Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group. Sunday, July 27, 2014

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1 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Mary Visited Elizabeth Luke 1:39-56 God s people did not hear a clear message from God for hundreds of years. Then one day, Gabriel an angel of the Lord told a man that his wife, Elizabeth, was going to have a baby. The baby s name would be John. Then the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she would have a baby, and He would be God s Son. Mary and Elizabeth were relatives. Elizabeth was old and barren; she and her husband, Zechariah, had no children. Mary was a young girl likely in her early teens. She was a virgin, engaged to be married to Joseph. The announcements of these pregnancies were miraculous for both women. Both babies had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah John in Isaiah 40:3 and Jesus in Isaiah 7:14. The angel Gabriel told Mary that Elizabeth was pregnant too, and Mary hurried to see her. The journey would not have been easy. Mary traveled nearly one hundred miles to see Elizabeth, and her arrival brought great joy to both Elizabeth and Elizabeth s unborn baby. In the presence of the unborn Messiah, John leaped in Elizabeth s belly. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she said, Mary, you are blessed! The story of Mary s visit with Elizabeth gives us a remarkable picture of women living by faith. Being a young, unwed pregnant woman could have caused Mary to worry. Instead, her response is marked by her trust in God. Mary s song reflects her knowledge of God s Word and her understanding of who God is. Mary worshiped God because the coming of the promised Savior was good news! People had been waiting hundreds of years for the Messiah. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, Mary sang. Being the mother of Jesus was no small task, but Mary trusted that God was in charge. The words of Mary s song were a testimony of God s mercy, might, grace, generosity, and faithfulness. Mary knew these things, and that is why she sang. YOUNGER KIDS BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Mary Visited Elizabeth Bible Passage: Luke 1:39-56 Big Picture Question: What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. Key Passage: Luke 1:76-77 Unit Christ Connection: As prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming Messiah. Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary

2 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Welcome time Activity page (5 minutes) Session starter (10 minutes) Key passage activity (5 minutes) Small Group Time Bible story review (10 minutes) Activity choice (10 minutes) Journal (5 minutes) Prayer (5 minutes) THE BIBLE STORY Mary Visited Elizabeth Luke 1:39-56 The angel Gabriel had appeared to Mary and said that Mary was going to have a baby. Gabriel said that the baby would be God s Son! He also told Mary that her relative Elizabeth was going to have a baby too, even though Elizabeth was old. Mary hurried to the town in Judah where her relative Elizabeth lived. When Mary got there, she went into the house and called out to Elizabeth. When Mary came in the house, Elizabeth s baby leaped in her belly, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth said, You are blessed, Mary! And your baby will be blessed! Elizabeth could hardly believe what was happening. These things were so wonderful! How could the mother of God s Son come to me? she wondered. Then Elizabeth said, As soon as I heard you, Mary, the baby inside me leaped for joy! Elizabeth said that Mary would be blessed for believing God s words. Everything God said would happen would really happen. Mary was so happy. She praised God with a song about how great He is. The song went like this: The Lord is great and my spirit rejoices in Him! He has looked on me His humble servant with favor. Surely, from now on, all people will call me blessed because God has done great things for me. His name is holy. He shows mercy to all who have faith in Him who believe in Him without seeing Him. With His mighty arm, God has scattered people who are proud. He has taken mighty kings off their thrones, and He has given the people who are ordinary and poor places of honor. He has filled up people who are hungry with good things, and He sent the rich people away with nothing. God has helped His servant the nation of Israel and He has remembered the promise He made to Abraham and his descendants. Mary knew every family in the future would say she was blessed because God was going to do great things for her through Jesus. God was keeping His promise to bless the whole world through Jesus. Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months, and then she went back to her home in Nazareth. Christ Connection: God kept His promise to Abraham and his descendants. The coming of the promised Savior was good news! Before Jesus was born, people rejoiced and praised God for His Son. Mary and Elizabeth worshiped God because of Jesus. Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary

3 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group SMALL GROUP OPENING Session Title: Mary Visited Elizabeth Bible Passage: Luke 1:39-56 Big Picture Question: What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. Key Passage: Luke 1:76-77 Unit Christ Connection: As prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming Messiah. Welcome time: Arriving Activity: All smiles heavyweight paper markers scissors craft sticks glue As kids arrive, give them each a half sheet of heavyweight paper, markers, scissors, and a craft stick. Invite them to draw a smile on the piece of paper, cut it out, and paste it onto the end of the craft stick. Then talk about what makes them happy. Say Have you ever thought about how God has blessed you with all those things? Today, we will talk about a young girl who understood how blessed she was. Activity page (5 minutes) Music Code activity page, 1 per kid pencils Guide boys and girls to complete the activity page. Say Do you ever sing to God? What are some things you sing about? We will find out in today s Bible story what Mary sang to God about. Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Jump around Line up the kids across the room. Form a second line if necessary. Remove any nearby obstacles. Explain that the kids are going to be in a jumping contest. You will give the command of left, right, forward, or back. The kids will respond by taking three small jumps in that direction. Demonstrate what a small jump is, and make sure the kids know the difference between their Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary 3

4 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group left and right. Start slowly with the commands and increase speed as the game goes on. You may choose to eliminate kids who jump the wrong direction. As you give a command, make sure kids have enough room to follow the commands safely. Say We often times jump when we get excited about something. In today s Bible story, a baby named John was so excited to meet Jesus, he jumped even before he was born. Option 2: Friend game multi- colored candies, 10 to 15 per kid Allergy Alert Give each kid 10 to 15 pieces of multi- colored candy. Invite the kids to choose a color and hold it up in the air. Each kid must choose someone holding up the same color and share a favorite sport with each other. Repeat after the kids choose another color. It s also OK to repeat a color. Each time, ask those with the matching color to share information about themselves. Here are some more ideas: favorite song, movie, ice cream flavor, food, book, thing to do, and so forth. When finished, you may choose to let the kids eat the candy as a snack. Say Hopefully you now know each other a little better than you did before. We usually become friends with those who are similar to us or those who like some of the same things. We will meet two relatives who were also great friends, and they had a lot in common. SMALL GROUP LEADER Session Title: Mary Visited Elizabeth Bible Passage: Luke 1:39-56 Big Picture Question: What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. Key Passage: Luke 1:76-77 Unit Christ Connection: As prophesied in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1, John the Baptist prepared the people for the coming Messiah. Key passage activity (5 minutes) Key Passage Slide or Poster dry erase board and markers (optional) tape baby rattles, 1 per group Make sure the key passage, Luke 1:76-77, is visible for each child, either as the printed poster or written on a dry erase board. Read the verses together. Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary 4

5 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Say John and Jesus were recognized as being special even before they were born. As soon as Zechariah was able to speak again, he said our key passage. John was the one the prophets Isaiah and Malachi said would come before the Savior. Jesus is the promised Savior. Form equal groups of two or more kids. Tape a long start line and finish line. Invite each group to line up single file at the start line. Place a baby rattle at the finish line across from each group. The first kid in each line must race to the finish line and say the key passage as he shakes the baby rattle. He must lay down the rattle, race back, and tag the next kid in line. She will then repeat. The winning group will be the first one with each member completing the passage. The other kids may help if a member gets stuck. If you don t think your kids are ready to say the key passage from memory, display the key passage where the kids can see it during the game. Bible story review (10 minutes) Bibles, 1 per kid Small Group Visual Pack Big Picture Question Slide or Poster Encourage the kids to find Luke 1 in their Bibles. Help them as needed. Say Is Luke in the Old Testament of New Testament? (New Testament) In which division of the Bible do we find Luke? (Gospels) What are the other Gospels? (Matthew, Mark, John) Use the small group visual pack to show kids where today s Bible story is on the timeline. Review the Bible story provided using the bolded text, or summarize the story in your own words. Invite the kids to jump up as high as they can each time they hear the word bless or blessed. Say Mary and Elizabeth were blessed. Jesus was part of a more than one- thousand- year- old promise in the Old Testament and part of a plan before the world even existed. John was mentioned hundreds of years earlier by the prophets Isaiah and Malachi. The birth of John and Jesus would be an incredible time in all of history. Mary had reason to sing and praise God she was pregnant with God s Son. Show the big picture question slide or poster. Say What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary 5

6 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Activity choice (10 minutes) Option 1: Mary s song Turn the kids into a band and read or attempt to sing or rap Mary s song from Luke 1:46-55 or the Bible story script. Invite one group of kids to pat their legs, another to clap their hands, and another to snap or hum. If you are familiar with music, give each group a different rhythm. If not, just read through Mary s song as kids make their own rhythms. The kids will enjoy it even if it doesn t sound good. Repeat; it will get better each time! You may also choose to change up the assigned actions and try again. If you have kid- friendly instruments, you can use those too. Say Mary knew her baby was special. What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. Option 2: Jump rope string or yarn large beads multi- colored straws scissors tape chenille stem (optional) Provide each kid with about eight feet of string or yarn. Tie a knot in one end and thread a bead (greater in circumference than a drinking straw) to the knot. Wrap a small piece of tape on the other end of the string to keep it from fraying. Thread the string through a full- size straw until the straw hits the bead. Run another bead to the other end of the straw. Then thread half pieces of straws until you have 1 to 2 feet of string left. Thread another bead and a full straw followed by a final bead. Then tie a knot in the end. You have now made a working jump rope. If kids struggle to thread the straws, wrap a chenille stem around the end of the string. It s easier to thread using the chenille stem. Say Elizabeth s baby was so excited when he heard Mary s voice that he leaped in Elizabeth s belly. Even before John was born, he knew Mary s baby was special. What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary 6

7 Sunday, July 27, 2014 Kidzone KG and 1st Grade Small Group Journal and prayer (5 minutes) Journal Page, 1 per kid markers or crayons Bible Story Coloring Page Distribute each child s journal page provided with this session. Instruct the kids to draw a picture of a musical instrument. Writers can write a song to God about one or more of their blessings. Say Let s all say our big picture question and answer together one more time. What was special about Mary s baby? Jesus is God s Son. If time remains, take prayer requests or allow kids to complete the coloring page provided with this session. Pray, thanking God for sending His Son. Pray for each child by name, asking God to help the kids understand that God made us with a special purpose: to give Him glory. Dismiss to parents Make sure to check security tags when dismissing children. Unit 23 Session 3 Younger Elementary 7

8 Unit 23 Session 3 Mary Visited Elizabeth 2014 LifeWay OK TO PRINT The Forerunner of the Savior

11 UNIT 23 Session 3 Younger Kids Activity -JGF8BZ 0, UP QSJOU Pages The Forerunner of the Savior Instructions: Find the music notes in the key provided to discover what Mary did in today s Bible story.

12 Mary Visited Elizabeth Luke 1:39-56

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