Have the children sit in a circle for the lesson. Share with them a little of David's life as a boy. Tell them David loved God and became king when he was older. The story of David and Goliath is popular with children, especially preschoolers. If the children are familiar with it, ask them to retell the events of the story.
Tell the children about Jonathan. Jonathan was King Saul's son. Whenever David played the harp for King Saul, Jonathan would listen. Jonathan and David became best friends. Say, "King Saul was very jealous that David had done many great things. He wanted to kill David. Jonathan told David of the king's plan and David went to a field to hide. The next day, the king had a banquet. David knew King Saul would be angry that he wasn't there and would come to look for him. Jonathan told David that he would go and talk to the king. If the king was angry, he would shoot an arrow into the field as a secret sign."
Stop reading the story and ask the children if they think King Saul will be angry. Pass out a drinking straw to each child. This will be their "arrow" for the next part of the story.
Begin the story again. "At the banquet, Jonathan spoke to the king and told him David would not be there. The king was very angry, just as David thought he would be. Jonathan went into the field and shot his arrow so that David would know he needed to run away." At this point, have the children launch their straw arrows into the middle of the circle. Then explain that Jonathan and David were sad that they would never see each other again, but they promised to take care of each other's families and be friends forever.
End the lesson by giving a beanbag to one child. That child will say her own name, for example, "Kim is a friend." Then, she will toss the beanbag to another child in the circle who repeats the phrase with his own name. For example, if Susie gets the beanbag, she will say, "Susie is a friend," and then toss the beanbag to John, who will say "John is a friend."