RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2023/2024 AGE 6-8 TEACHER’S MANUAL SUNDAY 23RD OF JUNE, 2024 LESSON FORTY THREE(43) TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART 13: PERFORMANCE OF EXPLOITS

Click HERE for Previous RCCG Manual

RCCG LOWER JUNIOR ZEAL FOR 2023/2024
AGE 6-8 TEACHER’S MANUAL
SUNDAY 23RD OF JUNE, 2024
LESSON FORTY THREE(43)
TOPIC: BENEFITS OF A GRATEFUL HEART 13: PERFORMANCE OF EXPLOITS

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Samuel 17:1-51
[1]Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim.
[2]And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines.
[3]And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them.
[4]And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
[5]And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
[6]And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
[7]And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him.
[8]And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them, Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and let him come down to me.
[9]If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye be our servants, and serve us.
[10]And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that we may fight together.
[11]When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
[12]Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehemjudah, whose name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for an old man in the days of Saul.
[13]And the three eldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next unto him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
[14]And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul.
[15]But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
[16]And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
[17]And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren;
[18]And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge.
[19]Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.
[20]And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle.
[21]For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army against army.
[22]And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
[23]And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spake according to the same words: and David heard them.
[24]And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid.
[25]And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.
[26]And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?
[27]And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be done to the man that killeth him.
[28]And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
[29]And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause?
[30]And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
[31]And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them before Saul: and he sent for him.
[32]And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
[33]And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
[34]And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:
[35]And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
[36]Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God.
[37]David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.
[38]And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail.
[39]And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him.
[40]And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine.
[41]And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
[42]And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
[43]And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
[44]And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field.
[45]Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
[46]This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
[47]And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.
[48]And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
[49]And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
[50]So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
[51]Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.

MEMORY VERSE: 1 John 4:4 “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”.

LESSON AIM: Children will rely on God’s power to do mighty and wonderful things.

CHILD-RELATED TRUTH: God wants you to do wonderful things through Jesus.

INTRODUCTION
Can you imagine being an anointed King and you cannot rule? David has been chosen to be King but it is not God’s time for him to be King over Israel. In today’s story, Saul is still the King of Israel and David spends some of the time with King Saul and the rest of his time in Bethlehem tending his father’s sheep.

PROGRESSION OF EVENT

1. While David was in his father’s field tending his sheep, King Saul and his army were preparing for a battle against the Philistines.
2. Each army sat still to see which one will make the first move and the army of Israel got entertainment from the Philistines every day.
3. Goliath the leader of the Philistines’ army was taunting Israel and challenging one person to fight him.
4. The army of Israel lived in fear every day because Goliath came out every morning and evening for forty days shouting and challenging Israel to fight him.
5. Back in Bethlehem Jesse was thinking of his three oldest sons and sent David to give them provisions.
6. When David arrived at the army’s camp in time for Goliath’s daily taunt.
7. David must have been surprised by the fear of Saul’s army and began to questions, then decided he was going to fight Goliath.
8. David stood before King Saul bravely and told of his exploits in killing a lion and a bear who tried to kill the sheep he was taking care of.
9. King Saul agreed for David to fight Goliath and gave him his armor to wear but David was unable to move around in the armor and wore his own clothes.
10. David chose five smooth stones from a stream and place them in his shepherd’s bag.
11. Goliath mocked David for coming to fight him in the name of the Lord.

GOSPEL CONNECTION: Mocking is a sin and sin is your biggest enemy and it separates you from God. We all have sinned and are separated from God forever. Jesus fought the battle against sin when He was nailed to the cross for your and mine sins. Jesus died in our place to take the punishment for our sins. The battle against sin was won when Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. Today, you can now have your sin forgiven if you believe in the Lord Jesus as Saviour. (Romans 6:23).

CLIMAX: Goliath came to meet David, David took one smooth stone from his bag and placed it in his sling, and wound it up, the stone hit Goliath in the middle of his forehead and he fell down and died.

CONCLUSION: David took off Goliath’s sword and caught off his head. CHALLENGE: David was willing to trust God and His power. God used David to fight against the enemy of Israel. Sometimes we all have some enemy that either causes us to be afraid, sad, angry etc. Just as God gave David the power to fight the enemy of Israel, the Holy Spirit living in your heart will give you the power to fight whatever battle that comes to your life and do exploits.

CARRY-OVER ACTIVITY: Allow God to give you the power to have faith in Him to do exploits.

INVITATION: Put your trust in Jesus and receive Him as Lord and Saviour (John 1:12).

DAILY DEVOTIONAL
SUNDAY Psalms 76:9-12
MONDAY Psalms 77:1-4
TUESDAY Psalms 77:5-8
WEDNESDAY Psalms 77:9-12
THURSDAY Psalms 77:13-16
FRIDAY Psalms 77:17-20
SATURDAY Psalms 78:1-4

Open Heavens 2024 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC.

ALSO READ: CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW US ON TWITTER ⊗ OPEN HEAVEN ⊗ JOEL OSTEEN DEVOTIONAL⊗ ABOVE ONLY ⊗ OUR DAILY BREAD ⊗ SEEDS OF DESTINY ⊗ JOYCE MEYER DEVOTIONAL ⊗ RHAPSODY OF REALITIES ⊗ JOHN HAGEE ⊗ MFM DAILY DEVOTIONALUTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST⊗DCLM DAILY MANNA ⊗ JOHN PIPER DEVOTIONAL ⊗