‘King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba’ Children’s Lesson (1 Kings 10:1-13)

BIG IDEA: GOD GIVES GOOD GIFTS

AIM: This session ‘King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba’ Children’s Lesson (1 Kings 10:1-13) is aimed at teaching the children to use the gifts that God has given them to help others.

SONG IDEAS:

1. ‘Standing’ by eKids of Elevation Church
2. ‘For Your Glory’ by eKids of Elevation Church
3. ‘I Am Yours’ by Kids on the Move

GAME IDEAS:

1. Quiz Time. Create a fun and easy quiz to demonstrate how knowledgeable the children are. The winning team/player can win a prize. Explain that knowledge and wisdom are very different.
2. Capture the Crown. Play a game of capture the flag, but instead of using a flag, use a crown for each team! You can find the rules for capture the flag here.
3. Run Around the Room. Use picture of crowns to stick around the room and have children run around the room trying to find them. Choose a couple of contestants or use everyone in a relay format.

 

SPOT the Simple Meaning:

You will need 4 presents wrapped with gift wrap. Attach one folded piece of paper to each present. On each of the folded pieces of paper have one of the four words below written. Have children or volunteers dress up as King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

 

What is the best gift you have ever been given? [get feedback] Today we’re going to be looking at the gifts that were given between God, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

King Solomon was the son of the most famous biblical king; King David. Solomon knew that his father was going to be a hard act to follow. The people had loved him and he had served the Lord. King Solomon knew that to be a great king he would need to serve the Lord too, so he decided to give God a gift. The gift Solomon gave God was… [have King Solomon hold up the first gift and then…]

WORSHIP – [open up the ‘worship’ flap on the first present]

The gift that Solomon gave to God was… [get feedback] Worship, that’s right! Worship is when we show something or someone that they mean a lot to us, they matter. In fact, we worship the things that matter most to us. It is the thing or person that we make number 1 in our lives. We can make football, dance, TV or anything number 1 in our lives by thinking and talking about them or doing things that involve them more than anything or anyone else. Who and what we choose to give our gift of worship to is really important!

When King Solomon had given God his worship, he went to bed. As he was dreaming, God came to him in a dream and said. “Solomon, I want to give you a gift. What would you like?”

What would you have said if God asked you this question? [get feedback]

We could ask for all sorts of things couldn’t we?! Yet Solomon asked for….

WISDOM – (open up the ‘wisdom’ flap on the second present and get the kids to shout out what it says)

What does wisdom mean? Or to be wise? [get feedback] Wisdom does mean to know a lot, but it also means that you can know what to do in difficult situations, to do the right thing and not the wrong thing. King Solomon knew that to lead his people, he would need to know what to do when facing tough problems. King Solomon said something like this: “God, I have all these people to lead, too numerous to count, but I have no experience, I’m young and I don’t really know what I’m doing. Please give me wisdom to reign and lead these people well.”

God replied to Solomon saying, “I will give you wisdom. And because you have not asked for your enemies to die, for a long life or for much wealth I am going to do something for you. I am going to give you wisdom [hand the wisdom present to Solomon] and I am also going to give you… “

WEALTH – (open up the ‘wealth’ flap on the third present and have the kids shout it out)

Exactly! God gave Solomon lots and lots of wealth. What does it mean to be wealthy or to have wealth? [get feedback – it means to be rich, have lots of money]. God also promised Solomon that if he obeyed God’s laws he would also have long life.

Well, over the years King Solomon became very famous for being such a wise King! So much so that everyone was talking about him… even the Queen of Sheba’s servants. The Queen of Sheba lived far away from King Solomon. The Queen had heard the rumors of this great, wise and godly king and wondered if the rumors were true. Could King Solomon answer her hard questions? She decided to find out. So, she got her servants to start loading the camels with gifts of gold and spices. Her country was well known for the great spices that they made. Once the camels were loaded the Queen of Sheba began to make the long journey to see King Solomon.

When the Queen of Sheba got to the King’s palace she was amazed at the beautiful throne room! She asked King Solomon all her difficult questions and nothing was too hard for him to answer! Then the Queen said to the king:

“The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true. ⁷ But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealthyou have far exceeded the report I heard. ⁸ How happy your people must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! ⁹ Praise be to the Lord your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the Lord’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”

(1 Kings 10:6-9)

So the Queen of Sheba left many gifts for the King, including the gold and the rich spices. Yet the best gift she gave him was her very kind:

WORDS – (open up the ‘words’ flap on the fourth present)

That’s right! The Queen of Sheba left good words with King Solomon! She had said kind and encouraging things to him. We all need kind and encouraging words and it is great that we can bless each other with our words.

So these are the gifts that were given by God, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Yet the gift that God gave to King Solomon came with something amazing, because the gifts that God gives always leave us with a:

WOW – (open up the ‘wow’ flap on the first present – hidden on the opposite side of the present to the ‘worship’ side.)

Everyone said wow when they heard about Solomon’s wisdom. Whether we have been given wisdom like Solomon or other talents, every gift we get given from God can be used in a way that would bless others so that they will say wow! We don’t want them to say wow! Look at you! We want them to say wow and look to God! The best gift God ever gave us was the gift of his son Jesus. Each of us has done wrong, but because of Jesus we can have peace and forgiveness knowing that God sent his son to die for each of us, so that we might know God. When we receive the gift of Jesus we can spend every day getting to know him and growing in our love for him, using the gifts he has given us to point others back to him.

SEARCH the Scriptures:

Have a big pile of gifts (wrap up some old boxes) around the room. Have words hidden inside them. The children must try and earn points that are inside the box by answering a question before opening it. The questions are all gifts that God gives to us. The team/player with the most points at the end of the game is the winning team/winner.

What gifts does God give to us?

1. This gift is the people we love to hang out with. You’ll find them at school or at church, they may let you down, but they will always try to be there. (Friends)
2. These are the ones that we grow up with, we can’t choose them ourselves. (Family)
3. This is a gift that we can try hard to keep by brushing our teeth and doing jumps and a leap. (Health)
4. These gifts can be found in 1 Corinthians 12, they help us live for God and show the world all around that Jesus is Lord! (Spiritual gifts)
5. What was Solomon’s first gift from God? (wisdom)
6. What spiritual gift did Joseph have from God to help him become Pharoah’s advisor? (interpreted dreams)
7. What gift have we all been given a measure of, that helps us to believe in God? (Faith)
8. What is the greatest gift that God ever gave to us? (Jesus)

 

SENSE How You Feel:

How would it feel to be given something you needed from God?

Rotation Stations to express how they would feel:

1. Using Perler or hama beads make a picture pattern with your chosen colors
2. Using musical instruments (shakers, bells, drums etc) create a rhythm or song
3. Using ribbons and flags dance how you would feel
4. Draw, write or paint how you would feel
5. Using clay or playdough mould how you would feel

Come together and discuss what you would have felt.

Then ask, what is it that you are asking God for at the moment? Pray together about those things.

 

SEEK God:

Hand out some encouragement cards that you have previously cut out (use the back side of the postcard) and some markers/pencils.

Say: Is there someone that needs your kind and encouraging words? The Queen of Sheba encouraged King Solomon with the words that she said. Ask God to show you someone that is needing encouragement today. Then, we’re going to write an encouraging note on the back of these postcards before giving the person our card later on today.