Saul Hunts David

Teacher notes for Will and Rayssa

Calvary Kids, fourth grade | Sunday, September 20, 2026 | Lesson 79

David refused to take revenge on Saul. He trusted God to judge rightly, spared Saul's life, and kept his distance. Teach the two encounters clearly, let the children argue from the passage, and finish with Jesus and prayer before pickup begins.

Use the suggested wording freely. You can sound like yourselves. The children need time to think and explain; hear two or three answers, then keep moving.

Before class

Open the lesson and click Full screen. Keep these notes on paper or a second device, and share only the lesson tab. Have a Bible open to 1 Samuel 24, with 1 Samuel 26, Romans 12, and 1 Peter 2 marked. The weekly memory verse appears in full on slide 6.

Use the arrow keys or navigation buttons to change slides. Reloading the page resets game progress and scores. Use the slide menu to jump to a numbered slide. Click the named buttons within a slide for its activity. A slide change and an answer reveal are separate actions.

One workable division is for Will to lead the story and for Rayssa to lead the verse game, keep the team scores, and watch the time. Swap wherever you prefer. During pickup, one of you can run trivia or the verse game while the other helps with the church's checkout routine.

Timing

If children arrive at 11:30, use the extra minutes to learn names and talk with them. If you run late, shorten the verse game and use two mistake rounds. Jump to slide 10 by 12:12 so everyone hears the close before parents arrive.

1. Welcome

4 minutes | 11:35–11:39

Say: “We're Will and Rayssa, and we're married. We teach here once a month, so we're looking forward to getting to know you. Tell us your name and something you're into right now.”

Give your own brief answers first, then go around once. A game, sport, book, hobby, or current interest all count. Let a child give their name and pass. Aim for about ten seconds each; save follow-up conversations for pickup.

Click: Advance to slide 2 when the round ends. There are no extra introduction questions.

2. Prayer

3 minutes | 11:39–11:42

Ask: “What would you like us to pray about today?” Hear a few requests. Rayssa can remember or jot them down while Will listens. Invite children with longer requests to talk with you after the lesson.

Pray in your own words. Thank God for the class, name the requests the children shared, and ask him to help everyone understand his Word. Avoid turning each request into another discussion. No child needs to pray aloud.

Click: Advance to slide 3 after prayer.

3. David on the run

2 minutes | 11:42–11:44 | 1 Samuel 23:14–17

Say: “Saul is still Israel's king. God has chosen David to be king after him, and Saul wants David dead. David and his men keep moving through the wilderness. Jonathan, Saul's son and David's friend, encourages David to trust God. Today we'll look at two times David gets close enough to kill Saul.”

Explain that these are two separate encounters. First comes a cave; later comes Saul's camp. God preserved David during Saul's pursuit. David still faced real danger and had to flee.

Ask: “What would make it hard for David to wait?” Take two quick answers. Fear, exhaustion, anger, and knowing he would be king are reasonable observations about the pressure he faced.

Click: Advance to slide 4.

4. The cave: stop and decide

5 minutes | 11:44–11:49 | 1 Samuel 24:1–7

Set the scene: David and his men hide deep in a cave. Saul comes into that same cave to relieve himself. David's men see their opportunity.

Read: Read 1 Samuel 24:4 only through the end of the men's speech. Stop before the sentence beginning “Then David arose.” Keep the response hidden.

Ask: “David's men think God has given him this opportunity. Does that mean they're right about what he should do?” Give pairs 20–30 seconds, then hear two or three explanations. Follow with “What makes you say that?” as needed.

Listen for: Children may focus on self-protection, David's future as king, or his duty toward Saul. Let them work through the tension. Having an opportunity does not settle whether an action honors God.

Click: Read David's response. Read the rest of verse 4 through verse 7 from your Bible. The slide reveals a summary. Reset discussion restores the original dilemma if you need it.

Ask: “What bothered David, even after he spared Saul?” David regretted cutting Saul's robe. He honored the king God had appointed and restrained his men. Explain “the Lord's anointed” as the king appointed by God in this account. Saul remained responsible for his wrongdoing.

Briefly summarize verses 8–11: after Saul left, David showed him the piece of robe as evidence that he had spared his life.

5. The sleeping camp

5 minutes | 11:49–11:54 | 1 Samuel 26:6–13

Say: “Later, Saul hunts David again. David and Abishai enter Saul's camp at night. Saul is asleep, with his spear stuck in the ground near his head.”

Read: 1 Samuel 26:7–11. Explain that Abishai offers to kill Saul. David refuses and leaves Saul's future in God's hands.

Ask: “Why do you think David wants to take something from the camp?” Hear one or two answers. The objects will prove he came close enough to harm Saul and spared him. Accept a child pointing back to the robe in the cave.

Click: Reveal what David took. Read verse 12. Identify the spear and water jar, then ask, “Why did nobody wake up?” The passage says God caused the deep sleep.

Summarize verse 13: David crosses over and calls out from far away. Keep that detail for the later discussion. David depends on God and takes care to remain at a distance.

Listen for: Children should distinguish robe/cave from spear and jar/camp. Use the illustrations to settle confusion before advancing.

6. Memory verse

7 minutes | 11:54–12:01 | 1 John 1:8–9, ESV

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Read: Read the whole verse together once. Ask, “What does it mean to confess our sins?” Explain that we honestly acknowledge our sin to God. “Faithful” means God keeps his promise; “unrighteousness” means sin and wrongdoing. We need God's forgiveness ourselves as we learn to show mercy to others.

Play: Keep the class together for the first round. Hide five random words, recite the verse, then hide five more. Let the children decide when they are ready for a harder round. Give willing volunteers a turn; everyone can help.

Use Show all whenever the class needs another look. The blanks stay in place, so the children can follow the sentence. Finish with one full recitation together and move on while they still want another round.

7. Catch my mistakes

6 minutes | 12:01–12:07

Say: “I'm going to retell parts of the story, and every claim has a mistake. Your team has to correct exactly what I got wrong. You get one point for the correction and one extra point if you can support it with the passage or the right scene.”

Use two teams where they are seated. Give 20–30 seconds to confer per claim, then hear one spokesperson. Alternate which team answers first. If their answer is incomplete, let the other team finish it. Choose a new spokesperson each round. For the fourth claim, read 1 Samuel 26:21–25 aloud before teams answer. This round asks them to find the correction in the passage.

Click: Read the displayed claim, hear the answers, then click Reveal correction. Award points with the team's + control; use − to fix a score. Click Next claim for the next round. Start over returns to the first claim and keeps the scores. Reset scores clears both teams. Scores also appear in bonus trivia.

After the fourth correction, use the main Next button to advance to slide 8. The fourth correction introduces that discussion. If time is short, use the first two claims and continue.

8. Did David trust Saul?

3 minutes | 12:07–12:10 | 1 Samuel 26:21–25

Recall: You read 1 Samuel 26:21–25 in the last game round. Saul admits his sin and asks David to return. If you skipped that round, read the passage now.

Ask: “Would you have believed Saul? What does David's response tell us?” Hear a few answers before revealing the evidence. Ask them to point to something David does.

Click: Show the evidence. David remained far away, asked Saul to send a young man for the spear, and left separately. The distance appears in verse 13; the request and departure appear in verses 22–25. Return to question hides the evidence again.

Listen for: David spared Saul and still kept his distance. Saul's apology did not erase his repeated pursuit. The passage describes David's actions; it does not tell us every thought he had about Saul's sincerity.

Say: “You can refuse revenge and still get help or keep your distance. If someone hurts or threatens you, move to safety and tell a trusted adult.”

9. Revenge and trust

2 minutes | 12:10–12:12 | Romans 12:17–21

Read: Romans 12:17–19. Summarize verses 20–21: God calls us to do good even toward an enemy, including meeting a need for food or water.

Ask: “Why is getting revenge so tempting?” Take one answer, then ask, “What could you do this week if you felt that temptation?” Accept specific responses such as pausing, refusing an insult, praying, helping when it is safe, or asking an adult to step in.

Keep examples general. Children can talk privately afterward about a personal conflict. Explain that God will judge wrongdoing rightly. We can seek protection and fair consequences while refusing to hurt someone back.

Click: Advance to slide 10 by 12:12.

10. Jesus and closing prayer

3 minutes | 12:12–12:15 | 1 Peter 2:23–24; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4

Say: “When people insulted and hurt Jesus, he entrusted himself to his Father, who judges rightly. Jesus bore our sins on the cross. He died for our sins, was buried, and rose again. We need his forgiveness, and we can ask him to help us forgive and obey.”

If time allows, read 1 Peter 2:23–24. Ask, “What is one thing you want to remember from today?” Hear two answers.

Pray naturally. Thank Jesus for dying and rising for us. Confess our own sin, including the desire for revenge. Ask for help to show mercy, speak honestly, and trust God. Include an earlier prayer request if appropriate.

Click: After prayer, use slide 11 or 12 while parents arrive.

11. Bonus trivia

Optional during pickup

Keep the two teams and existing scores. A team chooses a numbered tile, discusses the question, and gives an answer. Reveal the answer after they respond and award points manually. One point per correct answer is enough. Shuffle the board for a new round when needed.

Click Reveal answer after the team responds, then Back to board. Shuffle a new board resets the questions and keeps the scores. Reset scores clears both teams.

Stop between questions whenever checkout needs your attention.

12. Verse challenge

Optional during pickup

Let the children challenge their teachers. Return to slide 6, have them choose which words to hide, and let Will or Rayssa try the verse. The class checks the attempt against Show all. Swap roles if children volunteer. Keep each round brief so a child can leave with a parent without interrupting the game.

Source references

Prepared from the supplied Lesson 79 resources and the church email. Read the passages in your Bible or at 1 Samuel 24, 1 Samuel 26, Romans 12, 1 Peter 2, and 1 Corinthians 15. The memory verse matches the supplied ESV poster.

Scripture quotation is from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.