The peacemaker

Good morning boys and girls my name is Miss Christina and I am so excited you are here today! Today we are going to talk about an awesome story in the bible that shows us how we can be peacemakers.

In this story David moved to a desert where he met a man named Nabal, he was very rich but very cruel and mean. Nabal had a wife and her name was Abigail and she was very wise and beautiful.

David sent some of his men to Nabal to ask for some food and water. David’s men had been kind to Napal’s shepherds in the land of Carmel so he thought that Napal would return the favor by helping his servants. However, Nabal was a cruel man and said “I have bread and water and I have meat that I killed for my servants but I won’t give it to men I don’t know”.

This upset David so he told his men to put on their swords and David and 400 men prepared to attack Nabal. One of Nabal’s servants told his wife Abigail that David had sent men to Nabal for help but Nabal was mean to them and insulted them. He told Abigail how David’s men had protected them in Carmel. He warned Abigail that David was going to attack Nabal and his family because of how unkind he had been.

Abigail knew she needed to do something to keep David from attacking Nabal so she took 200 loaves of bread, 2 leather bags full of wine, 5 cooked sheep, a bushel of cooked grain, 100 cakes of raisins, and 200 caked of pressed figs and loaded it all on donkeys and sent her servants to David with all the provisions and she followed behind them.

She laid at David’s feet and begged him to listen to her. She told him Nabal was a fool and encouraged him not to kill Nabal and trust that God would keep his promise and take care of David’s enemies and gave him the provisions she had brought with her.

David replied to Abigail and praised God for sending her to keep him from killing and punishing people. He assures her that had she not taken the initiative to come see him that no one belonging to Nabal including her would have been killed. He told her to go home in peace and promised not to attack Nabal and his family.

What does the word peace mean?

“Peace is proving you care more about each other than winning an argument.

calm

kindness

not fighting

Who was the peacemaker in this story? David wanted to seek revenge, Nabal was mean and cruel, Abigail is the one who was the peacemaker

What are some ways you can be a peacemaker?

Gets along with brothers and sisters. Is obedient and kind to parents. Looks for ways to make friends at school. Listens to teachers at school and church.

A peacemaker is someone who finds a way to make people happy instead of angry.

Who is the all time greatest peacemaker ever?

Jesus - he came to make us right with our Heavenly Father this is the ultimate way to keep the peace.

Does anyone know our monthly memory verse?

“If possible, live in peace with everyone. Do that as much as you can.” Romans 12:18, NIrv

Sometimes it takes courage to make peace.

Today’s lesson we learned that

SLIDE: BOTTOM LINE “You can help others make peace.

Can you think of any example of ways you can make peace at home? At school? At church? What other places can you practice being a peacemaker?

You could help them make peace by changing the topic, or maybe making a joke to calm things down.

Sometimes it’s not safe for you to try to step into a situation to make peace. But you don’t have to just pretend that you didn’t hear it. When you’re not sure what to do to make peace, remember that you can ask a trusted adult for help. An adult can help you figure out what the wise choice would be and how you can help bring peace to the situation.

“I know this isn’t easy, but it’s important for us to help make peace where we can. God can help us do that

Prayer:

“Dear God, thank You for reminding us today that we can help others make peace. Help us to have courage and creativity, like Abigail did, so we can help bring peace when others aren’t getting along. Please give us the wisdom to recognize the times when we could step in to help make peace . . . or when we should step back and talk to an adult for help. Thank You for being with us as we make steps toward peace. We love You, and we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.