Curriculum Materials for 4 th and 5 th Grades

Transcription

1 Curriculum Materials for th and 5 th Grades CREATE THE ENVIRONMENT: THE BIG GIVE Keep things simple and put out some traditional Christmas decorations the more kid-friendly they are, the better! Then make it look like you re in the middle of creating the backdrop for a Christmas play. You could have a few labeled boxes and plastic bins stacked up as if you were in the process of unpacking and setting up, with some things inside sticking out a bit at different angles, to add visual interest. (more ideas in Large Group script) Have fun getting in the holiday spirit and send us some pictures (tweet or your Orange Specialist). BEFORE KIDS LEAVE THE 5TH GRADE, WE WANT THEM TO UNDERSTAND 3 BASIC TRUTHS: FAITH I can trust God no matter what. WISDOM I need to make the wise choice. FRIENDSHIP I should treat others the way I want to be treated. Chief Executive Officer Creative Team Contributing Writers Copy Editors Illustrations & Graphic Design Technical & Web Support Orange Specialists Reggie Joiner Kristen Ivy Cara Martens Elizabeth Hansen Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Jodi Blackwell Lauren Bowman Lauren Terrell Julie Tiemann Mike Tiemann Elloa Davis Jennifer Davis Dana Wilkerson Mike Davis Dan Scott Brian Bascle Joe Goode Hadley Brandt Amy Grisham Joy Bowen Abbey Carr Becky Kizer Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Susan Richards Courtney Templeton 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 Orange. All rights reserved. 252 Basics and the 252 Basics logo are trademarks of Orange Orange. All rights reserved.

2 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 BIBLE 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. 252 GOOD-TO-KNOW TERMS HOST the emcee who is relational, often funny and comfortable up front STORYTELLER the communicator sharing the Bible story in a creative way WORSHIP LEADER a singer who can engage and lead with music and motions Note: If you have one large group leader for all three roles, we recommend 252 Compact CG slides with images and words to project onscreen Note: If you don t have projection capabilities, you can print these as posters. SFX music or sound effects to play as part of the large group experience Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 198 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica. Scripture marked NIrV is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader s Version, Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright 1993, 199, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

3 December Week 2012 Large Group -5 FOR LEADERS ONLY GOD VIEW: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN AND GOD S CHARACTER, AS SHOWN THROUGH GOD S BIG STORY If you want to understand who God is if you want to learn more about His character there may be no better place to start than with the Christmas story. The Creator of the entire universe was attentive to His creation. He saw and understood the consequences of our sin. He saw our greatest need. And He did something about it. He humbled Himself to be born as a tiny baby in a remote town in the dwelling place of animals. He lived as one of us so that, eventually, He could die for us and rise again, giving us the chance to live eternally with God in heaven. This Christmas story shows that one aspect of God s character is compassion. is caring enough to do something about someone else s need. God lovingly saw our greatest need and met it in the most remarkable way. People with very real and practical needs surround us. Let s train our eyes to see their hurts and teach our hearts to step outside our comfort zone. When we can imagine ourselves in someone else s shoes, take action, and do what is in our ability to help them, we reflect God s into the world. We may not be able to meet every need or solve every problem, but we can start somewhere and do something. As we demonstrate more, we will see ourselves transformed to be more like God. This month, let s think about how: (1) God showed compassion to us when He sent His Son to meet our greatest need. (2) We reflect the character of God to the world around us when we meet others needs. (3) As we demonstrate compassion to others, we experience transformation in our own life and begin to discover more about God s great compassion. This week, we re discovering: Our Bible story helps us understand why we should show compassion to others. Since God showed His love (1 John :9-12), we should also love each other. It s God s love in us that gives us the passion, energy, and creativity to do something about someone else s need. This week our Bottom Line is: God showed the world His love. How will you show the world? When Jesus was born into the world, God s love met our needs. So now, we serve others because it s what God modeled and did for us. Our memory verse is God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. John 3:16, NIrV Showing others God s love is not just the right thing to do, it s what God calls us to do. 3

4 Curriculum Materials for K-5th Grades DEC LARGE GROUP -5 HERE S A SNEAK PEEK OF WHAT YOU LL BE DOING IN TH AND 5TH GRADE THIS : SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES TO FOCUS THE ENERGY Ideas for Early Arrivers Telephone INTERACTIVE LARGE GROUP EXPERIENCE TO ENGAGE THE HEART Opener Worship Bible story Prayer Closer SMALL GROUP ACTIVITIES TO MAKE THE CONNECTION (CHOOSE TWO OR MORE OF THESE ACTIVITIES) Call To Action Take Notice Who s the World? Prayer DISMISSAL Prayer, share and reflect on today s lesson before leaving Caring enough to do something about someone else s need. BIBLE STORY The Vow (God showed His love) 1 John :9-12 BOTTOM LINE God showed the world His love. How will you show the world? MEMORY VERSE God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. John 3:16, NIrV BASIC TRUTH: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

5 December 2012 LG 5 BIBLE STORY: THE VOW 1 John :9-12 BOTTOM LINE: God showed the world His love. How will you show the world? MEMORY VERSE: God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. John 3:16, NIrV BASIC TRUTH: I should treat others the way I want to be treated. Apply go and do Impress impress this upon their minds Personalize a personal story from the heart Recycle important things to say over and over Transition making a transition from one leader to another : ENGAGE THE HEART Engage children s hearts in a Large Group setting through interactive worship, prayer, and an innovative telling of today s Bible story. GETTING READY 1. OPENER/CLOSER What You Need: Host Festive Christmas accessories (cheesy sweater, antlers, scarf, etc.) Binder that says The Big Give, with the Week Bible story script inside Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Upbeat music to use as kids enter the room The Greatest Gift (full mix; available on amberskyrecords.com) Large Group Visuals (downloadable from the website): Compassion Slide Big Story Timeline 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. Note: We provide standard and widescreen image sizes if you choose to display the Big Story Timeline on your screens. If you prefer to have a printed version, head to click Orange Store, and search Big Story Timeline to order a high quality poster. Cue up the songs so they start at the right place (or create pre-cued versions in an audio-editing program, if possible). Print the Bible story script and put it in the binder as a guide. 2. BIBLE STORY What You Need: Storyteller Host Binder that says The Big Give, with the Week Bible story script inside 5

6 December 2012 LG 5 Music stand Fake brown beard Cap with an M on it or a nametag that says Micah 3 white pillows Bungee cord Angels baseball cap (or wings or a halo, whatever you have) Fake gray beard Granny wig Crown Megaphone Three shepherd s staffs Stuffed sheep Baby doll in a blanket Manger Something to project a starry night sky onto your ceiling Bouquet of flowers (can be fake) Music and Sound Effects (SFX): The Greatest Gift instrumental (track without BGV; available on amberskyrecords.com) Large Group Visuals (downloadable from the website): Memory Verse Slide 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. 3. WORSHIP What You Need: Worship Leader(s) Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Joy to the World from Jingle Jam* Angels We Have Heard On High from Jingle Jam* BONUS PERFORMANCE OPTION: The Greatest Gift from Jingle Jam* *Live Lyric Videos available from 6

7 December 2012 LG 5 What You Do: Download all songs (available on AmberSkyRecords.com) and have them ready to use. Download and print this week s tech sheet for everyone helping with Large Group.. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES H 2 GO!: Merry Christmas! You ve probably got a lot of kids out and a lot of visitors in this week. If you re participating in our H 2 GO! partnership with Compassion, encourage visitors and those who don t often come to church to be a part of the clean water solution too. Even a few pennies can make a difference! GET REEL: This month with Get Reel 2.0, show kids how to give big so they can discover how to do something about someone else s need. This week, we recommend playing the One Thing video. The One Thing video features a young girl who s fed up when she sees that her mother did not wash one of her favorite sweaters. However, she soon realizes that instead of being angry, she can choose to help her VERY BUSY mother out by doing the laundry and some other things around the house for her. Also on Get Reel 2.0, you can enhance your environment with an M.C. Haggis video. M.C. Haggis and Shamus McFamus reveal this month s widget a Quarter Catcher, which helps kids collect quarters to raise money for a compassionate cause. 7

8 December 2012 LG 5 SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter. Host enters, wearing festive Christmas accessories. OPENER HOST: Well, hellooooooo, everybody! Merry Christmas Eve EVE! Two days away from Christmas I can hardly stand it! I m so excited about Christmas AND I m so excited about today, because today we re performing our Christmas play, The Big Give! Hold up the The Big Give binder. It s been so much fun in rehearsal, being the director. I can t wait to do the whole story with you guys today! I love our play because it s based on the TRUE story of Christmas that you can find in the book of Luke. (Holds up Bible.) CG: Compassion Slide Christmas is the ultimate story of compassion caring enough to do something God saw our need for a Savior, and He cared enough that He sent His only Son Jesus. That s compassion. That s what Christmas is all about! CG: Big Story Timeline Looking at our Big Story Timeline, we re right here (points) God sending His Promised One. It s the story of how God showed His love to the world, to each one of us, and to every single person who has ever lived. And all month long we ve been talking about how God s compassion makes us want to live out compassion, too, and show His love to the world around us. We re going to perform The Big Give right after worship. So jump on your feet and get Christmassy with us! Worship Leaders enter as Host exits. WORSHIP WORSHIP LEADER: Christmas is almost here! Let s sing some Christmas songs that celebrate our Savior, Jesus. Let s bring joy to the world! SFX: Joy to the World / track 3 from Jingle Jam 8

9 December 2012 LG 5 WORSHIP LEADER: Yeah! That was awesome. Let s sing another one. Here we go! SFX: Angels We Have Heard On High / track 6 from Jingle Jam Host enters as Worship Leaders exit. SETTING UP THE STORY HOST: (To audience) All right, everybody, the play is about to start. I need our actors up here to act out the story, just like we practiced. We need our prophet Isaiah a.k.a. Micah a.k.a. sheep. Quickly bring up a male SGL/older kid and give him the brown beard, M hat, and sheep pillows/bungee cord. (It would be great to use the same people you ve used before, if they re there. You can also have them dressed and waiting off to the side ahead of time to save time.) We need our angel, Bring up a boy and give him the Angels hat. Zechariah and Elizabeth, Bring up the volunteers and give them the gray beard and Granny wig. Mary and Joseph, Bring up a boy and girl. Caesar Augustus, Bring up a boy and give him the crown and megaphone. and our three shepherds. Bring up three boys and give each of them a staff. All right, places, everyone PLACES! 9

10 December 2012 LG 5 Line the actors up across the stage so you can bring them forward when it s their turn to act. In general, one side of the stage should be for Zechariah, Elizabeth, and the shepherds. The other side of the stage should have Mary and Joseph. The other characters will be interacting between those two areas. And three, two, one! LIGHTS: Down Storyteller enters with the music stand while it s still dark. He sets the binder on it and gets ready to start. THE BIG GIVE (PLAY) LIGHTS: Up STORYTELLER: This is The Big Give the Christmas story. SFX: The Greatest Gift instrumental (track without BGV); be ready to loop it so the music is constantly playing until you actually perform The Greatest Gift ; you ll probably go through the instrumental track twice Storyteller reads through the whole script quickly, this time without stopping. Host moves the actors around on the stage as needed. Since the very beginning, God had pursued His people, the Israelites. As many times as they chose to ignore Him and go their own way, He lovingly brought them back. He even promised through His prophets, like Isaiah, that He would one day send someone to rescue them and the entire world. Host gets Isaiah to wave his arms in the air. The Israelites believed God. But after all those promises, they hadn t heard from Him in a LONG time 00 years! Now the Israelites struggled under the stern rule of the Roman Empire. Their lives were very hard. But then, after all those long, silent years God showed Himself! He sent an angel to an elderly priest named Zechariah. Host brings the angel (Gabriel) and Zechariah face-to-face. The angel Gabriel said to Zechariah, Your wife, Elizabeth, will have a son, and you will name him John. He will prepare people for the Lord. 10

11 December 2012 LG 5 Host brings Elizabeth next to Zechariah. Zechariah s jaw probably dropped to the floor, and not just because a huge, glorious angel towered before him. He didn t know how this could happen, because his wife was OLD! But it didn t matter to God that people thought Elizabeth was too old to have a son. It happened just as the angel had said. Host motions to Elizabeth to rub her belly. And the next part of God s amazing plan involved someone very YOUNG: Elizabeth s cousin Mary. Mary was about to be married to a man named Joseph. She knew all about God s promises to the Israelites, but right now, her head was probably full of wedding plans and getting ready to become Joseph s wife. And one day, suddenly, the angel Gabriel came and stood before her! Host brings the angel over to Mary and gets him to raise his hands like he s talking. (He does the same for Mary during their dialogue.) Gabriel said, Do not be afraid, Mary. God is very pleased with you. He has chosen you to give birth to a Son named Jesus. He will be great, the Son of the Most High. God will give Him the same throne that King David had, and His kingdom will never end. The angel s words sounded familiar. Mary could probably hear the prophecies of Isaiah echoing in her head. And now, God was speaking directly to her! Could the angel really mean that Mary s Son would be the promised King to rescue her people? But how can this be, Mary said, since I m not married yet? The Holy Spirit will make it possible, said Gabriel. The child will be called the Son of God. Mary was AMAZED to hear that her baby would be God s Son. But Gabriel told her that anything was possible. Even her cousin Elizabeth, who was old, was about to have a baby! Host raises Gabriel s arm so he s pointing over toward Zechariah and Elizabeth. He gets Elizabeth to rub her belly again. It was part of God s plan, and no word from God would ever fail. God had chosen Mary as part of His plan to make things good and right again. And Mary said, I am God s servant. Let everything that you ve said come true. And then Mary started on a journey to go talk to her cousin Elizabeth. 11

12 December 2012 LG 5 Host leads Mary and Elizabeth together in the center and then brings them back to the background (and they go back to their previous areas). Mary didn t yet know everything God was doing, but it was clear that God had seen the world s greatest need and was sending someone to rescue them. Now, a new baby would definitely complicate Mary s life. But the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus was about to make it even harder. Host brings Caesar Augustus forward and gets him to hold up the megaphone. The emperor sent a decree. It said that everyone had to go to their hometown to be counted. And even though the baby was due any day, Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem, where Joseph s family was from, which was 70 miles away! Host makes Mary and Joseph travel around the stage in a figure eight. They end up back on the same side of the stage they started from. So they made the journey to Bethlehem, but when they arrived, they discovered that because everyone else had come to be counted, too, the streets and inns were jammed. There was no room! Host moves Mary and Joseph s arms so they re shrugging. So they ended up in a stall with the animals. Host gives a stuffed sheep to Joseph. And that night, Mary s baby was born. He was God s Son, Jesus! Host hands a baby doll to Mary. Mary wrapped Jesus tightly in a blanket and laid Him down to sleep in a feeding trough for the cows. Host gets Mary to put the baby in the manger. Together they stared down at this perfect new baby boy. He deserved a real bed instead of a manger in Bethlehem. But even THAT had been part of God s plan since the beginning. God had promised it through the prophet Micah, hundreds of years earlier. 12

13 December 2012 LG 5 Host puts the M hat on Micah and brings him forward, waving his arms in the air. God s Son had to be born in Bethlehem! God had used so many different people to make a 00-year-old prophecy come true and give the greatest gift to a broken world His own Son, Jesus. Host leads Micah back to the background and gets him to put on the sheep costume. Meanwhile, on the night that Jesus was born, a group of shepherds huddled in a field outside Bethlehem, watching over their sheep. Host brings the shepherds and sheep forward. LIGHTS: Down/starry sky The shepherds probably knew that God had promised to one day send a King a Rescuer. And they must have wondered if God was going to come through. After all, it had been HUNDREDS of years since He had spoken to His people. Maybe they looked up at all the stars stretched across the sky Host gets the shepherds to look up and point. and thought, If God made each one of those stars, surely He has a plan for us! Suddenly, the shepherds eyes got WIDE. Their jaws DROPPED. A bright light flared up the night sky. LIGHTS: Up It was like the sun had risen! The brightness shifted and took the form of a glorious angel! And the shepherds were terrified! But the angel said to them Host brings the angel forward and gets him to lift his hands in the air emphatically in this next part. Do not be afraid! I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord! And this is how you ll find Him: the baby will be wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Host puts the angel s arms down. 13

14 December 2012 LG 5 God hadn t forgotten them. The Rescuer had come! God was keeping His promises! And then the sky split open wide, and a gigantic choir of angels appeared. Worship Leaders/kid volunteers enter suddenly, with their mouths open. (If you can have them jump out from a window or doorway on stage even better!) They sang, Glory to God in the highest heaven! And on earth, peace to those who please Him. And then, suddenly, they were gone. Worship Leaders/kid volunteers exit quickly. The sky was dark and still except for the silent stars. LIGHTS: Down/starry sky The shepherds were AMAZED to hear such great news. They knew that the Town of David meant Bethlehem. So they rushed off to see the baby for themselves. Host gets the shepherds to slow-motion-run over to Mary, Joseph, and the baby. The SGL sheep needs to stay put. LIGHTS: Up They found a tiny infant, wrapped tightly and lying on a pile of hay in the feeding trough. The baby s mother, Mary, smiled up at them. The angel was right. The Savior the Rescuer had been born! After the shepherds had seen Jesus, they told EVERYONE. Host gets the megaphone from Caesar Augustus and gives it to one of the shepherds. All who heard the story were AMAZED. Host guides the shepherds back over to the SGL sheep. And the shepherds returned to their fields and sheep, praising God for the amazing things they had just seen and heard. Like Mary, they would never forget and they would never stop telling the story. Worship Leaders enter and get ready during the next lines. 1

15 December 2012 LG 5 CG: Memory Verse Slide God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIrV) Christmas. It was the Big Give the greatest act of compassion the world had ever known. God loved us all so much that He gave us His Son, Jesus, to be our Savior the greatest gift we could ever receive. Storyteller closes the binder. Host, Storyteller, and volunteers stay on stage during the song. THE GREATEST GIFT (SONG) SFX: PERFORMANCE SONG: The Greatest Gift full mix Worship Leaders exit. Host leads the audience in clapping and cheering. SHOW THE WORLD (1 JOHN :9-12) HOST: GREAT job, everybody! I was so impressed with your acting; you really brought the story to life! You guys can head back to your seats. Volunteers head back to their seats. Host and Storyteller stay on stage. And [Storyteller s name], you really knocked it out of the park with your narrating. Way to go! Someone from the tech team runs up and throws a bouquet of flowers to the Host. He holds the bouquet and pretends to wipe away a tear. Oh, thank you thank you so much! STORYTELLER: And you know what? I was thinking about a Bible verse as I was listening to that song. HOST: You mean our memory verse, John 3:16? STORYTELLER: Well, it s similar. But the one I was thinking about is in 1 John, chapter, verses Listen to this. Storyteller opens the Bible to 1 John :9-12 and reads. 15

16 December 2012 LG 5 How did God show his love for us? He sent his one and only Son into the world. He sent him so we could receive life through him. What is love? It is not that we loved God. It is that he loved us and sent his Son to give his life to pay for our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we should also love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us. His love is made complete in us. (NIrV) (To audience) Did you guys catch it? Since God loved us so much that He would send His Son for us, we should love one another, too. God showed us His love, so we can show His love to the world. WRAPPING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: Christmas shows us just how much compassion God has for us. We needed help. We needed a Savior. And God didn t just say He was going to do something about it; He actually did it! When we see that other people have a need, we should care enough to do something about it too. God helps us do that. And showing God s love to the world doesn t have to be complicated. It just means keeping your eyes open to see the people around you who are broken and hurting and looking for ways to treat others the way you want to be treated. HOST: Right, like maybe when you visit your great-grandma at the nursing home, you see that the lady who lives in the next room never has visitors. So you could make her a card or go in and say Hi and tell her that God loves her. STORYTELLER: Yeah! Or if you live in a place where you see people on the street or in the park who don t have food, you and your dad could make a stack of sandwiches and go hand them out. HOST: Or like our H 2 GO! project. I know you guys have been saving up and doing extra chores so you can earn money to help out. And that s awesome! CG: Bottom Line Slide STORYTELLER: When you use your imagination, you ll discover all kinds of ways to show God s love to the world! In fact, that s the thing to think about this week: God showed the world His love. How will you show the world? Let s pray. SFX: The Greatest Gift instrumental PRAY STORYTELLER: God, thanks for Your amazing compassion! Thanks for showing Your love to the world by giving us the greatest gift of Your Son Jesus. Help us to love others the way You want us to and to show the world how much You love 16

17 December 2012 LG 5 them, too. We are SO excited about Christmas! Thank You for Jesus and for giving us such a huge reason to celebrate. In Jesus name, amen. CLOSER HOST: All right, now I want to do something special today to close us out. If you ve been collecting your quarters all month and you ve brought them with you today, you can drop them off on your way to small group. Just think of all the people who could have clean water [or insert what you re collecting money for if not participating in H 2 GO!] if we show them this kind of compassion! If your church is participating in H 2 GO! or another service project of your choosing, this would be a great moment for the kids to publicly give their quarters and show what happens when we give together. Maybe see if the adults in your environment will match the dollar amount that the kids give and keep track of the total amount so you can announce it next week in large group! That s what I call a BIG Give! What an awesome way to show God s love to the world! Dismiss the kids to their Small Groups. 17