In this series we begin by looking at the story of David and Goliath, then go on to learn about the strong friendship between David and Jonathan. In the third session, we see how David was the author of about half of the Psalms contained in the Bible. David was not perfect, as we know from his relationship with Bathsheba, but an immensely capable man with a deep trust in God and a gift of expressing worship that hundreds of generations have benefited from.

Bible references: 1 Samuel 17 and 18, Psalms 19, 23 and 139

Solomon is known most for his wisdom and for the building of the Temple at Jerusalem, which are the subjects of the first two lessons. He became a powerful man, admired by many and achieving so much. However, it’s important to remember that he didn’t stay loyal to God and that this resulted in bad consequences which are looked at in the 3rd lesson. Children (and adults!) often like to think of people as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. The Bible is honest about people’s failings and it’s helpful to talk about this messy side of life!

Bible references: 1 Kings: 3, 5 and 12

Two stories here from the life of Elijah. The first is the story of Ahab and the contest on Mount Carmel – 450 prophets of Baal against Elijah. Elijah showed such faith that God would answer his prayer for fire and he was not disappointed! The second story is of Elijah being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and Elisha becoming the next prophet of Israel.

Bible references: 1 Kings 18, 2 Kings 2

We have so much to learn from Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – four men who put God first in a place where it was extremely dangerous to do so.

The stories of the fire and the lions’ den have become so familiar to most of us that we forget the horror of the situation. It’s important to stress the bravery and complete trust in God that these men exhibit. How would we feel? Would we be able to face death rather than betray God? One child asked me ‘how do you get the power to be able to do that?’ This led on to him committing his life to Jesus – such a wonderful result of him hearing that story for the first time.

Bible references: Dan 2, 3, 6

Jonah – the prophet who tried to disobey God but eventually did what he had asked!

There have been various attempts to scientifically prove the possibility of existing inside a large fish for 3 days. I wanted to be able to offer this explanation for those at L4 but wasn’t sufficiently convinced by any of it. It makes for an interesting discussion if any are keen to pursue it! The main thing to get across is God’s love for all, his willingness to redeem a corrupt group of people and his power to use the miraculous.

Bible references: Jonah

This is an exciting story of God’s intervention in the potential destruction of the Jewish people. Interestingly, God isn’t mentioned throughout the entire book, but Esther does ask Mordecai to mobilise prayer and fasting to give her courage and favour with the king to enable her to foil the plot.

The story is quite an involved one and therefore some of the detail has been left out of the activities of the lower levels in order to simplify the story. The main message to convey is that God used Esther in an extraordinary way to save his people from destruction.

Bible references: Esther