Tag Archive for: Youth Bible Lessons – Level 1

Featured Passage: 1 Samuel 16

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King Saul made some very poor decisions and disobeyed God’s directions. God no longer wanted  Saul to be king and Samuel told Saul what God had decided. Though Saul did not know it, God already had a new king in mind. God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem, a small town where a man named Jesse lived. Jesse had eight sons, and God had picked one of them to be anointed as king of Israel. Samuel looked at Jesse’s tall and handsome sons and thought he could guess who God picked. But God sees characteristics we do not see, and he had a perfect choice in mind that no one ever expected.

 Discuss:

• When Samuel saw him, he was sure that Eliab was the one God had chosen. What was it about Eliab that made Samuel feel this way? How did God respond?
• Why was Samuel having a feast? Was David invited?  
• David was a young lad when he was chosen to be the next king of Israel. What do you think it would be like for him to be told he would be the next king at such an early age?
• David was the youngest of his brothers, and he tended his father’s sheep. What lessons do you think David learned from being a shepherd? Do you have any responsibilities at home? What is it like to have that responsibility?
• What instrument did David play while he was caring for the sheep? Why was David given the job of playing music for Saul? God often uses us for the skills that we develop. What skills are you working on or would you like to master as you grow up? In what ways do you think God could use those skills?

Memory Challenge:

1 Samuel 16:7

 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

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Featured Passage: 1 Samuel 9-12

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The people wanted a king, so God had a particular man in mind for the job. This young man’s name was Saul, and he was from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul was the tallest and most handsome man in all the land! God told Samuel that he wanted Saul to be king. Little did Saul know about what was in store for him! 

One day, Saul’s father told him to take a servant with him to look for his two missing donkeys. Saul and his servant searched and searched but they could not find them. They were about to give up when they remembered Samuel and decided that the man of God would be able to help them. He was, of course, able to help them, but not in the way that Saul expected. How could Saul know that the two missing donkeys were part of God’s plan to anoint a king over Israel? 

Discuss:

• Saul was tall and handsome. Do you think this was part of the reason God chose him to be the first king? 
• When Samuel first told Saul about God’s plan to make him king, how did Saul react? How do we react when someone tells us something surprising? 
• Why do you think Saul kept it a secret that he had been anointed by Samuel to be the king? 
• When Samuel went to proclaim to the people who would be king, where was Saul? Why do you think he was hiding? 
• Later, God said that Saul was “small in his own eyes” at this time. This is another way of saying that he was “humble”. What exactly does it mean to be “humble” or “small in your own eyes?”  

Memory Challenge: 

1 Samuel 10:24

 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”

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Featured Passage: 1 Samuel 3-4, 7

Samuel served in the temple from childhood. Under the guidance of Eli, Samuel began to learn about all the things of God. God was preparing Samuel for big responsibilities. One night, when he was still a young boy, Samuel heard someone call his name. Thinking it was Eli, he jumped out of bed and said to Eli “Here I am!” Eli hadn’t called him, but Samuel was about to find out Who wanted his attention.  And that was only the beginning of the story of how Samuel came to be a prophet and a judge over Israel.

Discuss:

• Samuel had a special calling to be a prophet to Israel at a very young age. What was Samuel’s reaction when God spoke to him the first time?
• Samuel’s first prophetic message was about Eli and his family. Why were Eli and his sons punished? 
• What are the duties of a prophet? Why does God have prophets?
• What are the duties of a judge?

Memory Challenge:

1 Samuel 3:10 

Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

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Featured Passage: Judges 4:13-24; 5

As God instructed, Deborah and Barak prepared the army of Israel to fight against their enemies, the Canaanites. Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army heard what the Israelites were doing, so he gathered together his own army—with 900 chariots of iron! He may have thought his chariots were prepared to meet the Israelites in battle, but He wasn’t ready to fight against God! God had a plan to stop those chariots—and they were stopped. They got stuck in the mud! Sisera, seeing the Israelites coming against his army leapt from his chariot and ran away on foot—right into a trap! 

 Discuss:

• The Canaanites had a superior army to the Israelites because they had chariots made of iron, which is a very strong kind of metal. Israel did not have iron weapons, so how were the Israelites able to win the battle against the Canaanites? 
• How did God stop the chariots so that they got stuck in the mud? 
• What happened to Sisera after he ran away from the battle? 
• Who was the woman that Deborah was talking about when she told Barak “the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman”? Deborah mentions her in the song she sang with Barak after the battle. 

Memory Challenge:

Judges 5:31 

Thus let all Your enemies perish, O Lord! But let those who love Him be like the sun when it comes out in full strength. 

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Featured Passage: Judges 4:1-5

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A woman named Deborah lived in the foothills of Ephraim. The Bible tells us that she was a prophetess and married a man named Lapidoth. Deborah lived during a time when an evil Canaanite king named Jabin ruled in the land. He and his powerful army persecuted the Israelites. Deborah and her people longed for relief from their cruel enemies. 

Discuss:

• Deborah had faith in God and He gave her the help she needed to be a good judge. If we have faith, do you think God could use us to do amazing things? 
• The people suffered greatly under the Canaanites. Why did God allow Israel to suffer? Remember, God promises that obeying Him brings blessings, but disobeying Him brings trouble (Deuteronomy 30:15–20).
• The Bible says that the evil king Jabin had 900 chariots made out of iron! The Israelites were crying out to God for help! Have you ever asked God for help when you were scared? How can we know He will help us? 

Memory Challenge:

Judges 4:4-5

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

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