STORY 25 MINUTES WORSHIP 10 MINUTES GROUPS 25 MINUTES

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1 PRELUDE SOCIAL 15 MINUTES STORY WORSHIP HOME Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner Creative Team Kristen Ivy Mike Clear Molly Bell Elloa Davis Elizabeth Hansen Jessica McKee Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Contributing Writers Holly Crawshaw Kristi Hecht Becky Jarrett Cara Martens Tim Seevers Rachael Sibcy Julie Tiemann Dana Wilkerson Editors Molly Bell Elloa Davis Dana Wilkerson Illustrations & Graphic Design Brian Bascle Mike Davis Joe Goode Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt Orange Specialists Abbey Carr Amy Fenton Leslie Galema Amy Grisham Barbara Graves Terri Jones Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Annette Stickney Courtney Templeton Gay Tucciarone 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 PRELUDE SOCIAL 15 MINUTES STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY The Start Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin Acts 3 and 4 BOTTOM LINE Keep going even when it gets hard. MEMORY VERSE Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don t give up. Galatians 6:9, NIrV LIFE APP 15 MINUTES 25 MINUTES 10 MINUTES 25 MINUTES PRELUDE: Setting the tone for the experience For Leaders Only Create the Environment SOCIAL: Providing time for fun interaction Ideas for Early Arrivers Untangled STORY: Communicating God s truth in engaging ways Opener Worship Bible Story Prayer Closer WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God Go from Kidmin Worship Vol. 5 Let It Be Known from Movin Me : Creating a safe place to connect Determination Decoration Keep Going Game! Memory Verse Maze Prayer HOME: Prompting action beyond the experience GodTime Parent Cue Determination deciding it s worth it to finish what you started. BASIC TRUTH I can trust God no matter what. PAGE 2

3 PRELUDE SOCIAL 15 MINUTES STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY The Start Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin Acts 3 and 4 BOTTOM LINE Keep going even when it gets hard. MEMORY VERSE Note: This version of the curriculum is designed especially for churches with fewer leaders and kids. You may want to use it if you have just one or two leaders and if you combine all your kids in both Large and Small Group time. GETTING READY SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (Choose one or both of these activities.) Early Arriver An offering container Paper Coloring materials Untangled No supplies needed Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don t give up. Galatians 6:9, NIrV LIFE APP Determination deciding it s worth it to finish what you started. BASIC TRUTH I can trust God no matter what. STORY: COMMUNICATING GOD S TRUTH IN ENGAGING WAYS 1. Opener/Closer WHAT YOU NEED: Leader Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Upbeat music to use as kids enter and exit the room Upbeat music to use during the game (optional) Large Group Visuals (downloadable from the website): The Amazing Maze Theme Slide (Optional) Determination Slide Bottom Line Slide Memory Verse Slide WHAT YOU DO: Download the slides and have them ready to use. If you do not have CG capabilities, you have Orange s permission to enlarge and print the slides on paper. PAGE 3

4 PRELUDE SOCIAL 15 MINUTES STORY WORSHIP HOME 2. Bible Story WHAT YOU NEED: Leader Bible Eight mason jars with lids Table Large Group Sound Effects (downloadable from the website): SFX 1: Rising sound of wind SFX 2: Crackling flames SFX 3: Overlap of many voices, many languages SFX 4: Steps, jumps, shouts SFX 5: Excited crowd murmurs SFX 6: Clanging bars SFX 7: Footsteps, chains and slamming door SFX 8: Opening door, chains and footsteps Large Group Visuals (downloadable from the website): Bottom Line Slide WHAT YOU DO: Download the slides and have them ready to use. If you do not have CG capabilities, you have Orange s permission to enlarge and print the slides on paper. Download the weekly SFX from the download page under the General Documents: Supply Lists, Tech Sheets, Bible Story Outlines, and SFX panel. Place the jars on the table and place the table on the stage, but out of the way for the Opener and Worship. 3. Worship WHAT YOU NEED: Leader(s) Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Go from Kidmin Worship Vol. 5* Let It Be Known from Movin Me* (On the Get Reel 2.0 DVD there is a Live Loud video you can show to help teach and encourage worship in our everyday lives. Use this segment before doing Let It Be Known. ) *Live lyrics video available from WHAT YOU DO: Download all songs (available on AmberSkyRecords.com) and have them ready to use. Note: Make sure your church has obtained licensing rights to play or perform music. You can obtain a license to perform worship music from Christian Copyright Licensing International ( It covers over 200,000 worship songs for congregational singing. You are responsible for including the PAGE 4

5 PRELUDE SOCIAL 15 MINUTES STORY WORSHIP HOME copyright information on all songs reproduced under the Church Copyright License (including song lyrics projected onscreen). This includes the song title, writer credit(s), copyright notice, and your church s CCLI license number. You can include this information on one of the lyric slides, or you can create a separate slide detailing this information, but the copyright information must appear at least once for each song you play or perform. For example: Hallelujah words and music by John Doe 2000 Good Music Co. CCLI License # 0000 Download and print this week s tech sheet for everyone helping with Large Group. 4. Additional Resources GET REEL: This month with Get Reel 2.0, we ll seek to find the finish line even after we hit a dead end. This week, we recommend playing the Discovery video to inspire the key faith skill of Navigate the Bible. Our Host literally jumps into the Bible to help us discover how God wants us to learn what He says and apply it to our lives. Also on Get Reel 2.0, you can enhance your environment with an M.C. Haggis video. M.C. Haggis and his sidekick Shamus McFamus tell us all about this month s life app or the widget. FEATURE PRESENTATION: We know that sometimes you want to mix things up to keep kids engaged with the most important thing you do every week in your Large Group: tell the Bible story. You also like having a back-up plan in case your Assistant or Leader cancels at the last minute. This is why our Large Group script is interchangeable with the Feature Presentation DVDs so you can plug and play the way you need to each week. Similar to the flow we create with our Large Group script, Feature Presentation also has weekly Intro and Outro videos with a Assistant. The Intros set up the Bible story and Life App, while the Outros smoothly transition from Large Group to Small Group. For the K-5 combined age group, we recommend playing 252 Story, which brings you the Bible story in a simple and direct way through a professional Leader accompanied by illustrations. Widget*: The Determinator * widg et [wij-it] noun 1. Something unspecific whose name is either forgotten or not known. 2. A device that is very useful for a particular job Origin: ; perhaps an alternative form of gadget You probably know when you last went for a walk or visited the gym. But when was the last time you gave your stick-to-it muscles a work out? This month s widget, THE DETERMINATOR, provides the kids in your ministry with a great opportunity practice determination deciding it s worth it to finish what they start. Each peg game requires skill and practice to complete successfully. Encourage families to decide on a fun prize, like going out for ice cream or seeing a new movie when everyone has mastered the puzzle. PAGE 5

6 PRELUDE SOCIAL 15 MINUTES STORY WORSHIP HOME : 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. Determination Decoration (application activity) Old magazines or scrap pieces of construction paper Scissors Glue sticks Toothpicks; 2-5 for each kid A fist-size lump of clay per kid, or a Styrofoam block (for drying the beads) Clear nail polish, several bottles Fishing line, embroidery thread, or very thin twine; one piece for each kid 2. Keep Going Game! (application activity / review the Bible story) Keep Going Game Guide Activity Page; one for each small group A music player and upbeat, encouraging music to play 3. Memory Verse Maze (memory verse activity) Memory Verse Maze Activity Page printed on white paper; one maze per kid Pencils Bibles Prayer No supplies needed Additional Resources: Make copies on cardstock or 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 6

7 PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME SOCIAL 15 MINUTES SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (SMALL, 15 MINUTES) 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. Pray that your few would be encouraged today to keep going even when the going gets tough. Ask God to give them strength to finish what they ve started, whether it s making a new friend, learning to tie a shoe or hit a baseball, or continuing to do their best at school while things at home are tough. Ask God to show you opportunities where you can encourage your few. 1. EARLY ARRIVER IDEA WHAT YOU NEED: Offering container, paper, coloring materials WHAT YOU DO: Welcome kids to small group and guide them to place their offering in the container. Ask them what they think the word impossible means. Are there things that actually are impossible to do, or are there things that just seem impossible because we don t know how to do them yet? Encourage them to draw an impossible action breathing underwater, traveling straight to Mars, flying, leaping over skyscrapers, digging through a desert with a spork, drinking an ocean s worth of slushies, creating a taco so hot people can t eat it, reading all the books in the world, etc. Discuss what would have to happen to turn that impossible dream into reality: would it mean getting bigger, or stronger, or faster? Would they need to learn a new language or invent a new tool? Bring kids attention to the fact that the main factor in making the impossible possible is a lot of hard work and never giving up. 2. UNTANGLED WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed WHAT YOU DO: Gather the group in a standing circle and direct them to hold out their right hand and grab the right hand of the person directly across from them. Then, they must take the left hand of someone else across the circle (so they re not holding both hands of the same person). Kids can t hold the hands of the person right next to them. Without letting go, kids must work to untangle the group until they form a large circle again. They can spin in place, step over/under each other s linked hands, etc. If you have fewer than 5 kids, join the game yourself and invite an assistant Small Group Leader if necessary. If anyone lets go of their partner s hands, you can decide if they may link back up and keep trying or if the game must start over. Be prepared to make exceptions and help kids untangle if they are very unevenly matched in size. If you have mostly older kids, play this game in absolute silence. PAGE 7

8 PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME SOCIAL 15 MINUTES WHAT YOU SAY: That was a lot of work! Sometimes it looked really easy but sometimes it felt like a big mess! You had to do a lot of hopping, stepping, twirling, and twisting to get this job done. [Transition] Let s go hear about someone else who had a lot of hard work ahead of them. Lead your group to the Large Group area. PAGE 8

9 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME STORY: COMMUNICATING GOD S TRUTH IN ENGAGING WAYS (LARGE GROUP, 35 MINUTES) Engage kids hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible story, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter. Optional CG: The Amazing Maze Theme Art Leader enters. OPENER LEADER: Hello, everyone! Welcome to another amazing month in [your environment s name]. I m glad you re here, because we have some amazing games to play, some amazing songs to sing... you get the point, it s gonna be amazing. Why am I so hung up on the amazingness of this month? Well, this month it s all about the Maze, the amazing maze, to be specific. Finding your way through a maze can be tough, but with a little determination, you can make it! And that s what we re talking about this month: Determination! CG: Determination Slide Determination is deciding it s worth it to finish what you started. And actually, you guys are going to need some of that determination today! I ve got a little game I like to call amazing Arms. To kick it off, I need everyone up on their feet! Depending on the size of your group, you may need to divide into smaller groups. Groups of 8-10 are ideal for each circle. Unless necessary to have enough people in the group to play, the Leader shouldn t participate so that you can help the group as needed to move things along. If you have more than one group, you can make it a race to speed things along, or you can allow all groups to finish to practice that determination! Everyone, stand shoulder to shoulder facing towards the inside of the circle. Now reach our your left hand and grab the left hand of someone else in the circle. It just can t be the person on either side of you. (Give them a few seconds to do it, and make sure they did it correctly.) Now everyone do the same thing with your right hand. Again, this can t be the person beside you. Now your job is to untangle this mess without letting go of your hands. You ll need to talk through this together and figure out how to twist and turn so that you can get untangled! Just be sure to keep holding hands the entire time. Right now, this looks like a tangled web, but I know you can find your way out! You can do this! On your mark, get set, go! SFX: Upbeat music (optional) Note: If things are taking too long and you need to speed the group up, you can help them. Way to go, everyone! You do indeed have some amazing arms, and some amazing brains to figure all that out! Since you re already on your feet, let s keep standing and sing some amazing songs to worship our beyond amazing God! PAGE 9

10 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME WORSHIP LEADER: This first song is one that s about giving all that we are to going and living God s way. How many of you want to go God s way? (Pause for response.) Yeah, me too! Let s sing this loud. SFX: Go / track 4 from Kidmin Worship Vol. 5 Yeah! Great singing! Before we continue in worship, everybody watch this. CG: Live Loud video from Get Reel 2.0 All we are is for you, God. Psalm 62:6 says: It is surely true that he is my rock and the God who saves me. He is like a fort to me, so I will always be secure (NIrV). Our God saves. That is good news we need to share with others. This song is about doing just that. Let s lift our voices and sing together. We need to let it be known that our God saves! SFX: Let It Be Known / track 5 from Movin Me Move the table with the jars out into the center of your stage. Each time you see a SFX in the script, open a jar and have someone play the sound effect (so the illusion is that the sound comes from the jar). NOTE: If you don t have a sound board or tech crew, you can do the script without the jars and just play the sound effects from your phone. SETTING UP THE STORY LEADER: Speaking of amazing, for several years, Jesus closest friends had been on a wild ride. They traveled with Jesus, marveling at the huge crowds and amazing miracles. They witnessed His arrest and crucifixion and were thrilled when He rose from the dead. At last, Jesus gave them an amazing mission: to share God s Story with people across the entire world! This sounded like an impossible job, but Jesus promised that He d send His Holy Spirit to help them. After Jesus gave them this mission, He was taken back up into heaven. His friends were left in Jerusalem... to wait. I imagine that was a pretty tough time just waiting, wondering when the Holy Spirit, that Jesus had promised, would arrive especially since they didn t even know what the Holy Sprit really was or what it would do. SFX Jar 1: Rising sound of wind Open sound jar number one. The Holy Spirit arrived and appeared as tongues of fire that rested above the heads of the believers. SFX Jar 2: Crackling flames Close sound jar number one and open number two. PAGE 10

11 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME The Spirit gave Peter and John and the other disciples an ability to speak in different languages. This made it possible for people from all over the world to understand God s Story! Incredible! Close sound jar number two and open number three. SFX Jar 3: Overlap of many voices, many languages This all happened at the time of year when Jews from many countries had traveled to Jerusalem for a festival. When they heard the uproar from the disciples, a crowd gathered to find out what was happening. Peter immediately stood up before them and told them the Story of Jesus. He told the crowed they must turn away from their sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus and their sins would be forgiven. That day, many people about 3,000 believed and were baptized! Close sound jar number three. THE HEALING LEADER: The new believers shared their lives, eating and praising God together. Each day, they met in the temple courtyard. One afternoon, Peter and John arrived at the temple gate to discover a man who couldn t walk. The man begged the disciples for money. Peter told the man that he didn t have any money, but he offered the man what he did have. Peter spoke with confidence, In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk. And just like that, the man leapt to his feet and took the first steps of his life! Open sound jar number four. SFX Jar 4: Steps, jumps, shouts He walked. He jumped. He shouted praises to God! Close sound jar number four. Peter spoke to the gathering crowd. (Open your Bible and read Acts 3:16) This man whom you see and know was made strong because of faith in Jesus name. Faith in Jesus has healed him completely. You can see it with your own eyes (NIrV). Peter went on to explain how Jesus fulfilled God s promises. This made some people super excited! Open sound jar number five. SFX Jar 5: Excited crowd murmurs Close sound jar number five. PAGE 11

12 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME But others were not excited at all that Peter and John were talking about this. In fact, the religious leaders circled up, muttering to each other.. THE ARREST AND TRIAL LEADER: The leaders became so upset, they surrounded Peter and John. They arrested them and threw them into jail! SFX Jar 6: Clanging bars Open sound jar number six. Close sound jar number six. Peter and John were stuck in a damp, chilly prison cell all night. They must have wondered how they ended up there. After all, they were only doing what Jesus had told them to do. And so many people were starting to believe in Jesus! This was not the time for them to be in jail. The next morning, a group of religious leaders met together. Annas, the high priest, joined them, along with other members of his family. They ordered that Peter and John be brought before them. Annas asked the two men what power they used to heal the man. And through whose name? THE SPEECH LEADER: Peter and John exchanged glances, and Peter took a deep breath. He knew his answer wouldn t be popular, but he was ready to deal with the consequences. Listen to the incredible speech he made to respond to Annas. (Open your Bible and read Acts 4:8-12.) Rulers and elders of the people! Are you asking us to explain our actions today? Do you want to know why we were kind to a man who couldn t walk? Are you asking how he was healed? Then listen to this, you and all the people of Israel! You nailed Jesus Christ of Nazareth to the cross. But God raised him from the dead. It is through Jesus name that this man stands healed in front of you. Scripture says that Jesus is the stone you builders did not accept. But it has become the most important stone of all. You can t be saved by believing in anyone else. God has given people no other name under heaven that will save them (NIrV). (Close the Bible to show that you re speaking now.) The religious leaders saw Peter and John s determination. The leaders knew that Peter and John had been close followers of Jesus. The leaders also couldn t deny that the man had been healed. They weren t sure what to do, so they sent Peter and John away so they could talk. Open sound jar number seven. SFX Jar 7: Footsteps, chains and slamming door Close sound jar number seven. PAGE 12

13 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME As soon as Peter and John were led away, Annas and the other leaders made a plan. Since they couldn t deny what Peter and John had done, the only thing they could do was get the men to stop talking about it. So they called Peter and John back in to stand before them again. Open sound jar number eight. SFX Jar 8: Opening door, chains and footsteps Close sound jar number eight. They told Peter and John they must never again speak or teach in Jesus name. Never. WRAPPING UP THE STORY LEADER: Well, you can imagine how well that went over with Peter and John. Listen to their response to the religious leaders demands. (Open your Bible and read Acts 4:19-20) But Peter and John replied, Which is right from God s point of view? Should we listen to you? Or should we listen to God? You be the judges! There s nothing else we can do. We have to speak about the things we ve seen and heard (NIrV). The religious leaders couldn t figure out how to punish Peter and John, so at last they let them go. Peter and John never stopped teaching in Jesus name. And God gave them the power to continue the amazing work He d given them, no matter what difficulties they faced. Talk about determination, right?! Peter and John knew they were risking a LOT to finish what they had started. But they believed it was worth it. They knew that Jesus was God s Son and that His Story had to be shared all over the world so that people could follow Jesus. So they kept going. And you know what, when we face something difficult, we can keep going too! It s like our bottom line for today: CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] Keep going even when it gets hard. And just like Peter and John, we need God s help to keep going. So let s pray and ask God to help us right now. PRAY LEADER: Dear God, thank You for giving us all that we need to keep going even when it gets hard. Sharing Your love and the Story of Jesus with others is definitely something we should do, even when it gets hard. So please help us. Give us the courage, wisdom and determination that we need to keep going. In Jesus name, we pray, amen. PAGE 13

14 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME CLOSER LEADER: Some things in life are hard. They seem impossible, and no matter what you try, you feel like you re going in circles. Like some subjects in school man, I had such a hard time with fractions! Or like learning to play an instrument. Or a new sport. But you ve got to keep going if you re ever going to get better. If you give up when it s hard, you ll never succeed. But if you keep going, if you finish what you started, you re multiplying 4/5 x 1/8 with ease it s 1/10! And you re playing the trombone like there s no tomorrow. Clearly, it s the [Basic Truth] wise choice to keep going if you want to get better! Then there are other things in life that are hard. Peter and John had an impossible mission to tell the whole world about Jesus. They could ve given up when it got too difficult, but they didn t. They kept telling people, and here we are still talking about Jesus today. That reminds me of our memory verse for this month. CG: Memory Verse Slide Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don t give up (Galatians 6:9, NIrV). You know, Peter once wrote to a group of Jesus followers that God s power has given us everything we need to lead a godly life. So even things that seem impossible are possible with God s power working in us. The one thing to remember today is this: CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] Keep going even when it gets hard. Say that with me. LEADER and KIDS: [Bottom Line] Keep going even when it gets hard. LEADER: And that s true with math, instruments, sports, impossible missions, and... mazes. You re about to head to Small Group to talk more about what it means for you to keep going, even when it gets hard! Have fun, and we ll see you next week! Dismiss children to their small groups. Play high-energy music as kids exit. PAGE 14

15 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME : CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT (SMALL, ) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. *1. DETERMINATION DECORATIONS (application activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Old magazines or scrap pieces of construction paper, scissors, glue sticks, toothpicks; 2-5 for each kid, a fist-size lump of clay per kid, or a Styrofoam block (for drying the beads), clear nail polish; several bottles, fishing line, embroidery thread, or very thin twine WHAT YOU DO: To start, show kids how to cut a long, skinny triangle from the paper; the base of the triangle should be about ¾ an inch, and it should be as long as possible. Carefully and tightly wind the triangle around a toothpick, starting from the base/wide end of the triangle. Halfway through the paper, apply a layer of glue along the rest of the triangle towards the point, then keep winding. At the end of the paper, glue the point to the rest of the bead on the toothpick. Set the bead on the toothpick into the clay/styrofoam to dry. After 10 or so minutes, carefully paint the beads with a coat of clear nail polish. Either send the beads home with the kids along with the line/thread/twine to make bracelets on their own; or, if time allows and the clear coat is dry, guide kids to thread the beads on the line/thread/twine and make bracelets before they leave. If you have mostly younger kids, pre-cut the triangles from paper; expect them to make one or two beads at most. Encourage them that their beads don t have to be perfect. If possible, enlist the help of older kids to hold the winding paper on the toothpick, as younger kids adjust their hands. For older kids, let them experiment to see what kind of patterns they can make on their beads by using different sizes of pictures from magazines. If kids complain that winding the bead takes a lot of work, gently remind them that we re discovering more about determination this month. Praise their efforts in beginning the bead and encourage them to keep going and not give up. WHAT YOU SAY: These are some really complicated patterns and beautiful beads. I can tell that you all decided to [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard. It took some determination to finish those beads. How many times do you think you wound the paper around the toothpick? (Allow for answers.) I don t know the exact number myself, but it sure was a lot! But you kept going even when you were winding around and around and around and around. And now you have these awesome beads to show for it! They are proof of your determination. When we show determination in other parts of our lives, we don t always have a thing we can hold like this, but we see the rewards of determination in other ways. [Make It Personal] (Share a time when you showed determination and experienced a non-tangible payoff, like doing a set of soccer drills every day and then seeing your playing improve; or being kind to your co-worker even when she was cranky and eventually becoming friends with her, staying within your budget and then having enough savings to help someone else, etc.) Determination brings rewards, but like I said, not all of them are things like these beads. What are some times you ve shown determination and seen a reward from it? (Allow for answers. If kids PAGE 15

16 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME are stumped, suggest that the determination of doing homework even when it s hard results in your brain thinking more efficiently, practicing ballet routines even on sleepy Saturday mornings trains your muscles to respond quicker, consistently showing kindness to people brings the benefit of becoming a better friend and follower of Jesus, etc.) Optional Additional Discussion Questions for Older Kids Read 2 Corinthians 4:1. Jesus friends were given a big job to do to spread God s Word all through the world. We can help with that job too, by doing the work that God has given us right here and now. What kinds of things has God given you to do? (Allow for answers. Suggest that the work God gives us is to love and serve those near us, today. Find out if any of them can offer ideas about how to do the work God has given us this week.) It is a huge responsibility and privilege to be given work to do by God! He believes you can have determination and keep going. The work that God has given each of us will take our whole lives! We will be still loving God and loving people by what we do and what we say in ten years, in twenty years, in a hundred years! What could you say to yourself in 10 years about showing determination? What do you think will be your biggest challenge to loving God and loving others? How could this verse, and out focus of determination, help you keep going through that challenge? (Optional give out paper and pens and let kids write themselves an encouragement based around 2 Corinthians 4:1 to be read when their jobs get hard. You can suggest they write it as if to their future selves in 5 or 10 years.) 2. THE KEEP GOING GAME (application activity / review the Bible story) WHAT YOU NEED: Keep Going Game Guide Activity Page; one for each small group, a music player and upbeat, encouraging music to play WHAT YOU DO: Line the kids up around your small group area, making sure everyone has plenty of room to move back and forth, swing their arms, etc. Explain that kids will follow the directions they hear in the Keep Going Game Guide. Read the guide, encouraging kids to [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard, by finishing the set of jumping jacks, sit-ups, etc. If you have the ability, play upbeat music just when the hard parts require participation. For mostly younger kids, you can set lower limits for the times when kids have to keep going. WHAT YOU SAY: You all really showed some determination to [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard! Peter and John, and Jesus other friends, went through a lot of times when they had to keep going, like when they had to wait for the Holy Spirit to help them tell the world about Jesus; or when they had to wait in a cold jail cell to hear what the court would say in the morning; or even when they had to wait all day for the court to decide to tell them to stop preaching. We re talking this morning about how we can [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard, and sometimes the hardest thing to do is to wait. When we have to wait a long time, we want to give up, but that s where determination comes in! Jesus friends didn t give up even when they had to wait over and over and over they kept going. And just think, because they didn t give up, but decided to finish what they started, we are learning about Jesus today at (your children s environment s name). You never know what God could do through you when you [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard! PAGE 16

17 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME 3. MEMORY VERSE MAZE (memory verse activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Memory Verse Maze Activity Page; one maze per kid, pencils, Bibles WHAT YOU DO: Gather the group in a circle and look up Galatians 6:9 together, using the Bible navigation tips for multi-age groups below. Read the verse out loud a few times together. Finding verses with a multi-age group: Guide all kids to open their Bibles to the front and find the table of contents. (Hold up a Bible opened to the table of contents to show the kids what the page looks like.) When the kids find the table of contents, ask a middle elementary kid (2nd -3rd grade) to find Galatians in the list under New Testament. When the kid finds Galatians, lead him to look at the page number beside the word and say it aloud. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find Galatians. Ask older elementary kids (4th-5th grade) to help younger ones find the correct page in their own Bibles. When they all find Galatians, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Ask a kindergartner or 1st grader to find chapter 6, and give time for all the kids to turn the pages to find it. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers, and ask a middle elementary kid to find verse 9 in chapter 6. Then, read the verse aloud slowly, especially for your pre-readers; or ask older elementary kids to read it to the group. Hand out the puzzles and pencils and encourage kids to follow the verse through the maze. Be sure you have several Bibles for reference. If you have some pre-readers, match them with a strong reader if possible. Let the reader mark the correct pathways in one color of pencil, and the younger kid trace the path with another color. Encourage them to say the verse out loud together as they trace the maze. If you have mostly younger kids, do the activity all together, guiding them to use the verse to find their way through the maze. WHAT YOU SAY: It took determination to make your way through this maze. There were a few twists and turns that were confusing, but I m proud that you chose to [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard. Sometimes we have to make hard choices. For example, whether to keep being kind to the new kid at school even though others are mean, or whether to forgive our sister again even though she knocked down our LEGO construction for the third time this week. This maze had some hard choices, but by remembering to follow our verse, you could make the right choice. When you remember to follow our verse in every day life, and to not get tired of doing good, you ll make wise choices and [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard. PRAY AND DISMISS WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed WHAT YOU DO: Gather the group and encourage them to be reverent and respectful. Emphasize that prayer is talking to God, which doesn t have to be super somber and full of pressure to say the right thing, but we shouldn t be goofy or flippant about it. PAGE 17

18 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Guide them to respond with a single phrase when you gesture to them during the prayer: I will keep going. Lead in prayer. WHAT YOU SAY: Dear God, thank You for bringing us here today. Thank You for keeping the Good News about Jesus going from the time of Peter and John until right now, today in our small group. Thank You that, even though others wanted them to stop, Peter and John said I will keep going. Thank You for all the people who spread the Good News and said that no matter what I will keep going. This week, when I want to give up and give in, I will keep going. When I want to stop being kind because it feels too hard, I will keep going. When I want to stop forgiving because I am angry, I will keep going. When I want to stop loving because I am scared of what people might think, I will keep going. With Your help, God, this week, I will spread the Good News of Jesus, and like so many people in the whole world who share Jesus with their neighbors and friends, I will keep going. Amen. Remember that promise this week, and ask God to help you [Bottom Line] keep going even when it gets hard. As adults arrive to pick up let kids give their families the Determination Decoration beads and describe how they showed determination to finish the beads and make the bracelet. PAGE 18