Embedded Files
Introduction
Introduction
Text: 1 Samuel 14:1-15
God works wonders! When He was with king Saul’s son, Jonathan, and his armor bearer, Jonathan was able to defeat 20 Philistines. Without God’s help, Jonathan would not have been able to defeat so many. Isn’t God powerful? A Powerful Victor is our God! Talk to your child about trusting in God’s power. We must rely on God to make it to heaven. We should make it our goal to be a Christian and go to heaven. We will be victorious over sin and death!
How much longer do we need to sit around this camp and do nothing?” Jonathan, the king’s son, was frustrated. His father and 600 men were camped out here under this pomegranate tree. They were depressed, bored, and the king certainly didn’t seem able to motivate anybody. Some of the soldiers had even sneaked off to hide in nearby bushes and caves. Worst of all, the heathen Philistines, their enemies, were just laughing at these people who claimed to worship a powerful God. The men in this pitiful little band were armed with slings and bows and arrows. No one but the king and his son had swords or spears. The bothersome, arrogant Philistines even had the weapons under their control. Jonathan, the king’s son, felt he should do something. He said to his faithful young armor-bearer: “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” “Do all that you have in mind,” his faithful friend replied, “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul” (1 Samuel 14:6, 7). Very early the next morning, after committing their way to God, the two young men tiptoed past the dozing guards and made their way out of camp and down the gorge separating the two camps. As they came to the base of the thorny cliff on the other side, Jonathan had a strange idea: “We will cross over toward them and let them see us,” he said. “If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.” His armor-bearer agreed. And the two young men started clamoring about at the bottom of the gorge in full view of the enemy lookout. A Philistine sentry spotted them almost immediately. “Look!” the Philistines said. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.” They yelled down to the Hebrew boys, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.” Little did they know that was exactly what Jonathan planned to do! Jonathan and his armor-bearer smiled as they heard the sign they were waiting for. “Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel” (verses 8-12), Jonathan said. The two young men dropped out of sight again and took a secret and difficult path up the cliff face. They took the Philistines by surprise. There was lots of yelling and sword wielding. Then the earth started to tremble, rock, and shake. God made His presence felt in a mighty way in the battle. The whole Philistine camp was in a panic, with soldiers waking to the ground rocking and the sounds of battle. They didn’t wait to see what was happening. All they wanted to do was run. And run they did—in all directions—away from the camp. The noise and confusion in the Philistine camp caught the attention of the Hebrew lookouts. They ran to Saul and reported what they were hearing. Saul called out to Ahijah the priest, ”Bring the ark of God,” for he wanted to inquire what the Lord would have them do. Saul should have done that days ago. Now he was too impatient to wait for the answer. He said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” Instead of waiting for an answer from God, he assembled the Israelites and went to battle. Saul and his band were able to chase the already-confused Philistines away from the area. Even some of the Hebrews who had been hiding in the hills and caves came out when they smelled the victory, and joined in the hot pursuit. As the day ended, Jonathan and his armor-bearer praised God for the privilege they had had to fight the Lord’s battles. Never could they have dreamt of such an amazing victory. These two young men attempted great things for God and He honored their faithfulness. That day God used two brave Hebrew boys to give His people victory over their enemies. God can do great things through you as well if you trust in Him and seek to honor Him in everything you do!
Activities
Activities
Activity 1 "Climb the Mountain Relay"
Activity 1 "Climb the Mountain Relay"
Time: 10 minutes
Materials needed:
None
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Set up a start/finish line at one end of the room and a chair at the other end of the room.
Divide the kids into two teams.
Have one player from each team bear crawl down to the chair, circle around the chair, and back to tag the next person from their team.
Connection to the Lesson
Have them relate their bearcrawling to Jonathan and his armor bearer climbing up the clift to where the army was. Talk about how they may be feeling on their climb up. At that point they didn't know if the answer was going to be "come on up and fight us" or "go away". Talk about the amount of trust they had to have in God.
Activity 2 "Blindfold Drawing Challenge"
Activity 2 "Blindfold Drawing Challenge"
Time: 10 minutes
Materials needed:
Blindfolds
Paper
Crayons/markers
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Give the kids a blindfold (depending on how many you have they may have to take turns)
Place the blindfolds on the kids and instruct them to draw a picture without seeing.
Ask them to follow your directions. Ask them to draw a tree on one side of the paper, then a cliff on the other side. Then they are to go back and draw a figure (Saul) under the tree. Finally, ask them to place two figures (Jonathan and his armor-bearer) climbing up the face of the cliff.
Have the blindfolded kids take off their blindfolds and then all the kids compare their drawings.
Connection to the Lesson
We have to trust God's direction even if we can't see how things are going to turn out. How did it feel being blindfolded while drawing a picture? How confident were you that the picture was going to turn out ok?
Ask: What made the difference in the two sets of drawings? (Some couldn’t see what they were doing.) How is this like our life? Say: God gives us the eyesight of faith through His Spirit to be able to do what He asks us to do. In our story today two young men go and do something rather bold for God. Let’s say our power text, 1 Samuel 14:6: ”Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, ‘Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few’ ” (1 Samuel 14:6). When we can see through the eyesight of faith and follow where His Spirit leads us, God can do great things for and through us.
Activity 3 "Follow God's Voice Craft"
Activity 3 "Follow God's Voice Craft"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed:
Construction Paper
Scissors
Markers
Glue
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions
Give the kids a piece of construction paper for the background (any color of their choice)
Give the kids a brown piece of construction paper and whatever color they want to make their arrows out of
1) Cut a long brown strip of paper for the wood post and glue it to the middle of the paper
2) Cut 5 arrows out on the other pieces of paper and have them glue them to the "wooden post"
3) They can decorate and write "Trust God" "Pray Daily" "go God's Way" "Read His Word" and "Obey God" on each of the arrows.
Activity 4 "Off-Lesson Fun Games"
Activity 4 "Off-Lesson Fun Games"
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Varies depending on the game
Get the details by clicking here!
Musical Chairs
Grab the black chairs out of the closet (so that they are lighter to move around) and have the kids play musical chairs!
The 60 second game
This is a great game for settling a group down. Ask everyone to stand up and put their hands behind their back. Tell them they need to silently guess how long one minute is and sit down when they think it’s up. You do need a clock or watch so you can tell when the time is up. This game can be adjusted to a shorter period for younger children, but I’ve been surprised how well it works even with a Kindergarten group.
Cup stack races
Keep a stack of cheap plastic cups in your bag to pull out for a quick game. Two children can race each other in making the highest or biggest pyramid of upside-down cups in one minute.
Heads or tails
If you’ve got a coin handy, this is a quick and easy game that involves no skill. Children need to make their choice before the coin is flipped. They either put their hands on their head or hands on their ‘tails’ to indicate their choice. Those who guessed correctly stay standing, the rest sit down. Play a few rounds until there is a final winner.
Activity 5 "Dance it out"
Activity 5 "Dance it out"
Time: 10-20 minutes
Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):
christian just dance videos below
If they don't want to play the Christian Just Dance game they can play follow the leader.
Wrap It Up!
Wrap It Up!
**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**
**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**
-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only) or color the pictures (littles).
-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only) or color the pictures (littles).
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
Worship
Worship
Energy Release!
Energy Release!
Last Minute Filler Ideas
Last Minute Filler Ideas
-Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.
-Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)
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