In this lesson, children learn that David trusted God when he faced a giant, and that God helps us when we feel small or scared. It works well for ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes, including the story, the verses, and the activity.
Big Idea
God is bigger than any giant we will ever face, and He helps the people who trust Him. Even a small boy with a sling can win when God is with him.
Memory Verse
1 Samuel 17:47
And that all this assembly may know that the LORD doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
(WEB)
Hold both hands up like a little shield, then point up to the sky on the word “battle” and clap once when you say “the Lord’s.” Repeat the motions together three times so the children can say the words and move with them.
The Story: 1 Samuel 17 for Kids
Long ago, the Israelites and the Philistines were getting ready to fight. The two armies stood on hills across a wide valley, with the valley in the middle. Each morning and evening, a giant named Goliath walked out in front of the Philistine army. He was taller than any man the children of Israel had ever seen, and he wore heavy bronze armor from his head to his feet.
Goliath shouted across the valley, “Choose one man to fight me! If he wins, we will serve you. If I win, you will serve us!” Everyone in Israel was scared. King Saul and his soldiers ran away from him, and no one wanted to fight the giant.
David was a young shepherd boy who took care of his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. His three oldest brothers were soldiers in King Saul’s army. One day, David’s father sent him with bread and cheese to bring to his brothers at the battle. When David arrived, he heard Goliath shouting and saw the Israelite soldiers running in fear.
David said, “Why should anyone be afraid of this man? He is defying the armies of the living God!” His older brother Eliab got angry and told him to go home. But David stayed and talked to King Saul. He said, “Let no one lose heart. I will go and fight this Philistine.”
Saul told David he was too young. David answered by telling how God had helped him fight a lion and a bear while he guarded his sheep. He said, “The Lord who saved me from the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine.” Saul let him go, but he offered David his own armor. David tried it on, but it was too heavy. He took it off and chose five smooth stones from a brook, and he took his sling in his hand.
When Goliath saw David, he laughed and said, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” David answered, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord. Today the Lord will give you into my hand.” David ran toward the giant, put a stone in his sling, and threw it. The stone hit Goliath in the forehead, and the giant fell down. David then took the giant’s own sword and finished the battle. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they ran away.
Read It Together
1 Samuel 17:4-7
4 A champion out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span went out. 5 He had a helmet of brass on his head, and he wore a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass. 6 He had brass shin armor on his legs, and a brass javelin between his shoulders. 7 The staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron. His shield bearer went before him.
(WEB)
Point out how big and strong Goliath looked. Ask the children to stretch their arms as wide as they can to show how tall he was, and remind them that David was still a boy who had not been trained for battle.
1 Samuel 17:32-37
32 David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” 33 Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” 34 David said to Saul, “Your servant was keeping his father’s sheep; and when a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after him, and struck him, and rescued it out of his mouth. When he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and struck him, and killed him. 36 Your servant struck both the lion and the bear. This uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 David said, “The LORD who 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.” Saul said to David, “Go! The LORD will be with you.”
(WEB)
Show how David remembered what God had done for him before. Explain that he did not trust in his own strength but in the God who had already rescued him from the lion and the bear.
1 Samuel 17:45-47
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of the LORD of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 Today, the LORD will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines today to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD doesn’t save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
(WEB)
Point out that David said the battle belongs to the Lord. Help the children see that God, not the sling or the stone, was the one who won the fight.
Talk About It
- What do you think David felt when he saw the giant, and what did he do about those feelings?
- Why did the soldiers of Israel run away from Goliath?
- What did David remember about God that helped him feel brave?
- What giant is something that makes you feel scared sometimes?
- How can you remember that God is with you when you feel small?
Activity Ideas
Paper Plate Giant and Slingshot Stone
You will need paper plates, crayons or markers, scissors, and a few small pebbles or balls of scrap paper. Have each child draw a big, angry face on a paper plate to make a giant, then tape it to a wall or door. Give each child a pebble or paper ball and let them take turns tossing it toward the giant. Talk together about how David trusted God even though he was small.
Shepherd and Giant Freeze Game
You will need an open room or yard and a few friends or family members. One child plays David and the others are Goliath’s army. The children who are “David” move around like sheep, and “Goliath” tries to tag them. When a child is tagged, they freeze, and the others try to free them by saying, “The Lord is with you!” Explain that God helps us even when the giants in life seem too big.
Take-Home Five Stones Card
You will need five small smooth stones, a small bag or envelope, and an index card for each child. Let the children decorate their card with the words “The battle is the Lord’s.” Put the card and five stones in the envelope to take home. Encourage them to hold one stone each day and say a short prayer asking God to help them trust Him with their fears.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that God delivers His people not through human strength or status but through faith in His power. David’s victory comes from his confidence that the battle belongs to the Lord, and his courage grows from remembering how God had already saved him. Adults can see that God often uses the unlikely and the young to accomplish His purposes.
Avoid suggesting to children that God always makes our fears disappear or that trusting Him guarantees we will never be hurt. The story teaches that God is with His people and that He is greater than any threat, but it does not promise that every hard situation will end the way David’s did.
A Prayer to Close
Lord, thank You that You are bigger than any giant we face. Help us to remember David’s trust in You when we feel small or scared. Teach us to know that the battle belongs to You, and help us trust You every day. Amen.
