ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES God reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable, and authoritative.

Transcription

1 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner Creative Team Kristen Ivy Mike Clear Molly Boylan Elloa Davis Elizabeth Hansen Jessica McKee Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Contributing Writers Stuart Chapman Holly Crawshaw Kristy Hecht Becky Jarrett Emily Meredith Editors Molly Boylan Elloa Davis Dana Wilkerson Illustrations & Graphic Design Brian Bascle Mike Davis Joe Goode Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt Orange Specialists Amy Grisham Joy Bowen Abbey Carr Amy Fenton Leslie Galema Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Courtney Templeton Statement of Faith ABOUT GOD God is the one and only true God, yet He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, so everything belongs to Him and is under His control. God is holy, so He is righteous, majestic, and loving. God is all knowing and purposeful, so He s at work to bring about His will. No person, thing, or idea compares to God. ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES God reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable, and authoritative. ABOUT PEOPLE People are made in God s image and for His pleasure. But everybody falls short of God s intention, or ideal, for people. In other words, everyone has sinned. As a result, we are all separated from Him, even though He wants an intimate relationship with each of us. ABOUT SALVATION That s why Jesus God s Son came and lived on this earth, died, and rose again. God offers His free gift of salvation to all who believe in Jesus and accept Him as Savior the only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God. Anyone who accepts this gift is adopted as a son or daughter into God s family and will live with Him forever in heaven. User Agreement Orange gladly grants permission to churches, schools, and other licensees to tailor 252 Basics materials to fit their unique leadership requirements, locale and format preferences, and physical environment needs. However, if you wish to edit the content substantively, including Bible stories, learning activities, scripts, and any other content in which biblical principles and concepts are presented, you are obligated to do so within the doctrinal guidelines we ve expressed in our Statement of Faith. These resources are intended to be downloaded and printed for use by the subscribing entity only and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by other non-subscribing entities. Any unauthorized reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of US copyright laws The rethink Group. All rights reserved. 252 Basics and the 252 Basics logo are trademarks of Orange and the rethink Group. Scripture marked NIrV is taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL READER S VERSION. Copyright 1996, 1998, 2014 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica. Scripture marked NIV is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

2 SOCIAL PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY The Giving Whisperer (Give in secret) Matthew 6:1-4 BOTTOM LINE Lend a hand without looking for applause. MEMORY VERSE Let your light shine so others can see it. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will bring glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16, NIrV LIFE APP PRELUDE: Setting the tone for the experience For Leaders Only Create the Environment SOCIAL: Providing time for fun interaction Ideas for Early Arrivers Move that Ball STORY: Communicating God s truth in engaging ways Opener Worship Bible Story Prayer Closer WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God Look at Me from Walk This Way Better Than the Best Thing from Turn It Up : Creating a safe place to connect Blow Your Trumpet Like a Ninja Memory Verse Applause Prayer HOME: Prompting action beyond the experience GodTime Parent Cue Service lending a hand to help someone else. BASIC TRUTH I need to make the wise choice. PAGE 2

3 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY The Giving Whisperer (Give in secret) Matthew 6:1-4 BOTTOM LINE Lend a hand without looking for applause. MEMORY VERSE Let your light shine so others can see it. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will bring glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16, NIrV LIFE APP Service lending a hand to help someone else. BASIC TRUTH I need to make the wise choice. GETTING READY SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (Choose one or both of these activities.) Early Arriver An offering container Move that Ball 2 ping-pong balls Masking tape : CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT (Choose as many of these activities as you like.) * If you don t have time to do all these activities, be sure to do activity #1. * 1. Blow Your Trumpet (application activity / review the Bible story) White copy paper; 1 piece for each kid Clear tape 2. Like a Ninja (application activity) Items found around your environment to set up an obstacle course; such as, chairs, tables, trash can, plastic bins, stacks of Bibles, etc. 3. Memory Verse Applause (memory verse activity) Bibles Prayer No supplies needed Additional Resources: Make copies on cardstock of this week s GodTime and Parent Cue cards. Tell parents about our additional family resources: Studio252.tv, CUE Box, and the Parent Cue app. To find out more about these great resources, go to PAGE 3

4 PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME SOCIAL SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today s story. Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Today s topic is probably one of the hardest for elementary kids to master. Especially at this age, everyone wants to be recognized for hard work or for going the extra mile. Pray for your kids to understand why they should serve without letting praise be their only motivation. Ask God to do the same for you to give you a servant-hearted attitude that isn t solely motivated by recognition. Thank God for the opportunity to serve this group of kids. 1. EARLY ARRIVER IDEA WHAT YOU NEED: An offering container Remind the kids to place their offerings in the offering container. Discuss the following questions: What is applause? Can you show me? What are some things that people receive applause for? What would you want someone to applaud you for? 2. MOVE THAT BALL WHAT YOU NEED: 2 ping-pong balls, masking tape Divide your group into two teams. Mark a starting and a turn-around line with tape on the floor, about 10 feet apart. Line up each team behind their starting lines. Each player will run to the turn-around line and back with a ping-pong ball placed between his forearms. When players arrive back to their teams, they ll transfer the ball to the next person in line. They cannot use their hands to pass the balls to the next person in line. If they drop the ball while running, they must go back and start again. First team to finish wins! Note: If kids are having trouble keeping the ball between their arms, amend the rules to say that they don t have to start over if they drop the ball. Great job, everyone! I m so glad that when it comes to serving, we CAN use our hands to help. [Transition] Let s head to Large Group to find out what Jesus had to say about how we should lend a hand to serve. Lead your group to the Large Group area. PAGE 4

5 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME : CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. * 1. BLOW YOUR TRUMPET (application activity / review the Bible story) WHAT YOU NEED: White paper, clear tape Show the kids how to roll up their papers to make party horns/trumpets. Secure each with tape. Have the kids pair up and think of one small act of service to perform for the rest of the group. If they need help, give them some suggestions like feeding the dog or cat, cleaning up the dishes, putting away their toys, helping a friend with his homework, setting the table, etc. As each pair finishes pantomiming their act of service, instruct the rest of the group to blow their trumpets! Wouldn t it be awesome if every time you did something nice for someone else to lend a hand, someone was right behind you blowing a big horn or trumpet? Well, maybe not. You might get a headache! Jesus said we should serve in secret! It s not about receiving applause or recognition. We should lend a hand and serve because it s the right thing to do and because it pleases God. God ALWAYS sees the good things you do. He is SO happy when you choose to serve in secret. One fantastic way you can do that right now is by participating in our service project this season! (Insert info about the specific project your church is doing. If you re participating in the BiteBack campaign, tell kids that they can really serve in secret by helping purchase mosquito nets for kids who are at risk for getting bitten by malaria-causing mosquitos at night. They can donate some of their allowance or ask a parent if they can earn some extra money by doing chores or helping with something that needs to be done at home. Then they can donate the money to Compassion to purchase mosquito nets.) This is a great way you can [Bottom Line] lend a hand without looking for applause. You might never meet the people you serve or help, but you can know that God sees what you did and is so happy that you showed His love to others. [Make It Personal] (Tell the kids about a time when you served someone else and they had NO idea it was you. What happened? What do you think God thought about your act of secret service?) 2. SERVE LIKE A NINJA (application activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Items from around your environment to create an obstacle course; such as, chairs, tables, trash can, plastic bins, stacks of Bibles, etc. Use the items found in your room to create an obstacle course (like chairs to run around, plastic bins to climb through, stacks of Bibles to carry, clipboards to jump over, trash cans to shoot wadded up paper into, etc.) After you set up the obstacle course, show the kids how to run through the course. PAGE 5

6 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Explain that they should race like ninjas as quietly and quickly as possible, using as many ninja moves as they can. Remind them that ninjas are so fast and so quiet that you never see them sneak up on you and sometimes, when they ve left, you can t even tell they were there! Let the kids line up and run through the obstacle course like ninjas. Do you know why we just did all those crazy ninja moves? Well, first because it was totally fun! But second, because I want you to think about serving this week like a ninja! Ninjas are fast. They get the job done quietly. Do you think you can serve others like a ninja this week? Can you put the dishes away without being asked or without a parent even knowing it was you? Can you help your sister put the toys away even if you didn t get them out in secret? Remember, Jesus said when we serve, we shouldn t announce it. We should do it quietly and in secret, like ninjas! It s not about receiving a bunch of praise or applause. Because God definitely sees your secret acts of ninja service. And He thinks each one is super awesome. So serve like ninjas this week and [Bottom Line] lend a hand without looking for applause. 3. MEMORY VERSE APPLAUSE (memory verse activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Bibles Look up Matthew 5:16 and review the verse as a group. Show the group different ways they can clap: regular clap, golf clap (two fingers on the palm of your hand), clapping in sign language (raise your hands in a surrender pose and shake them back and forth), slow clap, etc. Say the verse together as you clap using one of the choices above. To make it more interesting, change the clapping method in the middle of the verse. Great job! The important thing to remember about shining a light by serving and doing good for others is that God always knows when you serve! You don t have to look for others to clap for you. God sees the good things you do when you lend a hand. [Bottom Line] Lend a hand without looking for applause and know that even acts of secret service aren t secret to God! PRAY AND DISMISS WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed Ask if anyone has any prayer requests they would like to share. Remind kids to serve like ninjas this week. I m so excited to send this group of secret service ninjas out into the world this week! I know you re going to do some great things for others as you serve. Remember, even when you serve in secret like a ninja, God always sees you lending PAGE 6

7 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME a hand. And he is always clapping for you! So let s serve like ninjas this week and [Bottom Line] lend a hand without looking for applause. Let s pray. Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us today that we should serve others in secret. We know that every time we serve, You see it and You are so happy. Help us to serve like super secret ninjas this week and to [Bottom Line] lend a hand without looking for applause. Ask kids to tell their parents about how they ve been challenged to serve like ninjas this week. Give each child a GodTime card. Pass out Parent Cue cards as adults arrive to pick up. PAGE 7