252 Groups Group Experiences for K-5 th Grades

Transcription

1 252 Groups Group Experiences for K-5 th Grades Scripture marked NIrV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader s Version, Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture marked NIV is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Statement of Faith ABOUT GOD God is the one and only true God, yet He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, so everything belongs to Him and is under His control. God is holy, so He is righteous, majestic, and loving. God is all knowing and purposeful, so He s at work to bring about His will. No person, thing, or idea compares to God. ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES God reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable, and authoritative. ABOUT PEOPLE People are made in God s image and for His pleasure. But everybody falls short of God s intention, or ideal, for people. In other words, everyone has sinned. As a result, we are all separated from Him, even though He wants an intimate relationship with each of us. ABOUT SALVATION That s why Jesus God s Son came and lived on this earth, died, and rose again. God offers His free gift of salvation to all who believe in Jesus and accept Him as Savior the only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God. Anyone who accepts this gift is adopted as a son or daughter into God s family and will live with Him forever in heaven. User Agreement Orange gladly grants permission to churches, schools, and other licensees to tailor 252 Basics materials to fit their unique leadership requirements, locale and format preferences, and physical environment needs. However, if you wish to edit the content substantively, including Bible stories, learning activities, scripts, and any other content in which biblical principles and concepts are presented, you are obligated to do so within the doctrinal guidelines we ve expressed in our Statement of Faith. These resources are intended to be downloaded and printed for use by the subscribing entity only and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by other non-subscribing entities. Any unauthorized reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of US copyright laws The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 252 Basics and the 252 Basics logo are trademarks of Orange and the rethink Group. Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner Creative Team Kristen Ivy Elizabeth Hansen Cara Martens Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Contributing Writers Jodi Blackwell Tony Myles Kelly Nishi Phil Pierce Julie Tiemann Copy Editors Elloa Davis Jennifer Wilder Dana Wilkerson Illustrations & Graphic Design Mike Davis Dan Scott Brian Bascle Joe Goode Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt Orange Specialists Amy Grisham Joy Bowen Abbey Carr Becky Kizer Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Susan Richards Courtney Templeton

2 FOR LEADERS ONLY GOD VIEW: the connection between COURAGE and God s character, as shown through God s big story In the beginning of their relationship with Jesus, the disciples might not have been the most courageous bunch you ve ever seen. Remember when the storm blew up and even the most seasoned fishermen woke Jesus in a panic (Mark 4)? But Jesus wasn t scared. He knew the power and reliability of God. Time and again Jesus showed His disciples that God would provide whenever they needed Him. As they learned to trust God, the disciples courage grew to the point that Peter and John boldly testified before the Jewish government (Acts 4) about Jesus life and resurrection. Courage is being brave enough to do what you should do, even when you re afraid. Peter and John were facing imprisonment or worse but they had courage to speak openly about Jesus because they knew God would give them the words they needed. We can also face potentially scary situations because we trust God will take care of us. Courage is not the absence of fear but how you respond in the face of fear. When we approach situations, we can remember that God is bigger than anything we face. If we re afraid we ll be all alone, He will be with us. If we re afraid we re not good enough, He ll provide the gifting we need. And when we can t understand what s going to happen, we can remember that God sees everything that s happening and wants what s best for us. Then we can move forward courageously. This month, let s think about how: (1) God desires a relationship with us. Being courageous demonstrates trust and builds that relationship. (2) The Bible challenges us to respond to life with courage even when what we face doesn t make sense. (3) As we trust God and show courage, we become more like Jesus who was brave enough to say and do what God asked even when He faced death on the cross. This week, we re discovering: In this week s Bible story, we remember God s promise to Abraham that he would receive the Land of Canaan. But the great city of Jericho was blocking Abraham s family from moving into Canaan (Joshua 6). They simply needed to courageously trust God and the land would be theirs. Our Bottom Line is I can be brave because I know God keeps His promises. God promises to never leave us. God promises to give us hope and a future. Sometimes it s our fear that keeps us from ever living in the promises God has given us. The monthly memory verse is: When I m afraid, I will trust in You. Psalm 56:3 NIrV. Many of God s followers will tell you their greatest adventure started when they trusted God into a decision they were afraid of. And in the end, they never regretted living courageously and believing God s promises The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by J. Quinn, Community Bible Church, Sept

3 Marching Orders Bible Story: Marching Orders (Israel takes Jericho) Joshua 6 Bottom Line: I can be brave because I know God keeps His promises. Memory Verse: When I m afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3, NIrV Life App: Courage being brave enough to do what you should do, even when you re afraid. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Power Up: Engage the Heart (Large Group, minutes) Engage children s hearts in a Large Group setting through interactive worship, prayer, and an innovative telling of today s Bible story. with Play high-energy music as kids enter. Video: Countdown when Queued Leader enters Leader: Hellooooo, you guys! Welcome back to the place where the unexpected is expected, where your fears become reality, but you realize they re not really that scary after all. That s right, I m talking about Phobia Island! Yes, together this month we ve faced all sorts of fears, from spiders to tigers and who knows what else we will encounter. We ve been able to face all these fears together though, because we ve learned about courage. Slide: Courage Slide Courage is being brave enough to do what you should do even when you are afraid. Notice I didn t say anything about NOT being afraid. Nope. Being afraid is actually kind of unavoidable in this life. But we can have courage for one very important reason, and that reason is found in our memory verse this month: Slide: Memory Verse Slide When I m afraid, I will trust in you. Psalm 56:3 (NIrV) That s right! We can have courage because we can trust God. I know that [Recycle] I can trust God no matter what, and that helps me be brave, even when I m afraid. I think it s time for us to check in with Vince and see what he s up to today. Video: 252IO_ In _ Wk The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by J. Quinn, Community Bible Church, Sept

4 LEADER: It sure does pay to be courageous. C mon, get up on your feet, everybody. I don t know about you but I m ready to sing the praises of our God loud and strong today. We serve a good God who gives us good things. Are you ready to sing about it? (Get a reaction.) I said, are you ready to sing about it? (Get a reaction.) Oh yeah, here we go! Video: You are Good Always Video: Forever Reign SETTING UP THE STORY LEADER: Great singing, everyone! We worship an amazing God, and we have an incredible story from His Word, the Bible, that shows us how we can have courage because we can trust God to keep His promises! Does anyone remember what we talked about last week? (wait for review) This week we are going to move forward and see what comes next, I can t wait! Video: 252 Story_wk5 WRAPPING UP THE STORY LEADER: From the outside, it might seem like what Joshua and the Israelites did wasn t very courageous. I mean, how much courage does it take to blow a trumpet or carry an ark, right? But you have to remember that the walls of the city were guarded, which means there were people stationed at the top of the walls. That means at any time, the Israelites could have been hurt from above. Nothing about God s plan made sense, when you think about it. Obeying God s seemingly crazy plan was the courageous thing to do, and their obedience and courage paid off. You know, God may ask you to go through things or do things that you don't understand, but when you remember His promises, you can be brave. Of course, the trick there is that you have to KNOW God s promises to be able to remember them! And God s promises are all found here (hold up the Bible), so the best thing you can do to prepare yourself for whatever wall YOU will face is to read your Bible and memorize God s words. Then you can call on those promises when you re facing something scary. So, the next time you re feeling scared to do something you know you should do, think to yourself, Slide: Bottom Line Slide [Impress] I can be brave because I know God keeps His promises. Let s pray. Slide: Prayer Slide Pray LEADER: Dear God, thank You that You kept Your promises to the Israelites to protect them and to bring them safely to the land that You promised them. And thank You that You keep Your promises to us too. Help us to remember the promises that will help us be brave enough to do what we should do, even when we re afraid. We ask these things in Jesus name, amen The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by J. Quinn, Community Bible Church, Sept

5 Leader: It has been quite an epic month here on Phobia Island. I ll confess: I wasn t so sure about this place when we first started. I mean, really who WANTS to be scared? But there s something about facing your fears to remind you of what you can count on. And that s what I ve remembered this month that I m not alone. That no matter where I am or how scared I am, God is with me. I remembered that God can do anything, even things that seem impossible. Let s check in with Vince to see how he is doing on Phobia Island. Video: 252 IO_Out _ Wk 5 Ok everyone, can anyone remember what our bottom line is for today? (wait for response) Slide: Bottom Line Slide [Impress] I can be brave because I know God keeps His promises. And since I know that God keeps His promises (sort of creepy), Phobia Island doesn t seem quite so scary anymore. Although, I gotta be honest: I m still not hoping I run into any spiders any time soon. Let s do our drawing for the week (do drawing) SFX: Play high-energy music as the kids exit Dismiss children to their Small Groups The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by J. Quinn, Community Bible Church, Sept