Children's session

Read Bible notes on 1 Samuel 8:4-11,(12-15),16-20,(11:14-15)  and have a look at the King David & Solomon poster giving an overview of the early chapters of the lectionary passages featured in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel and 1 Kings.

The choices made by everyone in the passage will impact the generations that follow: the Israelites choose to be led by a king; Samuel tries to persuade them that this is not what God would choose; the people insist; God chooses Saul as king; Saul isn’t sure, but is anointed by Samuel as king. And, as we will discover over the next few weeks, this chain of events will have some big consequences.

Spend some time reflecting on how you make good choices. What contributes to these? Where is God in the choices you make?

Help the children to discover, through the activities you choose, that God is with them in their choices. Enable them to see that even when the consequences aren’t as we had hoped, God is still with us in these

Don't forget:
Activity and colouring sheets
Thrive: A resource to encourage family faith at home.
Plus: Songs, Prayers, Images
and links to templates and other online resources.

Game choices    E S

You will need: a selection of games.

• Display a selection of well-known games where the choices made have consequences. Encourage the children to play some of these. These games could include JengaTM, Four in a row, KerPlunkTM, noughts and crosses, and DownfallTM. Ask the children how it feels when the choice they make works out well, and how it feels when it doesn’t.

My journey here  W E

• Ask the children to describe how they travelled to the group today. 
• When everyone has described their journey, ask: 
  • Could you have gone in another direction or made a change to the way you travelled? 
  • What would have happened then?
  • Who decided how you got here? 

Today, the children will hear a story full of choices and changes. 

Read the story and pause at the  to share these points with the children (see Stop and share below). Then use the activity to explore the passage together. (10 mins)

Click on the image to view a PDF. Once loaded you may need to click on the three dots in the top right to view it as a 2 page spread. See also King David & Solomon poster.

Stop and share

God’s people hadn’t been led by a king before, and Samuel thought they should still be led by a judge. He was sad because the Israelites didn’t think the same way.

When someone is anointed, oil is poured over their head with a prayer to show that they have been chosen by God for a special job.

The Israelites had enemies on three sides of the country and were in danger from all of them.

See also Choose your own ending activity.

Making a change     W S

Teach the children the following hand actions to use each time they hear the word in the story:

• Samuel – hand on chest.
• Saul – stand with hands on hips.
• King – two hands either side of head like a crown.
• God – hands out, palms up.
• Pray – praying hands.
• People – wiggle fingers.
• Anointed – touch palm of hand to head.

Tell the story, encouraging everyone to join in

Book making       W A 

Think about choices and consequences 

You will need: ‘You Choose’ book, long roll of paper, pens.

• Look at a ‘You Choose’ book together. Lay out a long roll of paper and at one end write ‘Who would be a good footballer? – You Choose’ and invite the children to draw lots of options. Further along the paper roll do the same with ‘Who would be a good friend?’ and ‘Who would bake a great cake?’. Have fun drawing in lots of people and asking the children who they would choose.
• Then write ‘What makes a great teacher – You Choose’ and encourage the children to draw the things that make a great teacher. Finally, write ‘What makes a great leader – You Choose’. Talk together about what God would want in a great leader.

Or 

Crossroads game  E S 

A game to explore choices and consequences 

You will need: a selection of boxes, treats to go inside, string, chalk or a roll of paper to mark out the paths. 

• Mark a number of paths round the room and include crossroads at different points. Use chalk, string or rolls of paper to make the paths. At the end of each, place a box – in some of these put a treat and leave others empty.  
• Encourage the children to walk round and decide which way they will go at each crossroads. 
• Once they reach a box, ask them to stand by it until everyone has finished. 
• Open the boxes together. 

What were the consequence of the choices made at each crossroads? Remind the children that whatever the choices and consequences are throughout life, God is always with us

Choose your own ending W E

Think about choice and consequence in Samuel and Saul's story

You will need: copies of the Bible story with the three points marked  .

• Ask the children if they have read a ‘Choose your own Adventure’ book or while gaming been able to choose where the story goes. Explain that they are going to choose an alternative to part of today’s story.
• Divide the children into groups and give each a copy of the story with the three points marked   where a choice is made. Can they think of an alternative outcome and act it out for the rest of the group? What difference would this have made to the whole story?
• Tell the children that over the next few weeks they will discover what the consequences of the choices were.

Talk together and talk to God

Discuss the theme, then bring your thoughts together in prayer

• Can you think of a difficult choice you had to make? What happened when you made your choice?
• How do you think Samuel felt as he helped the people to make choices?
• How could you include God in the choices you make – just like Samuel did?

Dice prayer W E S A

A prayer activity with choices

• Allow the children to experience different ways of praying on the roll of a die.
• Ask everyone to roll a die and then follow these instructions. If you roll a…:
  One: Thank God for something that has happened this week.
  Two: Tell God about a choice you need to make.
  Three: Chat with God about how you are feeling.
  Four: Tell God about a choice or something you are
  worried about.
  Five: Tell God how great God is.
  Six: Tell God about a choice you are looking forward to.

Activity and colouring sheet

Click on the graphic to view this week's sheets.

• Make a paper chatterbox for each child, writing numbers onto each of the flaps and ‘God’ in the centre. Encourage the children to play with their chatterboxes a few times, and to notice that God is always at the centre. Remind them that today you have discovered that, whatever the choices we make, we can always choose to include God in them.

Go with God 24/7    W E S A 

Put faith into action

Think about one of the choices you need to make and spend time talking to God about this.

Thrive

Before you finish,
give out the Thrive
resource to encourage
faith at home.