All-age Service Plan: Samson, The Man with God's Super Power

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Pre-service set-up

You will need 15 empty cardboard boxes – about the size of a wine box and plain if possible. Close the flaps with sticky tape and mark each box with a brick wall pattern, so that the boxes look like chunks of masonry. At the front of your church or hall, scatter all the boxes in a
messy heap as if it is the aftermath of Samson’s last battle. As people arrive for the service, invite them to wonder and talk about this mess and what story it might be from (don’t tell them yet). Encourage children to climb into the heap and under the boxes – when you are ready to tell the story, they can pretend to be dead bodies under the rubble (if that isn’t a bit morbid)!

Prayer /Worship Activity

Option 1: 10 MINS

Resources: you will need enough glow sticks for one per person

Invite people to think about God’s super power - true Holy Spirit - which can fill each one of us and make us capable of amazing things, making us rather like glow sticks. Glow sticks look like ordinary plastic sticks – until they mysteriously fill with light which makes them shine.
Now ask everyone to activate their glow sticks, then come forward and arrange them together on the floor to spell out the words HOLY SPIRIT. (Add extra glow sticks if necessary.) Turn the lights off and ask everyone to pause for a moment and reflect on God’s super power, his Holy Spirit, and the difference he can make in people’s lives.

Option 2: 5 MINS

Resources: you will need a basketball hoop or a basket marked with a large cross, pieces of red paper (A5 or A6) and pens

This is an opportunity to bring difficult feelings to God in prayer. Invite people to write questions for God or write or draw something they find difficult or draw something that has made them sad or angry on the red paper. Then scrunch up the paper and offer it to God by throwing it into the basket or hoop.

Story

Judges 13-16: 10 MINS

Judges 13-16

10 mins

(You are going to tell the bloodthirsty story of Samson vs the Philistines in the brisk, energetic style of a football commentator describing each attack and counter-attack. Invite two volunteers to keep score by piling up two towers of boxes, taken from the heap you already have at the front of the church, to show the scores for each side. Apart from the boxes, this is resource-free storytelling – the congregation will provide all the actions and sound effects. By the end of the story, you will have two towers of boxes ready to crash to the ground for Samson’s finale.)

(If children are climbing about in the boxes, begin by asking them to lie still and pretend to be dead bodies.)

We’ve been wondering about this big mess here – all these piles of bricks and dead bodies! This is the scene of Samson’s final victory in the bloodthirsty battle of Israelites vs Philistines. As you can see, Samson brought the house down – literally. (Call the children out of the boxes to join in with the story.)

Now this story will need some actions and sound effects – can you help me? (Encourage responses.) The most important sound effect is for God’s superpower, his Holy Spirit, who is very active in Samson’s story. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit ‘rushed’ on Samson, so can you make a rushing, whooshing sound like a strong wind? (Everyone makes a ‘WHOOOOSH!’ noise.) Listen out for the Holy Spirit rushing on Samson...

The long-running battle of Israelites vs Philistines was a real grudge match. The Israelites were God’s team but the Philistines had been in the lead for 40 years. Then a special baby called Samson was born to become Israel’s team captain. An angel told his mum that he would be special to God and she must never cut his hair, so Samson grew into a big, strong lad with pigtails. That’s right – Samson wore his long hair in 7 fat plaits.

Samson was stronger than a lion – really, he was. Can you roar like an angry lion? (Encourage everyone to roar.) Be warned – animals WERE harmed in the making of this story. One day when Samson was out in the country, he heard an enormous roar (encourage everyone to roar). It was a young lion with long teeth and sharp claws (encourage everyone to bare their teeth and make claws with their fingers) and it launched itself straight at Samson’s neck! But God’s superpower, his Holy Spirit, rushed on Samson (encourage everyone to make a ‘WHOOOOSH!’ noise). Samson became superstrong! He tackled the lion and tore it to pieces. He ripped its arms and legs off and threw the body in the bushes.

The next bit of Samson’s story is even more revolting – are you sure you want to hear it? (Encourage responses.) The next time Samson passed the spot where he’d battled the lion, he heard buzzing. He looked into the bushes where he’d thrown the lion’s body and saw a meaty, mouldy pile of bones – the lion’s skeleton. Inside the ribcage, where the lungs should have been, a swarm of wild bees had built their nest and it was full of honey. Samson didn’t care about stings – he scooped out the honey, picked off the dead bees and the mouldy meat and stuffed it into his mouth! Samson never told anyone about the honey or the lion.

Back to the battle of Israelites v Philistines: strongman Samson wanted a way into the Philistine camp, so he picked a Philistine girl to be his bride. At the wedding, he played a guessing game with the Philistines and promised them a prize if they won. He told them a riddle: ‘Out of the man-eater came something for a man to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.’ Can you guess what he was talking about? (Invite responses) The Philistines didn’t have a clue, so they cheated. They said to Samson’s wife-to-be, ‘Find out the answer, or we’ll kill you – and your dad!’ She was scared stiff so she nagged and begged until Samson told her the secret of the lion and the honey he’d found. She sneaked out and told the Philistines. When Samson asked them his riddle again – ‘Out of the man-eater came something for a man to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet’ – they shouted, ‘The man-eater’s a lion! And the sweet thing is honey!’ They were right, and that made the score SAMSON NIL – PHILISTINES 1. (A volunteer begins the first tower of boxes to mark the score).

But Samson knew they’d cheated and God’s Holy Spirit rushed on him (encourage everyone to make a ‘WHOOOOSH!’ noise). Samson became superstrong! He raced down into the town and killed 30 Philistines in revenge. That was the equalizer: SAMSON 1 – PHILISTINES 1. (A volunteer begins the second tower. Boxes are now added after each score.) Samson stormed back home, leaving his wife-to-be behind with the Philistines.

At harvest time Samson decided to go back for his wife but the Philistines told him, ‘Too late – she’s married to somebody else!’ SAMSON 1 – PHILISTINES 2.

Samson wanted revenge. He looked at the fields around him, full of ripe wheat that would make Philistine bread all winter long. (Encourage everyone to stretch their arms up like a field of ripe wheat.) Samson rounded up 300 foxes and tied their tails together with flaming torches between them. The fiery foxes rocketed into the fields and all the wheat went up in flames! (Encourage everyone to wave their arms like flames.) As an added bonus, all the grape vines and the olive trees burned down too! The Philistines were going to starve and Samson was in the lead: SAMSON 3 – PHILISTINES 2.

When the Philistines realized there would be no food all winter, they wanted to get their own back, so they burned Samson’s would-be wife alive, together with her dad. They’d equalized again: SAMSON 3 – PHILISTINES 3.

Then Samson was after revenge: he killed a great crowd of Philistines and went into hiding. The score was SAMSON 4 – PHILISTINES 3.

Next the Philistines went on the warpath and tore a local camp apart looking for Samson. They didn’t care who got in their way! There were trampled tents and dead donkeys everywhere. SAMSON 4 – PHILISTINES 4.

The men from the camp persuaded Samson to give himself up, so they bound him with brand new ropes and handed him over. But when Samson saw the Philistines, God’s Holy Spirit rushed on him (encourage everyone to make a ‘WHOOOOSH!’ noise). Samson became superstrong! He tore the ropes apart like soggy spaghetti, grabbed a fresh jawbone from a dead donkey and killed 1000 Philistines with it! It was as if he’d scored a hat-trick and his team now looked unbeatable: SAMSON 7 – PHILISTINES 4. Samson became team captain – he was Israel’s judge.

But the battle wasn’t over. When Samson fell in love with a Philistine woman called Delilah, his opponents saw their chance. They bribed and bullied Delilah to find out Samson’s secret – what made him so strong? She begged and pleaded and finally tricked Samson into telling her the truth: Samson said, ‘I’m special to God and an angel told my mum never to cut my hair!’ When Samson dropped off to sleep, out came the razor! Off came his plaits! On went the bronze chains! Samson was weak and helpless and the Philistines poked out both of his eyes. One! Two! Now the Philistines were catching up: the score was SAMSON 7 – PHILISTINES 6.

The Philistines dumped Samson in prison and made him do a donkey’s job: he had to wear a heavy harness and turn the prison mill to make flour. (Encourage everyone to say ‘HEAVE!’) That was the equalizer: SAMSON 7 – PHILISTINES 7.

Now the Philistines wanted the final victory over blind, bald Samson. They threw a huge party and invited everyone. When the guests were stuffing their faces, Samson was dragged into the party and tied up between the two central pillars that held up the whole building. (There should now be two towers of 7 boxes on either side of you.) Everyone laughed at him and gloated, ‘Not so tough now, are you?’ (Encourage nasty laughing and pointing.) They thought they’d beaten him: the score was SAMSON 7 – PHILISTINES 8.

However, no one noticed that Samson’s hair had begun to grow back. He prayed his last ever prayer: ‘God, give me revenge for my two eyes and let me die with all these Philistines!’ For the last time, God’s Holy Spirit rushed on him (encourage everyone to make a ‘WHOOOOSH!’ noise). Samson became superstrong! He pushed over the huge stone pillars (invite children to push over the two towers of boxes and lie in the rubble). Samson died along with every single person who was at the party. He had defeated the Philistines at last – the Israelites had won! Samson had been Israel’s leader for 20 years and he was given a hero’s burial.

Reflective - response to story

Option 1

Resources: you will need a marker pen and a flip-chart or large piece of card (A2 or bigger) with the heading ‘Samson’s body count’ and subheadings ‘people’ and ‘animals’

10 MINS

Invite people to count up how many were killed in Samson’s story. They may like to read the story in the Bible (Judges 13-16). Prompt them towards the answer if necessary: people include crowds of Philistines and individuals such as Samson’s would-be wife and her father; animals include a lion, foxes, a donkey and the bees that died when Samson grabbed their honey. Write the approximate totals on the list.

Then read out what Jesus said about enemies: ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your friends, hate your enemies.” But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’ (Matthew 5:43-44).

Invite people to sit quietly and reflect on the contrast between Samson’s story and Jesus’ teaching. This is their opportunity to think for themselves and to ask God to speak to them.

Option 2: 5 MINS

Invite people to gather into small, all-age groups. Each group will need a tray or shallow dish with some dry sand. Ask people to name the different feelings in Samson’s story – some people were angry, some felt victorious, some were afraid, some were full of hate etc. Invite people to bring their own feelings to God with the words, ‘God be with me when I am....’ People may write or draw a feeling in the sand, perhaps in the form of an emoticon.