Week 20 · about 45 minutes
Solomon Asks for Wisdom
1 Kings 3 · Memory verse James 1:5
Get the free weekly Sunday school and bedtime printable pack
For a parent or teacher. Children do not make accounts here. The pack is a week of printables, not a child profile.
Queues the lesson plan, this story’s coloring page (A Listening King), the related word search and answer key (Jesus Teaches Us to Pray), the memory-verse tracer, and a parent slip.
Five-minute object lesson
Prop: a paper crown
Hold up a paper crown. In about five minutes, tell the class this: A young king asks God for a listening heart instead of riches, and God is glad. Show the prop and ask, “What does this have to do with Solomon Asks for Wisdom?” Let two children answer. Then read James 1:5 together: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.” Close by asking one child to say the lesson back in their own words, using the prop.
Story script
Solomon became king after David. One night at Gibeon, the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” That is a dizzying sentence. Solomon could have asked for a long life, or victory, or piles of gold.
He asked for a listening heart so he could tell right from wrong and care for God’s people. He knew he was young for such a big job. God was pleased. Because Solomon asked for wisdom to serve, God also gave him riches and honor he had not made his goal.
Soon two women came with a painful argument about a baby. Solomon’s wise decision showed the people that God had answered the prayer. A listening heart protects the weak. Wisdom is not showing off facts. It is knowing what love should do next.
If God asked you tonight, what would you request? You can ask for wisdom for a classroom, a friendship, or a family problem. James says God gives it generously and does not scold you for needing it.
Group game
Offer the crown three wishes: toys, winning, or a listening heart. Cheer when someone picks wisdom, then pray James 1:5.
Craft
Make a crown and write Give me a listening heart inside it.
Memory verse
James 1:5
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.”
Take-home prayer
God, I lack wisdom. Please give me a listening heart and help me use it to care for people. Amen.