Unit 11 Session 1 Pre-K - Life Bible Kids

Israel Demanded a KingJune 2ndBig Picture Question:Who was Israel’s first king? Saul was Israel’s first king.Christ Connection: God provided the first kings to rule Hispeople Israel; Christ, the final King, rules over all people as Savior.through David’s family, God sent Jesus Christ, the Messiah.Pre-KTEACHER BIBLE STUDYToday’s Bible story picks up more than 20 years after the Philistines returned the ark of God to the Israelites.During that time, Israel began to seek God again, and Samuel led them to remove their foreign gods andworship God only.Samuel had judged Israel throughout his lifetime, but he was getting old. So Samuel made his sons, Joel andAbijah, judges over Israel. But like many sons before them, Joel and Abijah did not follow the example of theirfather. They disobeyed God and caused problems for Israel.Up until this point, Israel had relied on God to give them judges to lead them. The elders of Israel spoke toSamuel about his sons and demanded a king. All the other nations around them had kings, they pointed out.Samuel knew their request was sinful, and he prayed to God.“Give them what they want,” God said. “They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their King.”Samuel explained to the Israelites what rights a king would have over them; he warned them that when theyregretted asking for a king—and they would regret it—God would not help them. The people insisted on havinga king, so God told Samuel to appoint a king.Through a series of events, a young man named Saul came to Samuel. God had chosen Saul to be the king,so Samuel explained to Saul what God had said. Samuel anointed Saul by pouring oil on his head. Samuelpresented Saul to Israel. “Long live the king!” they replied.God knew Israel would want a king, but the kind of king Israel wanted was not the kind of king they needed.They wanted a king like the other nations. The problem was that every human king would fail them. God had aplan to give them Jesus—a perfect King who would reign with justice and righteousness forever. (Isa. 9:6-7)

THE BIBLE STORYIsrael Demanded a King1 Samuel 8–10Samuel was getting old. He had been a judge in Israel for many years. Samuel made important decisionsand led God’s people. Now it was time for his sons, Joel and Abijah, to be Israel’s leaders. There was oneproblem, though: Joel and Abijah were not good judges like Samuel was. They weren’t fair, and they didn’t alwaystell the truth.Some of the men in Israel went to talk with Samuel. “You were a good judge,” they told Samuel, “butyour sons are not like you. We don’t want them to lead us. We want a king!” The other nations in that area hadkings, and the people of Israel wanted a king too.Samuel didn’t know what to say, so he prayed to God. God said, “Samuel, give the people a king. Don’tfeel bad. They aren’t saying they don’t want you as their leader; they are saying they don’t want Me.”God told Samuel to warn the people about what having a king would be like. Samuel told the Israelites thatthe king would have rights. A king could make their sons serve in the army, he could make their daughters workfor him, or he could take away their fields and servants. The Israelites didn’t care. “Give us a king!” theysaid.Around this time, a rich man named Kish was looking for some of his donkeys. They had wandered off,and he didn’t know where they went. Kish told his son Saul, “Go look for the donkeys. Take a servant withyou.”Saul and his servant looked everywhere! They could not find the missing donkeys. They were just aboutto give up when the servant said, “Wait! Let’s go talk to the man of God. Maybe he knows where we couldfind the donkeys.” Saul and his servant found the man of God—it was Samuel!“Don’t worry about the donkeys,” Samuel said. “They have been found.” Samuel invited Saul to havedinner with him. The next morning, Samuel told Saul that God had chosen Saul to be the king of Israel. Saulwas surprised. He wasn’t from a big family. He was actually from the smallest tribe in Israel. Why had Godchosen him?Samuel used oil to anoint Saul. “You will be king!” Samuel said. Samuel gave Saul some instructions andsent him home. The Spirit of God was with Saul. Some time later, Samuel gathered the Israelites andintroduced Saul, their new king. The Israelites got what they wanted. “Long live the king!” they said.Christ Connection: The Israelites wanted a king. They did not trust God. God gave the Israelites a king, but Hehad a plan to send His Son, Jesus, to be king over the whole world. Jesus would be the perfect King. Jesus wouldbring peace and save people from sin.* To tell the Bible story to younger preschoolers or for reviewing the story, use only the Bible story words in bold.Our Prayer for You:We pray that as you prepare your hearts to serve this week, that you do so fully trustingGod to give you the wisdom to lead kids into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ

SUNDAY MORNING:Welcome & Free Play [9:45-10:15]Welcome parents and kids. Always greet each child at the door. Allow children to play with toysfor the first part of class.NOTE: Be sure to engage the children in conversation and play.Begin forming relationships with each child.Clean Up & Snack [10:15-10:25]Have children clean up the play area and direct the kids to sit down at the table for snack.Children will have animal crackers and water. Before the kids eat, lead them in prayer or ask achild to pray for the snack.NOTE: Be sure give each child a hand wipe and have them cleantheir hands before and after snack.Engage Activity [10:25-10:40]Heart HopMake a heart shape on the floor using tape. Use tape to shape a large square around the heart.Give kids different instructions about moving into and out of the heart. For example, kids can taketurns jumping from outside the box into the box (but not into the heart) and then into the heart; turnaround and jump out again without touching a line.Or jump from the outside of the box into the heart in one big jump. Or hop around the heart as faras possible on the same foot.Say: “Our key passage talks about a clean heart.”Read the key passage poster. (It is posted on the wall next to the door)Transition to Large Group [10:40-10:45]Line the kids at the door and announce that it is time for the Bible story. Help the kidstravel to the Large Group Room.NOTE: Please have assistant sit with the class on the floor tohelp with wigglers. Try to congregate them all in a compact area.

Return to Small Group [11:00-11:05]Have kids travel back to their room.Sink In Activity [11:05-11:15]Find What Doesn’t BelongA few simple items, three of each, have been collected. Combine three like items and one different; askkids to identify the different item. Give kids a turn to set up a “what doesn’t belong” question. For example,use three plastic cups and one paper cup; three red craft sticks and one blue stick. You may use crayons,paper, chenille stems, blocks, scissors, play kitchen dishes, colors of construction paper, or anything elseyou have available.Say: “The Israelites didn’t want to follow the leaders God had given them any longer. They wantedsomebody different. God gave them a king. Who was Israel’s first king? Saul was Israel’s first king.”Clean Up/ Movie Time [11:20 until parents arrive]Have children help to clean up the toys in the room and stack chairs. As the kids are working,repeat the Big Picture Question several times and have the kids respond with the answer.Who was Israel’s first king? Saul was Israel’s first king.When the room is clean, have children sit down on the carpet and watch the movie provided untilparents arrive.***THE HANDOFF***As children are picked up, briefly state one of the things that were talked about in classtoday. You can do this by asking the child a question in front of their parent, or remindthem of something they learned. Also, direct parents and kids to the website for theFamily Journal page- a way for parents to lead their kids to know Christ at home!Supplies Needed: masking tape, 4 items for grouping purposes (3 the same, one different)