FAITH E. KIDS!: Praising God Through the Psalms-Week 3~Psalm 3 (9/27)

“Praise God Through the Psalms”

Week 3: Psalm 3

Main Idea: God is described as a shield who protects His people. Through this lesson, the passage shows that the ultimate way that God shields His people is through Jesus’ death on the cross in place of us which shields His people from His anger...anger towards sin.

Bible Reading: Psalm 3

Introduction: “Needs vs. Wants”– – Put a large piece of paper up in the room or on the table. Divide it in the middle and write “needs” on one side and “wants” on the other side. Have your child fill the page with words or pictures that describing things that are either needs or wants. After they have finished, chat with them about how they decided what was a need and what was a want. Help them out by suggesting other things that they may not have put on the page and have them decide if those things are needs or wants.

1. Read: Psalm 3
2. Discuss the Passage: After reading the passage, ask what they

heard in these verses about who God is and what He does. Point out that 2 of the major truths that this Psalm points out about God is that He is a shield who protects His people and He sustains or provides for His people.

• Reread verse 5. What does God do while you’re sleeping? Have them lie on the floor with their eyes closed. Ask them to tell you what they are doing. Help them by pointing out things like breathing, heart beating, blood pumping, etc.

What do you have to do to make those things happen? Help them to see that this is one of the things we mean when we say that God sustains...He keeps our heart beating, He keeps our lungs working so we can breathe, etc.

3. Cross Connection: Read Acts 17:24-25. God sustains (and even gives in the 1st place) physical life. We wake up each more because He is sovereign (in charge) over all things and He chooses for us to wake up. We breathe because He chooses for us to be able to breathe. Ask, “This is what God does for all people, but how does He sustain (or keep) the life of His chosen people?”

4. Discussion:

• God gives new life through Christ and sustains the spiritual life of His people as well. Remind them that on our own we are all sinners who deserve to die for our sin (Romans 3:23 & 6:23), but through faith in Jesus and believing that He died for our sins God gives His people eternal life (John 3:16). Salvation is a FREE gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9) and that we don’t deserve it, we can’t do anything to earn it, but God gave His children the gift of eternal life.

5. Make a “Praise Shield” Activity: Read through Psalm 3 again and point out what David says about God in verse 3 – that God is a shield who protects Him. Hand out the paper plates and explain that you want them to fill the bottom (not the side you put food on) of the plate with words or pictures that describe who God is or what He is like. Then, give each kid a strip of paper that can be stapled onto the top (the food side) of the plate to form a handle. As kids work, talk about how God acts as a shield protecting His people physically, but also the knowledge of Him protects us in various situations.... For example, knowing that God heals is a comfort to someone who is sick, or knowing God is sovereign (in control) is a comfort when things seem to be in chaos and out of control around you, etc.

6. Take Away: Remind them that the ultimate way that God protects His people is protecting them from His own wrath by sending Jesus to die on the cross in our place.

Prayer: Ask about the truths that they see about God from this passage...the things they drew on their praise shields, the things they drew or wrote on their pages, etc.
Close in prayer time by praising God for the truths that you see about Him in this Psalm and praying that they would really get to know the character of God through this study on Psalms.

Application: Print Psalm 3 on one side of a piece of paper and on the back print “I should praise God because He is ____________” (leave the rest of the page blank for drawing.

1. write a verse from the passage that they want to remember
2. write a reason to praise God that they see in the Psalm
3. draw of something from the passage that they think is important.

Coloring Pages:

1. God’s Love Has No Limits