Jonathan Warns David 1 SAMUEL 20 SEPT. 7 KIDS WILL UNDERSTAND:

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1 1 Jonathan Warns David 1 SAMUEL 20 KIDS WILL UNDERSTAND: The story of David and Jonathan. That God was the bond between David and Jonathan s friendship. How they can be godly friends to one another. SEPT

2 ACTIVITY VIDEO Download the following YouTube video titled The Coca-Cola Friendship Machine. Play up to the 1:40 mark. What a fun video! (The rest is statistics and advertisement you can play the last bit if you like.) We have included a file of instructions for downloading on PC and Mac, if you need assistance. YouTube video Why do you think this was called a Friendship Machine? What characteristics of friends did this video demonstrate? What could you tell about friends from watching this? How would you have gotten your drinks if you had seen this machine? Today we re going to look at a very special friendship the Bible tells us about in the book of 1 Samuel. Is that in the Old Testament or the New Testament? The two friends we re going to learn about would ve done just about anything for one another. The Coca-Cola Friendship Machine would ve been an easy feat for them! BIBLE ACCOUNT Beforehand, cut some construction paper into small squares. You ll want to provide each child with a square of these colors: green, blue, red, black, yellow, white, orange, and purple. To prevent time being wasted during your teaching time, paper clip each set together. You can hand these out as the children enter or have one set on each chair. Throughout the story, you will see that some words have been put in all caps. Each time you come to one of these words/phrases, pause for a few seconds. During that time the kids will respond by choosing one of the colors that represents to them the word or phrase. The color will depict the feeling or the mood of the scene in the Bible account. Once they choose their colors, give a signal and the kids will raise their color cards high in the air. If there is a great variety in colors chosen, ask the children to tell why they chose that color. There are no right or wrong answers. squares of colored paper paper clips Today s Bible story is about the friendship between David and Jonathan. This friendship GREW when Saul was the KING of Israel. Saul was not only the king, but he was also Jonathan s dad. King Saul first met David when the king was going through a DIFFICULT TIME in his reign. You see, King Saul had been disobedient to God, and was tormented with the blues. He was depressed. He was FEELING DOWN, so the king called for a harp player who could make him feel better by playing beautiful music. David s music made the king FEEL SO MUCH BETTER that King Saul asked David to remain with him at his home. How many of you have heard the story of David and Goliath? Well, David the harp player is the same David who defeated the giant Goliath for King Saul and the Israelites. David had such great faith in 2

3 God that he stood up to a giant who was over nine feet tall! This defeat brought VICTORY for King Saul and his army. After David defeated Goliath he became an instant hero among the Israelite people! When Jonathan, King Saul s son, heard about all that David had accomplished, he DEEPLY ADMIRED him. The two boys became best buddies! Jonathan became totally committed to David and made a covenant with him; a covenant is a promise. Jonathan sealed this deal by giving David his royal robe, sword, bow, and belt. This covenant was an agreement to stay faithful to each other no matter what! Their FRIENDSHIP was unselfish and true! Like I said, the Israelites were CELEBRATING David beating Goliath. The people were singing and dancing down the streets, and talking about how great David was. This made King Saul FURIOUS! Saul was filled with JEALOUSY for David! Saul wanted people singing praises about him, not David! After all, Saul was their king! But everything David did went great because God BLESSED him! King Saul became so jealous of David that he wanted David dead! David had a feeling that Saul wanted to KILL HIM, so he talked about it with his friend, Jonathan. They came up with a plan. David was supposed to go to a feast with King Saul and Jonathan, but he didn t show up because he thought the king wanted him dead. David told Jonathan to tell his father that he was in Bethlehem for a family reunion. If King Saul became ANGRY over this news, the friends would know that Jonathan s father did want David dead. Then, Jonathan would shoot an arrow past a certain spot and tell his young servant boy to go get it farther beyond. King Saul did become angry. Jonathan was so upset with his father that he couldn t eat! Jonathan was such a faithful friend to David that he told him the truth to get out of the area because his father wanted him dead! Jonathan shot the arrow far beyond the spot they had chosen and yelled to the young servant boy to keep going farther. That was the LAST TIME THESE TWO FRIENDS EVER SAW EACH OTHER. GAME Divide the children into teams. Each team will need a hula-hoop and some darts. The darts can be inflatable bongo sticks (purchase at orientaltrading.com), finger rockets, or pool noodles cut in half. Hang the hula-hoops from the ceiling or if you re outside, hang them from a tree limb. The teams will stand in lines behind a designated masking tape launch line. (You may want to have the older children stand farther back than the younger participants.) The first child on each team will try to throw his dart through his team s hula-hoop. The players who got their dart through the hula hoop will try to answer one of the questions below about the Bible story. Any of those kids can answer. Bring up the second players from each team and let them launch their darts. Continue until you run out of players or questions. hula-hoops inflatable bongo sticks or finger rockets rope masking tape 3

4 What were the names of the two friends in the story? (Jonathan and David) What was the name of the king? (Saul) What was the relationship between King Saul and Jonathan? (Saul was Jonathan s dad.) What did David do for King Saul to help him when he was feeling down? (played the harp/lyre) Who did David beat in the battle against the Philistines? (Goliath) How did King Saul feel toward David after David defeated Goliath? (jealous) What did Jonathan make with David? (a covenant, a promise) What gifts did Jonathan give David to prove his covenant with David? (robe, sword, bow, and belt) Why didn t David go to the feast at Saul s table? (He thought that Saul wanted to kill him.) Where did Jonathan tell King Saul that David was instead of at the feast? (with his family in Bethlehem) How did King Saul react? (with anger) What did King Saul s reaction tell Jonathan? (Saul wanted to kill David.) Jonathan and David made a plan. What would Jonathan say if King Saul wanted David dead? (The arrows are beyond you!) Where did Jonathan shoot the arrow? (beyond the designated spot) MESSAGE Powerpoint slides (show slide #2) Jealousy the ugly green monster! When David returned from killing Goliath, people praised him by singing and dancing in front of him as he came down the road. The Bible tells us that King Saul kept a jealous eye on David. Jealousy is sometimes called the ugly green monster because it is an emotion that is not any fun! We can feel jealous of others when they can do something better than us. When that happens, we have to remember that every good gift is from above. God gives people different abilities, and that does not mean that one talent is better than another. Being a good friend includes being happy for your friend when God blesses them! When have you been jealous of somebody else s success or talent? Read Romans 12:15. Do you rejoice with your friends and mourn with your friends? That s what friends do for one another. 4

5 (show slide #3) The covenant The Bible tells us how devoted Jonathan was to David. Jonathan was the king s son, dressed in royal clothes, and he promised to be a faithful friend to David. He sealed this friendship covenant by giving David his royal robe, sword, bow, and belt. Being a good friend includes being kind, generous, and giving. What have you given a friend that was very special to you? Anyone can make a covenant, or a promise, with a friend, but only faithful friends keep their covenants (promises). Have you ever broken a promise, or has someone broken a promise to you? How did you feel? (show slide #4) Faithful friend! David was convinced that King Saul wanted to kill him. Jonathan had a hard time believing that his dad would kill his friend. Jonathan was stuck between believing his friend and believing his dad. Later in the story, Jonathan saw the anger that his dad had toward David, and that s when he knew that David was right in believing that King Saul wanted him dead. Jonathan was faithful to David and told him the truth about his dad s feelings. Being a good friend includes being faithful and truthful even in a difficult situation. Think about a time when a friend did not tell you the truth. How did that make you feel? God s Word will always tell you the truth! Think about a time you lied or twisted the truth to a friend. (show slide #5) Supportive friend I ve got your back! Jonathan knew his father intended to kill his best friend, David. Jonathan was super angry at his dad! He left the dinner party, didn t eat, and grieved over his dad s behavior. Jonathan stood up for David! Jonathan could have agreed with his father just to make his dad happy, even though his father was wrong. He could have said, I know, David should be here at this dinner. But he supported David and let his dad know that wanting to kill David was wrong. Jonathan had David s back and stood up to his dad for his friend! Being a good friend includes supporting your friend to his face AND behind his back. Have you ever had someone be nice to your face, but not nice behind your back? How did you react to that situation? How have you stood up for a friend when others were not being very kind to him? Why is this difficult to do sometimes? 5

6 PUPPETS The puppets should appear that they are sitting on a baseball dugout bench. #1 (cheering) Come on Tommy! You can do it! Get a homerun! 2 puppets (or actors) in baseball clothes bench #2 I don t know how ya do it. #1 (cheering) Great a hit buddy! (turns back to #2) Do what? #2 Cheer for a guy who s playing in your spot. #1 Well, why wouldn t I cheer for him? We re on the same team, and he s not necessarily in MY spot. #2 Yeah, but if Tommy wasn t on our team, you d be playing a lot more, and you d be starting at second base. #1 Maybe. But our team is better because Tommy s on it. #2 I don t get it! Your dad is even our coach! And you spend more time on this bench right here (pats bench) than on that field right there. (points to the field) #1 Listen, don t get me wrong, I want to play more than anything! But I can admit that Tommy is a little bit better than me at second base even if my dad is the coach. #2 That is some attitude you have. #1 Well, I gotta trust that my dad knows what s best for the team. Remember what he always says, There is no I in team! #2 Man, I admire you for staying so positive. #1 (cheering) Nice try, Bobby Boy! You ll get em next time! Now, what were you sayin? #2 Nothing much, just that I don t think I d be as positive about not playing as you are. #1 Well, God is helping me with that! When I first learned that I wasn t going to start at second base, I wasn t too thrilled. But I heard a pretty cool story at church that helped me with my situation on the field. #2 You were talking about baseball at church? #1 Not exactly, but I did learn about this dude named 6

7 Jonathan. You see, Jonathan s dad was a king. So naturally, people would assume that the next king would be his son, Jonathan. #2 Just like I would assume you would start baseball because your dad is the coach. #1 That s right, but as you can see, my behind is getting splinters from this pine bench, because that s what s best for the team to have Tommy at second base. #2 So, did Jonathan become the next king? #1 Nope! #2 What! That seems pretty unfair! #1 In our human eyes, it would look unfair, but Jonathan knew that God wanted this other guy named David to be the next king. #2 Man, how did Jonathan handle it? #1 He actually supported David and became his friend. #2 Hey! That s just how you are! You really support Tommy. #1 Like I said, God helped me handle it the way I should. What good would it do the team if I sat around here pouting? #2 Yeah, you re right. And a bird might do his thing on your lip if it s sticking our too far! (laughing and talking macho) But hey the real king of the diamond has to go I m up next! (stands up to leave) #1 Go get em King! (high fives) #2 Thanks buddy. You re a good friend. #1 (cheering) Let s go guys! Homerun time! The King is up to bat! GAME The character in our puppet show said that God helped him handle his situation of not playing as much as he would like. God helped him be a better teammate and friend to the other kids on his team. God also helped him conquer any jealousy he might have had. Well, why do you think that David and Jonathan s friendship was so special? Their red balloons Sharpie marker chairs 7

8 friendship was faithful, truthful, and supportive because God was a part of their bond. 1 Samuel 20:42 says that the Lord was witness between David and Jonathan. Both David and Jonathan loved God and wanted to obey Him. Jonathan did not get jealous of David becoming the king instead of himself, because He knew that it was God s will. When you know what kind of friend God wants you to be and you obey His teachings, you will be a great friend, too! When God is in between you and your friend, the friendship will be full of love, unselfish, and trustworthy. God is the glue that sticks friends together! Blow the balloons up and tie them off prior to the race. Write GOD on each of the balloons with a Sharpie permanent marker. Divide the children into teams of even numbers. Within the teams, the children will pair up. Give each team a balloon. The balloon represents God, the glue that keeps friends together! Each pair must hold the balloon in between their bodies, without touching the balloon with their hands, arms, or mouths (except to initially place the balloon in between them at the beginning of the race). When the leader shouts Get in the game! the first pair of each team will place the balloon in between them, race from the starting line to a designated chair, circle around the chair, race back to the starting line, and hand the balloon to the next pair. If the balloon drops at any time during the race, the pair must pick it up, run back to the starting line, and start their race again. The first team to have all pairs successfully race with God in between them wins! SCIENCE EXPERIMENT Always play with the experiment before you have the kids do it. That way, you ll be able to figure out the best way to explain it and set it up. This is a great experiment to provide supplies for each child to do their own. Measure 1 T. of wood glue and put it in one of the plastic condiment cups. Measure ½ t. of Epsom salts and ½ t. hot water in the other cup. Stir the salt until it has completely dissolved. Once it has dissolved, pour the salt solution in with the glue. Gently stir with the plastic spoon. You will immediately see that it is turning into a glob. Don t keep stirring or it will break down into a runny mess. Take the glob out and lay it on a piece of waxed paper. Kneed it a little and then use a paper towel to dab off the excess moisture. Roll it in a ball in the palm of your hand. Epsom salts measuring spoons spoon wood glue paper towel hot water 2 small plastic condiment cups snack bags waxed paper What happened to the contents of the 2 cups when we put them together? Can we take them apart now? How is this like a friendship like Jonathan and David had? Once the glue and the salt were put together, they couldn t be separated. When friends make a promise to one another and God is part of their friendship, then they will support one another. Even if difficult times come, they will not turn their backs on one another. Provide some sandwich bags for the kids to take their globs home in. 8

9 SNACK Being a good friend includes helping others and serving others. In 1 Samuel 20:4 Jonathan tells David, Whatever you want me to do, I ll do for you. Now that s a great friend! For snack you are going to do whatever your friend wants you to do to make their cookie just right. sugar cookies frosting toppings craft sticks small paper plates The children will decorate cookies. Each child will personally decorate a cookie for someone else and serve it to him/her, but they must do it according to the other person s instructions. Remember, Jonathan told David that he would do whatever he wanted him to. If the child asks his decorator to add sprinkles, then the decorator will add sprinkles. If the child doesn t want sprinkles, then the decorator will not add sprinkles (even if he wants to). Each child can decorate a cookie for the person to his left. This way, no child will feel that he was picked last or left out. OBJECT LESSON You will need large photos of the President of the United States, a teen idol, and a prominent sports figure, which can be found on the Internet and printed out. We cannot provide those for you, because the curriculum is considered commercial use. But you will be using them as an educator, so you can print them out to show your kids. Sorry about the technicality, but we want to obey the regulations to the best of our knowledge. photos of famous people Has anyone ever met someone who s famous? You may have met him, but he s probably not your good friend? You probably don t hang out with or talk with anyone on a regular basis who is famous. (Show the President s photo.) Do you know who this is? Right. That is the President of the United States. He s a pretty important guy. Does he call any of you friend? Do any of you chat with him on the phone? No! We know who he is, but we don t consider him a good friend. (Show teen idol photo.) Now, who s this? He s one of the most famous teenagers in the world right now. Have you guys ever hung out with him? Or have you shared your deepest secrets with him? No! He s a very popular guy with a bunch of God-given musical talent, but I doubt he wants to hang out with me! I doubt he s waiting for a call from me right now! No, I wouldn t say I could call him my friend, either. (Show sport figure photo.) Who s this talented guy? This guy is crazy good at his sport! He meets screaming fans wherever he goes. If I was in the crowd of screaming fans, do you think he d point right at me and say, Now there s my good buddy? No! That sounds so silly! I will probably never spend enough time with him so that I could call him my dear friend. However, there is someone who is much greater than any of these 9

10 people, and He would give anything to spend time with you. He would love to chat with you! He wants you to call Him your best buddy! And He would definitely point you out of a crowd and call you friend! Look up John 15: What does Jesus call you in these verses? I said What!? The King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Creator of the universe calls you His friend! Wow! Jesus is the Son of God, the One who never sinned, and He wants to be YOUR best friend! Even if the President, (the teen idol), or (the sports figure) sat next to you, they wouldn t know who you are. But, Jesus Christ wants to be your best friend! PRAYER The children will get into groups of seven, and each member of the group will participate in a trust fall. Six of the group members will pair up and grasp the wrists of their partners standing across from them. The three pairs will stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a line, forming three separate cords with their arms ready to catch the seventh member of the group as he falls backwards! The individual must trust his friends to catch him! After his six friends catch him, they will carefully lift him back up into standing position. Each member of the group will take turns falling and trusting their friends! Was it difficult, or a little scary, to trust your friends to catch you? David had to trust Jonathan to tell him the truth after meeting with his father, King Saul, at the dinner feast. David had to trust that Jonathan would tell him the truth about his father s feelings. I bet David was a little scared, too. Jonathan could have misled David, or lied to him, but he didn t! Jonathan was trustworthy. This story in the Bible is a great example of friendship for us! We want to be as trustworthy a friend as Jonathan was! I want you all to close your eyes while I ask you some personal questions. I don t want you to tell me an answer, but I want you to really think about what kind of friend you are, and what kind of friend you want to be! If a friend tells you a secret, do you keep it to yourself, or do you share it with others? Are you kind to your friend s face, but do you talk about him behind his back? If another person speaks badly about your friend, do you stick up for your friend by telling that person to stop? Do you think that you are a trustworthy friend? Keeping your eyes closed, let s go to the Lord in prayer. Dear God, You know our hearts. We want to be trustworthy friends! We want to be a friend like Jonathan was to David! Help us to be that kind of friend! Bring each of us a godly friend a friend where you are the cord that ties us together! Thank You for wanting to be our friend! 10

11 BLESSING May you be a godly friend to others. 11

12 EXTRA OPTIONS SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION 2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of His return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. color squares from Bible Account Even though the story about Jonathan and David is in the Old Testament and the scripture we re memorizing in 2 Timothy is in the New Testament, do you see anything about the two friends in these verses? They were both faithful to God and to each other. Do you think they fought the good fight? The kids will remove the paper clip from their color squares they used during the storytelling time, and they ll scatter them across one end of the room. Form teams that will stand behind a start line at the other end of the room. At the signal, one player from each team will race to the scattered color squares and pick up one of each color (blue, yellow, orange, red, black, purple, green, white). They should have 8 different colors in their hands before returning to their team. The first player to return to their team with all 8 colors will lead their team in saying the scripture passage. Play again with a new player from each team, and continue doing this until all the color squares have been picked up and various teams have recited the verses. CRAFT The children will create friendship bracelets by braiding 3 cords. When creating the bracelet, one cord represents the child who is making the bracelet; the second cord represents the child s friend; and the third cord represents God. When God is woven and involved in a friendship between two people, the friendship will be a faithful friendship like Jonathan and David s! Tell the children that they are creating this bracelet to give as a covenant to a friend, just like Jonathan gave his royal robe, bow, sword and belt to David to symbolize their friendship covenant. Talk to the children about giving this gift to their friend in private, so not to hurt anyone s feelings. Encourage them to share what the different cords represent when they give their gift to their friend, and to talk about how thankful to God they are for their friendship! 12 different colors of cording masking tape scissors rulers

13 Provide the children with different colors of cording. The colors can represent how the child would describe the friend they are going to give it to. You can give them different representations, but here are some ideas of what the colors could represent. Blue = You are full of energy. Orange = You are so very kind. Red = You love me even when I m not very nice. Green = You help me grow. Yellow = You are my sunshine. Purple = You show courage. White = You always think the best of people. Pink = You are quick to smile. Brown = You speak truth even when it s difficult to say. Black = You stand up for me. Post what the colors that you are using represent, so the children can decide on 3 colors that describe the friend they are making the friendship bracelet for. You will need to cut the cords in 16 lengths beforehand. Hold the ends of all 3 cords together. About 5 inches down, tie a knot so the cords stay together. Lay the knot against the table and place a piece of masking tape right above the knot. This will hold the cords steady while you braid them. Once you have demonstrated how to braid the cords, each child will braid their 3 cords for about 7. Have some rulers handy, because the kids have no idea how long that actually is. Here is where they may need an additional adult hand. Remove the tape that is holding the knot to the table. Loosen the knot just a little. Then, take the unbraided ends of the 3 cords and feed them through this loose place in the knot. Tighten the knot once again around the 3 cords. You should ve made a loop that will fit around a wrist. The loop can be loosened or tightened by pulling the cords a little through the knot and then tightening it again. The finished friendship bracelet will be braided around the wrist with 6 loose cords hanging. GAME David and Jonathan had a great friendship. David had to trust that Jonathan would tell him the truth about his father s plan to harm him. Being a good friend includes trusting your buddy and being trustworthy. We are going to play a game that will build trust between you and your friends here at church! blindfolds obstacle course objects Divide the kids into teams. Create an obstacle course for each team and give each team a couple of blindfolds. (Long strips of old sheeting work great for blindfolds. Wrap the sheet around the head a couple of times and then tie it. Can t see!) For example, if you have 4 teams, you will need 4 obstacle courses. Use different objects to create the course, 13

14 such as a table to crawl under and traffic cones to run around. It doesn t have to be complicated. Within the teams, the children will pair up. One member of the first pair on each team will be blindfolded. After clearly giving the course instructions, shout Get in the game! The first pair for each team will race through their course, all at the same time, with the seeing friend leading the blind friend. When the first pair of friends finishes the course and returns to their teammates, the second pair of friends may run the course. Was it a little scary to trust your friend? I bet it was a little scary for David to fully trust Jonathan as well. After all, Jonathan was the son of the king who wanted David dead! David had to trust that Jonathan would tell him the truth about King Saul s feelings towards him. 14