Rotation.org Writing Team

Anointing of David

"Science" Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activity

Students will take part in some science demonstrations that show that unexpected results can occur; perhaps not what was expected! Make predictions about these experiments: floating a can of regular Coke® vs. a can of Diet Coke®, and mixing together reactive chemicals. Participate in the demonstrations and equate their findings to God having unexpected plans for David. Discuss how God has plans for their lives that may seem unexpected.

Scripture

Passage: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

Key/Memory Verse: “For the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7b (NRSV)

Objectives for the Rotation

See Bible Background.

Objective for Science Workshop

After completing this workshop, participants will be able to conclude that God uses us in different ways for different purposes. There is no way to predict how God will use us; we must be open to hearing God’s word in our lives.

Preparation

• Read Bible Background and scripture.
• Try the experiments at home before the lesson so that you are familiar with how they work.
• Write the key/memory verse on the whiteboard (or newsprint or chalkboard).

Materials List

• Bibles
• A Chalkboard, or newsprint, or whiteboard with appropriate marker
• A can of regular Coke® and a can of Diet Coke®
• Basin or bucket for water - large enough for two cans of soda to be placed inside and deep enough that one can “sink” to the bottom.
• Two clear drinking glasses
• A clean 16-ounce plastic soda type bottle
• Cup, small
• Food coloring
• Funnel
• Hydrogen peroxide liquid, ½ cup 20-volume (a 6% solution available from a beauty supply store or hair salon)
• Liquid dish washing soap
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Safety glasses (Optional - are just a precaution but add to the authenticity of the workshop)
• Tray
• Water, warm
• Yeast, dry – 1 Tablespoon
• Towels
• Journals, pens or markers (optional)

Lesson Plan

Open

Introduce yourself to the children and have them introduce themselves to the group. Tell them that today we will be learning about how God chose David to be king of Israel.

Ask: Who can tell me something about David?

[Allow students to tell you what they know about David. Use this information to judge what parts of the story need emphasis.]

Perhaps prompt with:

• Didn’t he write some Psalms?
• Didn’t he have something to do with Goliath?
• Wasn’t he a shepherd — someone who took care of sheep?

Say: David was a king, but before he was made a king, he was just an ordinary shepherd. That is totally unexpected! God chose an ordinary shepherd boy to be a king! Totally unexpected! Let’s read about how this happened.

Dig

Distribute Bibles. Have everyone find 1 Samuel 16:1.

Go over these discussion points -- before reading -- to help the students understand what they are about to read:

Say: The prophet Samuel was sent by God to go to Bethlehem and find a man named Jesse. God told Samuel that he was to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king.

Do: Have students read 1 Samuel 16:1-7. (In later weeks of the Rotation, ask them to tell you the story.)

Say:  Jesse’s first son, Eliab (pronounced: ee-LAI-ab) was brought before Samuel. He was tall, strong, and handsome. Samuel was sure that this was the one God had chosen.

Ask:  Was he right? Was Eliab the one? (no)

  But he sounded kingly; what was it that God was looking for? (allow a few replies. 

Do:  Read the key verse together - 1 Samuel 16:7b. Explain that the "b" means that our key verse comes from the second portion of verse seven.

Say:  God told Samuel that God sees the inside of people, not just the outside. The rest of Jesse’s sons, seven in all, were brought out and each was not chosen. Everyone had expected that the tallest or perhaps the strongest looking son would be chosen as king. But that didn't happen. Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons. Jesse said he had one more youngest son, but he was tending sheep.

Ask:  Do you suppose that Jesse didn't include David in this parade in front of Samuel because he just figured, "oh, he's too young" or "he's just a shepherd"?  (allow a few replies)

Say:  Jesse is about to be unexpectedly surprised!  The youngest son was sent for and Samuel was told by God, this is the one! David was anointed king!

Do:  Have students read 1 Samuel 16:13.

Say:  No one expected the youngest son, who was just a shepherd to be anointed king, yet God had plans for David. That was totally unexpected.

Ask:  What unexpected things has God shown you? (allow all replies; workshop leader: be sure to share your own personal story)

Say:  God has plans for us as well. Those plans may totally surprise us. We need to be open to hearing God speaking in our lives. Let's look at a couple of science demonstrations to see what we can learn.

Science Demonstration #1

Say:  For our first experiment, I have two cans of Coke®.

Ask:  What do we know about these two drinks just by looking at their cans? (the two cans are different colors; one has sugar and the other does not; they are likely to taste different)

Say:  There are some things we can tell for sure about these two different drinks just by looking at their cans. But without opening the cans, what is inside -- we can’t be sure about.

Ask the kids if they think that the drinks are lighter or darker colored or the same. Have them predict; take a vote and write the results on the whiteboard.

Say:  We will test out our predictions in a little bit.

Ask: Is one can heavier than the other?

Do:  Pass around the cans to see if one feels heavier.

Ask: Can we tell which one is heavier for sure? (not really)

Say: I have some water here. If one can is heavier than the other it should sink lower in the water.

Ask: Do you think that both will float or sink equally?

Do:  Have the students predict (vote). Write the vote down.

State their predictions: For example, 2 of you think that the diet Coke is heavier and will sink lower; 3 of you think that they are the same, etc.

Place the Coke and the Diet Coke into the water.

Ask:  Were you surprised by the result? (allow a few replies)

Say:  We couldn't tell just by looking at the cans - their OUTSIDE, which would float and which would sink. The reason that one can floats is based on what is INSIDE the can. (The sugar in Regular Coke® makes it heavier.) Even though David was the youngest (and smallest) of his brothers, God saw what was in David’s heart and knew he had the right qualities to be king.

For older students who may be interested, here is the scientific explanation:

The artificial sweetener is about 180 times sweeter than sugar so much less is required to sweeten the drink. There are ~188 mg of artificial sweetener (Aspartame/Nutrasweet® ) in the Diet Coke® can. There are 39 grams (39,000 mg!) of sugar in the Coke® can. That's about 11 teaspoons of sugar in one can!

Both cans contain the same amount of liquid and the cans are the same size. When you add more substance to the same amount of liquid in a defined space, you increase the density and the weight. The Coke® is more dense/heavier than the Diet Coke® so it sinks.

Say:  Now let's take a look at the colors of the two liquids.

Do:   Review their predictions. Fill a clear glass half full of Coke® and the second clear glass half full of Diet Coke®. Have the learners vote now on which is darker and which is lighter. Compare this vote to the earlier vote.

Say:  Only God could see into David’s heart. And God knew David had what was needed to be a good king.

Ask:  Do you suppose God knows us inside as well?

Say:  God knows we can do all sorts of things. Things that may seem surprising to us! God knows our differences from the outside and the inside.

Science Demonstration #2

Say:  Next, we are going to do a science experiment that takes some pretty normal ingredients and turns them into something surprising -- kind of like the selection of David as king was surprising.

Do:  Explain the experiment -- that you will mix together food coloring with liquid dish soap, some water, and some hydrogen peroxide. Ask for predictions of what will happen. Write these predictions on a whiteboard or a chalkboard.

Explain that this is a science experiment and safety precautions must be taken. They should wear their safety glasses during the entire experiment.

Here are the steps to follow. Foam will overflow the bottle, so be sure to do this experiment on a washable surface, or place the bottle on a tray.

• Hydrogen peroxide can irritate skin and eyes, so put on those safety goggles and carefully pour the hydrogen peroxide into the bottle.
• Add 8 drops of food coloring into the bottle.
• Add about 1 tablespoon of liquid dish soap into the bottle and swish the bottle around a bit to mix it.
• In a separate small cup, combine the warm water and the yeast together and mix for about 30 seconds.
• Now the adventure starts! Pour the yeast water mixture into the bottle (a funnel helps here) and watch the foam begin. [Click on the pictures below to see larger images.]

Discussion:

Ask:  What do you think of these experiments?

Did anyone come close to predicting what happened?

Were you surprised?

Explain that David's brothers and his father and Samuel were likely surprised when David was picked, too.

Ask: Do you think you could do something that's surprising one day?

Say:  God gives us all special skills and talents so we can do surprising things for him.

Ask the children to close their eyes for a minute or two and try to imagine how God may use them. Do they have some special skills or interests?

Allow thought time. (Perhaps ask if anyone would like to share their thoughts.

Close

Distribute journals, if they are used in class, and have them write their responses. Younger children can draw pictures.

Pray with the children and ask God to help them to keep open hearts so they can hear when God talks to them.

Additional Suggestions

Adaptations - Younger Children: Little kids love experiments, too! However, it's probably best to show them the second experiment, rather than letting them use hydrogen peroxide and food coloring. They can count the drops of food coloring together with you, and make predictions about what will happen.

Adaptations - Older Children: Have additional equipment so that small groups can perform the second experiment.

Adaptations - Intergenerational Groups: Same as above.

Sources

LaRosa, Liz. “Density Demonstration: Coke vs Diet Coke.” Middle school science.. 2008.

Photos from the first experiment shared by Jaymie Derden while using this lesson at her church: State Street UMC, Bristol, TN.

Floating coke picture by Brian J. Geiger shared with a Creative Commons license at Flickr.

Written by:  Team Effort!  Peggy Franciosa, Joy Femster, Liz Toombs, and Carol Hulbert

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