DAVID—FROM SHEPHERD TO KING

“The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b, NIV*).

This unit will help the children:• Better understand what it looks like to fully trust God.• Feel joyful in knowing that God values the love and obedience his people have for him.• Realize that trusting in God allows us to be more brave, faithful, merciful, and fruitful than we can imagine.• Embrace the desire to follow David’s example of trusting and obeying the Lord.• Learn that God is powerful and the only one in whom we should place all of our trust.• Have the desire to find friends who love and trust in God as they do.

Children are greatly influenced by those around them. They try to imitate those they look up to. This is why it is important that they learn about “heroes of faith.”

David is the ideal hero for preschool and elementary age children. His story begins when he was a little shepherd boy, the youngest of eight brothers. At his young age, he was confronted by a giant and he killed him. He developed a strong friendship with a prince and managed to escape an evil king. Later, he became a king, but did not forget his friendship with the prince. This may sound like a fairy tale or a legend, but it is a true story. Best of all, David trusted God.

These heroes are extraordinary. David was one of them. Your children could experience some of his greatness and know that they too can trust in God.