick notes or blank glue-bound book, markers or colored pencils

1 Samuel 26Children will study how David doesn’t get even with Saul.

- Bible Story: Bible Discoveries, pp. 2-3, Bibles, Teaching Aid 2, pencils

- Bible Review: No materials needed▫▫ Memory Verse Practice: Soft foam ball

To connect with the Bible story of David not getting even with Saul, children will talk about times they felt like getting even.

- Whiteboard, markers

Don’t Get Even!

Teacher Devotional

LESSON 6

44

Early Bird OptionsReview Sculptures—Have students review recent Bible stories by

looking through a Bible Discoveries. They can pick a scene from one of the stories and then work together to sculpt it using play dough. Teaching Aids 3 and 4 will also helpful in sculpting.

Jigsaw Puzzle—To introduce the kids to this week’s lesson, on the board print the lesson focus: “God’s way is better than getting even.” Provide paper, markers, and scissors. The kids may copy the lesson focus onto paper and then cut the paper into several pieces. The children can take turns putting each other’s puzzles together.

When Teaching the Bible to Elementary Students . . .The idea of “fairness” is very important to second and third graders. In this week’s Bible story, David refuses to do what would seem to be “fair”—retaliate against Saul—in order to do what is right—trust and obey God. This will be a hard concept to most of your students. They may not understand or agree with David’s decision to honor Saul. These ideas may help your students.

• Be open to sharing examples from your own life of times you chose to do what was right even though it didn’t feel fair to you. Your examples might include forgiving, sharing, or not following the crowd.• When you hear children complain about a situation not being “fair,” encourage them to look for the solution that would most please God rather than what would make them feel “equal.”• You could try some roleplays with your class. Set up some simple fairness situations. Let the kids act out what they would say or do.

B loom where you’re planted.” This is sort of what David did as he waited years for God to fulfill His promise to make him king. God “planted” David in many

different locations and with various jobs to do. But no matter what was happening during those years, David “bloomed” by trusting God at every step.

Sometimes we feel like we’re not where we’re supposed to be. We’re in transition; the unexpected upsets our plans; we’re frustrated at having to wait. Jot down some areas in your life now that are causing you to wait or feel frustrated:

Sometimes its seems like others have an advantage over us—all the breaks seem to go their way. These are the times when we can become discontent or envious.

Can we, like David, trust God in our waiting times? Can we trust God when we see others getting ahead or getting what we deserve while we sit by the sidelines?

What are some ways you can trust God in your particular situation? What is God developing in your character and faith as you wait? Write down some ways you can bloom right here where God has planted you.

Bible Readiness

45

L6

Link to Last Week

LESSON FOCUS: God’s way is better than getting even.

Gather the children together in a circle on the floor. As a class, brainstorm times when children feel like getting even. Write the ideas on the board. Some ideas to start the brainstorming process are telling a secret and being made fun of because they act or say things different from everyone else.

After a list is made, ask for volunteers to act out different ideas from the list.

Discuss the following questions after everyone has had an opportunity to act out an idea from the list.

.. How would you feel if a friend told your secret? Students might say they would feel hurt, sad, like the friend had broken our trust, angry, like getting even, etc. Some children might want to tell their own stories of when this has happened to them.

.. How would you feel if kids made fun of you for not going along with them? Kids could mentions hurt, scared, angry, not wanting to trust them, feeling like getting even, etc. Again, let the children share honestly. Some children might want to share their own examples of this.

When people we know or trust hurt us, it makes us feel really bad. Sometimes we feel like crying, sometimes we feel like not trusting anyone again, sometimes we feel like getting even.

.. When was a time that someone you knew or trusted hurt you? Let volunteers give examples from their own lives. Encourage the volunteers to not name names as they share their examples. Ask the kids to tell how they felt.

We don’t like it when others hurt us, but sometimes it happens. But how we feel about it and what we do about it can be two different things. For example, you might feel like hitting someone, but what you might do is tell the teacher instead.

.. When are times that you felt like getting even or hurting someone back, but you did what was right instead? Let the kids tell about times when they didn’t get even. They might use the same examples they gave to the above question. Encourage the kids to include both how they felt and what they actually did. Also ask them to tell why.

.. How hard was it to do what was right instead of getting even? The children’s answers will vary, but most will say that showing self-control is hard, unless they’re sure the adult in charge will be caring and will do something about the problem.

Tie to the BibleWe all feel from time to time that we’d like to get even with someone. And it can be hard not to! In today’s Bible story, we see the problems between David and Saul getting really bad. Let’s listen to find out how David felt about Saul and what he did about Saul when he had a chance to get even.

In last week’s lesson the children learned about being an unselfish friend. Tell each other what you have learned throughout the week about being a friend. Applaud all their efforts and encourage each other to continue.

To connect with the Bible story of David not getting even with Saul, children will talk about times they felt like getting even.

Materials:

- Whiteboard and markers

Bible Basis: 1 Samuel 26

Bib

le Discoveries, p

p. 2-3

46

L6

Children will read 1 Samuel 26: David doesn’t get even with Saul.

Materials:

Bible Study - Bible Discoveries, pp.

2-3 - Teaching Aid 2 - Bibles - Pencils

Bible Study Review - No materials needed

Memory Verse Practice▫▫ Soft foam ball

With the children seated at a table, give out pencils, Bibles, and Bible Discoveries for Lesson 6.

After a volunteer find the Book of 1 Samuel on the Bible Overview Chart (Teaching Aid 2), let the kids briefly tell how last week’s Bible story ended. Point out that Saul was jealous of David. Even Saul’s own children were friends with David. Saul let his anger against David grow.

Ask the children to turn in their Bibles to 1 Samuel 17:23 and bookmark it to read later. Remind them to look in the table of contents in the front of their Bibles if they are not sure where to find the Book of 1 Samuel.

Have the kids open Bible Discoveries

to pages 2-3. This Bible story is presented in skit form. Assign one child to be the reporter, and let him or her hold a pencil as a microphone. Assign the parts of David and Abishai (uh-BISH-ay-eye) to two other children. Allow a minute for these children to silently read over their parts. Meanwhile, have the rest of the class find 1 Samuel 26.

When ready, have the three volunteers read their parts with dramatic expression. When they reach the Bible verse, let a volunteer read verse 23. Have the class discuss the right answer and write it in their books. Then continue the skit. At the end, let another volunteer read the memory verse.

Bible Study:1 Samuel 26

would not lay a hand

L6

Memory Verse

47

LESSON FOCUS: God’s way is better than getting even.

Memory Verse PracticePractice saying the memory verse together a few times. Have the children form a circle. Give one child the ball and have her say the first word of the verse and then pass the ball on to the next child. That child says the next word and passes the ball on. To make the game more difficult, allow children to pass the ball to anyone in the circle. After the children are comfortable with the verse, have them speed up. You may need to make sure that everyone in the circle gets the ball. After you play a few times, say the verse together as a class again. Then allow any child who wishes, to say the verse by himself.

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs. Proverbs 10:12

Bible Review Questions .. How had Saul hurt David? Do

you think that was fair? Saul drove David out of the city and forced him to hide out in the wilderness. Saul kept chasing David, trying to kill him, even though David had done nothing wrong. This wasn’t fair.

.. What was David’s chance to get even? God allowed David to sneak into Saul’s camp and not get caught. David or Abishai could have easily killed Saul.

.. Do you think David had a good reason for feeling like getting even with Saul? Probably, since Saul was trying to kill him, and chasing him around when David hadn’t done wrong, and refusing to recognize God had chosen David as the next king.

.. Do you think David might have had a good reason not to trust God? Possibly, since God had promised David years beforehand he would be king, but now he was running for his life; it looked as though God wasn’t keeping His promise.

.. Why didn’t David get even with Saul? David wanted to follow God’s way; God had promised to make him king and David was willing to wait until God’s timing was right. God already made Saul king, and it was up to God how long that would last. David would not hurt God’s chosen king.

.. What was God’s way? To not get even; to wait and trust God.

.. How did Saul respond when David didn’t get even? Saul said he wouldn’t try to kill David anymore, but he kept changing his mind.

.. Our memory verse says hatred stirs up dissension. What is “dissension” and how does it relate to our Bible story? Dissension is disagreements and anger. If David had hated Saul, it would have made the problem worse. Because David showed love, Saul changed his mind about killing David.

Bible Review ActivityLet the children make up a title for the main point of the story. First have the kids tell the basic facts of what happened and what was learned from the story. Then have the kids offer book titles or newspaper headlines. Write their suggestions on the board. Kids’ ideas might include things like:

David Doesn’t Get Even David and Saul Go Head to Head—David Gives In and Wins! David Trusts God and Spares SaulWild Wilderness Chase Ends in Peace Because David Trusts God

Bible Basis: 1 Samuel 26

Bible Activity Choices

48

L6

Animated Flip BookMaze & SignsBalloon Volleyball

- Bible Discoveries, pp. 2-3▫▫ Pads of self-stick notes or blank

glue-bound book - Markers or colored pencils

Have students review today’s story in Bible Discoveries. Then, let students make an “animated” storybook about today’s story. To make the story animated, draw the same illustration on each page, but changing something a little bit each time. To make this work, it’s important to not change the images dramatically from page to page but just a little at a time. Students can draw the elements that won’t move (like a sleeping Saul) on the back page first, and then trace them on the other pages. David can move toward Saul and take the spear and jug with him as he leaves. Encourage students to draw simple stick figures as they are easier to replicate from page to page. To make the story come to life, flip the book forward. Students may wish to color each page to make the book more fun.

- Bible Discoveries, pp. 1, 4 - Bibles - Pencils - Markers

These two activity pages will help the children understand the overall biblical principles supporting this week’s Bible story from 1 Samuel 26. First have the children do the maze and Scripture search activity on page 1 of Bible Discoveries. The correct answers are: Don’t take revenge; Pray for Saul; Trust God; Show love to Saul; Spare Saul.

When finished, the kids may do page 4, which asks them to color in signs to evaluate how best to follow God’s way in situations where they could choose to get even. Each picture has an answer that clearly shows getting even. The kids should not choose those signs. The other choices will depend on the child. Some children may wish to write in their own ideas.

- Two balloons or soft foam balls* - Marker - Yarn

This game will help the children evaluate getting even and following God’s way, as taught in the Bible story from 1 Samuel 26. Inflate two balloons. On one write “Get even.” On the other write “God’s way.” Stretch a piece of yarn across the floor to serve as a boundary.

The children form two teams of equal size, noting who is on their team. The teams stand on either side of the yarn. The teams bat both balloons or balls back and forth across the line to each other, trying to keep the balloons in the air. When a balloon touches the ground (or goes too far off to the side), all players stop. They should read the balloon to see which one fell. If it’s the “God’s way” balloon, the player who hit it last tells about a time when they or someone they know followed God’s way. If it’s the “Get even” balloon, the player tells of a time when they or someone they know got even with someone. After giving their example, that player goes over to the other side, and play continues.

The goal is for a team to get their whole team over to the other side first. * Use soft foam balls in place of balloons if there is a child in the building with a latex allergy.

Children will practice how to choose God’s way rather than getting even.

To help the children practice ways they can choose God’s way rather than getting even, as taught in the Bible story from 1 Samuel 26, use as many of these choices as possible. Set them up to be done at the same time, and let the children choose from among them. Balloon Volleyball will need an open area.

Bible Response

L6

TAKE–HOMES

49 Bible Basis: 1 Samuel 26

LESSON FOCUS: God’s way is better than getting even.

Extra-Time ActivityMake a small cube with the titles of the Bible stories so far this quarter written on the sides of the cube. Students roll the cube and say one thing they learned about God from the story on top. Play a second time with students telling one thing they learned, from that lesson, to apply to their lives.

5 Friends, Lesson 6

5 Bible Discoveries, Lesson 6

5 Discovery Pack, God’s Way Booklets

We’ve been learning God’s way is better than getting even. Each time someone hurts us, we have a chance to follow God’s way. We may not always feel like it, but it’s something we can choose to do. Let’s plan to avoid getting even this week.

Hand out Discovery Pack, Project F and have the students follow the directions on the page to put the booklet together. The kids should hold their add-on figures off to the side for now.

This week you can choose God’s way at school, at home, and anywhere you go. Have the kids look at page 3 of their God’s Way Booklet.

.. What are some ways you might be able to choose God’s way instead of getting even at school? Don’t get angry if someone cuts in front of me, don’t say bad things about someone who has hurt me, forgive someone who says something bad about me, etc.

Have the kids turn to page 5 in their booklets.

.. What are some ways you might be able to choose God’s way instead of getting even at home? Share with my brother or sister even when

they don’t share with me, volunteer to do an extra chore even when it’s not my turn, give in when someone else wants something.

Ask the kids to turn to page 7 in their booklets.

.. Where else will you be this week? How could you follow God’s way instead of getting even there? The kids will probably name places such as sports practice, church, a club group, a friend’s house, and so on. The ways they could follow God’s way will be varied. Accept all positive suggestions.

Have the kids turn back to page 2 in their booklets and read the directions again. Be sure the kids understand how to use their booklets this week. You might want to give each child a paper clip to attach their add-on figures to their booklets so they don’t get lost.

Prayer TimeHave a short time of prayer for the kids to ask God’s help in following His way this week.

Close by having the kids say, “God’s way is better than getting even.”

Children will apply the Bible story by planning to choose God’s way when they feel like getting even.

Materials:

- Discovery Pack, Project F - Stapler - Paper clips - Friends, Lesson 6