KpZ Lesson - Sunday, March 29th

Today's Lesson:  Obey God Completely

After completing this lesson, the children will understand the importance of following God's commands completely, and by doing so receive many blessings and joy.

MEMORY WORK (8 minutes)

"Do not merely listen to the Word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22 NIV

Gather a soft ball or a rolled up sock. Have your kids look up the verse.  Throw the ball to your child(ren) and they will say the verse and then throw it back to you for you to repeat the verse.  Continue until everyone has a chance to say the verse a few times.  

SCRIPTURE READING AND DISCUSSION (15 minutes)
Introduction:
In the days of Samuel, the people of Israel looked upon the Lord for their protection and strength. However, they still wanted a king so they could be like the rest of the nations around them. Reluctantly, Samuel chose a tall man named Saul to fill this position. But Saul had some faults. First he did not want to be king. When the people gathered to crown him, he was hiding, because he felt he could not live up to the people's expectations. Second, he had a problem with pleasing himself and others instead of God. He would listen to God, but not always do everything he was told to do. Our story today is about one time when Saul's disobedience had serious consequences.

Read 1 Samuel 15:1-9, 17-23 (God Rejects Saul for Disobeying)

Discussion Questions:
1. What did God tell Saul to do? (Completely destroy the Amalekites - not to spare anything.)
2. Why did Saul tell the Kenites to go way? (Because they showed kindness, and were not to be harmed.)
3. How did Saul disobey God? (He spared Agag and the best of the livestock - against God's command.)
4. Who did Saul blame for his disobedience? (He said the soldiers did it to sacrifice to the Lord.)
5. How did God punish Saul for his disobedience? (He rejected him as king.)
6. Why do you think Saul didn't fully obey God's commands? (He was more concerned about what others wanted instead of what God wanted.)
7. Has there been a time when you were told to do something, but you only did part of it? Why?


APPLICATION (4 minutes)
God gives us many instructions. Sometimes we call these instructions commands. Obeying these commands is the right thing to do, not only because we are pleasing God, but because they help us live good, clean lives that are full of blessings and joy.

However sometimes our own weaknesses get into the way of doing what God says. We may be in too much of a hurry, or it might seem too hard or boring at the time. Perhaps we are more concerned with pleasing others instead of God. Sometimes we may think we know a better way. But these are not good excuses. Instead it is foolishness. We should always do what God says.

As we learned today, King Saul made a bad mistake. God gave him very clear instructions to utterly destroy the Amalekites and everything they had because they were evil people. But Saul and his armies spared the king of the Amalekites, and kept the best animals for themselves. Then to make it worse, Saul blamed his being disobedient on his soldiers. Because he did not fully obey God’s will, he was rejected as king of Israel. 

SUGGESTED PARENT/CHILD ACTIVITY
Conduct a little Bible research this week. Along with your child, look up and read the following passages:
Pslam 112
John 15:10-14
2 John 6
What do these passages say about obeying God's Commands? Do the blessings outweigh the penalty for disobeying? How do we know if we are following God's commands?

DAILY PRAYER
Dear Lord, I want to seek You with all my heart. Help me so that I don't stray from Your commands and do what is evil in your sight. Teach me Your will, Lord, as I meditate on Your Word, so I may serve You and be a child of God. Amen

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