Kids will see how God is in charge and that He is the one who is always with us.
God kept His promise and brought His people into their own land. To show how much He loved His people, God raised up leaders called judges. He also raised up prophets who gave the people messages from God and helped to remind them that He was in charge.
But God’s people looked around and saw other nations and wanted to be like them. So God allowed His people to have kings to rule over them, and in return God asked those kings to follow Him.
In this series, kids will discover what it means for God to be the only true God and how He invites them to follow and respond to Him.
Through the stories of kings and prophets, they will see how God is in charge and that He is the one who is always with us.
Series Invitation
Long before Saul was appointed Israel’s first king, God gave Moses specific instructions for kings. God was the true King, yet He knew His people would become discontent without a human on the throne. In grace, God prepared them for that future day. Israel’s king was to “write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law” and “read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God” (Deuteronomy 17:18–19, NIV).
A few kings did as God commanded. God called King David “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22, NIV), and King Josiah, when hearing God’s Word for the first time, was so distressed at his nation’s dis- obedience that he tore his clothes in anguish. Still, many others did not revere God. Saul started well but let pride get the better of him. And Ahab and Jehoiakim were downright evil, violently opposing God and His prophets.
But God did not give up on His people. Over and over, He showed mercy, drawing near to Israel and calling them back to Himself.
But God did not give up on His people.
What an important truth for each one of us! When we are doing well and feel close to God, He wants to be near to us. And when we are spread thin, our pride creating illusions of self-sufficiency, God still wants to be near us.
As you prepare for this series, read through the stories of kings and prophets. Where do you see God drawing near to Saul, David, Sol- omon, Elijah, Josiah, and Jeremiah? Where do you see God’s sover- eignty? Where do you see His mercy?
God longs to draw near to you. Where is He meeting you in your circumstances today?
Wonder Ink’s 3-year, 52-week children’s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God’s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.
