The Anointing of David

Art Workshop 

Summary of Lesson Activities:

The children will reflect on what God saw in David and then write and decorate a poem about what is in their hearts that God sees. They will also do some other activities to help them understand how certain things about us cannot be seen, but can be known by God.

Scripture Reference:

1 Samuel 16: 1-13

Memory Verse:

"The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b (NIV)

Objectives for the Rotation:

See above.

Additional Objectives for the Art/Creative Writing Workshop

At the end of the session, the students will:

Teacher preparation in advance:

• Read the scripture passages and lesson plan and attend the Bible Study.
• Prepare a closing prayer.
• Learn the memory verse.
• Confer with the Shepherd on age level adjustments needed each week (those included in the lesson plan and your own). Consider the “Stretchers” you can use, especially with the youngest children.
• Prepare memory verse index card sets for the Memory Verse Activity: write the verse with several words on each index card (make several sets of cards). You will need one set for every 3-4 children. (For younger children, number the cards in order.)

Supplies List:

• Easel; appropriate maker
• Bibles
• index cards
• pencils
• lined handwriting paper
• plain paper
• dictionaries and thesauruses
• poetry form (see attached sample)
• Whiteboard or flipchart and markers
• pens, gel pens and/or markers
• 2 or 3 blindfolds
• Memento: heart stickers

Presentation

Opening – Welcome & Introductions:

Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your name-tag. (Remember, you are interacting with a different group of students each week who may not know you.) Make sure the children are wearing name-tags.

We had an opening prayer during the gathering time, but you may open with prayer if you feel led to do so.

Explain the purpose of this workshop: Today we will do some thinking about David and what God saw in his heart and what God sees in our hearts.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Scripture/Bible Story:

Give each child an index card.

Have each write down something special or interesting about themselves that we can’t see. For example: “I enjoy walking my dog,” OR “I pray at night before I go to sleep."

This should not be something that we can see (for example, do not write “I have brown hair"). 

Tell the children these are to be done privately – they are not to discuss with their neighbors and should not try to read what someone else is writing. (Younger children: the Shepherd and Workshop Leader should help them write their responses.) The Shepherd and Workshop Leader also should write a card. Don’t spend much time on this.

After everyone has written something, collect the cards and shuffle them. Pull one out and read it. Everyone tries to guess who wrote the card. After everyone has guessed, have the person whose card it is identify himself.

Thank all the children for sharing those special things about themselves. Tell them that God knows each one of us inside and out and has a special plan for our lives.

Let’s read a Bible story about someone whom God knew very well – He knew the special things about this boy inside and outside. God knew this boy even better than his own father knew him.

[Hand out Bibles.]

Open your Bible to 1 Samuel 16. This is a story that takes place before Jesus was born, so it is in the Old Testament, which is the first part of the Bible. It is in one of the books of history.

Show the children how to use the Table of Contents. We restate information about Bible organization in each workshop to be sensitive to visitors and new children in the class who may not have any knowledge of the Bible. We never want a child to feel like they do not belong because they do not know this information before they come to class.

Read the scripture: 1 Samuel 16: 1-13

Younger children: For classes composed primarily of pre-readers, show the children how to find the passage in the Bible and then have them do it. After everyone has found the passage, have them close their Bibles and listen while you read.


Application:

Which boy did God choose?
Did that surprise his brothers? Why?

Let’s do an experiment:
Who do you think has the neatest handwriting? Let’s vote. [Choose one of the students in the class.]

Now everyone write your name using your neatest printing or script. [Give everyone a pencil and a piece of lined handwriting paper.]

Let’s vote again. [Hold up the handwriting samples, one by one.]
Were we right?

FIELD TEST NOTE: we did not do the above handwriting experiment because some felt that children would be embarrassed about having their handwriting compared and looked at so closely.

How did this remind you of when David was chosen as the king? [not the person everyone would have chosen, seemed unlikely choice, father had not even asked him to come in from the pasture to be considered.]

Do you think the teacher often knows who is best at things in school?
God is even more special than your teachers, because God knows things that no other human being knows about each of us.

Do you think God knows what we’re best at?
Did you know that God has designed each of us for some special purpose?
Do you wonder what your purpose is?
You can pray to God and ask help to know what His purpose is for you.

Pulling it all together (closing discussion):

Let’s review our memory verse:
The LORD does not look at the things man looks at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7b

What do you think it is that God looked for in David’s heart and that God looks for in our hearts?
Is it secrets, such as “I think Donny Osmond is really cute”?
Is it something that can be measured? “He’s more prayerful than I am, so God likes him better.”

Let’s write an acrostic poem with the word “heart.” An acrostic poem is one where the first letter in each line spells a word. So the first line of our poem will begin with an “h”. Think about something God looks for that begins with “h”. What about “height” or “handsome” or “happy to win the tournament”? It can be a word or phrase. [Take suggestions. Offer dictionaries and thesauruses to older children.]

Let’s put our ideas down on paper. [Instruct the children to write the memory verse on their paper. Then have them write the letters of the word “heart” down the left side of their paper. Instruct them to write a word or a phrase on each line describing something God looks for in our hearts that begins with each letter in “heart” next to the letter. (Ex: H - helpfulness, E - enthusiasm, A - ardor, etc.). If time permits, they may decorate their poetry page.]

(Create a form with the memory verse and the letters "H E A R T" down the side for younger children. If time is short, you may want to use it for older children also. You may want to write a poem as a group with younger children on the whiteboard and then let them copy it down and decorate it.)

Review the memory verse.

adapted from “Listen Up!” in The Big Book of Bible Skills.

Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 children. Have each team select a person to be blindfolded.

Just as Samuel had to listen carefully so that he knew whom God wanted him to pick, you must listen carefully to your group members in order to get the memory verse together correctly. Each group has a shuffled set of index cards with the memory verse written on them. All you need to do is instruct the blindfolded team member how they should move the cards so that they are in order. [Younger chidlren should use numbered sets of cards.]

Once a group’s cards are in order, the blindfold is removed. Everyone in the group should read the Bible verse together.

If time permits, shuffle the cards again and let a different group member be blindfolded.

At 11:45 a.m., turn the class over to the Shepherd.
Suggestion: You may wish to give the children a heart sticker to wear home as a reminder of the story and activities.


Shepherd Time:

In the Bible story, after David is anointed, God helps David get ready to be the king. What does God do to help him? “The Spirit of the LORD took control of David and stayed with him from then on.” (1 Sam 16:13b)
God gives many people his Spirit to help them do God’s work.

Do you know how the Spirit can help you too?
Knowing God’s will helps you obey God, understand right from wrong, helps you pray, teaches you about the Bible and many other things!

Do you know how to ask God to give you the Holy Spirit?
Tell God you know that you need His help, that God is responsible for the good you do, that you want to serve God. God will give you the Holy Spirit to do God’s work.


This is meant to be a time of reflection and introspection. Talking and thinking about faith helps clarify lessons. In addition to the suggested activity, children may draw pictures relating to today’s scripture or memory verse, list highlights of the day’s activities, or rephrase the memory verse.

You may want to provide an extra activity or worksheet for children, such as coloring sheets, crossword puzzles, word searches, games. See the Teachers’ Background Notes and rotation.org for ideas.

Before noon, ask the students to sit quietly for prayer so they can leave when their parents arrive.

Closing:

Did you know that David wrote a number of songs and prayers that can be found in the Bible? They are in the Book of Psalms. Let’s pray using one of David’s prayers: Psalm 63: 1-8. (Older can read it together in unison; younger can listen prayerfully as you read it.)


Tidy and Dismissal:

• Ask children to help tidy the room.
• Make sure they take their poems/artwork.

Additional Suggestions:

You will need to decide how best to adjust the lesson for older and younger students. Keep the children active and involved in activity. Do what works for you and the children. Some ideas are included in the lesson plan.

Sources:

• Faith Quest Lesson Sets at Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian Church. “David, God’s Chosen King: Praising Puppets.” 2003. Web.<http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...gPraisingPuppets.htm>.
• “David, God’s Chosen King: Apostle’s Playhouse.” 2003. Web.<http://www.kirkofkildaire.org/...TheKingPlayhouse.htm>.
• The Big Book of Bible Skills. Ventura, CA: Gospel Light, 1999. Print.

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