2 nd /3 rd Grade Nov 11 Samuel Bible Verse The Lord then stood beside Samuel and called out as He had done before, Samuel! Samuel! I m listening, Samuel answered. What do you want me to do? (1 Samuel 3:10) Teacher Enrichment This is the eleventh lesson in the Old School: Lessons from the Old Testament series which examines many well-known stories from the Old Testament. Each week will explore how God is revealed through the events and characters of a Bible story. This series will build a base of Old Testament Bible knowledge for children. How would you feel if you kept hearing a voice calling you and you didn t know who it was? In this lesson, we meet Samuel who is experiencing just that. Samuel thinks it s his teacher, Eli, calling him, but in fact it is God. One day Samuel will become a king, but for now his is just a boy around the same age as the children in your classes yet God was calling him. Samuel had not heard the voice of God before so he did not recognize it. It even took Eli, a priest, three times to figure out that the voice Samuel had heard might have been God speaking. It can be difficult to discern the voice of God. But just as we are better at recognizing the voices of those closest to us, we must cultivate our relationship with God so that His voice becomes a familiar one. We must learn to break through all the noise in our lives and hear God speaking. In this lesson children will learn that God speaks to anyone willing to listen, regardless of their age. They will understand that building a close relationship with God allows them to better recognize God s voice. Children will examine specific ways to hear God s voice in their lives. As you prepare to teach this lesson, consider the ways you listen for God s promptings. What confirms to you that He is speaking?
Before Class Begins Place the Sign In sheet and a pen where parents can see it upon arrival. Place the Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards and pens where students can see them upon arrival. Check that you have supplies for this lesson: Arrival Activity, Samuel activity sheet 1 per child Sound Effect App on mobile device Headphone Cutouts 1 per child Pipe cleaners 3 per child Place an arrival activity at each place on the table. Welcome SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards, Attendance chart, stickers, pens, Samuel activity sheet, pencils, markers Greet each child individually as they arrive. Introduce yourself by name. Help children find or add their name on the attendance chart. Provide each child with a sticker to place in today s column on the attendance chart. Encourage children to complete a Joy or Concern card if they have a particular joy or concern they would like to express. Collect completed Joy & Concern cards. Encourage children to complete a Time or Talent offering card if they gave their time to God or used their talents to serve God or others during the previous week. Children should keep their own completed Time and Talent cards. If children bring monetary offering, they should keep it with them. Direct children to complete Samuel activity sheet. Encourage conversation among the children and with you! Get to know the children in your classroom by asking about their week including school, activities and families. Introduce new children to each other and encourage friendships. Children s Worship SUPPLIES: Sign In sheet, Joy & Concern cards, Time & Talent cards
The Children s Worship Leader will direct your class to come to Ruth Hall at 9:20 or 11:05. Bring the Sign In sheet and completed Joy & Concern cards to Ruth Hall. Hand the Joy & Concern cards to the Children s Worship leader as you arrive. Have children bring their completed Time & Talent cards and any monetary offering. If additional children arrive while in Ruth Hall, have parents complete the Sign In sheet and remind parents that pickup is in Room 105. Encourage children to participate in Children s Worship and provide re-direction if necessary. Assist the Children s Worship leader as needed. At the conclusion of Children s Worship, have children line up and return to Room 105. The Lesson SUPPLIES: Sound Effects App (on mobile device), Headphone cutouts, pipe cleaners, stapler, crayons/markers/colored pencils SAY: Today we learned about Samuel. What do you think Samuel thought when he first heard that voice? (He wondered who it was; he thought it was Eli; he was scared) ASK: How would you feel if you kept hearing a voice calling you and you didn t know who it was? (Scared, confused) ASK: How do you think Samuel felt when he found out that God was talking to him? ASK: What would you do if you heard God speaking to you? (Listen really well!; Scared maybe I did something wrong; Run away; Tell someone; Be excited) SAY: If we are going to listen for God, we better make sure our ears are working really well and we re good listeners. Today we heard some voices and had to figure out who they were. We re going to continue to see how well your ears work. Have children sit with their heads down on the table and their eyes closed. Use the sound effects app to play various sounds and have the children guess. See key below. Use however many seems appropriate. Have children raise their hand when they know the sound (instead of calling out) so everyone has a chance to consider their guess.
SAY: It can be hard to figure out what you re hearing. We think it s one thing and it ends up being another. It can be like that with God we aren t always sure it s God talking to us. It took time for Samuel to recognize God s voice. In fact, Eli had to tell Samuel that it was God speaking to him. SAY: We might be concerned that we can t hear God or worried we won t recognize His voice, but sometimes it takes time. When we spend time with someone, we know their voice. I m sure you don t have to think twice when you hear your mom or dad s voice on the phone. You recognize who is speaking because you have spent time with them and you know them. It s the same with our friendship with God. If He is our friend then we will spend time with Him, we will listen and learn to recognize His voice, just as Samuel did. Lead a discussion using the Discussion Guide below. Discussion Guide It can be hard to hear God s voice. Sometimes we don t even realize we are supposed to be listening. Sometimes there are too many other voices. Sometimes we aren t sure which voice to listen to. How can we listen for God? Pray Read the Bible Bible tells us the way God wants us to live. He speaks to us through the words of the scriptures How can we know it s God speaking? **Conscience that tug on your heart that tells you to do or not to do something is God speaking to us Ask parents, pastors, teacher for help sometimes God speaks to us through others. But we must be careful, not everyone directs us in the way God would want (back to conscience). The more time we spend with God, the more we will recognize His voice read Bible, go to church, pray. **The more we know about God, the better our conscience will be at telling us the right choice to make.
If time is running short, children can make the craft without coloring the earpieces or you can skip the craft all together and play additional sounds. SAY: Today we are going to make a craft to help us remember to listen for God s voice. Show children the sample craft. Have children move from the carpet to seats at the table. Give each child a Headphone Cutout and three pipe cleaners. Direct children to color their headphone ear pieces and cut them out. Direct children to twist their pipe cleaners together. Assist children in stapling the pipe cleaners to the ear pieces. Closing Lead the children in a closing prayer. You may say your own prayer, ask one of the children to say a prayer or use the one below. God, Thank you for speaking to us and giving us direction. Help us to listen for and recognize your voice. Amen If time remains before parents arrive, encourage children to return to their Samuel activity sheet if they did not complete it. Also encourage conversation between children and with you. This is another opportunity to build relationships with the children in your classroom.
Sound Effect App Sound Effect App Key Level 1, Sound 1 Wolf Level 3, Sound 14 Horse Galloping Level 1, Sound 2 Scissors Level 3, Sound 16 Ocean Level 1, Sound 3 Telephone Level 4, Sound 3 Drip Level 1, Sound 5 Piano Level 4, Sound 5 Bowling Level 1, Sound 10 Train Level 4, Sound 8 Pig Level 1, Sound 13 Basketball Level 5, Sound 9 Snore Level 1, Sound 19 Rain Level 5, Sound 11 Subway/Metro Level 2, Sound 2 Guitar Level 5, Sound 20 Keyboard/Typing Level 2, Sound 3 Thunder Level 2, Sound 5 Helicopter Level 2, Sound 9 Razor Level 2, Sound 15 Elephant Level 2, Sound 17 Ping Pong Level 2, Sound 18 Camera Level 3, Sound 8 Cough Level 3, Sound 11 Tiger Level 3, Sound 12 R2-D2 (From Star Wars)
Listen for God Headphones