David: Session 1

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BIBLE PASSAGE: Psalm 25

BACKGROUND: David wrote many psalms and often connected with God through music and singing. David wrote this psalm while he was under attack from his enemies and deeply in need of God’s peace. He turns to God for help and guidance, asking to know his love and forgiveness once again.

 

CIRCLE TIME

Invite the children to sit together in a circle. Encourage them to share stories from their week. Celebrate any birthdays or special events. It can be helpful to have an object  or cuddly toy to pass around for the child who is talking to hold. Ask the children: “What is your favourite thing to talk about?” Thank God for being with you and ask him to help you learn more about him today.

 

INTRO ACTIVITY

You will need: worship music (either with someone leading, a video or recorded music) Before the session, choose an appropriate song to sing with your group. For this age group it often works to do one with simple actions and repeat it a few times. ‘The singing song’ by Nick and Becky Drake is a great one to link in to the theme (you can find an actions video on the ‘Worship for Everyone’ YouTube page).

 

BIBLE STORY

You will need: a bag for the story items; toy sheep; a paper speech bubble; a crown; a picture of a heart; a musical instrument; a Bible

Put all the items in the bag. As you mention each item, pull it out of the bag and pass it around for the children to look at:

 

There once was a man called David. David looked after sheep; he was a shepherd.

He loved God. He loved to talk to God and spend time with him.

When David grew up, he became king. He was a good king and had a good heart.

David wasn’t perfect, he still did things wrong, but he knew that God loved and forgave him, and helped him learn to live in a better way.

David wrote songs. He loved singing to God. Some of the songs he wrote can be found in the Bible in a book called Psalms. Today we’re going to look at one of the psalms David wrote and think about why  he wrote it. Hold your Bible as you read

the psalm below. This is a paraphrase, but you might prefer to write your own or find another version to read.

This is what David said in his psalm:

 

I trust you God. I give everything to you. You’ll look after me, won’t you? You won’t let anyone hurt me, will you?

Show me how you work, God. Teach me how to live my life for you. I want to be close to you, connected with you.

I’m not perfect, and I’ve done stuff wrong, but I know that you love me. I need you, God. Thank you that you are good and fair, and that you help me learn what is right and how to live.

Please forgive me for all the things I’ve done wrong.

Thank you that, when I trust you, you show me your plans and look after my family. Thank you that you talk to me.

Help me! There are lots of people who would like to hurt me.

God, please help me learn how to be safe. Look after me and keep me out of trouble.

I trust in you.

 

David loved God. He trusted him and loved to tell him everything that was on his heart. When he was scared or angry he would tell God. In this psalm he wanted God to look after him, keep him safe and forgive him for all the things he had done wrong.

 

 

CHATTING TOGETHER

Use these questions to talk about the story, encouraging everyone to join in:

 

• Which was your favourite part of the psalm?
• What do you do when you feel scared?
• What is your favourite song to sing?
• How do you tell God what you’re feeling? (Help the children explore this by giving your own examples, such as, “I some- times shout” or “I tell God about the thing that scares me” or “I like to draw how I’m feeling”.)

 

CREATIVE RESPONSE

You will need: paper cut into heart shapes; pieces of paper with “I can chat to God about anything” written in the middle; glue; crayons or felt-tip pens

We can tell God about anything that is on our hearts and connect our hearts with his. Give each child a piece of paper and   a heart. Invite them to colour the paper, decorate the writing or draw a picture of something they would like to chat to God about. Give everyone a heart and let them glue it on top like a flap so they can lift it up to see the mesage and their drawings.

 

PRAYER

God loves it when we chat to him, and we can chat to him about anything. We’re going to chat to God now. (Often with under-5s they cannot yet chat in their heads, so invite the children to whisper into their hands.) Explain that this is a time for them and God to chat.

Invite them to tell God:

 

• Something that made them happy, sad or cross today
• What their favourite food is
• Something they’re scared of

 

Move on to the next point as the majority of children finish whispering. Add in your own points and then give the children time to chat to God about anything  they  want to discuss. Explain that it’s OK if they don’t want to chat, but ask them not to distract those who do.

Finish with this prayer: “God, thank you that you always listen to us and that you love to hear what is on our hearts.”