THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE
1 Samuel 19:1-7
BACKGROUND PREPARATION Before the session you may want to purchase some jelly babies and have some filming equipment ready or prompt a few young people who have video cameras on their phones to bring them. Prepare a story for the ‘get the conversation flowing’ section. Have some post-it notes, paper and pens at the ready for the session. Perhaps this goes without saying, but make sure you pray!
Get the conversation flowing
10 mins
To set the scene, share a story of when a friend or someone you know has really helped and supported you or has had your back in a situation. Get the young people in the group to share similar stories before explaining the aim of this week’s session.
What’s the story?
10 mins
If you did last week’s session briefly look at the main points and what the group remembers from it to help frame this week’s topic. If you didn’t cover last week’s material ask for a volunteer to read 1 Samuel 18:6-16 or share the passage out between a few volunteers. Explain to the group that the background to this week’s passage is really important. The trap of jealousy and comparison that Saul fell in to was why he acted like he did at the start of this week’s passage. Give the young people Bibles and ask for a volunteer to read the passage from 1 Samuel 19:1-7.
Jelly baby tales
10 mins
To make the story even easier for some to understand, recreate it by using jelly babies as all the different characters, getting the young people to move the characters around to tell the story. Depending on the size of the group you may wish to get the group in to threes (David, Saul and Jonathan) and get them to act out the scenes. If you have the equipment required you may wish to extend this time and film it to show in your church.
Get in their shoes
10 mins
Start a discussion with the young people from what they have read and acted out. Ask:
• How do you think Jonathan felt going to David and warning him what his father had planned? (v 1-3)
• When did you last speak well of people when they were being bullied? How did it make you feel? (v 4-5)
• How do you think Jonathan felt when Saul said ‘as surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death’? (v 6)
Build each other up
5 mins
Part of showing friendship and support as a group is by building each other up with encouragements or blessings. Provide each member of the group with a piece of paper and a pen, asking them to write their name on it before folding it up and putting it in a bowl. Then go round the group giving them a piece of paper with someone else’s name on. Ask the group to find some way to encourage or bless the person whose name they have been given this week.
Reflect
5 mins
Jonathan really supported David and it’s good to know if we have young people who support one another in their relationships with God. Ask the group how well they do this.
• Do some of them meet to pray?
• Do they talk through their challenges with each other?
• Would you support them through a tough time?
• Look at how you could make this even better as a group.
Close
5 mins
Draw your session to a close by praying for one another that you may have the courage, support and friendship for people. The young people may have friends that they really need to be supporting at this time and may want to share this as a group. Alternatively, hand out some post-it notes and allow them to write the name of that person down, knowing that they will take that name home to remember to pray for them.
For notes for adapting see the links section of the Youthwork website.
KEY POINT #1
Saul no longer tried to disguise or cover his evil and jealousy toward David, but instead made known his intent to those who held David in the highest esteem. God, in his mercy, made sure that David had sympathetic ears within Saul’s court to inform him of Saul’s evil plans.
KEY POINT #2
It is often hard when we have to stick up for and support someone, especially when it means going against the evil and wrongdoing of another friend or popular person we know.
