Since this is probably your first meeting together in a new year of church school, you’ll want to take some time getting to know each other. One fun way to do this is through the Name Game. Explain that you’ll go around the circle (beginning with you). Each person takes a turn to say his or her name and also mention something they like—a food, dessert, game, sport, or movie—something that starts with the same letter as their name. Here are a few examples:

• I’m David and I like devils’ food cake.
• I’m Christin and I like cookies.
• I’m Jake and I like jazz.

After you’ve gone around the circle, challenge a few volunteers to try to remember and say all the names and facts they just heard.

Tell your group that during the next six weeks they’re going to be exploring some very exciting Bible stories—all stories about David. Invite the group to tell you what they remember or know about David:

• He was a shepherd.
• He fought a giant.
• He was a king.
• He had a friend named Jonathan.
• He is the writer of many of the psalms.

Explain that the Bible calls David “a man after God’s own heart.” That’s something you want kids to remember and think about over the next few weeks. Also be sure to mention that David is the writer of many of the psalms in the Bible (if it hasn’t already been mentioned). Tell them you’ll be beginning each session of the unit by listening to one of the two songs in this unit—both based on psalms. Begin today by playing “You Never Let Go” from the DwellSongs CD. Or, if you have Internet access, you may want to play this video version of the song from YouTube: tinyurl.com/RedmanNever.

Comment to the group that the words of the songs they just heard may have been very similar to the thoughts David had in today’s story. Post today’s story symbol (slingshot) and invite the group to guess what story you’re going to enter together today. Since this is one of the Bible’s bestknown stories, you’ll probably get some quick responses.

If this story is familiar to your group, encourage them to hear and see it with fresh ears and eyes today. As they listen and read, invite them to remember the words of the song you just heard together and to be thinking about what made David a man after God’s own heart.

Hand out copies of the rap “David and Goliath” and explain that you want them to listen and to join in whenever the chorus comes up. Plan a hand signal you (or your visitor) will give the group when it’s time for the refrain. Then practice it a time or two together:

Listen up! Gather ’round.

Let me tell you the tale of how a giant came down.

After kids have gotten the hang of the rhythm and are familiar with the lines, begin reading the rap. If you choose to do the reading yourself, be sure to practice several times beforehand so you’ll be confident of getting the beat and familiar with the lines.

After reading, ask the group to mention aspects of the story that may have been new or surprising to them. Share your own awe and amazement at how God used David to defeat Goliath with such courage and bravery. Invite their reflections with questions like these:

• Why do you suppose the Israelite army was so afraid to face Goliath?
• How might David have felt as he headed out to face the giant?
• What does this story tell us about God?

Challenge kids to retell the story they just heard by playing the David and Goliath story card game.

Here’s how the game works:

• Divide the group into teams of three.
• Give one set of story cards, printed and cut apart ahead of time, to each team.
• Instruct teams to shuffle the cards and deal three of them to each person.
• The person in each team with the card numbered 1 begins. He or she lays that card on the table and tells the part of the story that it suggests. (For example: “A long time ago on two high hills, the Israelites and the Philistines gathered to fight a battle. . . .”)
• The person to the right of the first player is next. If that player has card 2, he or she lays the card down and continues telling the story based on the picture on the card.
• If that player does not have card 2, he or she says “pass.”
• The next player says “pass” if he or she does not have the next card until it reaches the person with the card in the correct order of the story (have kids follow the numbers on their cards to know who continues the story next).
  Tip

  If you have time, print a set of story cards on cardstock for each person. Encourage kids to color the illustrations with markers or colored pencils, cut the cards apart, and take them home to play the game with their families.

• Each time a player tells part of the story, he or she must place that card on the table. The first player to put all three of his or her cards on the table is the winner.
• Encourage teams to continue playing until they have finished telling the entire story. When finished, have them scramble the cards and play another round, adding as many details from the story as they can remember.

Ask kids to close their eyes and imagine what it may have been like to hear the loud boasts, threats, and insults of Goliath. How would they feel if they were soldiers in the Israelite army? How would they feel if they were King Saul? The sight of Goliath terrified these men, and they may have felt hopeless and defeated.

Comment that, like the Israelites, we sometimes feel afraid when we’re up against difficult situations. Ask the group to think of any “giants” that they may have in their lives—scary situations they need God to help them overcome.

Your kids could be facing difficult situations—a neighborhood bully, a difficult subject in school, a death in the family. Comment that David displayed an amazing amount of faith and confidence in God. He believed that God would protect him against the attacks of Goliath. Let the children in your group know that just as God helped David defeat Goliath, God can help them overcome challenging times in their own lives.

Distribute index cards and markers to the children. Ask them to write down or draw one or two situations that are going on in their lives for which they would like to ask God to give them the faith and courage to overcome. If the children feel comfortable, ask them to find a partner to share one or two of the items they have written down or drawn.

After giving them a few minutes to share, gather everyone together to pray as a group about the “giants” in their lives. Ask God to give them strength and confidence to trust God’s power and might.

You may want to conclude by playing the song “You Never Let Go” again for the group, so that they leave with those words in their hearts.

Distribute today’s Storymark and encourage them to use them to mark the place where they can find today’s story—1 Samuel 17—in their Bibles. Challenge them to do some of the activities on the Storymark during the coming week.

Also urge kids to hunt for today’s story symbol in the God’s Big Story card set they have at home and do some of the activities with their families.