Wrap Up: Lessons we can learn from David and Goliath and ...



Faith and Disney The Sword and the Stone1 Samuel 16:21-17:11, 38-50As people arrive:Supplies: journal additions, pens, pencils, crayons, small cups, balloons, pompoms or marshmallows, baking soda, vinegar, clear glass bottle, 5 stones, small bagsGather, Prayer, Introduction (5 minutes):Today we will be discussing the Disney movie The Sword and the Stone and how it brings a gospel message to its’ viewers.Let’s Pray: God, open our eyes so that we may see your glorious work; open our ears so that we may hear your voice; and open our hearts so that we may feel and understand what you are telling us today. Amen.Ice Breakers (5 minutes):Would you rather….Be a lot stronger or a lot smarter than you currently are?Sign your name wearing Mickey’s big white gloves or ride a bike with Ariel’s mermaid tail?Eat a poisoned apple like Snow White or kiss a frog like Tiana?Have Merida’s (Brave) bow and arrows or Cinderella’s glass slippers?Have a sword or a stone to fight a giant?In this movie, Arthur turns into various animals, if you could become any animal for a while, which animal would it be?Journal Additions (5 minutes):Distribute the journal additions:Discussion Starters:Today we are going to discuss some of the spiritual directions that we can take with the movie ‘The Sword and the Stone’. We will begin by comparing the movie plot to a famous story from the Old Testament and then discuss how Jesus performed miracles, not for the fame and notoriety but just to help others.But first we are going to start with an experiment….Activity: Sometimes only God sees….Balloon trickWe all have things that we are good at (sometimes things that no one else but God and ourselves know about) and we can all be used by God to help others.?We illustrated the point with this simple scientific trick...Before the students arrive, take a balloon and fill it with about a teaspoon of baking soda. It's quite easy to make the balloon seem as though it is empty as long as the students don't get close enough to touch it! Fix it to the neck of a bottle containing some vinegar. ?Talk about how it would seem impossible for me to inflate the balloon using just what is in the bottle. ?You might think I was silly to think it...But...At this point lift up the balloon and let the baking soda be released into the bottle and explain that, even though no one else could see it, I knew there was something inside the balloon that could do the job. ?Watch the balloon inflate! ?Then talk about how God gave everyone special gifts and talents and sometimes no one else knows except you and God that they are there. ?When you use those special gifts, God can help you to do things that others might think you would never be able to!Bible/Movie Discussion:Based on the book?The Once and Future King?by T.H. White, THE SWORD IN THE STONE is the story of the early years of King Arthur. Nicknamed "Wart," the future King Arthur is working towards being a squire when he meets Merlin the magician. Was a dark age where the strong preyed upon the week. Men lived in fear of one another.No one thought that Wart/Arthur amounted to anything. He didn’t feel that he was worthy to be anything better than what he already was. He was too small and weak. He’s training to be a squire.Can anyone tell me what a squire to a knight is? A shield bearer or armor bearer of a knight; ranking below a knight by above a gentleman.Distribute 5 stones and a bag to each person. They will write the words GOD WILL PROTECT ME NOW on the stones (one word per stone).One of the Bible stories we will be examining is the story of David and Goliath. Read 1 Samuel 16:21. David became a squire just as Wart was trying to do. Watch the clip of the beginning (2:36 minutes) legend of King Arthur states that the next king of England will be the one who has the power to remove a sword which has been embedded into a large stone. The story begins during a dark time in the kingdom that has existed since the last good king died. People live in fear of one another and the strong prey upon the weak. The only glimmer of hope is the sword which is embedded in the stone with an inscription that reads: “Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king born of England.” But not even the strongest knight has been able to remove the sword. As the darkness continues, the sword in the stone is forgotten.In our Bible reading, David is in the service of king Saul who is near the end of his reign as king of Israel. David, too, lives in a dark time of conflict and struggle. The Israelites are at war with the Philistines. David’s three older brothers are in the Israelite army. In addition to being Saul’s armor bearer he tends his father’s sheep. An enormous Philistine warrior appears, Goliath, who is described as being about nine and a half feet tall. He wears bronze armor and carries a large iron spear. He issues a challenge to the Israelites for them to choose one of their strongest soldiers to battle with him. If the Israelite soldier wins, the Philistines will become slaves but if Goliath wins, the Israelites will become slaves to the Philistines.Read 1 Samuel 17:10-11. The Israelites were greatly afraid. For forty days Goliath came to the frontlines and offered his challenge. No one in the Israelite army had taken up this challenge. David approaches the frontlines to bring food for his brothers and he hears Goliath repeat his challenge. As he looks around him, he sees that all the soldiers are frightened. None will accept the challenge. So David seeks out King Saul and offers himself.The struggle for power which we see in ancient Israel as well as during the dark ages of the Sword in the Stone is evident even in the world today. What is your definition of power?One kind of power is the power of brawn or the power of brute force. This is the power represented by Goliath in the Old Testament. It is also seen in the Sword in the Stone as the country prepares for a tournament in order to find their next king. The tournament promises to award the crown to the mightiest in muscle, the conqueror in combat, the one who can dominate others by the sheer intimidation of his own strength. The knight in which Wart serves is named Kay and he and his father are excited for this tournament because they are sure that the brute power that Kay possesses will win the crown and he will be king. Merlin the magician has assumed responsibility for Wart’s education. While Kay prepares for the tournament, Merlin attempts to teach the boy that brains are more important than brawn.Show scene where Merlin turns Wart into a fish (3:41 minutes) And Merlin that’s what makes the world go round (2:13 minutes) also goes through becoming a squirrel and a little bird. While he is a little bird he stumbles across Mad Madam Mim. She tries to destroy Wart, but Merlin arrives just in the nick of time to save him. Mim challenges Merlin to a wizards duel with the two of them changing themselves into various animals. Mim transforms herself into a fire-breathing dragon where she thinks that she will win because nothing is fierce enough to overtake a dragon. She is wrong as Merlin uses his intellect to outwit her. He becomes a tiny germ that conquers the dragon by infecting it with a disease. Wart learns the lesson that brains can be more important than brawn. When Merlin asks him what he learned from the duel he replies, “Knowledge and wisdom are the real power.”Who is the most intelligent person you know?In the Old Testament, the boy David demonstrates the same lesson in his battle with the giant, Goliath. Read 1 Samuel 17:38-40. He discards all of the normal protection necessary for battle along with the sword and picks up his shepherd’s staff and a sling into which he puts five smooth stones. In the Sword in the Stone the time comes for the tournament. What the clip from the tournament at King Arthur at the Old Testament story of David and Goliath, a miracle takes place. The boy David, armed with his brains and his sling and five smooth stones, confronts the brawniest champion of the Philistines, who brandishes a spear and a javelin and a sword. But David brings one more aspect of power to the challenge. Read 1 Samuel 17:45-47. What happened on that battlefield outside Bethlehem has become one of the most often repeated stories of the human family. The boy with the stone slew the warrior with the sword. A wisely, carefully slung blow to the forehead of Goliath brought the giant to the ground. And the victory belonged to the honor of God. The boy David would soon thereafter become the king of Israel, indeed perhaps the greatest king the nation would ever have. And like the legend of King Arthur in The Sword in the Stone, there was a power at work that was even greater than the confrontation between human brains and human brawn. There was a destiny unfolding, behind which was a power that is divine. The power of God’s purposes and promises. In our daily challenges, our brains will likely serve us better than our brawn. But the most crucial question is, whom do we serve? Do we use our brains and our brawn only in the service of our own selfish desires or do we link our destiny to the purposes and promises that come from God? When our brawn fails us, even when our own brain fails us, God alone will never fail us. And the redemptive power of God’s purposes and promises is the greatest power of all!Which promise from God means the most to you?How will what he learned help him to be a good king?If you became king, like Arthur, what would be your first decree?Why was Arthur the only one able to pull the sword from the stone?Let’s look briefly at one of Jesus’ miracles. Read John 2:1-12. Why was Jesus the only one able to perform this miracle?Arthur showed that he was meant to be king by what he did. He did not know who he was until that moment. Arthur also had to show his power to other people in order to become king. Like Arthur, Jesus revealed who he was by what he did. But Jesus already knew who he was. He did not have to show his power to become God’s Son. He turned water into wine not to impress people or gain power, but to help others.Object lesson: Hidden messageWrite a hidden message on a white piece of paper with a white crayon. Go over it with colored chalk to see what the hidden message says.Was the message there even when you couldn’t see it? Just like the marker helped you see the message, Jesus’ miracles help us see who he is. Some people may not know about Jesus and think he is hidden from them, but he is always there. Like the message on our paper, the truth about Jesus has been revealed. We can tell others that Jesus is God’s Son because of the many ways he has shown us his love.Wrap Up:?Lessons we can learn from David and Goliath and the Sword and the Stone1. The Lord calls whom He will callBefore he slays Goliath, David’s family had been visited by the prophet, Samuel, and been anointed to be the next king. This despite the fact he was the youngest and only tended sheep. The Lord said to Samuel, But the?Lord?said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for?God?sees?not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance,?but the?Lord?looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) The first lessons to learn from David is that the Lord can make who he wants into his instrument. It is up to us to be willing to accept that call and act.2. Right is better than mightWhen Goliath made his challenge to the Israelites they were terrified. They did not remember that they were the covenant people of the Lord. David remembered when he asked, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26) Goliath was strong as to the strength of men, yet he was defeated by a young man — a teenager, really. Why? Because David had the strength of the Lord behind him. The second lesson is that being on the right side of the Lord makes you stronger than anything.3. The Lord prepares his servantsAlthough David was not skilled in the art of war, he had fought battles to protect his sheep. He had killed lions and bears when they attacked his sheep. He knew it was the Lord that had helped him defeat these enemies. With each success at protecting his flock, David was prepared for successive battles including his eventual face off with Goliath. Each success gave him more confidence in his abilities. He didn’t just show up at the battlefield having never relied on the Lord for strength. The third lesson is that each small challenge you face and beat prepares you for future challenges.4. Be yourselfBefore David faced Goliath, Saul offered his armor and sword. David put it on. He soon realized it was not going to work. He said, “I cannot go with these; for I have not tested them.” (1 Samuel 17:39) He knew he was not a warrior in the traditional sense. He had not fought in armor before. Pretending he was something he wasn’t would only hinder him from being able to do what he knew how to do. He was accustomed to using a sling to defend. The fourth lesson is to remember who you are (Lion King reference…if you’re paying attention) and act accordingly. When you honor who you are and don’t pretend you are something else you will be more successful.5. Know your weaponsWhen David went to face Goliath he knew that his sling was in good condition. He didn’t keep it stored away, he used it. He also knew what kind of stones he needed for his sling. He “chose five smooth stones out of the brook.” (1 Samuel 17:40) David knew and was familiar with his weapons. What weapons do you have? Your weapons are your faith, knowledge of the scriptures, your obedience to the commandments, and the truth. The fifth lesson from David is to know your own weapons. Be familiar with them and be ready to use them.Stories like David’s may have happened long ago, but the truths taught, and lessons learned from such stories are timeless. Closing Prayer:Dear God, We see giants in our lives everywhere we look. These giants are something that seems too big for us to handle by ourselves. It may be a bully at school, or a financial crisis, or even trouble at home. We know that You are always there to protect us. It is up to us to always remember to put you first. We can’t do anything without your help. You are in the small things so that You can do big things through us. Your power is magnified in our weakness. In your name we pray, Amen.Take Home:Each person will take home their bag with 5 stones as a reminder that God will always protect us. ................
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