BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Who is our King? Jesus is our King forever, and He rules over the world.

Transcription

1 SESSION TITLE: Israel Demanded a King BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 Samuel 8 10 MAIN POINT: God chose Saul as Israel s first king. KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 47:7-8, For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Who is our King? Jesus is our King forever, and He rules over the world. Welcome Time :30-8:40 / 10:30-10:40 Countdown Begins :40-8:45 / 10:40-10:45 Put games away during countdown Large Group Time :45-9:35 / 10:45-11:35 Game Time Welcome Worship Lesson Video and Application Small Group (pgs. 5-7) :40-10:20 / 11:40-12:20 Review Bible Story and Questions Activity 1 Key Verse Activity 2 Prayer Dismissal

2 Samuel had judged Israel throughout his lifetime, but he was getting old. So Samuel appointed his sons, Joel and Abijah, as judges over Israel. But like many sons, Joel and Abijah did not follow the example of their father. They were unfair and dishonest. They disobeyed God and caused problems for Israel. Until this time, Israel had relied on God to give them judges to lead them. The elders of Israel spoke to Samuel about his sons, and they demanded a king. They pointed out that all the other nations around them had kings. Samuel wasn t happy with their request, and he prayed to God. God replied, Give them what they want. They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king. God pointed out that His people had been doing the same thing ever since He brought them out of Egypt: turning from God and worshiping other gods. He told Samuel to warn the Israelites about the consequences of having a king. So Samuel explained to the Israelites what rights a king would have. He warned that when they regretted asking for a king and they would regret it God would not help them. The people still insisted on having a king, so God told Samuel to appoint a king. Through a series of events, a young man named Saul came to Samuel. God had chosen Saul to be the king, so Samuel told Saul about God s plan. Samuel anointed Saul by pouring oil on his head, and then Samuel presented Saul to Israel. Long live the king! the people replied. God knew Israel would want a king, but the kind of king Israel wanted was not the kind of king they needed. They wanted a king like the other nations. The problem was that every human king would fail them. God had a plan to give them Jesus fully God and fully man. Jesus would be a perfect King who would reign with justice and righteousness forever. (Isa. 9:6-7)

3 Israel Demanded a King 1 Samuel 8 10 Samuel was a judge over Israel. At this time, Israel had no king, but they wanted a king. Samuel had two sons, Joel and Abijah. Because Samuel was getting old, he let his sons be rulers over Israel. There was a problem, though. Joel and Abijah were not good judges like their father was. Joel and Abijah were unfair and dishonest. The leaders of Israel went to Samuel. You were a good judge, they said, but your sons have not followed your example. We don t want them to lead us; we want a king like the nations around us! Samuel wasn t sure how to respond, so he prayed to God. God said, Samuel, they are not rejecting you; they are rejecting Me as king. Give them what they want, but make sure you warn them what it will be like to have an earthly king. Samuel explained to the Israelites what rights an earthly king would have. A king could make their sons serve in the army, he could make their daughters work for him, or he could take away their fields and servants. Samuel warned the people that they would regret asking for a king, but the Israelites didn t care. Give us a king! they said. Meanwhile, a wealthy man named Kish was looking for some of his donkeys that had wandered off. Kish told his son Saul to take a servant with him and search for the missing animals. Saul searched, but he was unable to find the donkeys. He was ready to give up. Wait, his servant said. There is a man of God in this city. Let s talk to him; maybe he knows where we can find the donkeys. Saul and his servant found the man of God it was Samuel.

4 Don t worry about the donkeys, Samuel said. They have been found. Samuel invited Saul to have dinner with him. The next morning, Samuel told Saul that God had chosen Saul to be the king of Israel. Saul was surprised because he was from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel. Samuel used oil to anoint Saul. You will be king! Samuel said. Samuel gave Saul some instructions and sent him home. The Spirit of God was with Saul. Some time later, Samuel gathered the Israelites to introduce Saul, their new king. But no one could find Saul. God said, There he is, hidden among the supplies. The people ran to get Saul, and Saul stood among all the people. Long live the king! they said. Christ Connection: God intended for a heavenly king to rule over Israel, but the Israelites did not trust God s plan. So God chose Saul to be their king. God had a plan to one day send His Son, Jesus, to rule the entire world. Jesus would be the perfect King who would bring peace and salvation to the world.

5 XD LIVE 8:45 / 10:45 Service Order Today s Goals SESSION TITLE: Israel Demanded a King BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 Samuel 8 10 MAIN POINT: God chose Saul as Israel s first king. KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 47:7-8, For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Who is our King? Jesus is our King forever, and He rules over the world. Arrival Time :30-8:40 / 10:30-10:40 Count Time begins :40-8:45 / 10:40-10:45 Teacher 1-checks-in kids as they enter into the large group room. As the kids come in, ask them a random funny questions or something about themselves. A/V Tech: Slides of upcoming events are scrolling on the screen Fun Music playing softly All Lights on Large Group :45-9:35 / 10:45-11:35 Game Time Pass the Life Saver

6 Supplies needed: Life savers and coffee stirrers Invite the kids to form a lines (grade vs grade or class vs class). Give each kid a coffee stirrer, give the first kid in line a Life Saver and let them pass it to the kid next to him using only the coffee stirrer. If the Life Saver drops or if they use their hands they have to start all over. First team to pass the Life Saver to the back of the line wins. You can also have them pass it back to the front of the line. Worship :00-9:35 / 11:00-11:35 Welcome Acknowledge Birthdays Memory Verse: Isaiah 33:22, "The Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King; It is He who will save us. Prayer and Offering Songs (2) Bible Story Video Application (skit, puppets, etc..) Song (1) Small Group :40-10:15 / 11:40-12:15 Session starter Find the differences Supplies needed: Find the Differences activity page, 1 per kid pencils or markers

7 Invite kids to complete Find the Differences on the activity page. Invite them to spot the differences and circle them. SAY To complete this activity, you had to look closely to find the differences. God sees things differently than we do. God looks deeper than what our eyes can see. Review Bible Story / Bible Story Video Supplies needed: Israel Demanded a KIng video Big Picture Question Bible Story Picture Main Point Briefly review the Bible story or invite volunteers to read parts of the Bible story from their Bibles. Divide a dry erase board, poster board, or chalkboard into three sections. Label each section Samuel, God, and Saul. Help the children recall the story and some of the actions of each leader. Examples: Saul went searching for missing donkeys. God defeated the enemies of His people. Samuel prayed to God to know how to respond to the Israelites demand. God told Samuel to warn the people what having a king would be like. God chose Saul as Israel s first king. Samuel anointed Saul as king. Saul was scared and hid. SAY God is the perfect leader. The Israelites were asking God to give them an earthly king, even though they knew he would be imperfect. They were rejecting God s leadership. We may not openly reject God, but often our

8 actions show that we don t trust His leadership in our lives, either. Thankfully, God sent Jesus. Jesus is perfect and died for our sins. When Jesus rose from the dead, He made the only way for us to be reunited with God. Who is our king? Jesus is our King forever, and He rules over the world! Activity 1 If I were king... Supplies needed: None Ask the children to sit in a circle. Play a version of Hot Potato using an object with kids passing it around the circle while the music playing. When the music stops, whoever is holding the object should stand up, put on the crown, and say, If I were king, I would... and state one thing they would do as king. Repeat as time allows. SAY It s fun to think of all the things we might do if we were king or queen. In today s Bible story, God s people wanted a king. We re going to find out what kind of king God chose for His people. Key Verse Key passage activity KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 47:7-8, For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. Be creative in teaching the Key Passage. Toss a bean bag and have a student say the 1 st word then toss, next student will say 2 nd word and so on Look for fun ways to help them memorize. Call me in so the kids can show off, I ll make a big fuzz over it. SAY Our key passage comes from the Book of Psalms. When most of the psalms were written, they were meant to be sung, like the first part of our

9 verse says. Let s read our key passage twice, and then we can sing the key passage song. Play the key passage song, God Alone. Activity 2 Move if Place chairs or tape sheets of construction paper in a circle on the floor, one less than the number of kids playing the game. Select one kid to stand in the center of the circle while everyone else sits in a chair or stands on a piece of paper. The kid in the center should give the command to move for certain characteristics. For instance, she could say, Move if you are wearing red. Everyone wearing red must then move to another open space while the kid in the center also tries to reach an open space. Whoever is left without a space moves to the center. Play as many rounds as time allows. SAY We have a lot of things in common, but we have a lot of things that are different about us, too. Today we re going to hear about person in the Bible who God chose for a special job that made him different. Dismissal / Prayer Always have time for prayer. Prayer Bags, Prayer Requests, etc Praying could be made fun also. Free Time As parents pick up, please check tags and mark with sharpie. Please make sure all kids are leaving with crafts and/or handouts.