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GOD TELLS DAVID TO NOT BUILD A TEMPLEThrough a drama, children learn about 2 Samuel 7: God makes a covenant with David. • Bible marked at 2 Samuel 7, copies of skit, suggested

clothing (optional: a variety of noisemakers such as party horns, squawkers, or blowouts, pots and wooden spoons, bells, whistles, or buzzers; assorted clocks and watches)

LESSON PATHBIBLE BASIS: 2 SAMUEL 7MEMORY VERSE: PSALM 90:12LESSON FOCUS: GOD’S TIME IS THE RIGHT TIME

WATCHING THE TIMETo connect to their own experiences of time and understanding God’s time, the children will play a waiting game. • Kitchen timer or game buzzer,

wrapped candies

STEP

STEP

TAKE HOME A TIME REMINDERTo apply the Bible story from 2 Samuel 7, children will create a reminder to take home. • Copies of Clock Hands

Template, “Right Time Handout” and “Log It!” from website, fine grade sandpaper, scissors, hole punch, large brads, markers

STEP

WATCH HANDS AT WORKTo help the children explore the Bible story from 2 Samuel 7, use as many of these activities as possible. See the website for more activities. • Numbering Our Days: “Wise Days” Handout

from website, Bibles, magazines, scissors, glue, assorted craft items such as buttons, construction paper squares, craft foam, etc.

• God’s Signals: no supplies needed • Bible Drama: Bible-time costumes and props,

children’s Bible

STEP

PLAN AHEAD FOR EXTRA SUPPLIES AND PREPARATION TIME

For the end of the summer this quarter, a unique event has been provided to bring

together all your Sunday school students—from preschoolers through high schoolers—

to learn from 2 Samuel 7 together. To emphasize that God’s time is the right time, many

of the lesson activities explore the themes of clocks and calendars. Choose one adult to be the

“watchmaker” throughout the lesson. Let the middle and high schoolers be “Watch Hands” and

help as indicated.

The basic event is included on these four pages. For reproducibles, more ideas, staging and

costuming, a longer version of the Bible drama, ways to use this event with just your class,

and many more lesson tips click on the “End of the Summer” link at the website listed in

the Table of Contents of this book.

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WATCHING THE TIME

Hi, I’m Watchmaker (last name). I spend a lot of time watching clocks! Tick-tocks and cuckoos can teach us something about God’s time. Divide the children into groups of 10-12 with a Watch Hand helping each group. Explain that you’re going to ask kids to squat down, then jump as high as they can. But they have to wait

for the right time—when the timer goes off. The first person to jump up gets a

small prize. Play a practice round—no

prize. Set the timer for less than a minute. Then have children wait for it to ding. Encourage the Watch Hands to participate. If possible, use a timer that makes

a ticking noise kids can hear. Then play a “real” round. Again set the timer for less than a minute, and wait for it to ding. Let the child who jumps up first in each group choose a piece of candy, then pass out candy to everyone. While students enjoy the treat together, discuss these questions. � What did it feel like when you were

waiting for the right time to jump?

� Tell me something hard about waiting. Being a watchmaker means I have to figure out when the right time is. It’s the same way with following God. We have to figure out when the right time is, according to God’s plan.

MATERIALS: Kitchen timer or game buzzer, wrapped candies or other small treat

To connect to their own experiences of time and understanding God’s time, the children will play a waiting game.

Click on the “End of Summer” link on the website for complete direc-tions for staging, costumes, props, other helpful options, as well as a more detailed version of this Bible drama from 2 Samuel 7. The setting is a clock shop. Bring in as many portable clocks and watches as you can and spread them around the drama area. The Watchmaker should dress in old, dusty clothes with several watches on each arm. The lead part is the Watchmaker. You could have a couple of Watch Hands pantomime the parts of King David and Nathan while dressed in Bible-time clothes. All the students play the parts of the watches and clocks in the shop.

Through a drama, children learn about 2 Samuel 7: God makes a covenant with David.

GOD TELLS DAVID TO NOT BUILD A TEMPLE

MATERIALS: Bible marked at 2 Samuel 7, copies of skit, suggested clothing (optional: a variety of noisemakers such as party horns, squawkers, or blowouts, pots and wooden spoons, bells, whistles, or buzzers; assorted clocks and watches)

STEP

STEP

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SCRIPT: ’m a watchmaker. That means I have a lot of time on my hands. I’m always check-ing what time it is, because it’s always the right time for something or other. I just

have to figure out what it’s the right time for. Maybe you’ll be able to help me out with that because you’re the clocks and watches in my shop. When you hear me say “It’s time to . . . ,” then you make a sound and do actions like a clock. Depending on how many students you have and what the age span is, you can assign different clock sounds to different small groups. One group might simply say “tick tock, tick tock.” Another group could say “cuckoo, cuckoo.” Others might buzz on a party horn like an alarm clock. Practice the sounds once and have them use their arms as hands on a clock, with one arm being the hour hand and the other arm as the minute hand. Make sure students know what signal to watch for (a signal from the Watchmaker). (Show a Bible open to 2 Samuel 7.) King David learned a lesson about the right time. I’m not sure how many watches he had to help him know the right time, but I do know that he had a prophet to help him. David had settled into his brand new royal palace. I guess he had some time on his hands, because he got to thinking. He thought, “Why should I live in a palace while God lives in a tent? I’m going to build God a temple!”So King David said to Nathan the prophet, “It’s time to build God’s house.” (Pause for kids to make their clock sounds. Give the signal to end.) At first Nathan thought that was a great idea. Then in the middle of the night God gave Nathan a message to give to David. Nathan knew, “It’s time to go see David.” (Pause for kids to make their clock sounds. Give the signal to end.) Nathan went to see David. He said, “God says, ‘I’ve

always been with you, wherever you go. I don’t want you to build me a temple. That’s a job for one ofyour sons. It is time for Me to give you a promise. I’m going to build you a house. I’m going to build you a kingdom that lasts forever! And someone from your family will live forever as King and the promised Savior.’ ” (Pause for kids to make their clock sounds. Give the signal to end.) When David got this message, he wasn’t sure what to make of it. One thing he knew for sure, though. It was time to pray. (Pause for kids to make their clock sounds. Give the signal to end.) So King David went into the tent and sat down before God’s altar. David worshiped and praised God while he prayed. David could hardly believe that God was making such an amazing promise, but David knew that God always kept the promises He made. So he thought, “It’s time to trust God’s promise.” (Pause for kids to make their clock sounds. Give the signal to end.) Well, there’s certainly a lesson for all of us in this story. Sometimes we have great ideas of our own, but the time might not be right. God’s time is the right time.

REVIEW QUESTIONS:

1. What did King David want to do? (He wanted to build temple for God.)

2. Why did God tell David not to build a temple? (It was the job for one of his sons.)

3. How did God use David’s idea to change it to God’s time? (God gave David a promise instead of permission to build a temple. Encourage students to tell more about God’s promise to David.)

To help the children explore the Bible story from 2 Samuel 7, use as many of these activities as possible. See the website for more activities.

STEP

Numbering Our Days Write Psalm 90:12 on a large piece of paper. Have elementary students and older find Psalm 91:12 in ther Bibles. Have them read it aloud together as you point to each word on the paper. Explain that “numbering our days” means we honor God with our time.

Today we will make calendars to remind us to use our time wisely to honor God. Show the craft items you’ve provided. Use these items to make

symbols that will remind you to use your time wisely. They could even be a kind of code. No one else has to understand what the symbols mean as long as you do. While students work, discuss:

� Give me some examples of wise choices you can make at home.

� Tell about some examples of wise choices you can make at school.

WATCH HANDS AT WORK

MATERIALS: “Wise Days” Handout from website, Bibles, magazines, scissors, glue, assorted craft items such as buttons, construction paper squares, craft foam, stickers, yarn, etc.

STEP I

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God’s SignalsPair an older student with a younger student. Explain that the younger child will say, “It’s

time to _________” and name an action. The older child will do the action. If younger kids have trouble thinking of actions, Watch Hands can make some suggestions, such as jump three times, bark like a dog, say your whole name five times fast. Let students get silly if they want to. The older child has to do whatever the younger child says, as long as

no one will be hurt physically or emotionally. Let pairs have fun together, then discuss these questions as a group.

� How do you know when it’s the right time to do something?

� How do you know when God is telling you it’s the right time to do something? (The Holy Spirit prompts us. The Bible shows us what God wants. Our conscience tells us what’s right.)

Bible DramaGive children the opportunity to express themselves dramatically. Review the story

highlights together or have a Watch Hand read 2 Samuel 7 from a children’s Bible. Let the students plan the drama to present to the larger group. In addition to the roles of David and Nathan, kids can play inanimate objects, such

as furniture or vegetation, so everyone has a role. If you have a large group, assign kids to groups to prepare a pre-sentation, with a Watch Hand in each group to help. Then enjoy all the presentations together. Be sure to applaud each one.

� What was your favorite part of the Bible story?

� What does this story teach us about God’s time?

TAKE HOME A TIME REMINDERTo apply the Bible story from 2 Samuel 7, children will create a reminder to take home.

STEP

STEP

MATERIALS: none needed

MATERIALS: Bible-time costumes and props, children’s Bible

CONTINUED

Before class, photocopy the “Right Time” Handout onto cardstock or sturdy paper. Cut out one set of sand-paper hands for each student. Cut out another set of

hands hands from the “Right Time” Handout. You may want to punch the holes in the hands ahead of time.

Gather the children back together. Have the Watchmaker lead a discussion to reinforce application of the Bible story. God wants us to do things in His time. Sometimes we have to wait. Sometimes we don’t get to do something we want to, like how David didn’t get to build the temple. But we can trust God’s promises just the way David did, because God’s time is always the right time. Hand out a set of hands to each student. Have the chil-dren fill in the blanks on the hands. Watch Hands can help younger kids cut and write. Glue hands from the “Right Time Handout” to the back of the sandpaper hands. Punch holes at the bottom of all the hands. Insert a large brad through the pile and secure at the back. Children may fold the hands open like a book or use them as clock hands.

� What is something you want to do, but you have to wait? (For younger kids, this might be something immedi-ate, like getting a toy. For teens, it might be something like getting a driver’s license.)

� Read the Bible verse from one of the clock hands. How does today’s Bible verse help you wait for the right time? (It reminds us that God’s time is the right time, whether or not it’s right away.)

When it’s hard to wait, you can ask God to help you. Trust His promise that His time is the right time! Lead in prayer, asking God to help children wait for His time. As you leave today, you will get a “Log It!” sheet. Use this with your family at home to remember that God’s time is the right time. Pass out the Log It! sheets as children leave.

MATERIALS: copies of “Clock Hands” Template, “Right Time Handout,” and “Log It!” from website, fine grade sandpaper, scissors, hole punch, large brads, markers,

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