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    • Today's Theme:
    God wants to be our king.

     

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     Today's Story:

    		Hannah takes Samuel to  the tabernacle.
    I Samuel I and 2
    Optional Memory verse:  "People, trust God all the time. 
    Tell him all your problems.God is our protection."    
     Psalm 62:8
    International Children's Bible, New Century Version
    • Materials Needed:
    		Promised Land mat,
    Samuel figure
    Joshua figure,
    Box of the Agreement (matchbox) from past lessons with the 1'st commandment inside,
    1 man (priest if you have one), 1 women and 1 boy Fisher Price or similar type figures,
    Baby Samuel figure (make him from play dough by rolling a small barrel for a body and adding a round head - it will look like a miniature Fisher Price figure),
    4 or 5 Fisher Price (or similar type) figures to represent God's people,
    blocks,
    A half piece of construction paper (to lay across some blocks to be the roof of the tabernacle.

     

    • Action Game:   Obey the King
    		Have the kids make a jail out of some chairs or designate a place in the room as a jail,
    Choose 1 child to be a king,
    Choose 1 child to be a judge,
    The children make a circle around the king.
    The judge stands outside the circle.
    Tell the king to make a rule and the kids in the circle have to pantomime following it,
    		For example: sweep the palace floor,
    Cook my dinner, etc.
    Before the king gives his command, go around the circle and whisper in each child's ear either,  "Obey the king,"  or "Don't obey the king".
    The judge's job is to find the kids who are not obeying the king and "send them to jail".
    Let the kids take turns being kings and judges.

     

    • Snack/Game: You be the Judge
    		Have snack before telling the story to further teach the concept of judges.
    Tell the kids:
    		They are all going to be judges.
    It's their job to decide 2 things:
    		1. If you were fair in the way you passed out snack,
    2. If you weren't fair, they have to tell you how to make it fair.
    Have the kids close their eyes while you pass out snack,
    Pass out something that's easy to count, (cheese crackers, etc), as unfairly as you possibly can.
    Have them open their eyes and judge you. They make great judges!

     

    Illustration of Story Set Up

    Option:  Add blocks as shown on right to 
    represent Hannah's house

     

    • Closing Discussion:

    • Close in Prayer  thanking God that if we trust in Jesus He can be our king and help us live lives that are good and kind.

    Telling the Story:
    		In our games today, what was the king's job?
    		To make the rules.
    What was the judge's job?
    		To make sure the people follow the king's rules,
    To make sure people are fair.
    Lay out the Promised Land mat,
    These last few weeks we learned about Joshua.
    		Add Joshua figure.
    Joshua led God's people into the Promised Land across the river.
    He helped them take over the strong city of Jericho.
    After that, God's people lived all over the Promised Land.
    		Place 4 or 5 people Fisher Price type people in different parts of the mat.
    But Joshua grew old and died.
    		Remove Joshua figure.
    God's people worshipped God in a special tent called a tabernacle.
    Let's pretend this is the the tabernacle:
    		Next to the Dead Sea: make 4 pillars out of blocks and put the piece of construction paper on top as a roof.
    But where was the palace that the king lived in?
    		There was no palace for a king.
    Why do you think there was no palace for a king?
    		Because God's people didn't have a king.
    Why didn't they have a king?
    God did not want his people to have a king.
    Kings took the people's money and used it to build themselves big palaces to live in.
    Kings thought they were more important than everyone else.
    They made people work as their servants.
    And some kings were mean.
    God did not want that to happen.
    Well, if God's people didn't have a king, who would give them rules to follow?"
    		God already gave his people rules.
    Who remembers what God's 10 most important rules were called?
    		The 10 Commandments.
    Let's review the most important rule that God gave His people.
    		Open the "matchbox" Box of the Agreement and read the scroll with "Never make your own gods", (or "You shall not have any other gods except me."*).
    Then place the matchbox into the tabernacle.
    God's people didn't have a king because God wanted to be their king.
    God would be a perfect king.
    He would never be mean.
    He would never make bad rules.
    He wouldn't take the people's money so he could build a big palace.
    Since God is the king of His people, who will make sure the people follow His laws?
    Judges!  God picked judges to lead God's people.
    The Judge would remind God's people to follow God's laws.
    And the judge would make sure the people were fair to one another.
    A lot of Judges were leaders in the Promised land.  
    In your Bible readings last week you may have heard the stories of 2 judges, a woman named Deborah and a man named Gideon.
    Today we're going to hear the story about a judge named Samuel.
    This is Hannah.
    		Place woman figure on the mat.
    Hannah was very sad because she didn't have any children. 
    So she promised God that if He would give her a baby boy, she would give the baby back to God.
    God answered her prayer and gave her a baby boy.
    		Place play dough baby with Hannah.
    Hannah named her baby boy Samuel.
    Samuel grew into a little boy.
    		Replace play dough figure with boy Fisher Price type figure.
    When he was still a little boy,  Samuel's mother packed up all his things and took him to the tabernacle.
    		Walk the figures of Samuel and his mother to the tabernacle.
    She gave Samuel to the priest who was in charge of the tabernacle.
    		Place priest figure (or man Fisher Price  type figure) next to the tabernacle.
    Put Samuel figure next to the priest.
    Then Samuel's mother went home.
    		Walk woman figure back home.
    Samuel lived with the priest. 
    And every year his mother visited him and brought him a new coat.
    When Samuel was all grown up he became a very important judge in the Promised Land.
    We'll learn more about Samuel next week.
    Why wasn't there a king in the Promised Land?
    God wants to be our king, too.
    How can God be our king?
    		We can ask Jesus to forgive us for all the wrong things we do and to live in our hearts. 
    We learn about God from the Bible and pray to Him everyday.
    By talking to God God everyday and asking Him to help us all day long.
    We ask God to help us be kind.

     

    Supplemental Bible Readings:
    (Suggested daily readings)

    • Materials Needed for Next Week:
    		Promised Land mat
    Samuel figure
    4 or 5 Fisher Price or similar type figures
    Pharaoh figure (from previous lessons),
    blocks
    • Optional Snack for Next Week:
    		Generic white paper plates (1 per child)
    Colorful cereal like Fruit Loops or Berry Berry Kix
    Vanilla icing
    Plastic knives

     

    • Figures Needed for Upcoming Lessons:
    		Two weeks from now we will be studying Solomon.
    		If making homemade figures from the pattern at this site, prepare by making a Solomon figure as a king.
    		(Recommendation: color code him as a king from the  Southern Kingdom, Judah by using purple and gold fabrics.
    Six weeks from now you will need a king from the Northern kingdom, Israel.
    		If making homemade figures from the pattern at this site,  color code him as a king from the Northern kingdom by using red and gold fabrics).

     

    • One month from now the class will be making a model temple from a shoebox as a group project.  You will need:
    		1 shoe box,
    A piece of corrugated cardboard, 6" longer than the shoebox,
    A small dowel rod about an inch wider than the shoebox,
    3 small wooden blocks, about 3/4" cubed, (the cedar blocks available in the housewares section of grocery and discount stores for storing sweaters work great,
    1 wooden block from a child's toy set,
    1 squirt type lid from a juice or water bottle,
    Matchbox "Box of the Agreement" from previous lessons,
    Scrap of plain white or off white fabric, the width of the shoebox and about 3" longer than the depth of the shoebox,
    Wax paper,
    Glue sticks,
    Scraps of different colors of tissue wrapping paper,
    Children's markers in blues and purples and/or stamp markers in those colors,
    Crayons,

    © 1999 Linda Lawler.  
    Permission granted to copy for personal use only.  Not for resale.

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