Hannah & Samuel

Overview of lessons in this set:

• Drama - enact story
• Art - prayer pillowcase
• Games - listening activities
• Discovery Den - missions activity & baby shower (Note:  requires each child to bring in a baby picture of themselves, so this will need to be planned in advance.)

Scripture Reference:

I Samuel 3:1- 21

Memory Verse:

Philippians 4:6&7
Don’t worry about anything.
Instead tell God about everything.
Ask and Pray. Give thanks to God.
Then God’s peace will watch over your hearts and minds
because you belong to Jesus Christ.

Hannah and Samuel

Drama Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

The children will enact the story.

For scripture see above.

Lesson Objectives:

• to have the children review the story of Hannah and Samuel in their own words
• God’s peace can enter our lives even when things aren’t going well.
• God can use bad situations to work out His plan
• God speaks to children and uses them in His plan

Leader Preparation:

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

Supplies List:

• Any props or costumes that you choose to use.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

1) Welcome the children, especially the new ones. Have the children go around the room and introduce themselves if you have new children. Let the new child know what you like to be called. Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection

2) Read the story of Hannah & Samuel from the story provided.

Hannah and her baby, Samuel.
The Bible is full of real stories about real people, who did good things and wrong things, who loved God and who didn’t love God. It also tells about the Jews God’s chosen people. Sometimes they followed God and other times they didn’t. Today’s story is about a woman who loved God in a time when not so many people in Israel did. In fact, even the priests who God had appointed to be His servants and intermediary between Himself and His people were daily disobeying God.

Hannah and her husband Elkanah, who we’ll just call Elk, did worship God and every year went to the temple to make a sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins. But Elk had disobeyed God and he had married two wives, Hannah and Penninah, who we’ll just call Pen. So this was not a happy family. Pen was jealous of Hannah who Elk loved more than her. Pen was very angry because she had all the children in the family and Hannah had none, yet still Elk favored Hannah. Pen took every chance she could to tease and put Hannah down because she had no children. After years and years of this Hannah began to despair. Elk tried to comfort her by reassuring her that he loved her best of his wives. When Hannah stopped eating Elk was worried and said to Hannah “why are you so upset aren’t I more important to you than having children”. Elk hoped this logic would help Hannah start focusing what was good in her life. But to Hannah, this made her feel that even Elk had lost hope in her ever having children. Didn’t he have hope in the God of Sarah and Abraham who had given them children when Sarah was an old lady? Hannah felt so alone in her hurt.

Yes the only One who truly understood her was God. The next year when the family went to the yearly sacrifice Hannah went to the temple by herself to pray. She was very bitter and sobbed and sobbed before God until finally she could pray. She asked God to notice her pain and to give her a son. She promised to give the child back to God to be raised as a special priest to serve God all the days of his life. Eli the priest was watching Hannah as she was crying and quietly pleading with God and he thought she had been drinking too much wine and was drunk. It wasn’t uncommon in those days to find drunk woman in the temple apparently. Hannah told Eli she hadn’t been drinking wine at all, she was just very upset and sad. Eli saw that this was so and he told her to “May God answer your request. Go now with the peace of God” . Hannah left the temple and she wasn’t sad anymore. She knew she had left her biggest desire with the God who ruled the whole world. She had faith that God would look after the situation in the best way. Pen and Elk must have been surprised to see the change in Hannah! She wasn’t angry or bitter or sad anymore. She was content in God’s care.

Guess what happened the next year? A miracle! Hannah and Elk had a baby boy, just like Hannah prayed for. Can you imagine how happy she and Elk were after waiting so many years to have a child? Hannah named the boy Samuel which means “I asked the Lord for Him” in the Hebrew language. So whenever anyone heard his name, they knew he was a “special request baby”. Hannah cared for her wonderful baby boy until he was just old enough to toddle and eat and drink on his own and then she brought him to the temple and found Eli the priest to tell him about God’s answer to her prayer several years before. When Eli ask the boy’s name, do think he was surprised by the name “I asked the Lord for Him”? The Bible tells us that Hannah and Elk and Eli, the priest, all worshipped God together there with little Samuel.

Samuel must have found the temple big and mysterious. Eli must have been busy keeping track of a little toddler on top of his temple duties! For Samuel it must have like being raised by your grandfather. He must have looked forward to seeing his parents every year when the came to the yearly sacrifice. It must have been the best time of the year for him! And his mother always brought him new clothes she had specially made for him. It was like he could feel her arms around him when he wore the clothes she has sewn him.

Eli taught Samuel more and more about God and his laws and the duties of priests. Samuel wanted to follow God with all his heart and his mind. They had fun together too and Samuel grew to love Eli. Sometimes Samuel would feel confused though when he saw Eli’s son’s doing things that Samuel knew were wrong, like taking the best meat from God’s offerings. Samuel asked Eli about this and Eli agreed it was wrong, but he never seemed to stop his son’s from doing the wrong things. Samuel always felt bad when he saw this, or heard people talking about the wrong things the priests did. But what could he do? He was just a boy. Maybe he told his mother about it when she came to visit. I bet she told Samuel to just talk to God about it and she would pray too.

Samuel never expected God would answer him back when he prayed. But one night that’s just what happened! Samuel was in bed asleep when he heard his name called out. So he got out of bed and went to Eli to see what he needed. Eli told him he hadn’t called him and to get back to sleep. This happened two more time and Samuel was sure Eli was calling him. Finally Eli sat up in bed and said to Samuel, God is calling you. The next time you hear your name called answer God saying, “Speak Lord, I’m listening”. So that’s what Samuel did and God did speak to him. He told Samuel some sad and scary news about Eli’s family being punished for disobeying God. It must have been quite a lesson to Samuel about how much God hates sin. The next day when Eli insisted that Samuel tell him all God told him, Samuel obeyed. Eli was humble and accepted the judgment of God on him and his family.

The Bible tell us that as Samuel grow up that God was with Him. In fact, Samuel became God’s prophet. God told Samuel what he wanted him to say to the Jews. Samuel always obeyed even if it was news about judgment. God honored Samuel’s obedience, as he always does, and Samuel was know throughout all of Israel as God spokesperson. Whenever Samuel spoke, people listened because it always came true. So Hannah’s “special request baby” became a special prophet who God used to work out His special plan for Israel, and the whole world. God really does have a plan for everyone’s life!

3) Divide the class into groups to improvise each one of the following stories as time permits:

• Hannah & Penninah & Elkanah - the unhappy family going to worship God - Hannah brings her despair to God
• Hannah has a baby - She names him Samuel, meaning “I asked the Lord for Him” - Hannah entrusts Samuel to Eli
• Samuel & Eli - Eli mentoring Samuel - Samuel hears God calling Him
• Eli’s sons stealing from God’s sacrifices - Samuel watching this and being confused
  - Eli watching his sons and doing nothing to stop them
• Samuel and his mother visiting together - Samuel tells her about God calling him- Samuel tells his mother about Eli’s son’s doing wrong

Closing:

4) Review & Discuss the memory verse. Which people in the story of Hannah and Samuel would have benefited from knowing this New Testament verse? (Hannah, Samuel maybe Elk, Eli)

5) He children recite memory verse and mark journals with points for the week.

Closing Prayer & Benediction
Go with God and His peace will watch over your hearts and minds when you belong to Jesus Christ. Thank you Father God that we can come to you with our problems even when we feel all alone in the world. Help us to listen to you when you speak to us today. Amen.

References:

• The Beginner’s Bible (NIRV) I Samuel 1 -3;
• Gien Karssen, “Her Name is Women”, 1975 The Navigators pg. 77-89.

Hannah and Samuel

Art Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children will decorate pillowcases.

For scripture, see above.

Lesson Objectives:

• to show that God can use children to work out His plan!
• God has a plan for everyone’s life!
• tell God when you are confused by the adults in your life; and don’t worry
• children will take home a tangible reminder that God speaks to them

Leader Preparation:

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

Supplies List:

• Pillowcases.
• Fabric Markers
• Bibles

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction: 

1) Welcome children especially the new ones.

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

2) Read I Samuel 3:1-21 to the children. Have the children follow along in their Bible’s Discuss :

• Who are the two people in this story? (Samuel and Eli the priest)
  How old were they? (Samuel was a boy, Eli was an old man)
  Who would you expect God to speak to the boy or the old priest?
• What was a priest’s job in the Old Testament? (to make sacrifices for the Jews to have their sins forgiven; to lead the people and to serve God; to tell the people what God said to them)
• Have you ever heard God speaking to you?
  What do you think He would sound like?
  Who did Samuel think God sounded like? (Eli‘s voice)
• God told Samuel that his friend Eli was going to be fired from his job as a priest because he and his son’s had not done what God told them to do.
  How do you think a child felt telling an old priest that he was fired?
  Even though Eli was an adult and a priest, he disobeyed God. Sometimes the adults in our lives disobey God and we might feel confused by their behaviour.
  Who does our memory verse say we should talk to about everything? (God)
  What does the verse promise us if we do this? (God’s peace will watch over us)

Shepherds, we never know the situations that our children come from and they may be confused because an adult in their lives is not following God’s way (either a professing Christian or not), just as Samuel was likely confused by Eli and his son’s behaviour. We want the children to understand that they do have someone to talk to about it and that they can stop worrying about it and leave it with God. Please be prayfully prepared should a child come to you during or after class about a problem they have in their lives.

• Have the children read verse 19 aloud. Samuel didn’t grow up with his mother or father looking him, but who does this verse say was with him? (God)
  
  We might think it sad that Samuel didn’t get to grow up in his own home with his parents, but God had a plan for his life. Verse 20 tells us that Samuel was a prophet of the Lord. What is a prophet? (someone who tells the people what God wants them to know; he was God‘s mouth piece)

3) Today as a reminder that God talks to us, we’re going to make a pillowcase for our beds at home. Show sample. Children may like to write out the memory verse, or a portion of it:

Tell God everything!
Don’t worry!
God’s peace will watch over you!
Or from the story of Samuel:
I’m listening for you Lord!
Samuel heard God, I will listen too!
Here I am, Lord
They may also like to sign the pillowcase Good Night God/Father & Love…

The children can decorate their pillowcases as desired.
The fabric markers are permanent so please have the children use caution around their own and other’s clothing.

4) Remind the children to pray and listen every night when they go to sleep - their pillowcase should help to remind them! Remember, God does speak to children and he has a plan for you!

Closing:

5) Review the memory verse, if time permits.

6) Closing prayer, Thank you Father God that you speak to children and we can tell you about everything! Help us when we are in a difficult situation to not worry but to pray. Please fill us all with your peace this week. Amen.

Hannah and Samuel

Games Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Uses 2 separate games to tell the story.

Scripture Reference:

I Samuel 3:1 & 19 -21

Lesson Objectives:

• children will discuss the various ways God can speak to children
• children will review the story of Samuel
• children will experience a call and response song
• children will participate in prayer listening and respond through journaling

Leader Preparation:

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

Supplies List:

• Tape Recorder
• Picture cards
• Blindfold
• Pillow
• Copies of the song.
• Talking stick.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction: 

1) Welcome the children, especially new ones. Have the children all say their names and their favorite place to be quite and listen so the new children can learn the names and something about each child. (example, in bed at night, in hammock in summer etc

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection

2) Game 1 - Sounds Like Fun

Today we’re going to think and talk about, and play with listening! The first game we’re going to play is called “Sounds Like Fun”. This game should help the children quiet down and practice listening. Rules are attached to lesson. (10 - 15 minutes tape recorder is provided)

3) Read the scripture in I Samuel 3: 1 & 19 -21.

• Verse 1 says that God wasn’t giving many messages or visions to his people in those days. Why do you think God wasn’t talking to his people very much? (they weren't doing what God had told them; Eli and his sons who were the leaders were disobeying God and everyone know it, but did nothing)
• Tell the children, (don’t read all the verses as it is too long) - In I Samuel 2:27-36 God sent a man of God to warn Eli about his son’s, but Eli still didn’t listen. He didn’t do anything about his son’s disobeying God in the Temple. So God made a plan to raise up a new priest who would follow Him and listen. Who do you think that new priest was? (Samuel)
• When did God speak to Samuel? (when he was a boy, in the night)

4) We’re going to play a listening game called, “God is Calling You”. Divide your children into two groups if numbers allow. Blind fold one child from each group and have the lay down on the floor as if in bed (pillow and mat will be provided) The rest of the children will each take a turn going up to the sleeping child and call out “God is calling you, sleeping child‘s name”. The sleeping child must sit up with blind fold still on and guess whose voice in the
class just called them. They might start off calling quietly and then increasing loudly, but not yelling. Two or three calls should be enough. Rotate allowing each child to be blind folded.

• Does God speak to us today? (yes) Discuss how? -through the Bible, in our hearts, through pray listening, through our parents and Faith Finders through other believers confirming us. Please feel free to use any example, big or small, from your own life experience.
• God only talks to adults right? (no God talks to kids too)

5) Have the children tell you the story of God calling Samuel by having each child say one sentence. Use the aboriginal idea of a talking stick. The only person who can speak is the one who is holding the talking stick. The person passes the stick to the next person when they are done and then that person may speak.

6) Sing the song below to the tune of “Little Sir Echo” having one half of the group echo the other half of the group and then switch. You may want to have the words pre-written on a large sheet of paper and posted for everyone to see. This is a call and response song:

Father God I’m glad we talk,
Hello, hello, Hello hello
I will listen and I’ll obey
To You to You, to You to You
I’ll obey, I’ll obey; I’ll obey, I’ll obey
When I hear Your voice
Thank you Father you love me so,
And You have a plan for me, for me.

7) Have the children open their journals to write a response to the story of Hannah and Samuel. Led the children in prayer listening where the children talk to God and ask Him what He wants to show them from this story. You might ask the children to spread out so they are not near enough to touch each other before you begin praying. They may chose to lay down like they are sleeping. Have their markers already chosen and beside them so there is no moving around after the prayer listening and they can respond right away. For those who do not come up with a response suggest responding to “ I wonder“ or “I learned” or “I was surprised” or draw a picture from the story of Hannah and Samuel.

Closing:

8) Review the memory verse. It will be on a chart with each phrase being removable. Take one phrase away at a time and say the verse until nothing is left and the children are reciting the whole verse from memory.

9) Have children recite memory verse individually and mark these and other points in their journal.

Closing Prayer
Thank you Father God that you talk to us and that you didn’t just make us and leave us alone. We can have a friendship with you and talk and listen to you everyday. Help us to take time this week to talk and to listen to You. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Resources

• "Sounds like Fun" game is from Jocus Toys in Montreal Canada (update:  company no longer in business).
  If you are interested in creating the game or something similar here are the game details:  Essentially the game is a tape of various sounds with corresponding picture cards i.e. toilet flushing, bird singing, symphony playing, baby crying, person walking, person knocking etc... As the tape plays the children grab the card that matches the sound. There are only two cards for each sound. Or a less interactive game is have the children pick nine cards and place them in front of themselves; as they hear the sound they can turn that card over until they have a horizontal or diagonal line (like Bingo).

Hannah and Samuel
Discovery Den Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Children learn the story and play a memory game on the importance of babies in families and then have a baby shower for babies born in Korea.

For scripture, see above.

Lesson Objectives

• to show the children what a person who follows God can do when they are treated wrongly
• God’s peace can enter our lives even when things aren’t going well
• to show how God can use bad situations to work out His plan
• to celebrate that God has plan for everyone’s life!

Leader Preparation:

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

Supplies List:

• Presents
• Cake
• Baby pictures

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

1) Welcome children, especially any newcomers. The room will be decorated for a Baby Shower.

2) Ask the children to hand in their baby pictures being sure that no one sees their picture. It has been arranged for someone to display them on a posterboard and leave it for you outside the classroom to retrieve later in the lesson.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

3) Introduce the story of Hannah. Read aloud to the children from the children’s Bible I Samuel 1: 2 to 2:2, 18 -21 . Have the children follow along as you read. This story reads very simply in the Bible and it is good for the children to see us read a whole story from the Bible. On the flannel/black boards there will be the main characters; Hannah & Peninnah & Elkanah and Eli. (feel free to abbreviate the names for the children Veggie Tales would!)

4) Discuss the following questions to be sure the children understand the flow of the story.

• Why did Elkanah’s family go every year to the temple to sacrifice and worship God? (They wanted to follow God; in the Old Testament the only way for one’s sins to be forgiven by God was for an animal sacrifice to be made)
• How is this different from today? ( Since Jesus died to pay for our sins He became the perfect sacrifice, now all we have to do is ask God to forgive our sins when we talk to Him)
• Have you ever been treated meanly by someone else? (let children reply briefly - no long stories) Who in this story was teased? (Hannah) What did Hannah not have that everyone else seemed to have? (children) How did the Bible say Peninnah made Hannah feel? (angry, so upset she couldn’t eat, unhappy and bitter)
• What did Hannah do? (she sobbed and sobbed v10, she asked God for a child, she promised to give the child to serve the Lord as a Nazarite v11) Explain to the children that a Nazarite was a special priest that showed his dedication to God by never cutting his hair and by never drinking wine.
• How did Hannah feel after she gave her big problem to God? (v 18 her face wasn’t sad anymore) What do you think had changed for her? (she had faith in God that he would answer her pray in the right way)

READ Phillipians 4:6&7 aloud with the class

• What does this verse say will happen when we tell God about our problems? (God’s peace will watch over our hearts (feelings) and minds (thoughts).
• What did the priest Eli say to Hannah when he understood that she was praying to God? (Go in peace)
• Did God answer Hannah’s prayer? (YES she had a boy and named him Samuel and he became a very important prophet of God as we’ll learn about in other workshops)
• Hannah gave Samuel to the priest Eli to raise when he was just a little boy. Look at verse 2:18-21 again and have a good reader read them aloud. Hannah only saw Samuel once a year after that. Do you think she missed him? Do you think she trusted God to look after him? How did she show her love for Samuel? (she made him a new robe every year, she probably prayed for him everyday)

5) Retrieve the board outside your classroom door with your children’s baby pictures. Have a guessing game of who each baby picture is. Tell the children not to tell right away if it is their picture. Have some laughs. Discuss how the children think their parents felt when they were born

6) Babies bring all families joy! Remember how happy Hannah was? Today we’re going to have a Baby Shower for some new babies born in North Korea.

Infant Care Kits distributed by the Mennonite Central Committee  https://mcc.org/

Direct link to details for creating Infant Care Kits

2019: Moderator updated info and links in this box.

North Korea is a very poor country and the Mennonite Central Committee is sending the newborn babies some of the clothes they will need. Each baby is very special and God has a plan for their life. Maybe one of them will be like Samuel. Lets open the baby’s gifts and see what they will need. Have each child open what they have brought one at a time. There will be a newborn baby doll which can be used to show off some of the items of clothing. Please treat the doll as if it is a baby and encourage the children to do so too.

Older children: You might also discuss what MCC is and how each church sends a portion of their offerings to do joint relief/development projects together.

7) After the presents are opened, enjoy the cake together. Use this time to go over the children’s memory verses and other points in front of journal

Closing:

Closing Prayer
Thank you Father God that you planned for each of us to be born. Help us to remember to tell you about all of our problems so that we can be at peace in our hearts and minds. Please help the new mothers in North Vietnam to know that you love them and that you have a plan for their lives and their new little babies.

Please tidy them room and pile the baby clothes in the box provided.

A lesson set written by Janice Roy-Wismath
Delta, B.C. Canada

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