Have you ever watched popcorn pop? At first, all of the kernels are just sitting there. Then one kernel pops, then another, and another, until the whole pan practically explodes! Well, standing up for God can be like that. The next time someone around you is sad or worried or scared, stand up and tell them about something wonderful God has done, and just see if things start popping! Let's practice!
Have the children crouch down on the floor. When the leader gives the signal, anyone who can think of something amazing that God has done, "pops" to their feet, and hops up and down in place. After a child is called on to tell what he or she is thinking of, that child can stop hopping, and sit back down on the floor. Repeat this until everyone has had a chance to share at least one thing they can think of that God has done. If children have trouble thinking of ideas, give them categories to help them start thinking. Categories can include things God has created, miracles from the Bible, prayers God has answered, etc. When everyone has popped, hopped, and stopped, pass out bags of popcorn for the class to eat during the lesson.
Bible Lesson
Saul was king and he ruled people called Israelites. David and his family were Israelites too. The Israelites weren't getting along with people named the Philistines. The problem with the Philistines was that they had many giants living in their land. One of the strongest and biggest giants was named Goliath. He was over nine feet tall, which is taller than any person recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. He would've had to bend way down to get through a regular door. Goliath was covered with big armor to protect him and carried a big spear. Every morning and every evening for forty days he shouted to the Israelites in his big deep voice, "Hey, you guys! I dare you to find one man to fight me. If he can beat me, we will become your servants. But if I win, you will all become our servants." When Saul and all his men heard this they were very afraid. Three of these men were David's three oldest brothers. They were the only ones in David's family that could go fight because they were old enough. Now David's father Jesse heard about the giant and was worried for his sons. He called David out of the fields and asked him to take some food to his brothers and report back how they are doing. So David set off to visit his brothers. As he approached them he heard Goliath shouting his challenge like he did every morning. "Isn't someone going to stand up to this man?" David asked the men in the army. No one would, so David said that he would fight the giant. One of the men overheard this and ran to Saul and told him what David said. Saul approached David and said, "You can't fight Goliath, you're only a boy and he has been fighting for many years." But David said to Saul, "I have had to fight lions and bears to protect my father's sheep. God helped keep me safe then and he will help keep me safe now." It was too bad that Saul the king wasn't trusting in God to help him, he didn't know what to do to beat Goliath. Then this young boy named David came and he knew in one day exactly what to do, and trusted that God would help him. That's why God loved David's heart and wanted him to be king. So Saul dressed David in heavy armor to protect him from Goliath but David took it off. It was so heavy he could hardly walk and he knew that God would keep him from harm. Instead David went to a stream nearby and found five smooth stones, put them in a pouch around his waist, and with his sling he went to Goliath. As David approached Goliath, Goliath looked at David and thought it was a joke. Goliath thought that he could easily beat David and it was funny that Saul would send a small boy to fight him. But David said to him without fear, "You fight with a sword and I come with God on my side and today everyone will know that there is one true God in this land." Goliath didn't care what David said and he moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly to meet him. Reaching into his pouch he pulled out a stone, put it into his slingshot and shot it at Goliath. The stone had hit him right between his eyes and suddenly Goliath started to loose his balance. He fell with a loud thud right on his face. David had done it, he beat the giant Philistine! When the rest of the Philistines saw this they ran away and David became a hero to all the people in Israel.
Summary
Do you think that you would have been as brave as David was? He relied on God to be strong and courageous. Without God's help, he would not have been able to save the Israelites from the Philistines.
Questions
1. Why didn't anybody want to fight Goliath? 2. What did Saul think when David said he wanted to fight Goliath? 3. Why didn't Saul fight Goliath himself? 4. How did David know he was going to win? 5. Do you think David had always been that brave? 6. How do you think David learned to trust God?
Games
Knock Off the Helmet: Draw a large picture of Goliath (can use butcher paper, refrigerator box, poster board, etc). Make a "helmet" out of cardboard and place it on top of the picture. Divide the children into Philistines and Israelites and keep track of how many times each team knocks off the helmet (with beanbags, light weight balls, etc).
Hot Potato: Have the children stand/sit in a circle. They pass/throw an object (with a large enough group you can use more than one) around the circle as music plays. Whoever has the object when the music stops is out. Variation: The child that was the object when the music stops has to say a bible verse, say something they are thankful to God for, do an action, etc.
Red Light, Green Light: All students line up against one wall. The leader/student “caller” stands at the opposite wall facing away from the large group. When the caller calls “Green Light” the children from the group move towards the caller. If the caller turns and yells “Red Light,” those approaching the caller must stop immediately. Anyone who makes any additional motion after “Red Light” has to go back to the starting wall.