November 19-20, God s Story. God wants us to be part of his story! The Bible (Beginning to end!)

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1 November 19-20, 2016 God s Story The Bible (Beginning to end!) God wants us to be part of his story! Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together. As kids leave, ask them what they drew in their book, and remind them to pick up a God s Story 365 Calendar on their way out of Kids Club! This weekend, kids will have the opportunity after service (in the Kids Club area) to get something really special to help them and their friends explore God s story with their families at home! It s a special calendar geared towards kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade, designed to help them experience God s story all year long. Kids are learning God s whole story today. They re getting an overview of the beginning of Creation all the way through Re-creation. But what we really want kids to know is that God s story shows us his unconditional love for us.

2 GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they re going to hear. WOULD YOU RATHER? *Keep kids in one large group. Tell everyone to think of one person they love. (Could be a family member, a friend, or even a pet!) Once kids have someone in their head, tell them to pretend that person moved far away and you couldn t see or talk to them anymore! Would you be willing to do something crazy to get them back? Have kids stand up, and give them a choice between two crazy options. They have to move to one side of the room to show which option they choose. For example, say, To get your loved one back, would you rather give up ice cream forever? (Point to one side of the room to show kids where to go.) OR give up pizza forever? (Point to the other side of the room to show kids where to go.) Then let kids move according to which option they choose. Here s a list of options to give kids, but feel free to add your own as well! To get your loved one back, would you rather Give up cookies or give up soda? Walk across the whole country on your tip-toes or swim across the ocean? Never watch TV again or never play video games again? Sing in front of a thousand people or tap dance in front of a thousand people? Walk backwards for a day or wear a blindfold for a day? Eat a bowl full of crickets or swallow a bowl full of worms? Wear only purple clothes for a year or dress up as a clown for a year? Give up macaroni and cheese or peanut butter and jelly? Wear ice skates forever or hula hoop everywhere you go? TALK ABOUT IT How do you show love to someone? What s the nicest/coolest thing anyone has ever done for you? Before you go to Large Group, you can ask kids how their week went. You can also remind kids of the expectations for Large Group behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader s instructions.

3 Goal: Kids will (1) understand God s Story as a whole, (2) recognize that they can be an active part of that story, and (3) identify ways they can follow Jesus and help others be a part of his family. Why? Retelling a story through different kinds of repetition will help kids not only understand the story better, but also help them tell others about it. Tip: Make sure you leave time for kids to write and share what they will do this week to follow God and actively take part in his story. REVIEW THE STORY 1. What was the world like when God first created it? (Perfect! Everything was good and there was no sickness, sadness, death, etc.) 2. What happened to make the world not perfect anymore? (The enemy convinced Adam and Eve to disobey God; then everything wrong came into the world.) 3. What was God s rescue plan to bring us close to him again? (He sent his own son, Jesus, to die for us and rescue us.) 4. How can we be part of God s story/family? (Follow Jesus and try to live like him.) 5. How can we help others be a part of God s family/story? (We can tell them about Jesus, invite them to Kids Club, show them how to follow Jesus, serve others and show them love, pray for them, etc.) MAKE IT PERSONAL Set out markers and give give each kid a storybook template (there are two different pages). Tell them to write their names in the blank space on the front ( is a part of God s Story! ) Next, have kids open up the book and draw a picture of themselves following God this week. Here are some ideas to get them started: Praying (alone or with family/a friend); inviting someone to Kids Club; sharing or doing something kind for someone; helping others who need it, reading the Bible, and reading the God s Story 365 daily calendar that they can get in the Kids Club area!) Kids can write/draw as many pictures as they want! If kids want to do something more active, play charades and have kids act out what they wrote/drew in their books! Extra time? Do a coloring page. Then play another game of Would You Rather? and let kids make up the choices this time. The sillier, the better!

4 Today is a straightforward chance to share the Gospel with kids, and help them understand God s rescue plan for them! WELCOME AND INTRO Main Goal: Review Connect Time and introduce the lesson. Notes: Here s a link to today s God s Story video: *Click to play intro music. Welcome: Hi everybody! Welcome to Kids Club. We re so glad to have you here! Ask: Did you have fun trying to decide what crazy things you d be willing to do to get back to someone you love? (Let kids respond.) Yeah, those choices were pretty silly, but you probably won t have to to make them in real life. Ask: Does anyone want to share the person YOU thought of before the game? Someone that you love A LOT? (Let a few kids respond.) Yeah, we all have people in our life that we love, whether they re a part of our family, our friends, or maybe even a pet! Say: Let s watch a quick clip about a guy who s willing to do whatever it takes to get a stuffed animal for his little girl. He chooses to do something pretty crazy! Video: Despicable Me / It s So Fluffy! Ask: So what did he do to help the girl get her unicorn? (Let kids respond.) Yep, he got rid of the whole shop! Why did he do that? (Let kids respond.) Yeah, because he loved her! Say: Today we re going to talk about how God how loves us so much that he was willing to do something really BIG to rescue us from all the wrong things in our world. First, let s talk about how God s story began!

5 GOD S CREATES A PERFECT WORLD Main Goal: Understand that God loves us, and he created us with a unique, special plan in mind. PEOPLE TURN AWAY FROM GOD Main Goal: Understand why we were separated from God, and see how that caused all the wrong things to enter the world. Notes: GOD S RESCUE PLAN Main Goal: Understand that God planned a rescue, so we wouldn t be separated from him anymore; we ll see how WE can be part of that rescue plan. Say: When God first created the world, it was perfect. Loop: Turning World (Play as you continue talking.) Say: He made it exactly as he wanted it, and he loved it! He made oceans, and trees, and the sky, and all kinds of amazing animals! What are some of your favorite things that God created? (Let a few kids respond.) Hmm, do you know what God s favorite creation is? (Let kids respond.) Yep...it s US! Say: When God made us, he put lots of thought and care into it. He made every single one of you exactly the way he wanted, and he didn t make any mistakes! Say: Even though the world started out perfect, it didn t stay that way. Now the world isn t perfect anymore. Sometimes we get hurt, and sometimes we hurt others, even people we love. People get mad at us, or leave us out of things. And sometimes we get sick, or lonely, or even mean. (Image of death/anger/sadness.) Say: That s because God has an enemy who doesn t want us to feel loved by God. This enemy wants us to be sad or mean or sick. He wants us to do wrong things and turn away from God instead of following Jesus. Say: At first, we were close to God. Everybody put your hands together, like this. (Press your hands together, palm to palm.) But after we disobeyed, we moved far away from Him. Let s separate our hands, like this. (Stretch your hands out to your sides to show distance.) There was a HUGE space between us and God, and there was no way we could get back to him all on our own! Ask: Is that the end of the story, though? (Let kids respond.) No! God loves us WAY too much to leave us separated from him. He had a plan to rescue us and he would do ANYTHING, even send his own son to die just to be close to us! Say: Let s watch a video and see how God s rescue plan played out. Remember, it didn t just happen right away. His plan took place over a long time, and he used lots and lots of different people as part of his story. As you watch, try to figure out HOW God rescued us! Video: God s Story: God s Story

6 WE CAN HELP OTHERS BE PART OF GOD S STORY Main Goal: Review ways that we can share God with others, and tell tell kids about the God s Story 365 calendar! Notes: GOD LOVES US NO MATTER WHAT Ask: So how did God rescue us? (Let kids respond.) Yep, he sent his son Jesus to earth, to die for us and save us from all the wrong things in the world. Jesus was perfect, and didn t deserve to die, but because he loves us SO much, he did it anyway. And when you believe that Jesus died for you, that s how YOU can be a part of god s story too! Say: There are other ways to be part of God s family. We can follow him. We can talk to Him, and he ll talks to us. We can even invite OTHERS to be a part of God s story too! Give me a thumbs up if you want to be a PART of God s Story, instead of just reading about it! (Let kids respond.) Me too. Say: Let s think of some some ways that we can help others be a part of God s story. I ll show you a picture, and you decide if it s a good way to help someone follow Jesus! If it is, give a thumbs up. If not, thumbs down. (Image of hearts.) Show love to people. Thumbs up or down? (Let kids respond.) Yeah, showing love is a great way to help others follow Jesus, like being kind and putting others before ourselves. (Image of sad face.) What if we never tell our friends about Jesus; is that a good way to help them follow him? (Let kids respond.) No! (Image of Kids Club.) What if we invite our friends to Kids Club; is that a good way to help them be a part of God s Story? (Let kids respond.) Yes! Maybe some of you invited a friend this week! (Click to show an image/quick video of God s Story 365): One way we can get to know God better is through the Bible! Today, everybody in Kids Club is going to get something special. It s a tear-off calendar all about God s story. It can help you get to know God better every day! Say: You ll get to go home with lots and lots of parts of God s stories to read and look at with your family. Pretty awesome! Say: Now since we re an active part of God s rescue plan, and we can help others be a part of that plan, there s still A LOT left to the story. It s not finished yet! Say: As we follow Jesus and continue the story, are we always going to be perfect? (Let kids respond.)

7 GOD LOVES US NO MATTER WHAT Main Goal: Show that we can be a part of God s story even though we re imperfect. Notes: RESPONSE TIME AND PRAYER Main Goal: Give kids a chance to actively respond to what they heard, and listen to what God is telling them. PRAYER AND WORSHIP Main Goal: Close the lesson with prayer and worship. Say: Nope, we can never be totally perfect. Only God can. But because Jesus died on the cross for us, we can be close to him again, even though we make wrong choices. Say: Remember some of the people in the video, like Jacob, Joseph, Moses and the Israelite kings? Did those people always do things perfectly? (Let kids respond.) No. They made wrong choices, and got scared sometimes. Say: The thing is, God wants to use us, no matter how much we mess up! He will always help us be brave and follow Jesus, even when it gets hard. Let s look at a verse that shows us why we can trust Him no matter what. Slide: 1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! Say: See, God loves us unconditionally. That means that no matter what we do, He will never leave us, and we will always be his cherished creation. And guess what else? One day, Jesus will come back and turn our imperfect world, perfect again. Video: God s Story Clip / The Fall Say: Right now, let s ask God to show us one way that we can be part of his story this week. Close your eyes and for a few seconds, and just listen for God s voice. Song: Reflective Music (After song has played for about 15 seconds, continue talking as it plays.) Now ask God to show you a way you can follow him this week. (Let song finish, then continue.) Say: Okay, now let s all pray together and ask God to help us follow him, and show others how to follow him too! Pray: Dear God, thank you designing an amazing rescue plan to help us be close to you again. Help us follow you, and figure out how we can be a part of your story this week. We love you, Amen! Say: I don t know about you, but knowing that we can go out into the world and actually BE in God s story is pretty amazing, and makes me want to thank him! Let s stand up and worship Him for rescuing us! Music Video: More Like You Are Music Video: The Brave Ones Dismiss kids to small groups.

8 Per group: none Per group: Bible, markers Per kid: Coloring page, Storybook template - each is two different pages. ( 4.25 x 8.5. Page 1 will have images arranged on the right, with 2 images per page (pg 10). Page 2 is double sided (p 11/12) Per Group: Bible Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website) Video: Despicable Me / It s So Fluffy! ( Loop: Turning World (0:00-1:00; Image: Death/anger/sadness Video: God s Story / God s Story ( Image: Hearts Image: Sad face image: Kids Club logo Image/Video: God s Story 365 (in progress; see dave little) Slide: 1 John 3:1 See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! Video: God s Story clip / The Fall (0:37-0:52; Song: Reflective Music Loop (0:00-0:30; KC/SM media videos songs>songs>itunes>reflective music loop) Music Video: More Like You Are ( Music Video: The Brave Ones ( Tell me about God s rescue plan. How can we be a part of God s Story?

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