The Great Commission. April 26-27, Jesus gave us a special job: to show others how to follow him. Acts 1:1-11; Matthew 28:16-20

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1 rd 3 5 April 26-27, 2014 Acts 1:1-11; Matthew 28:16-20 Cnnect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids int grups and begin their activity. th The Great Cmmissin Jesus gave us a special jb: t shw thers hw t fllw him. Kids need t feel heard. If they ask yu smething, even if it s nt timed well, stp and respnd psitively. Large Grup (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Mdel what it lks like t be engaged in large grup. Small Grup (15 minutes): Keep kids in small grups until parents arrive. If yu all have extra time at the end, yu can review the vide and sngs tgether. As kids leave, encurage them t shw their parents the sticker they drew and tell them why they made it. Tday, we re reviewing the stry f Jesus rescue and examining the special jb Jesus gave us (the Great Cmmissin). We re als talking abut practical ways t d that jb! Ahead f time, spend sme time praying abut Matthew 28:18-20.

2 GOAL: Cnnect Time is all abut engaging kids in an activity that allws them t cnnect with each ther right away while simultaneusly piquing their curisity fr Large Grup and preparing their minds fr what they re ging t hear. SHARE THE FUN! *Prbably easiest t play in small grups. Give each kid ne jewel Have kids sit in circles (in whatever size grups wrk best fr yur rm) Put the jewels in a pile in the middle f the circle. Game play: Ask questins abut things kids lve (belw). As sn as they have an answer they want t share, they shuld grab their jewel. Then g arund and let them share if they want. Feel free t ask abut their answers r ask why they have a particular favrite. What s the best mvie ever made? Tell me the name f the best band r singer. Which (sprts) team is yur favrite? What s the mst fun vide game? Is schl r summer better? Put jewels back fr the fllwing service t use If yu have extra time, ask kids abut the best/wrst parts f their week Befre yu head int Large Grup, remind them abut yur expectatins fr their behavir: (1) be kind, (2) listen when smebdy speaks, and (3) fllw the leader s instructins.

3 Gal: Kids will (1) review the stry f Jesus Rescue, (2) recgnize that Jesus gave us a special jb t tell thers abut him and (3) identify ways we can teach thers abut Jesus. Why? Making disciples is a cmmand Jesus gave us. We want kids t think abut hw t d that. Tip: One great thing abut this stry is that it reminds us that Jesus gives us all authrity t make disciples. There s nt ne right way t d it. Be hnest with kids abut hw yu fllw Jesus and tell thers abut him. REVIEW AND DIG DEEPER *Try this fr a mre engaged discussin: tell kids yu re ging t ask a questin. Then give a beanbag t smebdy and it s their jb t answer. Then, everybdy has t listen carefully t the next questin. The kid with the beanbag must tss it t smene else. 1. Tell me what happened after Jesus died n the crss and came back t life. (Let kids use the images sheet; if yu dn t have much time, review quickly). 2. Befre Jesus went back up t Heaven, he gave his fllwers a special jb, a great cmmand. What was it? (3 parts) 3. Hw d we becme a fllwer f Jesus? a. Make the chice. Yu culd say smething like this: Jesus, I have dne wrng things. But I believe yu tk my punishment and rescued me. I want t fllw yu and ne day live with yu frever. 4. What des it mean t make disciples? 5. What des it mean t get baptized? 6. Why des Jesus want his fllwers t get baptized? 7. Why did Jesus give us this cmmand? APPLICATION ACTIVITY Sharing ur faith (what we believe abut Jesus) can be hard. Let s talk abut sme ways t d it. Hw can we teach thers t fllw Jesus and bey him? Tear ff tw large sheets f paper and place it in the middle f yur grup. Split kids in tw teams They shuld write/draw as many examples as they can think f hw they can teach thers t fllw Jesus. T make it mre cmpetitive, time them! Give them examples and brainstrm new ideas: (Cntinue n the fllwing page)

4 2 Get baptized s everyne knws yu fllw Jesus Let a friend chse what t play next time yu re tgether G hme and tell smebdy what yu learned in Kids Club Invite a friend t cme with yu t Kids Club Tell a friend wh s sad that yu ll pray fr them Encurage kids t think f ther ways they can shw Jesus lve. Remind them that there are many, many ways t teach thers t fllw Jesus. Let teams chse their three favrites and share. Then ask: Is it hard r easy t shw smebdy hw t fllw Jesus? Explain. Give each kid a sticker (use the scissrs t cut in between them). Tell then t draw/write ONE f the ways their team came up with that they think they can d this week. Kids can take the sticker hme and put it smewhere t remind them t bey Jesus cmmand and shw thers hw t fllw him. Have kids share what they wrte/drew. Then pray tgether, asking Gd t help each kid make disciples and teach thers t fllw Jesus this week (refer t the specific things they drew n their stickers. Extra time? Ask kids if they have any questins abut Jesus Rescue. (D yur best t answer, but feel free t say yu dn t knw.) Yu culd als play Pictinary, using ways t fllw Jesus frm yur team psters. Or gather arund the screen and re-watch tday s vide.

5 1 The gal tday is t thrughly review Jesus rescue, then dive deep int the Great Cmmissin (the special jb Jesus gave us). Make sure t cmmunicate that there are many ways t share the gd news f Jesus! Hi everybdy, welcme t Kids Club. It s great t see yu here. Yu guys have been ut there talking abut yur favrite things! That lks fun. Why are yu telling peple what mvies r teams r activities yu like? (Let kids respnd.) Oh, that makes sense yu want ther peple t be able t enjy them. We share stuff we care abut, dn t we? Maybe we tell peple when we re excited, like if we win ur favrite vide game r tell peple when we re frustrated, like when a teacher gives ut extra hmewrk. We all have different things we like and dn t like and different styles f fun. But is there anything s exciting and jyful that yu think EVERYONE shuld knw abut it? (Let kids respnd.) Yu re right, there is! The gd news f Jesus rescue is smething that EVERYONE shuld knw! REVIEW Let s take a minute t remember why Jesus rescue is s great. (picture f the crss) Remember, the wrng things we d sins separate us frm Gd. But Jesus came and tk OUR punishment. Then he came back t life, which means he s strnger than death! That means death r punishment can t separate us frm Gd and we can be clse t him again and ne day live with him frever. Let s watch a vide t remember hw Jesus rescued us. We always talk abut hw exciting it is that Jesus has rescued us. S as yu watch, I want yu t try think f ONE thing abut Jesus rescue that makes yu really, really excited. We ll talk abut thse things after the vide. Vide: Gd s Stry / Jesus Rescue Ww, s what are sme f the things abut Jesus rescue that make yu really excited? (Let kids respnd. Share yur wn idea t what makes YOU mst excited?)

6 When we chse t say smething like, Jesus, I have dne wrng things. But I believe yu tk my punishment. I want t fllw yu, we instantly becme part f Gd s family. And ne f the mst exciting parts if nt THE mst exciting part f Jesus rescue, is that he s preparing a hme fr Gd s family t live in with him frever. THE GREAT COMMISSION This is fantastic news! S Jesus desn t want his rescue t be a secret. He wants EVERYONE t knw abut it, s that anyne can chse t be part f his family. In fact, in the Bible, befre Jesus went back t Heaven, he gave his fllwers a special jb. It s called the Great Cmmissin, which means an imprtant cmmand. It s fr us t, if we fllw Jesus: SLIDE: Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came t them and said, All authrity in heaven and n earth has been given t me. Therefre g and make disciples f all natins, baptizing them in the name f the Father and f the Sn and f the Hly Spirit, and teaching them t bey everything I have cmmanded yu. And surely I am with yu always, t the very end f the age. MAKING DISCIPLES Let s lk at that fr a secnd. Jesus said t g and make disciples. Des anybdy knw what a disciple is? (Let kids say: smebdy wh fllws Jesus.) That s right, smebdy wh fllw Jesus. S Jesus is saying, G and shw peple hw t fllw me! BAPTIZING THEM Then he said t baptize peple and teach them t bey him. What is baptism? (Let kids respnd: click t shw gif). Yes, it s when smebdy ges int the water and cmes back ut. Kind f like hw Jesus was buried and came back t life. It shws that a persn wants t be like Jesus by fllwing him. Baptism is like a BIG annuncement. It s like smebdy saying, I fllw Jesus. Nw, why did Jesus tell us baptize peple? (Let kids respnd.) Well, baptism is a lt like telling peple what yu believe, what yu care abut, wh yu fllw. Think abut ther ways we can shw thers what we think. (shw picture f a Reds jersey). Fr example, if I wre this shirt, what wuld yu knw abut me? (Let kids respnd). Yeah, yu d knw I fllw the Reds, even if I never said a wrd. When a persn is baptized, it s kind f like that: we knw they fllw Jesus. Just like wearing this shirt is a way t shw lts f peple I m a Reds fan, getting baptized is a way t shw thers yu fllw Jesus. Nw, we can chse t wear r nt wear this shirt. Reds players prbably want us t wear it, but nbdy is ging t cmmand us t d it. But des Jesus cmmand us t get baptized if we fllw him? (Click frward t shw verse again) Jesus says that when a persn chses t fllw him (becme a disciple), he r she shuld get baptized and then bey Jesus. And if we already fllw Jesus, we get t teach peple hw t d that! TEACHING PEOPLE TO OBEY JESUS S if Jesus tld us t teach peple hw t fllw and bey him, we re ging t need t knw

7 hw t teach smething, right? S I m ging t teach yu smething. Everybdy stand up! I think it wuld be fun fr yu t learn sme dance mves! (Stand perfectly still as yu describe dance mves. Yu can make up yur wn r use these): Step the right; swing yur arms t the right as yu step. Nw g left while swinging yur arms t left. T the right again. T the left again. Ww, yu guys didn t d s well Hw but I shw yu? Fllw alng with me: (d the dance mves this time, as the kids fllw. Speak as necessary but make sure t shw everything yu tell them). That was s much better! Thanks, guys. Yu can have a seat. Was it easier the first time r the secnd? Hld up 1 finger r 2. (Let kids respnd. Hpefully, they hld up 2 fingers). Yeah, it was WAY easier the 2 nd time, right? And yu knw what? Teaching dance mves is a lt like shwing smebdy hw t fllw Jesus. T really teach them t really bey Jesus cmmand, we have shw them hw t d it by fllwing Jesus yurself! Of curse, we ll mess up smetimes, but that s why Jesus died t rescue us! We can always repent turn away frm ur mistakes and wrng chices and turn back tward Gd and fllw Jesus again! WORSHIP Let s wrship tgether and thank Jesus fr his rescue! When we think abut hw much Jesus lves us, it ften makes us mre excited t bey his cmmand. Sng: Better Than the Best Sng: Cme With Me PRAY Ask smebdy t ask Gd t help us teach thers hw t fllw and bey him!

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9 1 jewel per kid (can be re-used): OT: IN-48/6990 Markers Bible 1 beanbag per small grup 2 sheets f stry images per small grup (printed in clr) stpwatch 2 tear-ff sheets f paper per large grup use smething like this: DIRECT-THERMAL-LABELS-4-x-6-Tp- Cat-/ (culd als g t ebay and search 4x6 label rlls ) scissr (fr small grup leader t easily separate stickers fr kids) nne 1. Image: crss 2. Vide: Gd s Stry / Jesus Rescue 3. SLIDE: Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came t them and said, All authrity in heaven and n earth has been given t me. Therefre g and make disciples f all natins, baptizing them in the name f the Father and f the Sn and f the Hly Spirit, and teaching them t bey everything I have cmmanded yu. And surely I am with yu always, t the very end f the age. 4. Gif: baptism 5. Image: Reds jersey 6. SLIDE (again): Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came t them and said, All authrity in heaven and n earth has been given t me. Therefre g and make disciples f all natins, baptizing them in the name f the Father and f the Sn and f the Hly Spirit, and teaching them t bey everything I have cmmanded yu. And surely I am with yu always, t the very end f the age. 7. Sng: Better than the Best with dance mves 8. Sng: Cme With Me (with musicians) Tell me abut the Great Cmmissin. Hw will yu shw thers hw t fllw Jesus? NEW APRIL PARENT PAGES