Teaching

Hold up or point to the outline of the young boy: This outline represents David. The meaning of the name David is “beloved.” What does “beloved” mean? Adored, loved very much.

David was a beloved child of God. You, too, are a beloved child of God!

Read Romans 5:8 nasb:

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

This verse tells us that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus, even though we have all sinned and disobeyed Him. Let’s think about what that means for us. Have you ever not asked God for help because you thought you weren’t good enough? 

I think that happens a lot. We hesitate to ask God for help because we feel guilty for doing bad things.

Did you know David was just a regular person like you and me? He made mistakes and sinned, too—even after he became the king of Israel! But God still loved David and helped him deal with big problems. That tells me that God will do the same for us!

Have you ever thought your problems were either too small or too big for God?

The good news for us today is that God wants to help us conquer any size problem!

Our SuperTruth for today says: “God will help me when I face giant problems.”

If you sketched the outlines on paper, place David’s outline near the giant’s, then hand out pencils to the children. Divide the class into two groups and have one work on David while the other works on Goliath. If you have a small class, they all can work on both. If you did not make paper sketches, simply discuss the following.

God helped David handle all sorts of problems. David had some little things to deal with and some big things, just like we do. Let’s think of some words and phrases to describe David and write them on this outline. Brave, faithful, fought a lion and a bear, tended sheep as a boy, youngest child, went before the king, fought Goliath, ordinary boy, human, made mistakes.

Now, let’s think of words and phrases to describe Goliath! Have each child write something descriptive on the giant’s outline. Giant, bully, proud, fearless, did not honor or show respect for God, strong, human with weaknesses, Philistine, struck down by David.

Point out the size difference between David and Goliath.

Goliath had strong armor to protect him. Now, do you think David, in his own strength and might, could defeat Goliath? No way! But David had the world’s most powerful weapon: God! It’s just like our SuperVerse says: Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. David was not afraid like his brothers or the entire Israelite army! David knew God was with him as he stepped forward to face the giant.

What happened when Saul gave David his armor to wear? It was too big and heavy.

David didn’t need Saul’s armor. David had his own armor; he was covered by his faith in the all-powerful God! God can help us defeat our giants, too, no matter what they are.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

God gives us special “invisible” armor to protect us. Have you ever seen invisible armor? No!

We can’t see it because it’s invisible! But we can read about it in the Bible!

Have children look up and read Ephesians 6:13–18a:

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.

Pass out the Invisible Armor Booklet Patterns. You may trim off the edge of each pattern along the dashed line ahead of time, or give children scissors to carefully cut it off. They should then fold the pattern lengthwise along the longest dotted line, with the print side showing. Next, have them fold the page in half the other way, so the Superbook title page and “Belt of Truth” sections are on the front. Finally, they should fold the “Belt of Truth” and “Sword of the Spirit” sections inward on the other dotted lines, forming a small booklet with the Superbook title page on the front. Have them write their names on the booklets to take home.

Today and for the next two lessons, we are going to work on memorizing all the parts of the invisible armor that God gives us!

If there is time at the end of the lesson, children may look up the verses to describe each piece of armor and write them inside the booklet, or they may take them home to complete. Have extra copies available in Lessons 2 and 3 for children who are absent today.