Grades 1–6: Showing God’s Love to Others — Session 2: Jonathan Helped David (November 14)

Grades 1-3

Introductory Activity – Letter Scramble

Materials: paper squares or index cards, marker

Print these letters on squares or cards: d, a, v, i, d, j, o, n, a, t, h, a, n. Make multiple sets if needed so each child will have a card. Mix the cards and hand a letter to each child. Give a signal and guide kids to group up to spell words. Say: “Scramble!” and kids move to form different words with other kids. After several rounds, tell kids to try and spell names with their letters. Say: “We will hear a story today about David and Jonathan.” Lead kids to spell those two names.

Live It Out

Game – Follow Your Friend

Materials: blindfolds

Create groups of three or four kids and task someone in each group with volunteering to be blindfolded. The groups should spend five minutes leading the blindfolded friend around the room with just their voices. Kids can then switch as time allows. Encourage kids to help protect one another, not allowing them to bump into things. Finish by reading the Weekly Verse. Remind kids how Jonathan helped and protected David. Say the Life Point.

Craft – Make a Card

Materials: construction paper, markers, gel pens

Briefly review the Bible story with kids. Talk about the way Jonathan helped his friend David, even though Jonathan’s father wanted to harm David. Ask kids to talk about a special friend they have at school, on a sports team, or at church, and what makes that friend special. Give each child a paper to make a card for his friend. Encourage them to write the Weekly Verse somewhere on the card and to give it to his friend. Say the Life Point together.

Grades 4-6

Introductory Activity—Who is This?

Materials: strips of paper, pencils, paper bag

As each kid arrives, give her a strip of paper and pencil. Tell her to write her name and an interesting fact about herself on the paper. Fold each paper and put it in the bag. Instruct kids to sit in a circle. Inform the kids that you will read a fact about a person in our class, and they should guess about whom you are speaking. Give several kids an opportunity to guess who the person is before naming her. Tell kids that often, when we get to know someone more, it helps us love them more. In the story they will learn about today, they will learn how Jonathan helped David because he loved him.

Live It Out

Game – Alligator Swamp

Materials: three plastic hoops

Gather all kids to one side of an open space. Briefly review the Bible story, reminding the kids how Jonathan helped and protected David. Tell kids that for this game, they have to get to the other side of the alligator swamp, or the other side of the room using only the three lily-pads (plastic hoops). Kids should work together to get every single person from one side to the other only stepping inside the hoops. If the game is too easy, take one away and continue to play. Finish by saying the Life Point together.

Craft – Make a Friendship Poster

Materials: cardstock, markers

Give each child a piece of cardstock and markers and encourage them to write or draw what kind of friend they want to be. Maybe the draw a picture of them helping someone else or write words that they hope describe them as a friend. Say the Life Point together. Say that Jonathan supported David, even though Jonathan’s father wanted to harm him. Encourage kids to write the Weekly Verse on the backs of their pictures.