Game

A GIANT welcome to everyone! How did God handle David’s GIANT problem? He gave him strength—and accuracy—to defeat the mighty giant Goliath.

This game will show us how hard it is to hit just the right spot on Goliath’s forehead to cause his downfall. How many stones did David have? Five.

You will each have a chance to throw five “stones”—erasers—at our giant to see if you can hit the mark!

Divide the children into two teams and have the teams stand single file behind the starting line. Give the first child on one team the five red erasers, and the first child on the other team the five black erasers. The two children take turns quickly throwing their erasers one at a time at the red mark on the giant’s forehead. The game is played something like shuffleboard, where one player’s eraser can bump another player’s eraser off the mark. At the end of play, a helper should score one point for each eraser on the red mark, keeping a tally for both teams. Other helpers quickly pick up the erasers and race to give them to the next child on each team, continuing until all children have played. Keep the game moving quickly and play again as time permits. The team with the most points wins. Leave the giant outline on the floor for the next activity.

Wow, that was really difficult, wasn’t it? Now, try to put yourself in David’s shoes—or sandals! Imagine putting a pebble in your sling, and you look up at a living, moving giant who tells you he is going to feed you to the birds and wild animals when he is done with you! Do you think you might be just a little bit nervous?

Let’s read what David told King Saul about why he had faith God would help him:

Read 1 Samuel 17:34–37:

“I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’[ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Isn’t that wonderful? David already had experience in trusting God to handle difficult situations. His faith was strong because he had seen how God worked in the past. He knew that God would help him face the giant, just as He always helped David face danger while caring for the sheep. David knew what our SuperTruth tells us today! Let’s say it together out loud: “God will help me when I face giant problems.”