David and Jonathan

Computer Workshop

Grades k-3

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Uses a Power Point presentation to tell the story.

Scripture Reference:

I Samuel 17:57-20:42;
Core of the story is I Samuel 17:57-18:16, 19:9-12, and 20:1-42
For supplemental information:
I Samuel 13:1-3—Jonathan’s victory
I Samuel 23:15-18—David and Jonathan’s last meeting
I Samuel 31 and II Samuel 1—The death of Saul & Jonathan

Memory Verse:
Proverbs 18:24 (CEV), “Some friends don’t help, but a true friend is closer than your own family.”

Lesson Objectives:

• To remind the children of the story of David/Goliath and David/Saul and add Jonathan and Mephibosheth to the picture.
• To show the faithfulness of God in protecting His people
• Show that Jonathan was faithful to his friend David even when his father Saul was trying to kill David.
• Show how important friendship is and how David made sure that Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth was taken care of long after Jonathan had been killed.
  
  TEACHER NOTES: This is a slide story done in Power Point. The children can forward to the next picture by clicking on the Red Heart, as you read the script. It should last about 10 minutes. Please feel free to add to the script as it is being viewed or to ask questions as you feel inspired. Perhaps it would be best to have the computers at the opening screen “David and Jonathan” before the children arrive.

Supplies List:

• Computer with Power Point viewer.
• Power Point Story (*see Moderator's note below)
• Pencils and journals for each student
• Computer Program

Leader Preparation:

• Read the scripture ahead of time.
• Gather the materials.
• Explore the software.

*Moderator adds:
Appears they used portions of the free downloadable Power Point stories on David found at http://www.bibleforchildren.org/
Directions - once at site - click on language (example: English), then scroll down.  It appears they used portions of three different Power Point stories:
- #19 David the Shepherd Boy
- #20 David the King Part 1
- #21David the King Part 2
right click on each story and save to your computer.
Then you need to figure out which slides they used, going by their script below (they rewrote some of the text.)
Once you've compiled the story, as you like it, save copies to disk or USB and copy to your computer(s) at the church.

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:
Today we are going to learn about two very special friends. One boy was a poor, shepherd boy who became a king named David. The other by the name of Jonathan was the son of a king. Both David and Jonathan loved the Lord.
PRAYER:
Let us begin with a word of prayer: “Dearest Father, thank you for bringing us here today to hear about two of your special servants, David and Jonathan. Thank you for giving us friends and for one very special friend, Jesus. Amen

Bible Verse:
Before we begin, let’s all say the Bible verse for September together:
“Some friends don’t help, but a true friend is closer than your own family.”
Proverbs 18:24

Questions:

1. Do any of you have friends?
2. Do any of you have one very “best friend”?
3. What are some of the things that you do with your friends?
4. Do any of you ever spend the night at your friend’s house?

Today on the computer, we are going to watch a story about two very special friends, David and Jonathan. Although David and Jonathan were not brothers they were such very special friends that they treated each other like brothers. Jonathan’s father, Saul, invited David to stay at their house and play the harp for him. It is during that time that David met Jonathan and they became friends right away.
**We’ll talk a little more about these questions after we have looked at the lesson.

David and Jonathan Script

Slide 1: The Story of David and Jonathan

Slide 2: Credits (no need to read these)

Slide 3: Long ago, in the days of King Saul of Israel, a boy named David helped his seven brothers look after their father’s flocks. Though he was youngest, David was a strong, brave boy who loved and trusted God. He lived in the town of Bethlehem.

Slide 4: Once a lion attacked the flock to snatch a little lamb for supper. Young David attacked the attacker. Pulling the lamb away, he grabbed the snarling beast by its beard and killed it. David knew God had helped him.

Slide 5: Samuel, God’s prophet, was still sad that King Saul had failed God so badly. “How long will you mourn for Saul?” God scolded Samuel. “I am sending you to Jesse . . . . For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” Jesse was David’s father.

Slide 6: Even though Samuel knew King Saul might kill him for going to find another king, the prophet obeyed God.

Slide 7: When Samuel arrived, Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chose these.” That only left David, the youngest. He was out with the sheep. They brought David in. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one.”

Slide 8: In Saul’s palace, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and he became a very troubled man. His servants thought good music might settle Saul’s mind. One of them knew a young man who played the harp well. Can you guess who that young man was? Yes, David.

Slide 9: David’s music soothed Saul and helped him to think straight. Saul asked Jesse to let David stay in the King’s service. Whenever Saul had an attack of depression or fear, David played the harp for him. It helped.

Slide 10: Now Saul had a son. His name was Jonathan. David and Jonathan became very good friends right away when they met.

Slide 11: After David went home to his father, Jesse, Saul had a big battle with the Philistines. David’s brothers fought in Saul’s army but David stayed at home to watch his father’s sheep. Jesse sent David to the battle with food for his brothers. David got to see the army and the giant, Goliath.

Slide 12: A HUGE Philistine Giant, Goliath, had scared all the Israelite soldiers.

Slide 13: “Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me!” Goliath shouted. “If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. But if I kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” All the men of Israel when they saw the giant, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid.

Slide 14: Then David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” Saul wanted David to wear armor and carry a sword. Instead, David took his sling and picked five smooth stones from the brook.

Slide 15: Goliath laughed when he saw that young David wasn’t even wearing armor. “I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” he roared. “I come to you in the name of the LORD!” David answered. “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands. . . for the battle is the LORD’s!”

Slide 16: Then David ran straight toward Goliath. As he ran, he fired one stone from his sling—right into Goliath’s forehead. Goliath fell and died!

Slide 17: King Saul did not remember that this was the same David who had soothed him with the harp. He put David in charge of his army – then got jealous when the people honored David’s victories. “Now what more can he have but the kingdom?” Saul thought. So Saul eyed David from that day forward.

Slide 18: Again, King Saul’s mind was troubled. So David played music to try to soothe him. Three times Saul threw his spear at David. But David escaped each time. Saul was afraid of David because he knew the LORD was with him, but had departed from Saul.

Slide 19: But Jonathan, Saul’s son, loved David as a brother. “My father Saul seeks to kill you,” he warned David. So David escaped. His wife put a dummy in his bed, and let David down from the window in the middle of the night. When Saul’s men came in the morning, David was gone.

Slide 20: Sadly, the two friends said goodbye. David set out to find a place where he could live without fear of Saul’s soldiers finding him.

Slide 21: Young David was on the run. King Saul wanted to kill him. David lived in the wilderness, in a huge cave with four hundred followers.

Slide 22: Sometimes, King Saul’s soldiers almost found them. But David kept moving.

Slide 23: The Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled. The Philistines killed Saul’s sons, including Jonathan, David’s good friend.

Slide 24: Saul was severely wounded by the archers. And he said to his armour-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these wicked men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armour-bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So, Saul took a sword and fell on it.

Slide 25: When David heard the terrible news, he mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul, for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, because they had fallen by the sword.

Slide 26: Even though Saul had tried to kill David, David honored Saul as God’s anointed one until the end. Now God honored David, making him the king in Saul’s place.

Slide 27: Then all the tribes of Israel came to David and anointed him king over Israel. At long last, David was king over all the nation.

Slide 28: David had to fight many battles in the early years of his reign. He was a wise soldier and a humble man who prayed for God’s guidance.

Slide 29: David wanted to help any survivors of Saul’s family. He found only Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, who was crippled. “He shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons,” David said. David was kind to Mephibosheth because Jonathan had been his best friend.

Slide 30: As long as David trusted God and obeyed Him, God helped David to prosper. David thanked God for his friend, Jonathan, and for Jonathan’s father, King Saul.

Source

This lesson has been adapted from http://www.bibleforchildren.org/

License: You have the right to copy, print or distribute each Bible Story, as long as you do not sell it.

Questions:

1. First of all, does anyone have any questions? (Perhaps you can re-read some of the verses to the children if there is confusion)
2. In this story from the Bible, was Saul a happy man? (No)
3. Why not? (The Spirit of the Lord had left Saul)
4. Why was David invited to live with King Saul? (David could play the harp and the music made King Saul feel happier)
5. Who else lived with King Saul? (His son Jonathan)
6. Did Jonathan and David like each other? (Yes, they became very good friends)
7. Have any of you ever spent the night at a friend’s house? (answers will vary) Can any of you share what happened?
8. Were any of you really ready to go home the next day? (Let them share for a bit)
9. When David was living with Jonathan and King Saul the first time he wasn’t very old and he was away from his father Jesse and his seven brothers. Do you think he missed them? (We don’t know for sure, but because he had found such a good friend in Jonathan, he thought of Jonathan like a brother)
10. Why did David go back to live with King Saul and Jonathan? (David had killed Goliath and Saul wanted him in his army)
11. Were David and Jonathan still good friends? (Yes)
12. Why didn’t King Saul like David any more? ([This may not have been very clear in the story] - the people in the kingdom liked David; he was a hero and Saul was afraid that they liked David better than they liked the king—which they did!)
13. Why did David have to leave Saul’s house? (Saul was trying to kill David.)
14. Were Jonathan and David sad that they had to say goodbye to each other? (Yes) They were best friends and both loved God very much. They knew that they may never see each other again but Jonathan helped David escape and saved David’s life.
15. What happened to Saul and Jonathan later in the scripture that made David very sad? (They were killed)
16. After King Saul was dead, who became the next king? (David) Remember back to the beginning of the story when God sent Samuel to anoint David as the next king? This is fulfilling God’s plan that he had started many years before.
17. Even though King David was a very important person after he became king, he never forgot what a special thing his friend Jonathan had done for him by saving his life. Although David couldn’t do anything to help Jonathan any more, he did something very special for Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, what was that? He brought him to live with the king and to eat at the king’s table for the rest of his life.

Memory Verse:
Before we do our Journal time for today, let’s repeat the Bible verse for this month: “Some friends don’t help, but a true friend is closer than your own family.” Proverbs 18:24 (CEV)

Journal Time:
We just heard the story about two very special friends, David and Jonathan. Can you draw some pictures of some of the things special friends today do together? Maybe you can add some pictures of some the thing you think David and Jonathan did together.

Extra Time:
Bibleland.Com (out of print) has some games that could be played to fill in some time. One is a game where David is suppose to hit a target with his sling shot. There are a couple puzzle games that could work.

Moderator Notes: you could finish the lesson by having the kids use Kid Pix 4 or the newer "3D" version

Write it up and illustrate it in the program I call "powerpoint for kids."

• Kid Pix 4’s creative writing and drawing tools let your students create their own multimedia pictures and slideshows about any subject.
• Kid Pix 4 can speak out-loud over the computer speakers whatever is typed on the screen using the text tool.
• You can import graphics, including photographs, illustrate them and add captions.

to create a picture of David & Jonathan and write what each valued in their friendship. Kid Pix will speak out loud those friendship thoughts.

Closing:

Dear God, Thank you for teaching us about David and Jonathan today. Help me to be an extra special friend this week. And all God’s children said AMEN!

A lesson written by Diane from: Augustana Lutheran Church
St. James, MN

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