📖

The Shepherd-King

David's Kingdom and God's Promise

Day 41of 180
Week 9of 36
30Minutes
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🖨️ Download Worksheet (PDF)
🎯 What You'll Learn

Learning Objectives

1

Understand how David's experience as a shepherd prepared him for leadership

2

Identify God's selection process for leaders differs from human expectations

3

Recognize God's ability to use ordinary people for extraordinary purposes

📖 Scripture Connection

1 Samuel 16:11-13

“Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are all your children here?' He said, 'There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep.' Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.'”

— 1 Samuel 16:11-13 (WEB)

Demonstrates God's unique selection of David despite being the youngest and least expected

📦 Materials Needed

  • Bible (World English Bible)
  • Notebook
  • Colored pencils
  • BibleMouse Kingdom Timeline
📚 Step-by-Step

Lesson Plan

1Opening (3 min)

BibleMouse adventure begins! Today we'll explore how God prepares leaders in unexpected ways.

💭 Review Question: What did we learn about covenants in our last lesson?
2Teaching (10 min)

Exploring David's journey from shepherd to king

📌 Key Talking Points:
  • David's humble beginnings as a shepherd
  • God looks at the heart, not outward appearance
  • Shepherding skills that prepared David for leadership
💬 Discussion Questions:
  • How might caring for sheep teach leadership?
  • Why did God choose David over his older brothers?
3Activity: Shepherd Leadership Challenge (12 min)
discussion

Create a comparison chart between shepherding sheep and leading people

📝 Instructions:
  1. Draw a two-column chart
  2. Left column: Shepherd's responsibilities with sheep
  3. Right column: How these relate to spiritual leadership
🔄 Variations:

Simpler: Use BibleMouse Printables worksheet

Challenge: Research additional biblical shepherd-leaders like Moses

4Closing (3 min)

Recap David's unexpected journey

📝 Review Questions:
  • What made David special to God?
  • How can we be open to God's unexpected plans?
🙏 Prayer:

Lord, help us be humble and ready for Your calling

Coming up: Tomorrow we'll explore God's amazing promise to David

💎 Memory Verse

Luke 1:32-33

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

— Luke 1:32-33 (WEB)

🎯 Activity: Kingdom Charades: Act out words from the verse without speaking, helping memorize through physical movement

👨‍👩‍👧 For Parents

Teaching Notes

📚 Background:

David represents God's counter-cultural selection process

💡 Teaching Tips:
  • Encourage children to see beyond surface-level qualifications
  • Help them understand God's unique perspective
🤔 Common Struggles:

Children might struggle with understanding God's non-traditional selection methods

👀 Signs of Understanding:

Curiosity about God's unexpected choices

🚀 Want More?

Extension Activities

  • Research famous leaders who started in humble positions
  • Create a shepherd's day timeline
  • Write a journal entry from David's perspective

Ready for Tomorrow?

Great job completing today's lesson!

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