Elementary
Small Group
Week 6
November 15 & 16
Need to Know:
Take Action and
Don’t Let Fear
Control You!
Bible Lesson:
The Lord is My
Shepherd &
David the Hero
Psalm 23 & 1
Samuel 17
Materials:
! Bibles
! The Gospel:
God’s Plan
for Me Flyers
and Booklets
! November
Calendar
! November
Family
Mission
! Invite Card
! Memory
Verse
Certificates
! Cotton balls
! Trash bin
! Paper Cup
! Tin Foil
! Piece of
yarn
! Tape
! Markers
Getting Started (5 min)
Materials: None
INTRODUCE yourself and ASK the children to introduce themselves.
SAY:
I’m going to read you some questions, and I want you to answer them in a LOUD
voice for me. Just shout out the answers.
• Are you ready to be loud? (yes.)
• If you hear a loud storm outside, do you have to be afraid? (No.)
• When you are afraid, should you hide or take action? (Take action.)
• If you are afraid of mean things people might say, should you let that fear ruin
your day? (No.)
• If you’re afraid, should you spin around in circles and jump around like a
monkey OR should you remember that God is with you? (Remember that
God is with you.)
• When you take action against your fears, are you doing it alone or is God
helping you? (God is helping.)
That last question is the most important of all for us to remember. There is nothing we
can do without God’s help. But, when we remind ourselves that He is with us and He is
taking care of us, we will feel brave enough to take ACTION and not let our fear
control us! Can you all show me your best karate chop and shout, “Take action!” with
me?
LEAD the class in a karate chop and shout, “Take action!” (They’ll probably want
multiple chances to chop.)
SAY the Need to Know as a group.
Take Action and Don’t Let Fear Control You!
Bible Lesson (15 – 20 min)
Materials: Bibles
David was the youngest child his family. He had seven older brothers who were in
King Saul’s army. The army was trying to fight a group of people called The Philistines.
The problem was, the Philistines had a real live giant in their army named Goliath. He
was over nine feet tall! That’s almost as tall as a high school basketball hoop! He was
huge!
Please open your Bible to the book of I Samuel. I Samuel is in the Old Testament. It’s
after Ruth and right before 2 Samuel. (Help any children that need it.) Once you’re
there, find Chapter 17. We are going to start by reading verses 4-11 in the book of I
Samuel, Chapter 17.
1
Elementary
Small Group
Week 6
November 15 & 16
Need to Know:
Take Action and
Don’t Let Fear
Control You!
Bible Lesson:
The Lord is My
Shepherd &
David the Hero
Psalm 23 & 1
Samuel 17
READ I Samuel 17:4-11. (For 1st-3rd Grade, read the verses aloud. For 4th and 5th grade,
invite volunteers to read.)
ASK:
1. Why was King Saul’s army so afraid to fight the Philistines? (Because the
Philistines had a giant on their side – Goliath.)
2. What was the challenge that Goliath shouted at King Saul’s army? (To have a
soldier come and fight him. If the soldier won, the Philistines would work for
them, and if Goliath won, King Saul’s army would work for them.)
3. How did Saul and his army feel when they heard Goliath’s threat? (Afraid.)
SAY: Every day, Goliath, the giant, would shout to King Saul’s army, “Send someone
to fight me! If your soldier wins, we Philistines will work for you forever, but if I win, you
will work for us forever!” Goliath was so much bigger than everyone else, he was
pretty sure no one could beat him. No one wanted to fight him because they were so
scared of him. Their fear was controlling them and kept them from fighting the battle.
One day, David’s dad told him to take some food to his brothers at the army camp.
While he was there, Davie heard Goliath’s challenge and asked, “Why doesn’t
someone take ACTION and fight this giant?” As we know, it was because everyone
was so scared.
Now, READ I Samuel 17:32-40 and then ASK:
4. What did David offer to do when he heard what Goliath had said? (To go fight
Goliath himself.)
5. What did David take with him to the battle? (Only a slingshot and five stones.)
“I’ll do it,” David said, “God will help me take action!” David didn’t dress in any fancy
armor or gather up any special swords or weapons. All he took was a simple slingshot
and five smooth rocks.
Now, READ I Samuel 17:41-48 and then ASK:
6. What did David say to Goliath? (That Goliath might have weapons, but David
had God on his side and God would give him the victory.)
David said to Goliath, “You have a sword, but I have God’s help!” Let’s see what
happened next!
Now, READ I Samuel 17:49-50 and then ASK:
7. How did the battle turn out? (With just a stone in his slingshot, David killed the
giant and his people won.)
David beat Goliath, and because of that, King Saul’s army won the battle! Because
2
Elementary
Small Group
Week 6
November 15 & 16
Need to Know:
Take Action and
Don’t Let Fear
Control You!
Bible Lesson:
The Lord is My
Shepherd &
David the Hero
Psalm 23 & 1
Samuel 17
Memory Verse
I sought the Lord,
(make praying
hands)
And He answered
me;
(point up)
He delivered me
(wave arms)
From all my fears.
(make a scary
face)
Psalm 34:4
He knew God was on his side, David wasn’t afraid to take action.
When you’re afraid, remember that God is on your side. King Saul’s army saw Goliath
and they were so scared that they didn’t take action. But, David was brave – not
because of any power or weapon he had, but because He had faith in God! When
we remind ourselves that God loves us and is on our side, we can bust our fear by
taking action. Our fear won’t control us!
As important as it is to learn to trust God and take action, it is even more important to
understand that Jesus took the most important action of all time. David was very
brave because he trusted God, but many years later Jesus came, and he was even
braver. Jesus trusted God completely and perfectly and he took action that we could
never take. When Jesus was sent to the world, He didn’t just win a victory for army, He
won victory over sin and death and became the greatest Hero who won the greatest
battle the world has ever known. (Invite any child who is ready to trust in Jesus as
savior to talk and pray with you before leaving today. Use The Gospel: God’s Plan for
Me resource to share the Gospel with those children.)
REPEAT the Need to Know together.
Take Action and Don’t Let Fear Control You!
Memory Verse & Prayer Time (10 min)
Materials: Memory Verse Certificate
MEMORY VERSE:
Throughout our FearBusters series, we have been learning Psalm 34:4. Since
today is the last day of the series, if you can recite it by yourself, I will give you
a special certificate! Let’s practice saying Psalm 34:4 a few times before I quiz
you!
SAY the memory verse together a few times.
ASK the children to take turns saying the verse on their own. If they are able to do so
accurately, write their name down and set aside a memory verse certificate to give
them at the end of small group time.
ASK the children to share their prayer requests. Write the requests down so that you
can continue to pray for the children throughout the week. Then, PRAY with your
group.
CF Kids on Mission (5 min)
Materials: November Calendar, Invite Card
GIVE the following challenge and encouragement:
3
Elementary
Small Group
Week 6
November 15 &16
Need to Know:
Take Action and
Don’t Let Fear
Control You!
Bible Lesson:
The Lord is My
Shepherd &
David the Hero
Psalm 23 & 1
Samuel 17
Seek God by reading your Bible this month. Your November Calendar suggests
verses for you to read from your Bible every day of the month. Your memory verse for
the series is also on this calendar, so you can practice saying it at home.
ENCOURAGE the children to participate in the November Family Mission – Giving Tree.
SHOW the children an Invite Card.
Please “Take 5” of these Invite Cards as you leave today. Use them to invite
your friends and neighbors to church.
Application Activity (This activity is to be used if you have extra time.)
Materials: Cotton balls, empty trash bin (1st-3rd), Paper cup, tin foil ball, piece of yarn, tape, markers (4th-5th
grade)
1st – 3rd Grade
Cotton Ball Stones
1. Give each child a few cotton balls and move the empty trash bin to the front
of the room.
2. Remind them that David only had a few stones, but hit Goliath right in the
head, they are going to pretend their cotton balls are stones and try to toss
their cotton balls, one at a time, right into the empty trash bin.
3. Assuming the trash bin is clean, remove the cotton balls and let the group
continue to make throws.
4th- 5th Grade
Tin Foil Ball and Cup
1. Give each child a paper cup, a piece of tin foil, a 12” piece of yarn, a
marker, and some tape.
2. Have children draw the face of Goliath on their paper cup.
3. Then, have the children crumple their tin foil into a ball and attach it with tape
to the end of the yarn.
4. The other end of the yarn can be taped to the bottom of the paper cup.
5. Children can then practice trying to swing the tin foil ball on the yarn string
into the paper cup, like David trying to hit Goliath with the stone.
SAY: David wasn’t afraid of the scary giant because he reminded Himself that His God
is the strongest. God gave him the courage to take action and not let his fears control
him. We can bust our fear by trusting God and taking action!
Now, let’s pray. Dear Jesus, thank You for being so brave and so strong so that we
can depend on You. Help us to remember how strong You are, so we won’t be afraid.
Help us to take action and not let our fears control us. Amen.
REVIEW what we need to know today:
Take Action and Don’t Let Fear Control You!
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