Aim:
To discover how David was brave and relied on God in the face of danger, and think about how we can be brave in difficult situations too
Bible Base:
1 SAMUEL 17
For:
KEY STAGE 2
Equipment:
Giant armour (as described in 1 Samuel 17:4-7): helmet, breastplate, greaves, sword, spear, shield – these can be made of cardboard and painted bronze/ brown; three metre-high microphone/speaker stand (or other sturdy three metre-high stand), slips of paper and marker pen, Blutac, sling, smooth pebbles Before the assembly, create your Goliath by hanging your armour on a three metre-high microphone/ speaker stand (or similar). Place ‘Goliath’ at the front of the space.
Opening activity:
Ask the children what they thought when they saw the armour as they came into the assembly. Let some children give their answers. Ask, ‘What words would you use to describe this armour?’ If the children are struggling to think of things, then you might help them by suggesting ‘scary’, ‘big’ or ‘threatening’. Write the children’s words on the slips of paper and stick them to the shield or breastplate.
Bible story
Tell the children that you’re going to tell them a story from the Bible, from the Old Testament, from a book called 1 Samuel. It’s about a man called David. Retell the story using this script:
The Israelites were God’s people, but they had lots of enemies. The Philistines wanted to attack Israel, so they got their army together and marched to meet the Israelite army. (March up and down at the front.) The Philistines had a secret weapon: a great fighter. Well, he wasn’t that secret, because he was a giant! Goliath was three metres tall! (Point to your armour ‘Goliath’.)
Goliath marched out in front of the Philistine army and shouted at the Israelites. (Make a path through the middle of the children and march up and down that pathway. ‘Choose someone to come and fight me!’ Goliath yelled. ‘You’re all losers, you’ll never win!’ How do you think the Israelites felt? (If the children want to answer, let them.) They were terrified!
David was a shepherd, but one day he went to take supplies to his brothers, who were in the Israelite army. He heard Goliath march up and down and threaten the Israelites. (March up and down the path between the children and shout.) David was shocked. ‘Who does he think he is? He’s making fun of the army of God!’
David’s brothers told him to shut up and go back home to look after the sheep. But the King, who was called Saul, heard what David had said and sent for him. David marched to the King’s tent. (March up to the front again.) He said, ‘Your Majesty, this Philistine shouldn’t turn us into cowards. I’ll go out and fight him myself!’
‘You can’t defeat Goliath!’ said the King.
‘God looks after me when I have to fight off bears and lions in the fields,’ said David. ‘He’ll look after me now.’
David set out into the valley to meet Goliath, taking his sling with him. (Show the children your sling.) As he went, he picked up five smooth stones from a stream. (Show the children your stones.) Goliath marched out to meet him. (March your armour up and down the path.) When he saw David, he laughed. ‘Are you sending out a dog to face me?’ he roared.
‘You insulted God’s army and you insulted God too. When I’ve finished with you, everyone will know that Israel’s God is real!’ replied David.
Goliath marched forward (march down the path.) but David took a stone, put it in his sling and let fly! The stone flew out of the sling, and hit Goliath on the head. Goliath fell face down on the ground. (Knock your armour over, being careful that it doesn’t fall on any children.)
Reflection
Ask the children to consider these questions as you reflect on the story:
~~ If you were David, how would you feel about fighting Goliath?
~~Why do you think David was so brave?
~~ How did you describe Goliath at the start of the assembly? What other things make you feel the same way?
~~ David was confident that God would look after him. What helps you when you face difficult situations?
Get some feedback on this last question – how do the children feel brave in scary situations? Go on to give an example of how God has looked after/protected you, just as the Bible says he looked after David. Make sure your example is appropriate for your context.
Prayer
Finish your time together with a short prayer, thanking God for looking after David in a dangerous situation. Pray for those times when the children feel scared and need to be brave.
Comment that David wasn’t perfect, and did some stupid things, but always relied on God to help him in hard times.
