Thank you for purchasing this curriculum series from High Voltage Kids Ministry. All material, both written and recorded, is protected under

Transcription

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2 Thank you for purchasing this curriculum series from High Voltage Kids Ministry. All material, both written and recorded, is protected under universal copyright laws. As the purchaser of this product, you are given permission to photocopy necessary materials found in this volume for your workers and volunteers. Please do not photocopy materials for another church to use. Additional volumes of this and other valuable Children s Ministry resources can be ordered online at

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4 Lessons written by: Brian Dollar, Cherith Dollar, and Josh Denman Starring: The Bug Man: Brian Dollar Bee Keeper: Skip Pope Milk Dud: Gary Tomlinson Also Appearing: Cherith Dollar, Ashton Dollar, Jordan Dollar, Parker Loy Directed & Edited By: Brian Dollar Camera Operator: Josh Denman The Bug Song written by: Rob Biagi 2003 Rob Biagi/BMI, used by permission Special Recognition: Dennis Lee (for the inspiration of the BUGS series) Scriptures from the Contemporary English Version. 1995, American Bible Society, New York, NY Scriptures from the New Living Translation, 1996, Tyndale Charitable Trust, Wheaton, IL. Scriptures from the New King James Version, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1997, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN Used by permission. All photos/images used are royalty free images and/or are public domain. Used by permission. Bugs small creatures...big lessons Credits

5 Decorating Ideas: The BUGS series opens up many possibilities for decorating your Children s Church stage or room. Feel free to take the graphic art provided on the Data CD to make posters, banners, etc. Inflatable insects can be purchased online through Creative Learning Resources at and Insect Lore at You can hang the bugs from the ceiling or place all over the stage. There is also a large (8 ft.) inflatable spider that can be purchased through Oriental Trading at There are many various small prizes that relate to insects that you can purchase from Oriental Trading as prizes for kids during this series. Consider checking with your local Halloween store to see if they have any fake spider web material (be sure not to make it too spooky, just enough to get the BUGS point across). Some Sound Ideas: On the BUGS Music CD, we have provided a loop on Track #2 that contains various insects buzzing and crickets chirping. We suggest you have it playing as the kids walk into the room each week. It will set the tone for what you are trying to accomplish. The ideas are unlimited with this series. Let your imagination carry you as you create an environment that lets the children immerse themselves in the theme. Bugs small creatures...big lessons Decorating Ideas

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.page 1 The Elements..page 2 How To Use The Lesson Plan Worksheet.. page 3 Music CD Track Listing.. page 4 Song Lyrics... page 5 Lesson 1: The Praying Mantis..... page 6 Lesson 2: Don t Be A Stinkbug... page 15 Lesson 3: Caterpillar To Butterfly: Transformation... page 25 Lesson 4: Ants: Working Together In Unity...page 34 Lesson 5: Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach?... page 41 Lesson 6: Spider: Avoiding The Web Of Temptation... page 49 Lesson 7: Busy As A Bee: Bee About Our Father s Business... page 57 Lesson 8: Lightning Bug: Shine Your Light In A Dark World... page 65 Bugs small creatures...big lessons Table of contents

7 Introduction Since we were kids, we have had a fascination with bugs and insects. We remember many times as kids running in the fields at night to catch fireflies or grasshoppers. Many of us never would have thought that BUGS could be used to teach us valuable lessons about the Bible. But, it s true! That is what this curriculum is designed to do...teach biblical truth in a creative and sometimes wacky way! Included in these lessons are various tools to help you instruct, as well as entertain, the children as we journey through the land of insects and bugs together. Each item provided (listed on page two) was designed specifically to reinforce the BIG IDEA. We hope you and your kids enjoy this series as much as we enjoyed putting it together. It has proved to be a wonderful tool to help each kid live their life in step with what God has called them to be! May God bless you and your ministry! The High Voltage Kids Ministry Team Introduction page 1

8 The Elements The BIG IDEA: This is the main thought you want to get across to the kids during the week s lesson. Most of the BIG IDEA is a simple statement that sums up the entire week s lesson. Sometimes it rhymes, sometimes it relies on rhythm, and other times it is just crazy! The plan is to have the kids learn the BIG IDEA by repetition. Included on the CD is the soundbyte Hey! What s The Big Idea? (track #1). This is a soundbyte that your sound engineer can play as many times during the service as desired. Each time the kids hear the soundbyte, they should stand up on their feet and say the week s BIG IDEA. The Bug Man: He s wild! He s wacky! He introduces the Insect we will be tackling each week. Each week s lesson includes a Bug Man segment on the DVD. We suggest you open your service with this segment to help set the tone for the rest of the time. The Bug Man also teaches the BIG IDEA each week! Game Time: Each lesson is reinforced by a game. Since most children s church services make use of the natural rivalry of boys vs girls, that is the way most of the games are set up. Materials are listed and games are explained for each weekly game. There are also high energy instrumental game songs included on the BUGS Music CD. Some of them are 60-second versions (to be used for games with a one-minute time limit), and some of them are extended versions. More music can be found on the Crazy Kids Game Music CDs (available online at Puppet Skits: Use your favorite puppets to perform these skits. Most of them are puppets interacting with humans, which can be you or any member of your team. Names can be changed for each specific church and situation. Illustrated Messages: Because kids tend to learn best if you combine speaking the truth with visual illustrations, we have written an illustrated sermon to be used each week. Materials are listed, and manuscripts are provided. Each illustrated sermon comes with a PowerPoint presentation for each main point. The DVD: Included on the DVD are the Bug Man intro segments, Rap It Up segments, a five-minute themed countdown to begin each service (additional countdowns can be found on our Countdowns and Transitions For Kids Ministry DVDs available online at The Music CD: Contained on this music disc are game songs, the BIG IDEA soundbyte, the world famous OFFERING TIME song, plus the Let s Play A Game intro song. The Data CD: This CD contains graphics and artwork of the BUGS logo for you to use for promotion. Also included are PowerPoint games, slides for use during illustrated sermons, and PowerPoint slides for each Big Idea and Power Verse. We have also included Weekly Student Devotionals to send home with the children. The Elements page 2

9 How TO USE THE LESSON PLAN WORKSHEET The first page of each lesson includes a lesson plan for the service with a suggested order of service that you may follow. On the second page of each lesson is a worksheet with a schedule of events for your service with blanks that you fill in and photocopy for your team of workers. Please note that each lesson worksheet includes The Bug Man, Game Time, Illustrated Sermon, and the other lesson segments we provide with the curriculum. Just fill in the blanks as you plan your service and give them to the people who help with your class. A helpful hint: Photocopy two or three of the lesson worksheets before you begin filling in your schedule of events for the service. If you make a mistake, the master won t be ruined. God is our perfect Heavenly Father who has a great plan for our lives. Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name Luke 11:2 God The Father Is Perrrrrrrfect! Bug Man Video The Praying Mantis Puppet Skit Silly Willy Hates Bugs Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time What s Buggin You? (Insect Trivia) Power Verse Pray all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Power Of Prayer Review Questions Lesson one page 7 How To Use Your Lesson Plan Worksheet page 3

10 Sound Effects and Weekly Songs 1. What s The Big Idea? 2. Generic Bug Sound Effects (to loop at beginning of service) 3. BUG Song by Rob Biagi 4. OFFERING TIME 5. Let s Play A Game 60 Second Game Songs 6. Trample 7. Popcorn 8. Focus Extended Game Songs 9. Hot Peppers 10. Heavenly 11. Blue Boys Bonus Skittles Song 12. Skittles Theme Song Bug Song by Rob Biagi 2003 Rob Biagi/BMI, used by permission Skittles Theme Song written by Brian Dollar; moolah music; used by permission Music CD Track Listing page 4

11 Prayer needs to be a major part of our daily lives! Pray all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 P-R-A-Y Lift Your Eyes Up To The Sky And PRAY! Bug Man Video The Praying Mantis Puppet Skit Silly Willy Hates Bugs Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time What s Buggin You? (Insect Trivia) Life is full of choices. It s so easy to rely on our own minds and power to make those hard decisions. God has provided a way for each of us to plug into His power and wisdom through prayer. So often, we choose advice of friends, family, internet, books, television, etc., before we ever go to the source of all wisdom...god. In this lesson, children are encouraged to talk to God as He is their best friend. God wants the best for all of us. We can share with Him all the things on our minds and hearts. Prayer changes things. We must remember that prayer should be our first option, not our last. Power Verse pray all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Power Of Prayer! Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 6

12 Prayer needs to be a major part of our daily lives! Bug Man Video The Praying Mantis Puppet Skit Silly Willy Hates Bugs Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time What s Buggin You? (Insect Trivia) Power Verse Pray all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Worship Songs Pray all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 P-R-A-Y Lift Your Eyes Up To The Sky And PRAY! Illustrated Message Power Of Prayer Rap It UP Video Review Questions Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 7

13 Puppet Skit Character: Silly Willy is a hyperactive puppet that thrives on scaring the leaders/workers. (You can use any puppet your kids are familiar with in your services.) Leader: It is so good to be here in church today, kids. We have so much planned today as we talk about BUGS, and especially the praying mantis. (Silly Willy makes noise by the puppet stage until finally the leader goes to check it out. Then, Silly Willy pops up and scares the leader and laughs about it.) Leader: Silly Willy! I can t believe you scared me like that! Silly Willy: Me neither! You fall for that every time! Leader: Well, not every time. Silly Willy: Oh, yes, you do! Hey, kids, does she fall for it every time or what? (kids respond) See? Leader: Well, OK, so maybe I do. But, I m glad you re here today because we are starting a brand new series this week. Silly Willy: Oh, cool! I love new stuff! So, what s it called? Leader: BUGS! Silly Willy: BUGS? What kind of name is that? Leader: Well, it s a very appropriate name. We are taking a different insect every week and learning very valuable lessons from it. It s going to be cool. Silly Willy: (starting to get scared) Well, I think that s a bad idea. Leader: Why is that? Silly Willy: Because I hate bugs.er, I am scared of bugs. Leader: Scared? Why would you be scared? Silly Willy: When I was a little kid, I was attacked by a bug. Ever since then I have been scared of them. So, I don t think we need to do this series. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 8

14 Puppet Skit (continued) Leader: Really? What kind of bug was it? Did you get stung by a bee or something? Silly Willy: Nope! Much scarier than a bee. Leader: Oh really? Did you get stung by a scorpion? Silly Willy: No, MUCH scarier than a scorpion. Leader: Oh, I know. It must have been one of those hairy scary-looking tarantulas! Silly Willy: No way. This bug was more scarier than any bug in the whole wide world! Leader: Well, what was it? Tell us. Silly Willy: I don t want to talk about it. Leader: C mon, Silly Willy! We want to know. Don t you want to know what kind of bug it was, kids? Silly Willy: Well, OK.it was...a...ladybug! (begins to break down sobbing) Leader: Well, Silly Willy, I promise you re not going to be attacked by any ladybugs during this BUGS series. If I promise that, will you still come to learn each week? Silly Willy: You promise no scary ladybugs are going to run after me trying to hit me with their purse? Leader: I promise! This week we are talking about the praying mantis. Now, although I am pretty sure praying mantises don t really pray, they can remind us that we need to have a time of prayer with God every single day. Silly Willy: Well, that sounds all right. Prayer is a great thing. Leader: It sure is, and that s what we re learning today. Silly Willy: No ladybugs? Leader: No ladybugs. Stick around, you might learn something today about the power of prayer! Silly Willy: OK, sounds good to me. See you later everybody! Leader: Bye, bye, Silly Willy! Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 9

15 Game Time BUG TRIVIA Setup: Our suggestion is that you signal it is game time not by saying OK, so now it is time to play a game, but rather allowing the Let s Play A Game song (from the music CD provided) to be the audio signal. As soon as they hear the song interrupt you while you are talking, they will know they are about to experience one of the wildest games of their lives. Items Needed For Game: The Data CD (Lesson One slideshow, beginning with title slide Bug Trivia ), some sort of buzzer system (optional) How To Play: Choose three boys and three girls to compete. Each slide has a goofy question about bugs. The first one to buzz in and get the answer correct gets a point. If a contestant buzzes in first, but gets it wrong, the other team gets a point. The team to earn the most points during the game wins. Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 10

16 Illustrated Message Power Of Prayer Materials Needed: The Data CD (Power Point presentation Lesson One, beginning with the sermon title slide The Power Of Prayer ) Choose several of your leaders or children to play the parts that will be acted out in the message. Preparation: Prepare each of your leaders or children by rehearsing with them the parts they are acting out. Make sure they know their cue when to come on and off the stage. Open the PowerPoint presentation on the Data CD titled Lesson One, begin with the slide titled The Power of Prayer. There is a slide for each point in the message. The Message: (title slide) Today we are learning about the Power of Prayer. We began by looking at the praying mantis. The Bug Man told us that although the praying mantis probably doesn t really pray, every time we see one we can be reminded that God wants us to pray. Prayer should be a part of our lives every single day. I have a big question, though Why Do We Pray? (slide #1) Why do we pray? (allow several kids to give their ideas on why we pray) Well, all of those are good reasons, but the main reason we pray is to (show slide) Stay connected to God. What does that mean? Well, I am glad you asked. How many of you have a best friend? How many of you love to spend time with your best friend? Of course! That s what makes him or her your BEST friend. You would love to spend as much time as you possibly could with them. You have fun with them, you love talking to them, and you just love to BE with them. Well, the Bible says that we have a friend who sticks closer than any other friend. That friend is JESUS. Jesus wants to be our best friend. He wants to spend time talking with us and us talking to Him. Can you imagine how your best friend would be hurt if you decided you were too busy to hang out with him or talk to him? How much more does Jesus get sad when we are too busy for Him? We must pray every day to stay connected in our relationship with Jesus. He is our best friend. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson One one - The Praying Mantis Page page 11 7

17 Illustrated Message (Continued) 2. When Should We Pray? (slide) We know WHY we should pray. When should we pray? Should we pray only before our meals? (allow audience to respond, NO! ) I know, I know. We should pray only at bedtime, right? (allow audience to respond, NO! ) We should pray only when we are in trouble? (allow audience to respond, NO! ) We should pray only when we feel like it? (allow audience to respond, NO! ) You are exactly right! The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (show slide) that we should Pray all the time. Now, that doesn t mean we walk around ignoring everyone else and just pray over and over and over. It means that every chance we get we should talk to God and let Him talk to us. If Jesus is our best friend, we shouldn t just talk to Him when we want something or when we are in trouble. That s not what a best friend does. We should talk to Him every chance we get. 3. How Should We Pray? (slide) We know WHY we should pray...to stay connected with God. And we now know WHEN we should pray Pray all the time. The last question is, HOW should we pray? This is a good question. A lot of people have some different ideas of how to pray. Different people pray different ways. Many times they believe their way is the ONLY and BEST way to pray. Some people pray LOUD! (Have your leader or child who is the LOUD prayer come out and stand in the middle of the stage and pray LOUD. DEAR GOD! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! YOU ARE A GREAT AND MIGHTY GOD! ) There s nothing wrong with praying loud, but is that the only way to pray? No. Some people pray silently. (Have your leader or child who is the silent prayer come out and stand in the middle of the stage and pray silently. He or she will stand there with hands clasped and say nothing for about 10 seconds.) Now, there s nothing wrong with praying silently, but is that the only way to pray? No. Some people pray fast. (Have your leader or child who is the fast prayer come out and stand in the middle of the stage and pray super fast.) Although, God doesn t have a hard time understanding them, is that the only way to pray? No. Some people pray with BIG words. (Have your leader or child who is the Big Word prayer come out and stand in the middle of the stage and pray. Oh, most gracious Heavenly Father. We beseech You this very day to come therefore into our midst and henceforth perform Thy miraculous omnipotent power upon us your chosen people. ) Now, there s nothing wrong with using big words, but is that the only way to pray? No. You can talk to God just like you talk to your best friend. Use regular words. God just wants to spend time with you. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 12

18 Illustrated Message (Continued) Still, I know many kids are scared to pray because they don t know what to say. For the next couple of minutes, I want to give you a short plan to help you pray. We are going to use the word P-R- A-Y to help us learn it. P Praise The best way to start your time with God is by telling Him how great and wonderful He is. All of us love to be appreciated. God is no different. He loves to hear how much we love Him. Start your time with God telling Him how thankful you are for all He has done for you and how much you love Him. R Repent After you spend time telling God how much you love Him, then it s time to repent. Repent is kind of a big word. All it means is that you confess your sin to God, ask Him to forgive you and help you never make that mistake again. Maybe you have lied or disobeyed your parents. You ask God to forgive you and help you turn away from that sin. A Ask for others After you have asked forgiveness and repented of your sin, then it is time to focus on others. Maybe you have friends or family who are sick or need to know Jesus. This is the time to ask God to meet their needs and help them. Y You After you praise, repent, and ask for others, then it s time to focus on you and the needs you have. Don t just ask for things you want, but ask God to help you be a better Christian. ALTAR TIME: (play soft music) Let the children practice what they have learned today. Take about 2-3 minutes and let them first begin with Praise, then Repent, Ask for others, and finally You. Lead them in each segment of the prayer. Remind them that prayer is an essential part of our lives. It is how we stay close to God. Lesson One - The Praying Mantis Page 13

19 Review Questions 1. What bug did we talk about today? Answer: The Praying Mantis 2. What insect did Silly Willy claim attacked him when he was a kid? Answer: ladybug 3. According to our lesson today, WHY should we pray? To stay to God. Answer: connected 4. Who wants to be our best friend? Answer: Jesus 5. When should we pray? Answer: Pray all the time. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 6. Is there only ONE way to pray? Answer: No, different people pray different ways 7. What s the P in pray stand for? Answer: Praise 8. What s the R stand for? Answer: Repent 9. What s the A stand for? Answer: Ask for others 10. What s the Y stand for? Answer: You Lesson One one - The Praying Mantis Page page 14 7

20 We must make the right choice to have the right attitude! Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:5 I ve Got A New Attitude! Bug Man Video The Stinkbug Puppet Skit Mr. Crabbe has a stinky attitude Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time wake up sleepy head! All of us have bad days. Sometimes our hair won t cooperate. Other times, we face difficulties with people we work with. Every day we are tested to see if we will have a Godly attitude or not. Too often, we let our attitudes be determined by what our day is like. If things go well, we have a great attitude. If things go badly, we have a stinky attitude. This week, we will use the stinkbug to help us remember that we have a choice whether or not we have a stinky attitude. Our attitude is a choice. It is not determined by others. We should have the same attitude that Jesus had. Power Verse Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:5 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Don t be a stinkbug! Rap It UP Video Review Questions Lesson Two - The Stinkbug Page 15

21 We must make the right choice to have the right attitude! Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Bug Man Video The stinkbug Puppet Skit Mr. Crabbe has a stinky attitude Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Wake up sleepyhead! Power Verse Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:5 Worship Songs Philippians 2:5 I ve Got A New Attitude! Illustrated Message Don t Be A Stinkbug Rap It UP Video Review Questions Lesson Two - The Stinkbug Page 16

22 Puppet Skit Character: Mr. Crabbe is a grouchy old man puppet. (You can use any puppet your kids are familiar with in your services) Leader: That Bug Man is a funny guy! I can t wait to learn today about Don t be a stinkbug! Mr. Crabbe: (pops up) Stinkbug? I knew something smelt funny. I thought it was you. Leader: Mr. Crabbe! That s not very nice. Mr. Crabbe: Well, I can t help it. I m having a bad day. Leader: What s wrong? Mr. Crabbe: Everything. First of all, my alarm clock didn t go off this morning, so I was late for church. The clothes I wanted to wear were dirty, so I had to wear this ugly thing. The little bit of hair I have won t cooperate. It s going crazy! To top it all off, I had to bump into Silly Willy this morning, and he s being annoying as usual. I am just not having a good day! Leader: Well, I understand things aren t going well for you, Mr. Crabbe. But, that s no reason to have such a stinky attitude. Mr. Crabbe: Well, of course it is. I can t help it if I have a stinky attitude. I am having a stinky day, so my attitude s not my fault. Leader: Well, actually it is. You see, we are learning today about the stinkbug. When someone does something it doesn t like, it lets off a really bad odor...it stinks. A lot of times, when things don t go the way we want, we choose to have a stinky attitude. But, you see, it really is our choice. We don t have to have a stinky attitude. We can choose to have the same attitude that Jesus had. Mr. Crabbe: I don t know what you re talking about. If you want me to have a good attitude, then you better fix all my problems. Leader: I don t think that s what Jesus was like. You know, things didn t always go perfectly for Him either. Some days people followed Him and listened to Him. Other days, people were angry with Him. One day, people even got so mad at Him that they beat Him and nailed Him to a cross. But, He never ever treated them bad or had a stinky attitude. Mr. Crabbe: Really? Well, I don t know if I can do that. Having a good attitude is not easy. Leader: I know. But, just because it s difficult doesn t mean we can t do it. I want you to stick around (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Two - The Stinkbug Page 17

23 Puppet Skit (Continued) and listen to what we learn today. I think you will find out that our attitude is our choice, and we should always have the same attitude that Jesus had. It s not easy, but He can help us. Mr. Crabbe: All right, I guess. But, I am not sure this will work for me. I m Mr. Crabbe remember? Leader: I know it won t be easy, but I think God can take care of even the stinkiest of attitudes. Mr. Crabbe: All right, fine. But, in the meantime can you tell the boys to keep their shoes on? Otherwise, there ll be more than attitudes that are stinky. Leader: Oh, Mr. Crabbe. Say goodbye. Mr. Crabbe: Goodbye, stinky boys! Leader: Goodbye, Mr. Crabbe. I tell you what, kids. Today s lesson is going to help us a lot. We all struggle with our attitudes from time to time. I think today will help us to focus on having the right attitude, not a stinky one. Lesson Two - The Stinkbug Page 18

24 Game Time Wake Up, Sleepyhead! Setup: Say, You know kids, one of the hardest times of the day to have a good attitude is when we first get up in the morning to get ready for school. We re tired, we re cranky, and our attitudes can be pretty stinky. So, let s play a game called, Wake up, sleepyhead! Items Needed For Game: The Music CD (play one of the extended versions of one of the game songs), 2 sets of oversized pants, 2 oversized shirts, 2 pop tarts, 2 glasses of milk, 2 backpacks filled with books How To Play: Choose two kids to compete in the game. Have the kids lie down as if they are asleep in bed. When the alarm clock goes off (music begins) they are to get up, put on their clothes, eat breakfast (pop tart and milk), get their backpacks and rush off to school. The first one to make it through all the tasks and to the finish line is the winner. The key is: They MUST have a smile the whole time (no stinkbug attitudes)! Lesson Two - The Stinkbug Page 19

25 Illustrated Message Don t Be A Stinkbug! Materials Needed: The Data CD (PowerPoint presentation Lesson Two, beginning with the sermon title slide Don t Be A Stinkbug! ) Choose several of your leaders or children to play the parts that will be acted out in the message. Preparation: Prepare each of your leaders or children by rehearsing with them the parts they are acting out. Make sure they know their cue when to come on and off the stage. Open the PowerPoint presentation on the Data CD titled Lesson Two, begin with the slide titled Don t Be A Stinkbug. There is a slide for each point in the message. The Message: (title slide) Today we are learning about the Stinkbug. When the stinkbug has something or someone that does something it doesn t like, it lets off a smelly odor. That s how it got it s name. You know, sometimes we also have stinky attitudes. If we are going to have the right attitude and not a stinky attitude, we need to be able to tell the difference, right? We need to be able to identify when we see a Godly attitude and when we see a stinky attitude. So, we re going to do a little exercise to help us do just that. I have a few helpers who are going to act out scenes from our lives and we are going to decide whether they have a Godly attitude or a stinky attitude. (First person comes up with a large sucker.) Attitude #1: Hey Mom. I know we are about to eat dinner, but could I have this sucker? (pause, then begin to complain) But, Mom, why not? That s not fair! I want to eat it! I want to eat it! Well, what do you think? We are going to vote. If you think it was a Godly attitude, say, WOO HOO! (wait for response) If you think it was a stinky attitude, say, PEE YEW! (wait for response) That s exactly right. That was a stinky attitude. We shouldn t argue with our parents or complain when they tell us to do something we may not agree with. That s not what Jesus would have done. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Two one - The Stinkbug Page page 20 7

26 Illustrated Message (Continued) (Second person comes up with a band-aid on their finger.) Attitude #2: It s OK, Randy. I know you cut my finger, but I am sure it was an accident. I forgive you. How about that one, kids? WOO HOO or PEE YEW? (wait for response) That s right! That was the right attitude, so we give it a WOO HOO! Even though the friend had accidentally hurt his (her) finger, he (she) still had the right attitude and forgave them. (Third person comes up with a video game controller in his or her hands, acting like he or she is are playing a game.) Attitude #3: (Off-stage a woman yells, Jeffery? ) Yes, Mom? (Voice says, I need you to take out the trash for me, please. ) But, I am playing a game. ( I need you to do it anyway, please. ) But, MOM! I don t want to take out the trash! ( Jeffery, NOW! ) Man, it s so dumb that I have to do everything all the time. How about that one, kids? WOO HOO or PEE YEW? (wait for response) That s right! That was a rotten attitude, stinky as they come. When we are asked to help around the house, we should be willing to do whatever it takes to help our family. Well, how about one more. You want one more? OK, here it is. (Fourth person comes up with a pile of books in his or her hands.) Attitude #4: I wanted to go over to my friend s house this weekend, but Mrs. Barnes gave us a whole lot of homework. I am really disappointed, but I know my schoolwork has to come first. I can go over to my friend s house another day. How about that one, kids? WOO HOO or PEE YEW? (wait for response) That s right! That was the right attitude so we give it a WOO HOO! Even though he (she) was disappointed about having so much homework, he (she) didn t complain and made the right choice. Let s give a hand to our helpers today! Well, now that we know the difference between a Godly attitude and a stinky attitude, the BIG question is HOW do we make the right choice and choose the Godly attitude. It s not the easy choice, but it is the right choice. You must remember three things if you are going to make the right choice and have the Godly attitude and not the stinky attitude. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Two one - The Stinkbug Page page 21 7

27 Illustrated Message (Continued) 1. Bad Days WILL Happen (slide #2) There s no way to avoid problems. Your hair is going to mess up, people are going to get mad at you, and things are not going to always go your way. A lot of people think that just by becoming a Christian you end up having a perfect life. Not so. Problems come to Christians just like they come to everybody. I wish I could tell you that the moment you ask Jesus into your heart everything will be perfect, but it just isn t true. Even Jesus Himself had bad days. There were days that people treated him unfairly. There were days when His own disciples disobeyed Him and turned their backs on Him. 2. Your Attitude Is Your Choice (slide #3) Many people are just like Mr. Crabbe and try to blame their bad attitude on others. They say, Well, so and so made me act that way. Or they might say, Well, if such and such hadn t happened, I would ve had a better attitude today. Basically, they are saying they have no control over their own attitudes and that everything is determined by someone else. The truth is, our attitude is our choice. Nobody can choose your attitude for you. It s like the little boy who was sitting down in church and his mom told him to stand up. He said he would rather sit down. She told him he had to stand up. He stood up and told her, I may be standing up on the outside, but I am sitting down on the inside. You see, his mom could make him act as if he had the right attitude by standing up, but she could not choose his attitude for him. On the inside he still had the stinky attitude. We must make the right choice every day to have the same attitude that Jesus had. 3. Jesus Had The Right Attitude (slide #4) Our Power Verse today says, Your attitude should be the same as Jesus Christ had. What kind of attitude was that? Well, when His disciples turned away from Him and disappointed Him, He didn t get mad at them and scream at them. He forgave them. When He was a little boy and His parents asked Him to do things He didn t want to do, He didn t kick and scream and throw a fit. He obeyed. The Bible says He never once sinned by disobeying His parents. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Two one - The Stinkbug Page page 22 7

28 Illustrated Message (Continued) When people came against Him and arrested Him, beat Him, and nailed Him to a cross, even though He was innocent and had done nothing wrong, He didn t get angry with them, He prayed for them. You see, it s not easy to have the right attitude when things don t go our way; but, if we are going to do what God wants us to do, we have to make the right choice and choose to have a Godly attitude, not a stinky attitude. Is that easy to do? No, we need God s help to do it. But, with His help we can make the right choice for the right attitude. ALTAR TIME: (play soft music) Lead the children in a prayer of repentance for having the wrong attitudes at times. Pray that God will help them to choose the right attitude, just as Jesus did. Pray that with God s help, they will make the right choice for the right attitude and never ever be a stinkbug. Lesson Two one - The Stinkbug Page page 23 7

29 Review Questions 1. What bug did we talk about today? Answer: The Stinkbug 2. Why did Mr. Crabbe say he was late for church this morning? Answer: His alarm clock did not go off 3. Is having the right attitude always easy? Answer: NO! 4. True Or False: It is not our fault if we have a bad attitude. Answer: False. 5. What s today s Big Idea? Answer: I ve Got A New Attitude! 6. Does everything become perfect when we become a Christian? Answer: No 7. Our attitude is supposed to be the same as whose? Answer: Christ Jesus 8. Whose choice is it whether or not we have the right attitude? Answer: It is our choice 9. What did we say during the lesson when we saw someone with a stinky attitude? Answer: Pee Yew! 10. What did Jesus do for those who beat Him and nailed Him to a cross? Answer: He prayed for them (forgave them) Lesson Two one - The Stinkbug Page page 24 7

30 The transforming Power of God can change any heart!...let God transform you into a new person... Romans 12:2 Get Off The Floor And Learn To Soar! Bug Man Video Caterpillars and butterflies Puppet Skit Silly Willy wants to Fly Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time It s Time To Fly! Each person who has asked Jesus into his or her heart to be his or her Lord and Savior is a brand new person. The old person who used to sin and do things that broke God s heart is gone. The new person who is living under the obedience of Christ is now alive. Although it is very easy to just copy the world and its behaviors, thoughts, and actions, it is our job to show the world a different way to live. Just as the caterpillar crawls on the ground, limited in its ability to soar, so our lives before Christ never reach the great heights that God has planned for us. When we let Jesus transform our lives, we can rise above sin and reach the potential God has for our lives. Power Verse...let God transform you into a new person... Romans 12:2 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Transformation: Caterpillar To Butterfly Rap It UP Video Review Questions Lesson Three - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly Page 25

31 The transforming Power of God can change any heart!...let God transform you into a new person... Romans 12:2 Get Off The Floor And Learn To Soar! Bug Man Video Caterpillars and butterflies Puppet Skit Silly Willy wants to fly Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time It s Time To Fly! Power Verse...let God transform you into a new person... Romans 12:2 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Transformation: Caterpillar To Butterfly Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson Three - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly Page 26

32 Puppet Skit Character: Silly Willy (or any puppet your kids are familiar with) Leader: That is so neat how the butterfly changes! How cool to be able to go from crawling on the ground to flying in the sky! Silly Willy: (pops up) I wanna fly! Leader: What? What do you mean you want to fly? Silly Willy: Exactly what I said. I want to fly! Leader: You mean you want to get on an airplane and fly? Well, yes, that would be nice. You could go on a trip, you could see faraway places. Silly Willy: Not on an airplane, silly. Just by myself. Just like the butterfly. I just want to fly high up in the sky, over the trees, into the clouds... Leader: OK, OK. I see. How do you expect to do that? Silly Willy: Easy. The caterpillar does it. Leader: Yes, but the butterfly has wings and is transformed into this amazing flying machine. God s plan for the caterpillar was that it would transform into a butterfly and soar! Silly Willy: Right! So, I thought if I was going to be a butterfly, I should look the part. (goes down and come back up with some funny looking paper wings) Leader: Silly Willy. I don t know about that. Just because you look like a butterfly doesn t mean you are a butterfly. If you try to fly I am afraid you might get hurt. Silly Willy: Nonsense! I have my wings, I am going to go down on my launch pad and launch myself into the air and fly like a butterfly, soaring into the wild blue yonder. (goes down) Leader: OK, but I am really not sure about this. Silly Willy: (makes some noise) Attention boys and girls! I am now standing on my launch pad, and I am ready to soar like a butterfly. Ready? One! Two! Three! (Puppet comes flying up from the puppet stage, then comes crashing to the ground.) Leader: Silly Willy! Silly Willy, are you all right? Silly Willy: (grunting in obvious pain) I think I might have broken my spleen. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Three - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly Page 27

33 Puppet Skit (Continued) Leader: I bet you did! Can you come back up here? Do we need to call an ambulance? Silly Willy: (slowly pops up) I think I bruised my capillaries! Leader: Oh, you did not. Now, get on up here, I want to teach you something. Silly Willy: What? Leader: Well, you see I know why you couldn t fly. Silly Willy: Why? Leader: Because you re not a butterfly. You are still a puppet. Silly Willy: Yeah, but I put on wings like a butterfly. Leader: You know, just because you put on wings doesn t make you a butterfly. And, just because people go to church and wear a suit on Sundays or a Christian T-Shirt on Saturday doesn t make them Christians either. Silly Willy: It doesn t? Leader: No, it doesn t. See, the only way we can truly become what God wants us to be is to be transformed by the power of God into the brand new person that He wants us to be. It is that power that helps us do the things we never could do before, becoming more like Jesus every single day. Silly Willy: So, you mean, I can t just put on wings and fly? Leader: No, you can t just change things on the outside. You re still just a puppet. The same with becoming a Christian. You can t just change the way you look or the way you talk. You have to have a total transformation by asking Jesus into your heart to forgive you of your sins and make you into a whole new person. Silly Willy: Well, that s cool! I can t wait to learn more about that! Leader: I know you can t. Me either. Why don t you go get cleaned up and see if you can take those ridiculous wings off? Silly Willy: OK. See ya later, everybody! Leader: See you later, Silly Willy! You know, kids, that s a great lesson for us. If we are going to become all that God wants us to be and soar above sin and get to great new heights, we have to let Jesus totally transform us into the new person He wants us to be! Lesson Three - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly Page 28

34 Game Time It s Time To Fly Setup: Since we are talking about butterflies this morning, we are going to do a little flying of our own. Well, not US, but we are going to use these flying discs for a game called It s Time To Fly! Items Needed For Game: The Music CD (play one of the 60 second versions of one of the game songs), eight flying discs (sometimes known as Frisbees), and two Hula-Hoops How To Play: Choose three kids from each team to compete in the game. One will be the thrower, one will hold the hula hoop target, and one will run the flying discs back to the thrower. Have the throwers stand at a point the same distance from their targets. They have sixty seconds to throw as many flying discs through the hula hoops as possible. The team that gets the most discs through the Hula-Hoop target in sixty seconds is the winner! Lesson Three - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly Page 29

35 Illustrated Message It s Time To Fly! Materials Needed: The Data CD (PowerPoint presentation Lesson Three, beginning with the message title slide It s Time To Fly! ) Optional: to help illustrate in a powerfully visual way, we suggest ordering the Inflatable Butterfly Life Cycle from Preparation: Inflate the butterfly life cycle. Have it ready to display when talking about each stage of the transformation. The Message: (title slide) Transformation. It s a big word, but it s also a HUGE process! When a caterpillar goes into it s cocoon, it goes through a process that is so powerful, it changes into a totally different brand new insect! Today, kids, we are going to learn how we can use the caterpillar s change into a butterfly to remind us of how much God has changed or wants to change our lives. There are a lot of things about caterpillars and butterflies that are similar to us. Let s check it out! 1. Caterpillars Crawl (slide #2) Look at this caterpillar. Poor guy. He has to crawl on the ground to get anywhere. He doesn t move fast. He has to drag himself through dirt and slime many times. He can t escape his predators. He s in danger of getting stepped on. How many of you have ever accidentally stepped on a caterpillar? (allow response) How many of you boys have ON PURPOSE stepped on a caterpillar? (allow response) That is so mean, boys! But, whether it was on purpose or on accident, what happens when you step on them? That s right. They get squashed and most likely die. Pretty sad! You know, the caterpillar kind of represents our life before we ask Jesus into our hearts. Without Jesus, we can t do much that is worth anything. We drag ourselves through life getting the dirt and grime of sin all over us. We are in danger of being squashed by the devil. We don t know any better. There s nothing we can do about it. That s who we are. Without Jesus we are dragging the floor, never becoming who He wants us to be. 2. Butterflies Soar (slide #3) Look at this butterfly. How incredible! He soars above all the danger below. He flies high into (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Three one - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly page Page 30 7

36 Illustrated Message (Continued) the sky and looks down at where he used to be, realizing he is no longer that little caterpillar that was on the floor, but he has now learned to soar! I wonder if butterflies ever thank God for giving them the power to become something beautiful and amazing? I bet if they could, they would. You see, kids, the butterfly represents who we become once we allow Jesus Christ to come into our lives and change us from being people of sin into people of God. He forgives us for all the things we have done wrong and begins to change us on the inside. We think differently, we feel differently, we act differently. We are different. TOTALLY DIFFERENT! There s really nothing similar about the caterpillar and the butterfly is there? Honestly, if we didn t already know, we would probably never look at a butterfly and think he came from a caterpillar. That s how it is with us, too. God takes ordinary lives full of sin, crawling on the floor and He turns them into something beautiful that soars to new heights to do what He has created them to do. But, that doesn t just happen. The caterpillar didn t just decide one day, I think I ll be a butterfly! and then start flying. No, there is a process that has to happen. He spins a cocoon, then crawls in and lets the power of God take over. God created the caterpillar, and His power created the process that changes it into a butterfly. After that process happens, the caterpillar comes out of the cocoon a totally brand new creature! In the same way, we can t just decide to try to become like Jesus on our own and just try to act differently. It is only GOD S POWER that can change us and transform us into a new person: a person who can get off the floor and learn to soar! 3. Jesus Paid The Price For Our Transformation (slide #3) The only way we are able to change into the new person that Jesus has planned for us is because of His power. You see, Jesus gave up His life for us to be able to get off the floor and learn to soar. The Bible says that it takes only one sin for us to deserve to die and go to Hell forever. Jesus didn t want that at all. He knew that we could be changed from the caterpillar life of sin into the butterfly life of soaring to new heights with His power. Because He wanted us to be changed into that new person, He paid the price for our sin. Even though He never sinned in His whole life, He was willing to be nailed to a cross and die in our place. The cool thing about it is, He didn t stay dead. After three days, the power of God raised Him from the dead. He is alive today, in Heaven, looking down on each of us. He wants us to ask Him into our lives, to forgive us of our sins, and become the new person we have talked about today. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Three one - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly page Page 31 7

37 Illustrated Message (Continued) That s why we celebrate Easter. To celebrate that Jesus is no longer dead, but alive because of God s power! You know what, kids? That same power that raised Jesus from the dead can change you on the inside. It can take away your sin so you no longer have to crawl on the floor of life through sin and mistakes, but you can soar above sin and become a brand new person. ALTAR TIME: (play soft music) Lead the children in a prayer of repentance for their sins. Pray that God would send His power to change us on the inside, forgive us of our sins, and help us to soar to new heights as brand new people, changed by His power! Lesson Three one - Transformation: Caterpillar to Butterfly page Page 32 7

38 Review Questions 1. What two bugs did we talk about today? Answer: The Caterpillar and Butterfly 2. What was Silly Willy trying to do that he couldn t do? Answer: He was trying to fly 3. True Or False. We can become like Jesus in our own power. Answer: False. 4. Whose power helps us to change into a new person? Answer: God s Power! 5. What s today s Big Idea? Answer: Get Off The Floor And Learn To Soar! Lesson Three one - Transformation: Caterpillar To Butterfly Page page 33 7

39 God s people should work together in unity! We work together as partners who belong to God. 1 Corinthians 3:9 You and Me, We Agree, We Will Work In Unity! Bug Man Video Ants Work Together Puppet Skit Mr. Crabbe Is Angry Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time We Can Work Together! Throughout the church s history, Christians have struggled to work together in unity. Individuals have strong feelings how we should go about accomplishing God s work. Many times, those feelings and ideas differ from one another. Too often, Christians begin to fight against one another rather than work together in unity. Nothing causes more damage to the Kingdom of God than when the people of God begin to hurt and destroy each other. God wants His people to work together in unity. We won t always agree, but when we disagree we should do so in love, trying to compromise with one another. The salvation of the world depends on it. Power Verse We work together as partners who belong to God. 1 Corinthians 3:9 Worship Songs Illustrated Message The Power Of Together Worship Songs Review Questions Lesson Four - Ants: Working Together In Unity Page 34

40 God s people should work together in unity! We work together as partners who belong to God. 1 Corinthians 3:9 You and Me, We Agree, We Will Work In Unity! Bug Man Video Ants Work Together Puppet Skit Mr. Crabbe Is Angry Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time We Can Work Together! Power Verse We work together as partners who belong to God. 1 Corinthians 3:9 Worship Songs Illustrated Message The Power Of Together Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson Four - Ants: Working Together In Unity Page 35

41 Puppet Skit Character: Mr. Crabbe (or any puppet that your kids are familiar with) Leader: Ants are so cool! They work together for the same purpose, helping each other do great things! Mr. Crabbe: What s going on here? Leader: Well, hey there Mr. Crabbe! I was just talking to the kids about ants! Mr. Crabbe: Aunts? Well, I am really mad at mine! Leader: Your ant? You have a pet ant? Mr. Crabbe: No, not ant. I am mad at my Aunt Alice! She s made me very very mad! Leader: Really? Well, what happened? Mr. Crabbe: Well, she s a part of this Bible study group that I am a part of. We meet each Monday at the local YMCA. They told us they were going to put some new carpet in the room where we meet and they were going to let us pick the color. The other day we had a meeting to decide what color of carpet to buy. I wanted to buy brown, but my Aunt Alice wants green. We argued for a long time. I got so mad, I stormed out! I am never going to talk to her again! Leader: What? Now, Mr. Crabbe that s no way to handle yourself. Mr. Crabbe: Well, if she can t see things my way, then she can just forget about getting my help on anything. Can you believe she wants the carpet GREEN? Green!? Who wants carpet the same color as boogers? Leader: Mr. Crabbe! Mr. Crabbe: She thinks it s a good color, but it s SNOT! Leader: Now, Mr. Crabbe! Please! Let me ask you a question. Didn t you say that this carpet is for the Bible study? Mr. Crabbe: That s right. Leader: Did you ever stop to think what the Bible says about this? Mr. Crabbe: The Bible talks about green carpet? (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Four - Ants: Working Together In Unity Page 36

42 Puppet Skit (Continued) Leader: No, but it does talk about how God s people shouldn t fight and argue. We are supposed to love each other and work together in unity as a team. Mr. Crabbe: Well, what about when somebody doesn t want to do things the way you want them to? Leader: Well, we are not always going to agree. But, when we disagree, we should try our best to talk it out nicely and see if we can t find a compromise. Nothing hurts God more than when His people treat each other mean and work against each other. Mr. Crabbe: You mean, like me saying I am not going to talk to my aunt anymore? Leader: That s exactly right. Instead, you should try to figure out a way you can work together with your aunt and find a color you both like. Mr. Crabbe: That s a good idea. I know we both like blue. Maybe we could do the carpet blue. Leader: Now, you re talking. Instead of fighting, we should work together. That s what a team does. We are a team working together to do God s work! Mr. Crabbe: Well, I think I ll go talk to my aunt and see if we can t work together and choose blue. After all, we both love God. I think we would hate to break God s heart by fighting. Leader: That s great! We ll see you later, Mr. Crabbe. Mr. Crabbe: Bye bye! Everybody! Leader: Well, Mr. Crabbe learned a lesson I think we all should learn. We have a huge job to do. We are supposed to show God s love to the world! We can t do it all by ourselves. We have to work together as a team! Lesson Four - Ants: Working Together In Unity Page 37

43 Game Time We Can Work Together Setup: Say, Since we are talking about ants and how they work together. We are going to work together in this game. Let s play We CAN Work Together! Items Needed For Game: The Music CD (play one of the extended versions of one of the game songs), two empty soda cans, two chairs How To Play: Choose two kids from each team to compete in the game. Choose a point in the room to place the two chairs, equal distance from the starting point. The two kids from each team will pair up. Both pairs will race against each other, placing one can between their heads (forehead to can, not touching the can with their hands at all) and walking together from the starting point to the chair, around the chair, and back to the starting point. The first pair to work together as a team and make it back to the starting point will be the winners! Lesson Four - Ants: Working Together In Unity Page 38

44 Illustrated Message The Power Of Together! Materials Needed: The Data CD (Power Point presentation Lesson Four, beginning with the message title slide The Power Of Together! ) The movie A Bug s Life by Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures The video Together: Team Hoyt by Vertical Sky Productions (can be purchased at Preparation: Cue the A Bug s Life movie to the opening scene right after the title, the ants are gathering food, begin at the start of Chapter 3 on the DVD (1:15 into the movie if using VHS), end at 2:50 into the movie when Mr. Soil says, Good job, everybody! The Together: Team Hoyt video has two versions, show the regular version, not the Father s Day version. Total running time is 4:12. The Message: (title slide) Today, we are talking about ants. Ants work together. We rarely see ants out on their own doing a task. They are always in numbers of hundreds even thousands; all working together to do a job. Did you know that ants are so created to work together that ants have two stomachs? That s right, one stomach is for themselves, the other stomach is to hold food so that they can feed others. Kinda weird, huh? Ants work together. One of my favorite movies ever showed how ants can work together. It is called, A Bug s Life. How many of you remember that movie? Yeah? Well, let s watch a short clip of that movie to see how ants work together. (play the A Bug s Life clip) Isn t that a great movie? It shows how ants work together for one purpose, encouraging one another, helping one another. Well, we should be just like those ants. God wants all Christians to work together to accomplish our BIG job of reaching the world for Jesus, showing the world God s love. We can t do it on our own. We are a team. 1. We Are All On God s Team (slide #2) How many of you love sports? What s your favorite sport? Basketball? Football? Baseball? Soccer? Hockey? Whatever your favorite team sport is, one thing is for sure...team s have to work together if they are going to win. Can you imagine if the team members started arguing in the middle of a game? Or if the quarterback got mad at the receivers and decided he wasn t going to throw to them anymore? What would happen? The team would probably lose. Why? They re not working together. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Four one - Ants: Working Together In Unity page Page 39 7

45 Illustrated Message (Continued) It s the same with us. We are all on God s team. We are working together to win this game of life. We want as many people to join the team as possible, asking Jesus into their hearts. We can t be arguing and fighting with one another. That won t help us accomplish the goal. We must defeat the enemy TOGETHER! 2. We Are All One Body (slide #3) The Bible talks about all Christians as being not only on the same team, but as one body. Look at the person next to you. Do they have a head? Do they have eyes? Do they have a mouth? Now, look at the person on the other side of you. Do they have ears? Do they have a nose? Cool. A body has many different parts that all serve many different functions. The eyes can t smell, but they can see. The nose can t hear, but it can smell. Hands can t hear, but they can touch. We all have different personalities and abilities, and we are not all alike. But, just like the parts of the body, we all do our part to work together for one purpose. Now, what would happen if the hand got mad at the eye and decided it was going to fight against it. It decided it was going to cover up the eye so that it can t see. What would happen? You d fall down. You d run into things. That wouldn t make sense for the hand to fight with the eye. Well, in the same way it only hurts US when we, as Christians, don t work together. 3. Together We Make A Difference (slide #4) We may not realize it, but we need each other. If I told you your job was to reach the entire world with the good news of God s love, but you have to do it yourself...it would be physically impossible. You couldn t make much of a difference in a world of BILLIONS of people by yourself. But, together, as we partner with each other, partner with our missionaries, we can make a difference. It reminds me of a father and son that I heard about. Dick Hoyt and his son, Rick, are very special. They demonstrate the power of TOGETHER on a daily basis. I want you to watch this video as we see through this father and son THE POWER OF TOGETHER. (play Together: Team Hoyt ) Altar Response: Have the children hold hands across the room. Have them pray with you that God would help all of us to work together to accomplish the BIG task of reaching the world for Jesus. Lesson Four one - Ants: Working Together In Unity page Page 39 7

46 Review Questions 1. What bug did we talk about today? Answer: Ant 2. What was Mr. Crabbe arguing with his Aunt about? Answer: The color of the carpet 3. What was Mr. Crabbe s Aunt s name? Answer: Alice 4. What movie did we see a clip about ants from? Answer: A Bug s Life 5. We work together because we are all on God s? Answer: Team 6. We are not only one God s team, but the Bible says we are all one? Answer: Body 7. True Or False? Together we can make a difference. Answer: True 8. What was the dream of Rick Hoyt, the young boy born unable to walk? Answer: To run! 9. Who helped Rick run the race? Answer: His Dad 10. What was this week s BIG IDEA? Answer: You & Me, We Agree, We Will Work In Unity! Lesson Four - Ants: Working Together In Unity Page 40

47 We should draw closer to Jesus every day of our lives! If you draw close to God, He will draw close to you. James 4:8 I Ain t No Cockroach! Bug Man Video Are You a Moth Or A Cockroach? Puppet Skit Silly Willy hates cockroaches Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Walk toward the light! Jesus said, I am the Light of the World. We are to work every day of our lives to be as close to Jesus (the Light) as possible. There are a lot of reasons why we don t always choose to draw closer to Jesus. Sometimes it is because we are feeling guilty because of sin. Other times it is because we become complacent and don t feel the need to be close to Him. The Bible says that if we draw close to God, He will draw close to us. He wants to be close to us. We should be like the moth and move toward the Light. In this lesson, kids will be encouraged to draw closer to the light of Jesus every single day of their lives. Power Verse If you draw close to God, He Will Draw close to you. James 4:8 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Are you a moth or a cockroach? Rap It UP Video Review Questions Lesson Five - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? Page 41

48 We should draw closer to Jesus every day of our lives! If you draw close to God, He will draw close to you. Bug Man Video Are You a Moth Or A Cockroach? Puppet Skit Silly Willy hates cockroaches Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Walk toward the light! Power Verse If you draw close to God, He Will Draw close to you. James 4:8 Worship Songs James 4:8 Illustrated Message Are you a moth or a cockroach? Rap It UP Video Review Questions I Ain t No Cockroach! Lesson Five - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? Page 42

49 Puppet Skit Character: Silly Willy (or any puppet that your kids are familiar with) Leader: Pretty tough question we are dealing with today. Are you a moth or a cockroach? Silly Willy: What did you just say? Leader: Oh, Hi, Silly Willy! I was just asking the kids our big question for today. Are you a moth or a cockroach? Silly Willy: Are you some kind of a crazy person? What kind of a goofy question is that? Of course, they are not moths or cockroaches. Leader: Well, actually, they are one or the other. Silly Willy: Now, listen here. I am looking at all of these kids. None of them have wings, so they are not moths. And none of them have those beady little eyes and prickly little legs like cockroaches. So, stop asking such a silly question. Leader: I can see where you are getting confused, Silly Willy. See, the reason we are asking that question is because moths and cockroaches have two very different characteristics about them. Moths are drawn toward the light... Silly Willy: (interrupts) Yeah! And sometimes they get zapped with a bug zapper! BZZZZ! Leader: Well, that s true. Moths go toward the light, and cockroaches run away from light. Silly Willy: Yeah, like when I turn on the light to get something to drink at night, sometimes I see a big old hairy giant cockroach go running across the floor, and then it turns and looks at me with those beady little eyes. Then, it starts running after me. AHHHH! I am scared! Leader: Now, Silly Willy. The cockroaches don t run after you. Silly Willy: No, but they sure are hairy and scary. Leader: Maybe so. The reason why we are talking about the fact that one goes towards the light and one runs away from the light is because Jesus said He is the Light of the World. He lights our path and leads us to God. We don t want to be like the cockroach and run away from Jesus (the Light), we want to be like the moth and move toward Him, draw ing close to Him. Silly Willy: I see. So, if I am a moth, I am going toward Jesus. If I am a cockroach, I am running away from Jesus. Is that right? (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Five - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? Page 43

50 Puppet Skit Continued Leader: That s right. Silly Willy: Well, then I know exactly what I am. Leader: What s that? Silly Willy: I m a moth! I want to move closer to Jesus every single day. I don t want anything to keep me from being close to Him. Leader: Good for you! Silly Willy: I m a moth! I m a moth! That sounds so weird to say. Leader: I know it does. We know you re not really a moth. But, it is fun to use our imagination to think about how moths remind us to move closer to the Light...that s Jesus! Silly Willy: That s right! See ya later, everybody! I m a moth! I m a moth! Leader: See you later, Silly Willy. You know kids, I know each of you also want to be close to Jesus. So, let s say it together, I m a moth! I m a moth! Lesson Five - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? Page 44

51 Game Time Walk Toward The Light Setup: Say, Hey, kids! Since we are moths, not cockroaches, we need to move toward the Light of Jesus. Today, we are going to play a game called Walk Toward The Light. Items Needed For Game: The Music CD (play one of the extended versions of one of the game songs), two blindfolds, one industrial strength light How To Play: Choose one child from each team to compete in the game. Choose a point in the room to have your worker with the industrial strength light stand (but, don t have them stand in that spot until both players have put on their blindfolds). Blindfold each of the participants, making sure they can t see anything at all. Spin them around a bit to disorient them. When you say go, the music should start, and someone should turn off the main lights in the room. At that moment, the worker turns on the industrial strength light, and both participants try to follow it. It will not be easy to find. The first one to make it to the worker with the light wins the game. Lesson Five - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? Page 45

52 Illustrated Message Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? Materials Needed: The Data CD (Power Point presentation Lesson Five, beginning with the message title slide Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? ) The Message: (title slide) Today we are talking about a big question: Are you a cockroach or a moth? I know, I know. Many of you are sitting there saying, I m neither. I m a human being. That s true. But, all of us here are one or the other. Today I want you to leave here knowing which category you fit into, cockroaches or moths. 1. Cockroaches Run From The Light (slide #1) Just saying the word cockroach makes some of you freak out. When I was a kid, I used to be scared of cockroaches because they look so creepy. It also used to weird me out that they only like dark places. You may have never noticed this, but when you turn on the light in a dark room and there is a cockroach in the room, it takes off running. For whatever reason, cockroaches don t like the light. I haven t completely figured it out. I don t know if it s scared of the light or what. One thing is for sure. Those nasty little critters don t like light. Well, you re probably wondering what that has to do with us, huh? Well, the Bible says that Jesus is the Light of the world. Many times, we are just like the cockroach...we run from THE LIGHT. Most of the time the reason we run from THE LIGHT is because of one word. That word...is...sin. Some of you might remember the story of Adam and Eve. They had an incredible chance to spend time with God every day in the Garden of Eden. The Bible says that every day they walked with God in the Garden. But then, one day, they disobeyed God and committed the first sin. Not long after that, God came to walk with them in the garden. Do you know what they did? They ran and hid from God. Sin makes us want to run from God because of the guilt we feel when we sin. Just like the cockroach, we run from the Light. We run from the Light of the World, who is Jesus. 2. Moths Are Drawn To The Light (slide #2) When I was a kid I used to go out in the Summer and play in the yard. I was always amazed when I looked up at the street light and saw 5 million moths flying around it. It was like they were having a pushing and shoving contest to see which one could get closer to the light. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Five one - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? page Page 46 7

53 Illustrated Message (CONTINUED) Now, I must admit I don t know what it is about the light that makes moths want to get close to it. For some reason, they just can t get close enough to the light. They love the light so much that we even have invented something we use to kill moths. It s called the Bug Zapper. It s a light that zaps the bugs and kill them. Isn t that sad? You see, moths want to be near the light so much, they will risk their own lives just to be near it. 3. We Should Draw Closer To Jesus Every Day (slide #4) Jesus is the light of the world. He wants to be close to us. Just like when God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden, Jesus wants to be our best friend. It s up to us to make the decision whether we will be like the cockroach and run from the Light (Jesus) or the moth and draw close to the Light (Jesus). It s our decision. We must choose to draw closer to Jesus every day. Do you know what happens when we choose to draw close to Jesus? We learned it today in our power verse. If we draw close to Jesus, He will draw close to us. The moment we make a move to be closer to Him, He moves closer to us. Altar Time: (play soft music) Pray with the children that they will make a decision to draw closer to Jesus every single day. The best ways to draw closer to Jesus are to 1) Pray, 2) Study our Bible, and 3) Go to church. Lesson Five one - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? page Page 47 7

54 Review Questions 1. What two bugs did we talk about today? Answer: The moth and the cockroach 2. What was Silly Willy afraid of? Answer: cockroaches 3. What do cockroaches do when they see light? Answer: They run 4. What is the three letter word that is the reason most people run from God? Answer: Sin 5. What do moths do when they see light? Answer: Move toward it 6. What does Jesus do when we decide to move closer to Him? Answer: He moves closer to us 7. What s today s Big Idea? Answer: I Ain t No Cockroach! Lesson Five one - Are You A Moth Or A Cockroach? page Page 48 7

55 We must be alert and watch out for the traps the devil lays for us! Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 Don t Get Caught In The Web Of Temptation! Bug Man Video Watch Out For The Web Puppet Skit Silly Willy Is Tempted Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Spider Trivia Spiders weave webs to trap their prey. They lie in wait for an unsuspecting insect to fly or crawl into the web and get stuck. Then, they move in for the kill. Satan, our enemy, does much the same with us. He weaves a web of temptation in order to trap us into sin. Much of the time, if we are not careful and looking out for it, we will get caught in the web of temptation and fall into sin. Satan is very crafty in his ways of trapping us. We must be aware of his schemes in order to avoid getting caught in the web of temptation. In this lesson, we will learn just how God has given us the ability to avoid being trapped in the web that Satan has laid out for us. Power Verse Resist The devil, and he will Flee from you. James 4:7 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Avoiding The Web of temptation Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson Six - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Page 49

56 We must be alert and watch out for the traps the devil lays for us! Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 Don t Get Caught In The Web Of Temptation! Bug Man Video Watch Out For The Web Puppet Skit Silly Willy Is Tempted Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Spider Trivia Power Verse Resist The devil, and he will Flee from you. James 4:7 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Avoiding The Web of temptation Rap It UP Video Review Questions Lesson Six - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation

57 Puppet Skit Character: Silly Willy (or any puppet that your kids are familiar with) Leader: Spiders are so creepy. They try to catch bugs in their web so they can destroy them and eat them. Silly Willy: (pops up) Who wants to eat bugs? That s gross! Leader: Well, hello, Silly Willy. Spiders like to eat bugs, that s who. And yes, it is kind of gross. Silly Willy: You better believe it is. Why are you talking about spiders, anyway? Leader: Well, we are talking about spiders today because the devil acts a lot like a spider. He weaves a web of temptation trying to trap us and destroy us. He wants to make us sin. Silly Willy: (suddenly gets sad) Now, why d you have to go remind me about that? Leader: About what? Silly Willy: About the sin I committed yesterday. I feel terrible already. Leader: What happened? What did you do? Silly Willy: Well...you see...before I got saved I used to do some bad things. One of the things was that I used to steal candy from the store. Leader: Oh no. Silly Willy: It s true. But, when I gave my heart to Jesus, I stopped that sinning. Leader: Well, that s good. Right? Silly Willy: Yeah. But, the other day I was in the store and I saw my favorite candy, Sweet Tarts. I just love Sweet Tarts. I wanted those Sweet Tarts more than I wanted life itself. The problem is, I didn t have any money. The devil was tempting me to take them...to steal them. I wanted to take them. I am such a terrible person! (starts to sob) Leader: Silly Willy! Tell me you didn t steal the candy! Silly Willy: No, I didn t steal it! But, I thought about it. That s just as bad! I was tempted! I am a terrible person! (sobs uncontrollably) (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Six - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Page 51

58 Puppet Skit (Continued) Leader: Silly Willy! You are not a terrible person! Silly Willy: (continues to sob) Yes, I am! I was tempted! I was tempted! Leader: But, all of us are tempted, Silly Willy. Silly Willy: (stops sobbing instantly and looks confused) Say what? Leader: I said, All of us are tempted. It s not a sin to be tempted. The devil knows exactly what kind of web of temptation to use against us. He knows our weaknesses. He knows that you love Sweet Tarts. That s why he tempted you. Silly Willy: But, I thought about stealing them. I actually wanted to steal them. Isn t that a sin? Leader: Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in to the temptation is a sin. If you had stolen the Sweet Tarts it would have been a sin. But, you didn t. God allowed you to escape the web of temptation. Silly Willy: He sure did! I feel so much better! I thought that because I was tempted I was a bad person. But, God helped me escape so that I didn t sin! Leader: That s exactly right! Do you want to know what to do the next time the devil tries to get you to fall for one of his tricks? Silly Willy: What? What? Tell me! Tell me! Leader: The Bible says that if we resist the devil, then he will flee from us! Silly Willy: Flea? Are we talking about another bug, now? Leader: No, not flea! Flee! That means run away! He will run away and leave us alone! Silly Willy: Well, that s cool! That s what I will do next time he tries to get me in a web of temptation! I will say, Hey, Devil! Get outta my face! Leader: You got it, Silly Willy! Silly Willy: Awesome! Well, I ll see you around! Bye, kids! Leader: Bye, Silly Willy! You know, kids, that s exactly what you need to do when the devil tries to get you in a web of temptation. You just do what our power verse says, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Lesson Six - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Page 52

59 Game Time Spider Trivia Setup: Say, Hey, kids! Since we are talking about spiders today, we are going to see just how much you know about spiders. It s time for a game called Spider Trivia. Items Needed For Game: The Data CD (Lesson Six slideshow, beginning with title slide Spider Trivia ), some sort of buzzer system (optional) How To Play: Choose three boys and three girls to compete. Each slide has a goofy question about spiders. The first one to buzz in and get the answer correct gets a point. If a contestant buzzes in first, but gets it wrong, the other team gets a point. The team to earn the most points during the game wins. Lesson Six - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Page 53

60 Illustrated Message Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Materials Needed: The Data CD (Power Point presentation Lesson Six, beginning with the message title slide Avoiding The Web Of Temptation! ) A mouse trap, a piece of cheese, a stick (or pencil) to stick in the trap Preparation: Place the piece of cheese on the mouse trap and set it. The Message: (title slide) Spider webs, we ve all seen them. Ever accidentally walked into a spider web? They re sticky. They get all in your hair, stick on your clothes, and they just won t come off. Ever wonder why they are so sticky? It s because the web is what the spider uses to catch an insect. Then, the spider swoops in and eats the insect. Our enemy, the Devil, works much the same way. He tries to lay out a web of temptation to try and trap us into sin. 1. The Devil Wants To Trap Us (slide #2) The Bible tells us that our enemy, the Devil, has only three things on his mind...to steal our innocence, to kill our hopes and dreams, and to destroy our future. He tries to set a trap for us to try to get us to sin. He knows that sin is the one thing God hates. That s why he tries to lay a web of temptation for us to try to trap us. It s kind of like this mouse trap. (hold up the mouse trap) Why do we put out mouse traps? It s to catch mice. You put the trap out in hopes that the mouse will be drawn into the trap and get caught. 2. He Knows How To Trap Us (slide #3) Not only does the Devil WANT to trap us, but he knows HOW to trap us. He knows that we are only human. He s been watching us our whole lives and he knows what our weaknesses are. He s seen when we ve messed up before and he knows what our weaknesses are. Remember the mouse trap? What do we put on the mouse trap to try to lure the mouse? (allow response) That s right, CHEESE. Why do we do that? Because cheese is all we have? No, because we know that the mouse loves cheese. If we put cheese on the trap, we know the mouse will be drawn to it and be caught in the trap. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Six one - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation page Page 54 7

61 Illustrated Message Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Maybe your weakness is lying. Maybe because you want people to think you re cool you make up lies to tell them about yourself. Maybe your weakness is watching bad stuff on TV. Maybe your weakness is hanging around with the wrong crowd. Whatever your weakness is, the devil will try to use that weakness to lay out a web of temptation and try to trap you into sin. Just like we use this cheese to try to trap the mouse, the devil will put the most tempting thing in the web and try to (place the pencil in the trap and make it SNAP! ) trap us into sin. Now, right about now most of you may be sitting there thinking, Man. This is depressing. The devil wants to trap us and he knows exactly how to trap us. What s the use? Well, that s where the good news comes in The Devil Can t Trap Us (slide #4) Even though he really wants to trap us and he knows exactly how to trap us, he can t trap us as long as we stay alert and are aware of his web of temptation. You see, our power verse tells it all. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Even if the devil tries to lay a web of temptation in front of us, as long as we resist the temptation and turn away, then we won t get caught in sin. You may be tempted, but you don t have to sin. All you have to do is tell the devil to get outta here, and he has to run away. Altar Time: (play soft music) There may be some of you who have been in a situation where the devil has been tempting you. Maybe you have even given in to that temptation and he has caught you in the trap of sin. That doesn t have to continue. All you have to do is resist the devil and he will flee from you. I m going to pray a prayer for you that you will be strong and resist the devil because he can t trap you in the web of temptation. (Pray that the kids will be strong and resist the devil s web of temptation.) Lesson Six one - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation page Page 55 7

62 Review Questions 1. What bug did we talk about today? Answer: Spider 2. What does the spider weave to try to catch other insects? Answer: A web 3. Is being tempted the same as committing a sin? Answer: No 4. What was Silly Willy tempted to steal? Answer: Sweet Tarts 5. What was today s Big Idea? Answer: Don t get caught in the web of temptation! 6. Who is our enemy that wants to steal, kill, and destroy us? Answer: The Devil 7. Does the devil know exactly how to trap us? Answer: Yes 8. What do we have to do in order to make the devil flee from us? Answer: Resist him 9. Where was today s Power Verse found? Answer: James 4:7 10. The devil tries to get us to get caught in the web of? Answer: Temptation Lesson Six - Avoiding The Web Of Temptation Page 56

63 We must focus on doing what is on God s heart! Didn t you know I must be about my Father s business? Luke 2:49 We Must BEE About Our Father s Bzzzness! Bug Man Video Busy As A BEE? Puppet Skit Mr. Crabbe is too busy Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Honey Bun Ever heard the saying, "busy as a bee?" We are supposed to be busy, but busy doing what? Every kid wonders what they should be when they grow up. Some dream of being a firefighter. Others dream of being a nurse. No matter what type of business we choose to bee involved in, we are to always bee about our Father s business. What is our Father's business? It is the business of SOULS; sharing God's love with every boy and girl, man and woman. Every soul matters to God. This week we learn that we should BEE about our Father's business. Power Verse Didn t you know I must be about My Father s business? Luke 2:49 Worship Songs Illustrated Message BEE About Our Father s Business Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson Seven - BEE About Our Father s Business Page 57

64 We must focus on doing what is on God s heart! Didn t you know I must be about my Father s business? Luke 2:49 We Must BEE About Our Father s Bzzzness! Bug Man Video Busy As A BEE? Puppet Skit Mr. Crabbe is too busy Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Honey Bun Power Verse Didn t you know I must be About My Father s business? Luke 2:49 Worship Songs Illustrated Message BEE About Our Father s Bzzziness Worship Songs Review Questions Lesson Seven - BEE About Our Father s Business

65 Puppet Skit Character: Mr. Crabbe (or any puppet that your kids are familiar with) Leader: Today, we re talking about being busy as a bee. Mr. Crabbe: Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Leader: Well, Hi there, Mr. Crabbe. What are you doing today? Mr. Crabbe: Well, all kinds of stuff. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Leader: I can t help but notice that you keep making that buzzing sound. What s that all about? Mr. Crabbe: Well, I am just following today s lesson. You said we re talking about being busy as a bee. Well, I am certainly busy right now. I m painting my fence, mowing my lawn, fixing up my car, and putting some camouflage wallpaper up in my bathroom. Leader: Camouflage wallpaper? Mr. Crabbe: Yeah! I m ex-military you know. Leader: Well, that s good. I m glad to see that you are busy. Mr. Crabbe: Boy am I. As a matter of fact, the preacher came by this morning and asked me if I would go with him to the church to help pray for some lady who was sick. But, I told him, No way! Don t you know I m supposed to be busy as a bee? Leader: I see. Well, actually, Mr. Crabbe, we are talking about being being busy, but we are mostly talking about how we are supposed to bee about our Father s business. Mr. Crabbe: Our father s business? But, my dad s been dead for 20 years. He doesn t have a business. Leader: No, no, no, Mr. Crabbe. I mean our Heavenly Father. We should not just be busy doing this and that and this and that. We should first be concerned with being busy with the things that are important to God. Mr. Crabbe: You mean like praying for people who are sick? Leader: That s exactly right. You should never be so busy with your own stuff that you don t have time to do the things that are on God s heart. Mr. Crabbe: Oh no. Now I feel bad that I told the pastor, No. Leader: Well, you could always call him and tell him you would love to come pray for the lady who (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Seven - BEE About Our Father s Business Page 59

66 Puppet Skit Character: Mr. Crabbe (or any puppet that your kids are familiar with) is sick. Mr. Crabbe: Yeah, because nothing is more important than BEEing about my Father s business. Leader: That s exactly right. I am glad you figured that out today. Mr. Crabbe: Me, too. See you later. (exits) Leader: Bye, Mr. Crabbe. You know, kids, it s really easy for us to get so busy doing sports, hanging out with friends, and other things, but then ignore the things that are important to God. We must make sure that we always put God first and BEE about our Father s Bzzzziness. Lesson Seven - BEE About Our Father s Business Page 60

67 Game Time Honey Bun Setup: Say, You know, kids, that bees make honey. Well, one of my favorite snack foods has honey in it. It s the Honey Bun! Sine we are talking about BEES today, we are going to use these honey buns to play our game! Items Needed For Game: Six Honey Bun snacks; The Music CD (play one of the extended versions of one of the game songs) How To Play: Choose three boys and three girls to compete. Each of them get a Honey Bun. When the music starts, they try to eat the entire thing. Whoever finishes first is the winner! Lesson Seven - BEE About Our Father s Business Page 61

68 Illustrated Message Bee About Our Father s business Materials Needed: The Data CD (Power Point presentation Lesson Seven, beginning with the message title slide BEE About Our Father s Business! ) Firefighter s hat, stethoscope, briefcase, the movie Home Alone Preparation: Cue the movie up to Chapter 8 on the DVD (where the mother and father are on the plane, and mom starts talking about how she forgot something). The Message: (title slide) How many of you know what you want to BEE when you grow up? There are many things that we can BEE. Some of us might want to BEE firefighters (pull a child out of the audience and put the firefighter s hat on them). Some of us might want to BEE doctors (pull someone out of the audience and put the stethoscope on them). Others of us might want to BEE lawyers (pull a child out of the audience and let them hold the briefcase). There are a lot of things we can BEE. No matter what business we choose to BEE in, we must always BEE about our Father s business. (Show Home Alone Clip. Stop it when the Uncle says, If it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses. ) When I first saw this movie I thought that there is no way that any parent could ever do that. They were almost half way around the world before they realized that they left their son at home. Did you know there is a story in the Bible where almost the same thing happened? Our Power Verse today comes from a story in Luke 2 of when Jesus was just a young boy. At the age of 12, Jesus went with his parents to Jerusalem to attend an annual feast. When the feast was over, Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Not knowing that Jesus had stayed behind, his parents left and headed back to their hometown. They traveled in a very big group, so they had thought that Jesus was with them on their journey home. After traveling for one day, Jesus parents realized that he was not with them. So, they returned to Jerusalem and found him there. It had been three days since they left him. Do you think he was scared? How many of you have ever been left behind somewhere? Were you scared? I know I would be. But, Jesus wasn t scared at all. His parents found him in the temple, sitting with the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone there was amazed by how much he knew and understood. When his parents found him they asked him, Son why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been looking everywhere for you. Then Jesus said, Why were you searching for me? Didn t you know I had to be about my Father s business? (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Seven one - BEE About Our Father s Business Page page 62 7

69 Illustrated Message (Continued) What did Jesus mean? What is His Father s business? I think there are three things that our Heavenly Father wants us to do. These three things are at the heart of His business. 1. Love God (slide #1) In Matthew 22:37, Jesus is asked, What is the greatest commandment? Now, we all know that there are a lot of commandments, but Jesus is about to tell these people which one is most important. He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. You see, before we can do anything else we have to love God. We have to love him with everything we have; our heart, soul, and mind. We have to build a relationship with him. For us to have a good relationship with God, we have to continue to strengthen that relationship everyday. So the first thing we have to do to BEE about our Father s business is Love God. 2. Love Others (slide #2) Right after He tells them the greatest commandment, Jesus tells His followers the second greatest commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. In order for us to BEE about our Father s business, we have to love and care for our neighbor just like we would want to be loved and cared for. Now, when Jesus says neighbor, He is not just talking about the person that lives next door to you. He is talking about everyone you know. He is talking about the people at school that you may not like. He is talking about that bully down the street. No matter who they are or what they have done, we have to treat others the same way that we want to be treated. That does not mean we have to be best friends with everyone, but as Christians we do have to be nice to them and love them just as God loves us. 3. Make Disciples (slide #3) In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus spoke to His disciples and tells them to go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Now this might seem a little bit hard for us to do right now. You might be thinking, How am I supposed to go all over the world when I am still in school? Well, even though we can t go across the ocean, we can definitely go across the street. We can tell people at school about Jesus and we can tell people in our neighborhood about Jesus. When you love God completely and you love your neighbor and care about them, then you want them to have the same love for God that you do. That is why you teach them about God s love. That s how you make disciples. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Seven one - BEE About Our Father s Business page Page 763

70 Illustrated Message (Continued) Altar Response: Jesus knew He had to BEE about His Father s business. He loved God, He loved others, and He made disciples everywhere He went. We have to do the same if we are going to BEE about our Father s business. (Lead the kids in a prayer of dedication to the work of God.) Lesson Seven one - BEE About Our Father s Business Page page 64 7

71 Review Questions 1. What bug did we talk about today? Answer: Bee 2. What happened to The Bug Man when he was getting close to the bees? Answer: He got stung 3. What was Mr. Crabbe too busy to help the pastor do? Answer: Pray for someone who was sick 4. Should we put our own things ahead of what s important to God? Answer: No 5. What was today s Big Idea? Answer: We must BEE about our Father s bzzzzziness! 6. How old was Jesus when his parents left him behind? Answer: about twelve 7. If we are to bee about our Father s business, we must first Love? Answer: God 8. Secondly, we should Love? Answer: others 9. Thirdly, we should Make? Answer: Disciples 10. Where was today s Power Verse found? Answer: Luke 2:49 Lesson Seven one - BEE About Our Father s Business page Page 765

72 We must shine the light of Jesus in this dark world! Let your light shine before men... Matthew 5:16 It s Time To SHINE! Bug Man Video It s Time To Shine Puppet Skit Silly Willy Is ON FIRE Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Ready, Set, Glow! Jesus said, I am the Light of the world. We learned earlier in this series that we are to be drawn towards that light. We also are supposed to duplicate that light. This world is full of sin. Sin tries to choke out the Light that Jesus put inside each of us. Sometimes we try to hide that light and keep it from being seen for fear we may be made fun of or criticized. Jesus told us that we should be like a city on a hill with a light that can t be hidden. We are to SHINE the light of Jesus all over the darkness. Even the smallest light can cut through the thick layers of darkness that sin brings into the world. Power Verse Let your light shine before men... Matthew 5:16 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Go Light Your World! Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson Eight - Lightning Bug Page 66

73 We must shine the light of Jesus in this dark world! Let your light shine before men... Matthew 5:16 It s Time To SHINE! Bug Man Video It s Time To Shine Puppet Skit Silly Willy Is ON FIRE Offering Time Praise Songs Game Time Ready, Set, Glow! Power Verse Let your light shine before men... Matthew 5:16 Worship Songs Illustrated Message Go Light Your World! Rap It Up Video Review Questions Lesson Eight - Lightning Bug Page 67

74 Puppet Skit Character: Silly Willy (or any puppet that your kids are familiar with) Leader: Lightning Bugs are so cool. I just love watching them shine their light. Silly Willy: (comes up with gauze bandages all over his head and face) Uhhhh. Leader: Silly Willy! What happened? Silly Willy: I don t want to talk about it. Leader: Did you get hurt? My goodness, I feel so bad for you. Silly Willy: Well, I heard what you were going to be talking about today; about how we are supposed to shine our light and light up the darkness Leader: Yes. Silly Willy: Well, I had a big trash pile behind my house, and I thought what better way to make a big light than to make a big bonfire. Leader: Right... Silly Willy: Well, then I couldn t quite get it to light since it was so dark outside and I couldn t see where to light it. So, I thought I would use a little bit of lighter fluid. Leader: Silly Willy, don t you know it s dangerous to use matches without an adult around. AND, you used lighter fluid? Silly Willy: Yeah, and not just a little bit either. I dumped the WHOLE BOTTLE on it. Leader: Oh, my goodness! Then what happened. Silly Willy: Well, I walked right up to the pile of trash and lit a match. Before I could even put it near the trash pile, the whole thing caught on fire! And the fire flashed in my face, and burned my hair off! Waaaaaaaa! (begins crying hysterically) And, I wanted to shine my light in the darkness so bad! Leader: Silly Willy, I am so sorry to hear about this. Silly Willy: You re sorry? I m the one who is sorry. My face is all swollen and my hair looks like Mr. Clean. Waaaaaaaaaa! Leader: The sad thing about the whole deal is that what you were doing is not what we re talking about at all. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE) Lesson Eight - Lightning Bug Page 68

75 Puppet Skit (Continued) Silly Willy: Well, sure it is. Shine your light, right? Leader: Well, yes, but not by building a bonfire! We re talking about shining our light for Jesus. Jesus is the light of the world, and if He lives in us then we have a light that we can shine in this dark world full of sin. You shine your light by loving others, telling others about Jesus, showing them how Jesus has changed your life. That s what it means to shine your light. Silly Willy: You mean I got all this burn on me for NOTHIN?!! Leader: I m afraid so. Silly Willy: Well, if that don t beat all. I guess I should probably listen a little better next time before I start building big fires! Leader: Yes, you should. And, don t forget to make sure there is an adult around before you start using matches, OK? Silly Willy: OK. Bye everybody. Leader: Bye, Silly Willy. Man, he looked in pretty bad shape. You know, shining your light for Jesus isn t about showing off or making a scene. It s about doing the little things that God tells us to do, showing everyone that we are living for Him. Lesson Eight - Lightning Bug Page 69

76 Game Time Ready, Set Glow Setup: Say, We are talking about shining our light in the darkness today. When it is dark, even the smallest amount of light is easy to see. We re going to test that theory today. Items Needed For Game: Two glow necklaces and two glow sticks How To Play: Choose three boys and three girls to participate in this game. Have the boys line up single file in one line and the girls in another line. Tape the glowsticks to the back of two chairs to be placed approximately feet away from the two lines. Make sure the pathway from the kids in line to the chairs is clear. This is a relay game. The first kid in line puts the glow necklace on (this will serve as the baton of the relay). Turn off the lights in the room. When the music begins, the first two kids in line should walk/run toward the chairs with the glowsticks on them, walk around them, and make their way back to their teammates in line. When they get back to their line, they should place the glow necklace on the next person in line. The next person proceeds to walk/run down and around the chair. The process continues until all three kids on one team have completed the course. The first team to complete the course is the winner. Lesson Eight - Lightning Bug Page 70