12.4 Large Group Lesson

Transcription

1 July 22 nd, 2018 Emoji Madness Jesus Weeps BIG IDEA: Jesus feels compassion for us when we re sad, so we can cry out to Him. BIBLE BASIS: John 11:1-44 KEY VERSE: My tears have been my food day and night When I remember what has happened, I tell God all of my troubles. Psalm 42:3-4 (NIrV) Scripture marked NIV is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 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. All scripture references are taken from NIrV unless otherwise stated Mooblio. All rights reserved. 1

2 User Agreement: The GO! curriculum by Mooblio is intended for download and print by subscribing entities only. It may not be transferred electronically to or duplicated by other non-subscribing entities. If the GO! curriculum is cost prohibitive for your organization, please contact us about assistance. We are awesomely generous! All use must be in accordance with the Terms of Use agreement as described on the website There is no age limit to pain and suffering. We may only see kids once a week at church where they are smiling and playing, but those same kids may be going through struggles at home, school, and in their neighborhood. It could be a bully, a family in turmoil, or a serious sickness. Growing up is tough. Today s kids need to know that God cares for them in the middle of their sadness. Jesus modeled this for us in the story of Lazarus death. This story illustrates that God knows our pain and is there for us during our most trying circumstances. Here are a few lessons that we can take away from the story of Lazarus that might help us walk alongside kids during their sadness: Always give God the glory. Recognizing that every situation, no matter how dark, can demonstrate to a watching world God s faithfulness. Jesus told his disciples that Lazarus death was going to bring God glory and it did. Our faith during trials, even the ones that seem so senseless, can be a strong witness to those far from God. Be patient with those who are mourning. Mary and Martha were brutally real when Jesus finally arrived in Bethany. They both say, Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. They blamed Jesus for seemingly not caring about their brother. This wasn t the case, yet Jesus didn t rebuke them. A often times natural response during tragedy is to blame God, but God is big enough for our raw emotions the Book of Psalms make this abundantly clear. Allow kids that are hurting to cry out to God without rebuke. Cry with those who are hurting. Allow God to break your heart for those who are going through pain. Your tears will communicate that you truly care and that they are not alone in their sadness. You may not have to say a word, but simply be there with someone to make a real difference. Pray big prayers. The amazing thing about this story is that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! Even through all the pain, Jesus knew there was great joy just around the corner. We should not hold back from praying bold prayers. God is not only good, he is great too! Even when God, through His sovereignty, decides not to take away the sickness and pain, we know that ultimately in heaven we will be, singing for joy and giving thanks amid the sound of a great celebration! -Psalm 42:4b (NLT) Dan Huffman GO! Contributor 2017 Mooblio. All rights reserved. 2

3 5 Steps to Becoming a Master of Group Management There s a fine line between being a large group teacher and a zookeeper. If you make a few untimely missteps, it can start to feel like you re losing control of the room and slipping into the wild kingdom. Don t fret, though! We ve all been there! And fortunately, there are a few things you can do to prevent your kids wild side from breaking out. Get some help: Hopefully you ve got some dynamic small group leaders in the room who are willing and able to help you. They can be your first line of defense. Talk to them ahead of time and ask them to sit among the kids (as opposed to the back of the room). Encourage them to intervene any time they see distracting behavior. Separate the fire and gas: Some kids just make for explosive combinations. If there are two (or more) kids seated together that historically have trouble being around one another, don t be afraid to separate them from the beginning. Involve the kids: If you re too much of a talking head, kids can start to zone out and get fidgety. Be sure to involve the kids in as much of the lesson as you can. Bonus points if you can get the kids moving physically. Fortunately, the GO! lessons are chock full of these kinds of interactive opportunities! Don t get stale: Fidgety kids can also be an indication that it s time to move on to something different. If you re overly verbose and spend too much time on the same thing, you can start to lose the room. Again, the GO! lessons are written with this in mind, so the more you can stick to the script, the better! Put your body and voice into it: Often times, when a communicator is beginning to lose the attention of the entire room, the first response is to call for quiet and eyes up here. There s a better way, though. By changing what you do with your body and voice, you can regain the kid s attention in a way that doesn t interrupt the flow of the lesson. For example, if you re standing, try sitting or kneeling near the kids for a moment. Resist the urge to talk over the kids. Instead, begin speaking in a quiet voice, just above a whisper. This body/voice combination can do wonders with regaining attention Mooblio. All rights reserved. 3

4 Who doesn t love a good emoji?! Happy, sad, scared, or mad we can show people how we re feeling with just one little picture. Emojis are also the perfect way to unpack the Book of Psalms! During Emoji Madness, kids will use different emojis to tell the Bible story and to discover how God helps us manage our emotions. Do the following ahead of time: Print the Emoji Faces on 8½ x 11 paper or cardstock. There are separate files for each of the following Bible characters: Lazarus, Martha, Mary, and Jesus. Find one cardboard box for each of the Bible characters. The box should be just big enough to fit over a kid s head. Number each side of each box by placing a small number (1-4) in the top corner. Cut out the emojis for each Bible character and attach them to a different side of that character s emoji box. To make the storytelling easier, be sure to put the emojis in the order that they ll appear during the story. For this lesson, the emojis for each character will appear in this order: o Lazarus: Side #1: happy, Side #2: sick, Side #3: dead, Side #4: alive w/bandages. o Martha: Side #1: content, Side #2: worried, Side #3: sad, Side #4: very happy. o Mary: Side #1: content, Side #2: worried, Side #3: sad, Side #4: very happy. o Jesus: Side #1: happy w/halo, Side #2: cool, Side #3: sad, Side #4: very happy. Save the emoji boxes and reuse them for each week. In the teaching area, place your driver s license, two tennis balls (or similar,) and a pair of cool shades. Choose which of the GO! DEEP Reflect and Respond stations you would like to make available. Set out the appropriate materials for each of those stations Mooblio. All rights reserved. 4

5 Sound: Emoji Madness title graphic PLAY upbeat music as kids move to large group area EMOJI MADNESS INTRO Large Group Leader: Hello everybody and welcome back to another week of Emoji Madness! As you know, each week during Emoji Madness, we re exploring different emotions from the Book of Psalms. Before we discover today s emotion, though, I have a fun fact for you. Do you know how long it took to write the Book of Psalms? (Allow kids to guess.) Good guesses! Get this it took about 1,000 years to write. Whoa that is a long time! Obviously, it wasn t just one person who wrote the Book of Psalms, because nobody lives that long. About half of the psalms were written by David, but there were at least 6 other people, including Moses, who wrote some of the other psalms. EMOJI REVEAL But no matter who wrote the psalm or when they wrote it, the psalms are filled with all kinds of emotions. Happy, sad, scared or mad the Book of Psalms has them all. Are you ready to see which emotion we re going to look at today? (Kids respond.) Drum roll please! (Prompt kids to create a drumroll along with the Emoji Reveal video.) VDO: PLAY Emoji Reveal: Sadness video This week we ll be looking at sadness! Sadness can be a real bummer, but there s nothing wrong with feeling sad. That s just how people naturally feel when something bad happens. The important thing to remember is that when you feel sad, you re not alone. Everybody feels sad sometimes, including the guy who wrote our psalm for today. Let s take a look at it. My tears have been my food day and night. All day long people say to me, Where is your God? When I remember what has happened, I tell God all of my troubles. Psalm 42:3-4a (NIrV) Let s dive deeper into that Psalm by looking at a story from another book of the Bible the Book of John from the New Testament. I m going to need some help, though. Choose 4 kids to play the following Bible story characters: Lazarus, Martha, Mary and Jesus. Place the appropriate emoji box over each kid s head with side #1 facing forward. THE BIG BIBLE STORY JESUS WEEPS (Stand behind Lazarus.) In the Book of John, there s a story about a man named Lazarus. (Turn Lazarus box to side #2: sick.) One day, Lazarus got sick! Not just a little bit sick, like a cold or headache. No way! He was so sick that he couldn t get out of bed. He was so sick that it looked like he was going to die. Lazarus had two sisters named Martha and Mary. (Turn Martha and Mary boxes to side #2: worried.) His sisters started to get worried about Lazarus, so they sent a message to Jesus. Lord, they said, we need your help! The one you love is sick. (Turn Jesus box to side #2: cool.) When Jesus got the message, He stayed calm and cool. He said, This sickness will not end in death. No way! This is all happening so that people can see how great God is Mooblio. All rights reserved. 5

6 A while later, Jesus arrived at Lazarus house, but Lazarus wasn t there anymore. You see, his condition had gone from bad to worse. (Turn Lazarus box to side #3: dead.) Much worse! Lazarus was DEAD! In fact, his body had already been buried in a tomb. (Turn Martha box to side #3: sad.) When Martha saw Jesus, she was crying. She said to Jesus, I wish you had been here, you could have kept Lazarus from dying! Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even if they die. Do you believe this, Martha? Martha replied, Yes, Lord! I believe that you are the Son of God, the One who was sent to save us from sin and death. (Turn Mary box to side #3: sad.) Mary found Jesus next. She too was crying and she fell down at Jesus feet. She said the same thing as her sister, Jesus, I wish you had been here, you could have kept Lazarus from dying! (Turn Jesus box to side #3: sad.) When Jesus saw how sad the sisters were, He couldn t help it He too began feeling sad. And not just a little bit sad. The Bible says that He was so sad that He began to weep. When they reached the tomb, Jesus told some people to open it up. Martha couldn t believe it, though. She said, But, Lord, he s been dead for four days. He s going to stink really bad! But Jesus knew better. He said to Martha, Didn t I tell you that God would be glorified today? When the people opened up the tomb, Jesus prayed out to God. Then He shouted into the tomb with a loud voice (instruct Jesus to repeat,) Lazarus, come out! (Turn Lazarus box to side #4: alive.) And just like that, Lazarus stood up and walked out of the tomb with strips of burial cloth still wrapped around his body. He wasn t a mummy, he wasn t a zombie he was ALIVE! (Turn Martha, Mary, and Jesus boxes to side #4: happy.) Instantly, the tears were replaced with smiles. And many of the people who saw what had happened believed in Jesus for the first time. Big Bible Story Questions graphic BIG BIBLE STORY QUESTIONS At the end of the Bible story have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What was your favorite part of this story? Are you surprised to hear that Jesus cried? Why or why not? For Older Kids: What does this story teach you about Jesus? Jesus knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead, so why do you think He cried? After a few minutes, draw their attention back to the teaching area. Emoji Madness title graphic JESUS FEELS COMPASSION That story we just heard has the shortest verse in the Bible. John 11:35 has just 2 words it says, Jesus wept. Isn t that so cool! Sometimes people think, I m too old to cry, (hold up driver s license) or I m too tough to cry, (place tennis balls in shirt sleeves and flex like a muscle man) or I m too cool to cry (put on cool shades.) But it s not true. There s nothing wrong with being sad or crying. Jesus was a grown man (set down license) and no one is as tough (remove balls) or as cool (remove shades) as He is, yet he cried! But why do you think He cried? What made Him so sad? (Take answers.) Wow great thinking! The Bible doesn t say for sure why Jesus cried, but it gives us some pretty good clues. Jesus knew that Lazarus would come back to life, so He probably wasn t too sad that he was dead. Instead, Jesus started crying when He saw how sad everyone else was. Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever 2017 Mooblio. All rights reserved. 6

7 started crying just because someone you love started crying? (Kids respond.) That s what happened to Jesus. Isn t that amazing? Jesus feels compassion for us when we re sad. Sometimes when you feel sad, it s easy to think that you re all alone, but you re not! When you feel sad, Jesus feels sad with you. He s there for you and He wants to hear from you. The writer of today s psalm knew that. That s what He wrote about in our Psalm for today. Let s take a look at it again. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to Psalm 42:3-4. When ready, choose a kid to read the verse aloud or read it aloud yourself.) My tears have been my food day and night. All day long people say to me, Where is your God? When I remember what has happened, I tell God all of my troubles. Psalm 42:3-4a (NIrV) TELL JESUS ABOUT YOUR TROUBLES When the writer of this psalms says, My tears have been my food day and night, he s saying that he s been crying all day long. He s incredibly sad about something! So what did he do about it? (Take answer.) That s right he told God about all of his troubles. (Sit or kneel near kids.) Sometimes when you re sad, it s tempting to keep it to yourself, but you need to do what the writer did. Talk to a friend, talk to your parents, but especially talk to God! He wants to hear from you. Jesus has compassion for you when you re sad, so you can cry out to Him. You can tell Him about all of your troubles and let Him know what s making you sad. And if you re looking for a way to get your joy back, think about this: Jesus is the resurrection and the life. That means that Jesus has power over sin and death. And if you believe in Him, when you die, you get to live with Him forever in Heaven where there is no more sickness, no more death, and NO MORE sadness! Close the GO! TELL IT Large group time by praying for the kids in whatever way the Holy Spirit prompts you. Following the prayer, explain to the kids which of the GO! DEEP Reflect and Respond Stations will be available. Remind them to move about the stations very quietly. Tell them they are free to respond to God in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads them, but if they need suggestions, some of the stations will give them ideas for how to pray, write, or draw. Give each child one GO! Home sheet and instruct them to take it with them to the stations. Place small group leaders at the different stations to quietly help the kids. The stations listed below are just the ones that have prompts that are specific to today s lesson. For more instructions on how the GO! DEEP Reflect and Respond Stations work as well as a full list of possible stations, see the GO! Guide. Music: Emoji Madness title graphic (Optional) Play quiet reflective music Prayer Station prompt: Write a prayer to Jesus. Tell Him about something that makes you sad. Journal Station prompt: The Book of Psalms are filled with songs and poems to God. Write your own song or poem to God about something that makes you sad. Tell Him what you do when you re sad. And just like the psalms, the words don t have to rhyme Mooblio. All rights reserved. 7

8 Bible Station prompt: Read it for yourself: John 11:1-44. Draw a picture of the story or write to God about your favorite part of the story. Tell Him why you liked it. Art Station prompt: Draw a picture of Jesus crying. While you re drawing, remember that when you feel sad, Jesus feels sad for you Mooblio. All rights reserved. 8