Preschool Teacher Guide Session Title: God Made A Covenant With David Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 7 Big Picture Question: What did God promise David? God promised that Jesus would be part of David s family. Key Passage: Psalm 51:10 Unit Christ Connection: God provided the first kings to rule His people Israel; Christ, the final King, rules over all people as Savior. Through David s family, God sent Jesus Christ, the Messiah. TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Prep Time Things were not looking up for David. King Saul had tried multiple times to kill him, and he had to flee for his life, leaving behind his good friend, Saul s son Jonathan. But God had appointed David to be king, and God was faithful to him. Leading up to 2 Samuel 7, Jonathan was killed in battle against the Philistines. Saul fell on his own sword, and David became king of Israel. Then David moved the ark of God to Jerusalem. David settled into his palace, and God gave him peace from his enemies. When David looked around, something didn t seem right. He was living in a majestic palace while the ark of God was in a tent! David determined to build God a temple. That night, God gave the prophet, Nathan, a message for David. Have I ever asked you to build Me a house? God said. Since I brought the Israelites out of Egypt, I have dwelled in a tent. God continued, reminding David that he used to be a shepherd, but God had made him a king! I have always been with you, and I have defeated your enemies, God said. God promised to give the Israelites a place to stay so they wouldn t need to move around anymore. God promised to give them rest from their enemies so they could stop fighting. Though God denied David s desire to build God a house, God promised to make a house for David: a dynasty of his descendants and an everlasting kingdom. Nathan told David what God said, and David was amazed. As you teach kids about God s covenant to David, help them understand the significance of David s everlasting kingdom. God s promise to David was ultimately fulfilled by his most significant descendant, Jesus Christ: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end (Luke 1:32-33). 1 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Welcome/Transition Time (15 minutes) Lesson Snack/Video Activities WELCOME/TRANSITION TIME (15 minutes) Greet boys and girls as they arrive. Direct them to work on the color/activity page. After that, they may choose to play with a favorite toy or do another activity that you have provided. Color Page/Activity Sheet: Match Hearts - provided Crayons or colored pencils color/activity sheet, 1 per child Say The Bible says that God saw what kind of heart David had. God knew David was a person who kept His commands (1 Kings 14:8). Draw lines to match the heart halves. Kindergartners: Write David s name beside a heart like his D A V I D. Walk Like Family Members Invite kids to walk like a family member: Dad (walk tall), Mom (carrying groceries); Grandma (bent over), child (skipping), baby (crawling). Say God made a promise to David. What was God s promise? What did God promise David? God promised that Jesus would be part of David s family. Transition to Lesson Use your usual transition cue to signal that it is time for Bible study. Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. LESSON Worship Music Classroom DVD contains worship songs for each unit that the children will enjoy learning. Unit 11 DVD 2 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Story Time Today s Bible story happened after David had fought many battles. But God gave His people a time of peace. David had an idea. Watch to see what God said about David s idea and the wonderful thing He promised David. THE BIBLE STORY God Made a Covenant with David 2 Samuel 7 God chose David to be king of Israel. When David was young, he played the harp for King Saul, and God gave him power to defeat Goliath the strongest, meanest, tallest man in the Philistine army. Saul had been king, but now David was king. God gave His people a time of peace. One day, David was talking with Nathan the prophet. I live in a palace of nice wood, David pointed out. But the ark of God sits inside a tent! God is with you. Do what you want! Nathan said. But God didn t want David to do whatever he wanted. That night, God talked to Nathan. God gave Nathan a message for David. This is what God wanted Nathan to say to David: David, are you going to build a house for Me to live in? Think about what I have done for My people. I brought them out of Egypt. I gave them leaders to guide them. The entire time I have been with them, My house has been a tent. Did I ever ask anyone to build a temple for Me? Remember, you used to be a shepherd, David. But I made you a king. I helped you win your battles, and My people now live in their own land. There is no more fighting. I promise you, David, that you and your descendants will be kings. When you die, one of your sons will be king. He will be a strong king. He will build a house for Me. I will love him, and I will never leave him. When your son dies, his son will be king. The king will always be someone in your family. When God was finished speaking, Nathan told David everything God said. David went into the tent he had set up for the ark of God. God was right. God had never asked anyone to build Him a temple. Even though David wanted to build a temple for God, David chose to listen to God and obey Him instead. David sat down and prayed. Lord God, I don t deserve anything You have done for me, and You promise to do so much more! God, You are so great! There is no one like You! You chose the Israelites to be Your own people. You rescued them from slavery in Egypt. God, please keep Your promises to me and my family. I am sure You will keep Your promises because You always do. Christ Connection: God made a promise to David. God told David that every king of Israel would come from David s family. God kept His promise. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be part of David s family. Jesus is our King. Jesus is alive, and He will be King over God s people forever. * Use only the words in bold to review the Bible story or tell it to younger preschoolers. 3 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Review/Key Passage Key Passage Poster Big Picture Question Poster What did David want to do? (build a house for God) Did God ever ask David to build a house for Him? (no) What had God done for David? (made him king and helped him win battles) Who did God say would build Him a temple? (David s son, who would be the next king) Did David listen to God, or did he build the temple anyway, just because he wanted to? (David listened to God and did not build the temple.) Say God knew that David loved Him. God knew what kind of heart David had. [Read the key passage poster and sing A Clean Heart. ] God made a promise to David. God told David that every king of Israel would come from David s family. God kept His promise. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be part of David s family. Jesus is our King. Jesus is alive, and He will be King over God s people forever. What did God promise David? God promised that Jesus would be part of David s family. This is really an awesome promise. Sometimes we say awesome about something really ordinary. This promise from God was truly awesome! SNACK/VIDEO Snack Signal for cleanup time using the countdown video or whatever method you prefer. Take a bathroom break and wash hands before the snack. Ask for volunteers to help set up and serve the snack. Remind kids to wait until everyone has been served before eating. Thank God for your snack. Watch Video Show the video God Made A Covenant With David (from Classroom DVD) 4 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
ACTIVITIES Folded Paper House- provided Instruct children in folding a paper house. Encourage kids to draw windows and landscaping; when they open the house, they may draw people in the house. If this is too difficult for your age group, simply send the instructions home and the child can make the house with their parents. Talk about how David wanted to build a building to replace the tabernacle. God promised to give him a family. Explain that when (insert a child s name) grows up, marries, and has children, his family could be called the house of (child s name). Say David wanted to build God a house, but God had a different and great plan for David. God said He would build a house for David that would last forever. The house God was talking about was made up of people David s descendants. What did God promise David? God promised that Jesus would be part of David s family. Clap and Count Ask the children how many family members are in their home. Have the child clap and count to that number. See if children can name all their family members. Remind kids what a descendant is. (The child is a descendant of his parents and grandparents.) Ask whom in his house he is descended from. Say God told David that one of David s descendants would be King of a kingdom that would last forever. What did God promise David? God promised that Jesus would be part of David s family. Pick up Preschool children need to be picked up by a parent/grandparent and the adult must show the parent receipt with matching I.D. number. If the tag is missing, the adult can go to the Welcome Center and have a receipt reprinted. Welcome the second session teachers and tell them what they need to know about the children who are present. 5 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources