To encourage each child to seek Heavenly Father’s help in overcoming obstacles.

1. Prayerfully study:

   • 1 Samuel 17:1–11—Israel and the Philistines engage in war. Goliath challenges any Israelite man to personal combat.

   • 1 Samuel 17:12–58—David slays Goliath. Israel defeats the Philistines.

2. Study the lesson and decide how you want to teach the children the scripture account (see “Preparing Your Lessons,” p. vi, and “Teaching from the Scriptures,” p. vii). Select the discussion questions and enrichment activities that will best help the children achieve the purpose of the lesson.

3. Materials needed:

   1. A Bible for each child.

   2. Three flat rocks (or three pieces of paper) that the children can step on, each labeled with a challenge or difficulty a child might have to face such as, “You get very sick and your illness lasts several days,” “Some of your neighbors are trying drugs, and they are working very hard to get you to try them too,” and “Someone you care very much about dies.”

   3. Picture 6-37, David Slays Goliath (Gospel Art Picture Kit 112; 62073).

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

You may use one or more of the following activities any time during the lesson or as a review, summary, or challenge.

Show the children a string or rope that you have cut to the length of 9 feet 9 inches (3 meters). You may want to attach it to the wall or ceiling or have children hold the two ends and pull it out to its full length so they can see how tall Goliath was. To help them visualize how much Goliath’s armor weighed, invite the children to volunteer their weights and see what combined weight would be close to the 150 pounds (67.5 kilos) that his armor is estimated to have weighed. Let the children describe how they would feel if they had to fight such an opponent.

The above activity illustrates the following Enrichment Activities #2-4 (shown right)

1. Show a stone or a piece of paper that you have colored to look like a stone. Ask the children to put their chairs in a circle while you stand in the middle. Give the stone to one of the class members and have the children pass the stone around the circle while you hum a song such as “Dare to Do Right” (Children’s Songbook, p. 158). When you stop humming have the children stop passing the stone. Explain that you are Goliath and will tell them of a challenge. The child who ended up with the stone must respond with a positive solution to the challenge. You could use the following challenges or come up with ones of your own:

   1. You have a younger brother who seems to get all the attention. It makes you so angry that you feel like hitting him.

   2. Your best friends are starting to swear and they make fun of you because you do not swear. You want to be accepted by them, but you know it is wrong to swear.

   3. You have a very difficult time doing well in school.

2. Have the children play the parts of David and Goliath by having one child read 1 Samuel 17:44 and another read 1 Samuel 17:45. Discuss how David’s courage came from his faith in the Lord. Explain that we all have obstacles, or “Goliaths,” in our lives. They can block our way to peace and happiness, as Goliath tried to block the way for peace and freedom of the Israelites. Ask the children to listen to the following story to find out what obstacle President David O. McKay, ninth President of the Church, faced when he was young and what he did about it to find peace.

   “One night [when I was young] … I awoke and soon imagined I could hear footsteps near the window. … My fears must have been at a pretty high pitch, for I breathed heavily, and it seemed I could hear my heart thumping. …

   “True to my mother’s training and the natural yearning of my soul, I sought the Lord in prayer. To me there was only one way to pray and that was to kneel at the bedside. It was no small effort to get out of bed and kneel in the dark, but I did it, and prayed as never before for God’s comfort and protection. Just as I said ‘Amen,’ I heard a voice say as distinctly as I ever heard a voice in my life, ‘Don’t be afraid, nothing will hurt you.’ Immediately all fear left me. I felt comforted at once and crept back to bed to a sweet and peaceful sleep” (“A Lesson in Faith,” Improvement Era, Aug. 1964, p. 637).

3. If possible, make a copy of the visual at the end of the lesson for each child. Ask the children to choose “Goliaths,” or challenges, in their lives they would like to overcome and write them on the giant. Then have them think of ways to overcome their challenges, write them on pieces of paper, and cut these papers to look like stones. Explain that all challenges can’t be overcome, but if we ask Heavenly Father for his help, he will give us strength to cope with them. Encourage each child to choose a challenge that he or she can work on and to include faith and prayer as part of the solution.

   

4. Sing or read the words to “Dare to Do Right” (Children’s Songbook, p. 158) with the children.
   DOWNLOAD Dare to Do Right song visuals (HERE or below) to teach this song