Welcome to the Rotation.org Writing Team's
Many of the lesson plans in this David Set are 
Rotation.org Writing Team
Anointing of David
Computer Workshop
Summary of Lesson Activity
Students will use the Life of David (Kid's Interactive Series) software to learn about how God chooses leaders, and rate where their own heart is right now.
The "Life of David" software program is now free to the supporting members of Rotation.org, learn how!
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.
Preparation
Obtain, install, and preview the software.
- Make copies of student worksheet located below in this lesson.
Materials List
- Computers
- Life of David software
- Markers
- Newsprint
- Worksheet
- Vanilla or sweet perfume
Lesson Plan
Open
Introduce yourself and today's lesson with the following opening activity:
"Let's Choose a Class King or Queen"
Say: We're going to pick someone here today to be the King or Queen of our congregation. We want to pick the very best person!
Now pick the King or Queen in this dumb way: Play a game of "eenie-meenie-minie-moe" to pick the King or Queen. ..."my mother told me to pick the very best one and you are it ...because you -have the nicest smile, -or everybody like you, -or I know, because you love pickles!" Pick one child and put a crown on their head, introduce them as King Pickles, and ask everyone to bow before them. (Have fun with this.)
Ask: Is this any way to pick a leader, a King, a Queen for the congregation?
Ask: How would you go about picking a leader?
Take the following words and mix them up in random order as you write them on the board and then ask students to help you sort them into two categories that you have written to either side of the list: (1) What God looks for in leaders (2) What people look for in choosing a leader. You may need to define some of these words.
Good looking Trustworthy
Tall Prayerful
Well-spoken Faithful
Super smart Admits mistakes
Rich Courageous
Outspoken Unselfish
Athletic Perseverance
Popular Respected/respectful
The answers should be pretty obvious. The sorting of the list will make a great visual memory and give you plenty of opportunities to share additional insights.
Dig & Reflect
Say: Today we are going to read, hear and see 1st Samuel 16, the story of how the boy David was chosen by God to be king of Israel. Using the Life of David software, we will explore the scripture in its "Discover the Bible" section, then view a short video clip, and play a scripture game. Use the worksheet to go through the sections in order, and answer certain questions as you do.
Begin with the Life of David software. Give the kids this worksheet to guide them.
- Open up Life of David software, go to the "Discover the Bible" section, and find 1 Samuel 16. Read and Hear verses 1-13. You may click the "camera" icon to see an illustration.
- Click on the three Bible study icons located along the bottom of the scripture screen to open the following 3 study notes and answer the following questions. (Click on the "right" and "left" hands to flip the pages in order to find the correct icons.)
Study Notes to complete in the Discover the Bible section:
(a) Do the Right Thing: To see the real person, God looks __________.
What is God hoping to find there in that person?
(b) Sticky Situation: God chooses the __________ candidate to be king. Why do you suppose God does that?
(c) Life Then, Life Now: What is Anointing all about? It's about __________. (Tip: Look under story scene 'David Anointed King of Judah'). - Go to the Bible Time Theater and View the Anointing Video Clip.
Then answer/discuss these questions:
- In the video, how does God go about discovering and pointing out to others David's heart?
- Create a "God's Own Heart" Score:
On a scale of 1-to-3, how would God rate your heart/character? (This was not in the video.) 1 = "not enough," 2 ="average," = "above average"
1 2 3 Faith in God
1 2 3 Desire to learn more about God
1 2 3 Prayerful
1 2 3 Admit mistakes, ask forgiveness
1 2 3 Unselfish
1 2 3 Respectful - Name two things you could do that would help you improve your "God's own heart" score:
(1) ______________________ (2) _______________________.
******************************************************
(adapted with permission from Sunday Software)
Teaching Note: Work alongside students as they work through the software. Especially in this last section of the worksheet, take the time to see how they scored themselves and make encouraging comments.
Close
Gather in a circle and have students share (confess) one thing they scored themselves "not enough" on in the God's Own Heart Score study note.
Point out that David was not perfect, not even close, yet God chose David anyway.
Ask: What does that say about God?
Stand in a circle and pull out a bottle of vanilla or similar sweet smelling ointment.
Say: Back in the days of David, anointing oil had a sweet smell. It was like perfume. The idea was that our sins made us smell bad, and the sweet smell of the oil reminded us and others that we were forgiven and chosen by God to be his children, leaders, and kings. Do: Dab each student's forehead with sweet oil and some ritual words, such as "you are chosen by God to share the message of his love to the world and be a leader in this congregation." Lead by your faithful, unselfish example.
If time... Let the students go into the Life of David "Games" section: Bible Memory Verses, and select the following two memory verses to unscramble:
- 1 Samuel 16:7 ...but the Lord looks at a person's thoughts and....
- Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart....
Additional Suggestions and Helps
Adaptations - Younger Children: Either project the software for everyone in the class to see, or have helpers at each computer to assist the children through the program. Have the helper ask the worksheet questions (simplifying where necessary), and write down the student's answers.
Instead of the memory verses, have non-readers play two puzzles in the Games section of the software:
Puzzle Row 1-Column 2 is Samuel Anointing the David as a Boy
Puzzle Row 4-Column 1 is David being Anointed King.
Children can take turns doing the puzzles.
Navigation Help: Here is a screenshot from the Discover the Bible section showing the navigational options:
Written by: Neil MacQueen for rotation.org
Copyright © 2002, Revised and Updated, 2015 by Rotation.org
Printed from https://www.rotation.org
Update 2020: Life of David is NOW OUT OF PRINT.
