Hello and welcome to you! This is the last of the three online November Learning Together lessons with sections for both children and adults.
     We are today wrapping up our discussion of the story “The Teeny, Weenie … True King” found on pages 116-121 of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
     Children: Please re-read the story anyway you wish, silently or out loud, alone or with a family member.
      


Now this particular lesson is actually going to be about David, the great king of Israel, but it took my first two lessons to explain Samuel (a high priest and judge) and Jesse (a man with many sons, including David) in order to understand David’s story.                                                                               
     

Back in Jesus’ time, most kings were chosen to be kings because they were the tallest and strongest men in the neighborhood. David, though, was the opposite. He was short and not very strong compared to his six older brothers.
     But God knew David’s heartfelt, innermost thoughts, and He knew David had a heart full of love, just as God himself does. That is why God spoke quietly to Samuel that He had chosen David to be the next King of Israel.
     When David grew up, he DID become Israel’s king for many years and was known as a wise and Godly ruler. He is one of the most important people in the entire Bible! Keep in mind also that King David was part of Jesus’ family tree!
     Our next two stories in December and January will also be about King David, one about David as a soldier and the other about David as a poet who wrote special poems about praising God called psalms.
     Skip the next section for adults, read the prayer of the week below, and check out the information about Sunday School this coming weekend.    
     Comments and questions are always welcome by Pastor Steve on this blog.
     Adults:  Biblical reference for this story is 1 Samuel 16.
     Apart from a few Jewish sources written over a thousand years later, all that is known of David comes from biblical literature, the historicity of which has been extensively challenged, and there is little detail about David that is concrete and undisputed.
     Having said that, the story of King David in the Bible is about a shepherd boy who became king of Israel, expanded Israel’s territories, and left the country more prosperous and peaceful than he found it.
     Highlights from his life are as follow:
         ~The prophet Samuel anointed David as the future king of Israel.
         ~ David defeated the giant Goliath with a slingshot and a stone.
         ~ David fled into exile after Saul, the first king, became jealous 
            of David’s popularity and plotted to kill him.
         ~ David led a group of outlaws and refugees in the desert,
            protecting the local population from bandits.
         ~ After Saul and his son, Jonathon, were killed in battle, David
            became king as the true successor to Saul.
         ~ David built his palace in the City of David and moved the Holy
            Ark to Jerusalem.
         ~ David expanded Israel’s territories and defeated its enemies.
         ~ David gathered building materials and drew blueprints for the
            temple for his son, Solomon.
      In medieval Western Europe and Eastern Christendom, David was considered a modern ruler and a symbol of divinely ordained monarchy.
     We will continue looking into King David’s life in the next two months.
     Comments and questions are always welcome by Pastor Steve on this blog.
 For Children and Adults:
~This Week’s Prayer: I pray that I will be like King David, who never lost faith in the Lord.
     Sunday School will gather this coming Sunday, November 24, at 11 am-12 pm right after church service. There will be a snack, an oral read and story discussion, and a follow-up craft. All are invited!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Margo Greer

Fall greetings to you! Today is the second lesson of three about the story of “The Teeny, Weenie … True King” on pages 116-121 of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Get ready to think and learn and read and pray!
 
Children: To start, please read our story out loud this time. Maybe you will choose to read it out loud for yourself, or to a
brother or sister, or maybe a parent. Remember to check out the pictures. Jesse had seven sons (and two daughters):
Eliab was his firstborn son;
Abinadab was born second,
Shimeag third,
Nethanel fourth,
Raddai fifth,
Ozem sixth, and
David was seventh.
 
We do not know if Jesse’s sons knew why they were being interviewed by Samuel, but it’s quite possible they would have known Samuel to be a very important man, and that the interviews must be very important, too. Samuel did not have to make this enormous decision. God, who sees into all our hearts, spoke His choice to Samuel, and that choice was David, the youngest and smallest of the sons. David, who wasn’t even included in the first round of interviews, who was the weakling of the family, was judged by God to be the perfect person to be the second king of Israel. Samuel anointed David right away. To be anointed means you got the job. To anoint someone means you 1)wet your right thumb with blessed oil, 2) draw a cross in the middle of the person’s forehead with your thumb, and as you do that, 3) use the person’s name and say “I anoint you with oil in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.)
 
It must be remembered the other brothers were not chosen because they were bad people in any way, but that David was the best one of all seven brothers to be the kind of King God wanted. Send any of your questions or comments to Pastor Steve using this blog, and he will respond.
 
Adults: Biblical references for this story are 1 Samuel 16 and Matthew 1. Who exactly was Jesse in the Bible and what do we know about him? Jesse was the father of King David ( Ruth 4:17 ). He was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz . You remember Ruth whose husband and son died. She told her mother-in-law Naomi she would continue to follow her. Naomi’s people would be her people and Naomi’s God would be her God ( Ruth 1:16 ). We know from further study in the Bible that Jesse is a part of the lineage of Jesus. Jesse takes center stage in the Bible as God prepares to anoint a new
king of Israel to replace Saul. We look to 1 Samuel 16 for the details. God told Samuel that He was sending him to the house of Jesse, the Bethlehemite. There, among the sons of Jesse, he would find the new king of Israel. God had instructed Samuel to fill his horn with oil in anticipation. Samuel had questions as to how he would anoint a new king without facing
the wrath of Saul. God told him to take a heifer, a young cow, to sacrifice to the Lord. God then instructed him to invite Jesse to the sacrifice. God told Samuel that He would show him what to do and who to anoint as the next king.
 
When Samuel went to Bethlehem, as God had instructed, Samuel invited Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Samuel had no idea of who God might anoint. He figured it might be the oldest son Eliab. “But the Lord said  unto Samuel,   Look  not on his countenance,  or on the height  of his stature;  because I have refused  him: for the Lord seeth not as man  seeth ; for man   looketh  on the outward appearance, but the Lord  looketh  on the heart. ”
 
The Bible says in Isaiah 11:1 that a rod would spring forth out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch (with a capital B due to its importance), shall grow out of its roots. This Branch is significant because it is a precursor to the Son of God. Turn to Matthew 1 to read the lineage of the fourteen generations prior to Jesus Christ. The beginning names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are very familiar to us, as are the names of Jesse, and at the end, the names of Joseph and Mary. As with the children, please send any of your questions or comments to Pastor Steve using this blog, and he will respond.
 
~This Week’s Prayer: Blessed God, we are grateful that You have plan a for each of us. Amen
 
One more online lesson will follow next week and Sunday School will gather on November 24, 2024, at 11 am-12 pm right after service. We will enjoy a snack, oral read and discuss “The True Teeny Weenie … True King,” and assemble a follow-up craft. Hope to see you then.
 
Remember to say your prayers,
Margo Greer

​     Yes, it is now November and time for three new Learning Together lessons and a scheduled Sunday School gathering in late November. I am very happy to have you with me and am looking forward to sharing the new lessons.
     You and your family are invited to think, learn, read, and pray around our selected story, which is entitled “The Teeny, Weenie …True King.” It can be found in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones on pages 116-121. There are free copies of this book to be found at our church, Resurrection Lutheran Church in New Berlin, or it can be bought online.
     Please feel free to share your comments or questions with Pastor Steve on this blog; he will gladly respond.
     Children: As with every first lesson, I begin by asking you to find a comfortable space and listen to the oral reading of the story provided for you at the beginning of this online lesson.
     Before we discuss the “real teeny, weenie … King David,” I need to share with you the life of Samuel, who is speaking to us at the start of our story.
     Samuel was a prophet and judge who lived before the time of kings in the country of Israel. He was responsible for anointing the first two kings of Israel, Saul and David. The name Samuel means "God has heard". Two books of the Old Testament are named after him, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel.
     Hannah, Samuel’s mom, was so happy when she realized she was going to have a baby that she promised the Lord that if she did give birth to a son, the boy should be raised by the priest Eli in the church at Shiloh as a life-long follower of God.  So, at the age of three or four, he started living and training in the Shioh church, and his mother came to see him often.     
     Samuel was about twelve when he first heard God’s voice talking to him while he was sleeping, but, not understanding it was God, Samuel thought it was the priest Eli who was calling his name. The first three times the Lord called Samuel, the boy went to Eli to ask what he wanted Samuel to do.  At first the priest was confused, because he had not called out Samuel’s name, but on the third time, he finally understood what was happening. He instructed Samuel to respond to the Lord if He called again. Then, "The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, Samuel! Samuel!' Samuel said, ’Speak, for your servant is listening.’ God gave Samuel a message to relay to Eli - Eli’s two sons were not honest and trustworthy people and should not be the next rulers of Israel. 

​      The following day, Samuel told Eli everything God had said to him, even though the message was bad news for Eli and his family. Eli wasn’t happy but accepted God’s word. From then on, Samuel’s reputation as a prophet spread throughout Israel, and God continued to reveal His Word to His people through Samuel.
     Samuel lived and died about 1000 years before Jesus was born, so he never met Jesus, but he truly and totally believed in God, and early on, demonstrated that God spoke to him on a regular basis.  
     Adults: Biblical references for this story are 1 Samuel 16.
     Samuel lived at the end of the period of the judges and ushered in the period of kingship. He was Israel’s last judge (1 Sam 7:6, 15‑17) and first prophet (3:20; Acts 3:24; 13:20). He functioned as a priest (1 Sam 2:18) and was a great man of faith (Hebrews 11:32). Samuel was born in response to his mother Hannah’s prayers. Samuel’s parents traveled annually from Ramah to the Shiloh sanctuary (1 Sam 1:3). While at the sanctuary, Hannah, who was infertile, prayed for a son and promised him to God for full-time service (1:9‑11). God answered the prayer, and Samuel was born (1:19‑20). When Samuel was weaned, about the age of four, Hannah took him to serve in the church at Shiloh with Eli, the high priest.

​     Samuel whole-heartedly served the Lord. Soon it became clear that God spoke more intimately with Samuel than with Eli. God spoke to Samuel (3:1‑18) to warn Eli of the coming disaster when the Philistines defeated Israel, killed Eli’s sons, and took the Ark of the Covenant (chapt 4–6). Later, under Samuel’s leadership, the people repented of their sin of idolatry and succeeded in winning an important battle against the Philistines (7:3‑17).
     But as Samuel grew older, it became obvious he suffered from the same weakness as Eli before him. Samuel’s sons were evil (8:1‑3), and the people did not want them to assume leadership over the nation. So the people saw the need for a king who could lead them in battle against their enemies (8:4‑5).
     The transition from the era of the judges to kingship was turbulent. As priest, Samuel prayed for the people; as prophet, he reproved Saul for impatience and disobedience (13:5‑14; 15:20‑23). When God rejected Saul as king, Samuel anointed David as God’s chosen one (16:1‑13) and protected David from Saul (19:18‑24).
     Through prayer and perseverance, Samuel was a faithful leader (Jeremiah 15:1; Acts 13:20; Hebrews 11:32) who cherished his people’s well-being and courageously rebuked kings and elders. He led Israel from tribal disunity to national solidarity and established the monarchy. He wrote The Record of Samuel the Seer (1 Chronicles 29:29) and defined ideal kingship (1 Sam 10:25).
     When he died, he was mourned by all of Israel. He was buried in Ramah, his hometown (25:1).
~This week’s prayer: I pray I will be ready like Samuel, when God calls my name. Amen.
     Two more weekly lessons will follow this month’s story of Samuel and King David. Sunday School will meet from 11am to 12pm on November 24 right after church services. All ages are invited to attend to read and discuss the story and enjoy a craft.
Until next week,
Margo Greer