A Lesson for Families on David & Bathsheba

This is our last lesson for families — next week our church is meeting in the building once again!!!! Our kids have been begging to do the story of David and Bathsheba and the older ones really wanted to do a Monk parody, so we combined both for this last lesson.

There aren’t many lessons for kids on David and Bathsheba, as this is a rather adult topic. However, this is a subject our kids need to talk about. This lesson uses the story of David and Bathsheba as a springboard to talk deeper about sexual temptations. Since this is such a delicate topic, I have included ideas on how to present this material and have this discussion with young children (where we talk only about sin in general), older children (where we introduce the subject of viewing inappropriate things) and teens (where we talk openly about sexual temptation, sin, and grace). You know your kids best — pray about it and follow God’s lead as you discuss this lesson.

I hope you have enjoyed these lessons over the past few months. We have had fun making them, but it will be nice to be back in church again!

Have a great week and keep serving Jesus!

Cheri

Opening Activity 

Play a game of tag where the person who is “it” tries to trap the others in a net. You can use anything you want for a net – a hula hoop, a blanket, a net — anything you can toss over a person to “trap” them. Take turns being “it”. When you finish the game, say: Satan wants to trap us, too. He wants us to be trapped by sin and temptation – to feel like we can’t get out or escape. Today we are going to talk more about that as we learn about a time when David really messed up. 

The Lesson 

Watch the GamFam video.  

There’s been a death in the Israelite army. It looks like a typical war tragedy — but is there more to it? Will Monk be able to solve this mystery and find out what really happened to Uriah and how King David is involved? Join us for this final GamFam production based on the story of David and Bathsheba. 

Discussion Questions/Application 

You can use this lesson to talk about some pretty big subjects – but know the level of your children and what is appropriate to talk about. Here are some guidelines based on the age/maturity level of your kids. 

Questions and application for young children: 

1. David did some pretty bad stuff in this story. What are some bad things that you have done? 

2. How do you feel when you do bad things?  

3. When you do something bad, you should tell God you’re sorry. God will forgive you and “create in you a clean heart” just like he did with David.  

4. Draw a large heart on a piece of paper and let your child decorate it with stickers, markers, paint or anything you have on hand. Talk about how God forgives us when we sin and makes something beautiful out of our lives! Perhaps play “Create in Me a Clean Heart” while you work. (see below) 

Questions and application for older children: 

1. How did David mess up in this story? 

2. What was David doing that started this whole thing? (He looked out the window and saw something he shouldn’t have. Use this time to talk about temptation and what we should do when we see things we shouldn’t. You might also use this time to ask your children if he/she has ever looked at or seen something inappropriate. This could be a good introduction to talking about the issue of pornography and steps to take to avoid looking at it.) 

3. What do we really call it when someone messes up? (It’s called sin – we don’t always like to use that word, but that’s what it is) 

4. We have all sinned. Read Romans 3:23. What are some ways that people your age sin? 

5. Have you ever sinned against God and felt really bad like David did? 

6. What should you do when you sin against God? 

7. Read 1 John 1:9. What does this promise say about when we confess our sins to God? 

8. Write a letter to God (or draw a picture) thanking Him for how He forgives us when we sin. 

Questions/Application for Teens: 

1. Let’s really discuss David’s sin here – first, he was home when he should have been off to war. He was by himself in his room, looking at something he shouldn’t have been looking at. Discuss the temptations we face when we are by ourselves. Perhaps talk about the issue of pornography and how that can be dangerous and lead to a whole lot of other problems – just like David’s sin led to a lot of other problems for him. 

2. This sin of David’s is based on sexuality. Sex within God’s boundaries (one man and one woman for life) is a wonderful thing. However, any sexual activity outside of those boundaries can lead to a wide range of other problems. What were the other problems for David? What are the other problems for kids your age? 

3. Let’s face it. David messed up. He gave in to his sexual desires and tried to hide his sin from God. This ended up hurting many other people – including his family and eventually his nation. What did he do when he was confronted with this sin, though? David repented. He truly felt bad and he asked God for forgiveness. Read Psalm 51 to see his full response. Even though David failed in this way, God still loved him, forgave him, and even called him a “man after God’s own heart”. Failing sexually is not the unforgiveable sin. While you should strive for sexual purity out of love for Christ, if you fail, you need to know that there is forgiveness. God will forgive you and help you start over. Discuss this with your kids and help them to understand the grace that is available through Jesus. 

4. What are some steps that you can put in place to help you not give in to sexual temptations? Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. How can we apply this verse to sexual temptation? 

5. What makes sexual temptation especially difficult/hard to avoid? Discuss. You might also wish to share some of the struggles you have had in this area – depending on your kids – and how God has helped you to overcome these struggles. 

6. Help your kids come up with a plan to resist sexual temptations.  

7. End this time praying for each other and for the temptations that you each face or will face in the future. 

Additional Activities 

1. Learn and sing “Create in Me a Clean Heart”.

2. Write your own version of Psalm 51. 

3. Memorize 1 Corinthians 10:13. Play a game to help everyone memorize it. A favorite of mine is “erase-a-word” where you write the whole verse down and then erase it one word at a time – repeating it together each time you erase a word until the whole things is erased. You can also do a backwards version of this by writing the verse on paper and covering each word (one word at a time) with goldfish crackers (or some other item). 

4. Use 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons flour, and 2 tablespoons water to make your own “mud”. Play in the mud together and make a huge mess. Talk about how, when we sin, it makes a huge mess in our lives. But God can and will forgive us when we sin and clean us up! Have fun cleaning up the mess – if it’s a nice day, go outside and play in the sprinkler until all the “mud” is gone. 

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