ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES God reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable, and authoritative.

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1 W-4 2 PRELUDE Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner Creative Team Kristen Ivy Mike Clear Molly Boylan Elloa Davis Elizabeth Hansen Jessica McKee Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Contributing Writers Sharon Carey Kristy Hecht Sam Johnson Julie Tiemann Dana Wilkerson SOCIAL Editors Molly Boylan Elloa Davis Dana Wilkerson Illustrations & Graphic Design Brian Bascle Mike Davis Joe Goode Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt Orange Specialists Amy Grisham Joy Bowen Abbey Carr Amy Fenton Leslie Galema Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Courtney Templeton STORY WORSHIP 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 K-1 HOME 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 SOCIAL PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY Shepherd Guys Are Comin to Town Shepherds visit Jesus Luke 2:8-20 BOTTOM LINE God gave us great news. Who will you tell? MEMORY VERSE God so loved the world 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 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 Share the News STORY: Communicating God s truth in engaging ways Opener Worship Bible Story Prayer Closer WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God Better Than the Best Thing from Turn It Up Look At Me from Walk This Way : Creating a safe place to connect Lights! Camera! Action! Good News Relay Hopscotch Verse Prayer HOME: Prompting action beyond the experience GodTime Parent Cue Compassion caring enough to do something about someone else s need. BASIC TRUTH I should treat others the way I want to be treated. PAGE 2

3 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY Shepherd Guys Are Comin to Town Shepherds visit Jesus Luke 2:8-20 BOTTOM LINE GETTING READY SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (Choose one or both of these activities.) Early Arriver An offering container Share the News No supplies needed God gave us great news. Who will you tell? MEMORY VERSE God so loved the world 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 LIFE APP Compassion caring enough to do something about someone else s need. BASIC TRUTH I should treat others the way I want to be treated. : 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. Lights! Camera! Action! (application activity / review the Bible story) Pipe cleaners; about 3 for each Small Group Cotton balls; about for each Small Group Feathers; about 6 for each Small Group Candy canes; about 7-10 for each Small Group. (Note: The candy canes have to be big enough kids can use them as a shepherd s staff. You can use pipe cleaners, but it will be harder for kids to herd the sheep with pipe cleaners.) Create a spot in your environment that can be Bethlehem, with the following objects: o Doll in a box o Stuffed animals (place around the doll in the box) o A sign with Bethlehem written on it 2. Good News Relay (application activity / a possible environment-wide activity) Jesus Loves You stickers; at least 2 for each kid and 2 for each Small Group Leader Note: There are many online options for purchasing stickers, such as orientaltrading.com, Christianbook.com, etc. Painter s tape 3. Hopscotch Verse (memory verse activity) Print the Pattern Activity Page; 1 for each Small Group One set of Hopscotch Verse Cards Activity Pages; 1 for each Small Group PAGE 3

4 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME 8 pieces of cardstock or 8 carpet squares Painter s tape (if using cardstock) Prayer Megaphone Activity Page; 1 for each Small Group Optional: Instead of the Megaphone Activity Page, if Small Group Leaders have access to mobile devices, instruct them to pull up an image of a megaphone for the kids. Paper; 1 sheet for each kid (construction paper or cardstock will work best) Tape Jesus Loves You stickers; at least 1 for each kid Additional Resources: Make copies on cardstock of 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 4

5 PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME SOCIAL SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION 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. Ask God to show your few that the perfect response to Christmas is to go and tell others about Jesus! Pray for opportunities for your kids to show their friends what Christ has done in their lives and to share Him with others. 1. EARLY ARRIVER IDEA WHAT YOU NEED: Offering container Invite kids to put their offerings in the offering container as they arrive. Ask kids what they did to celebrate Christmas. Did they visit relatives? Did they give their candy cane ornament to anyone? Ask kids if something good happened this week. Did they get some good news? Prompt them with some questions and they can give you a thumbs up or thumbs down. For example: You get to eat ice cream for dinner. You have to go to bed early. You get to go to a movie. You get to go to Disneyland. You have to clean your room. Your friend is coming over to play. 2. SHARE THE NEWS WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed Guide kids to sit in a circle. Whisper a sentence to the kid next to you, who will whisper it to the next kid and so on around the circle. Sample sentences are below. o God gave us the greatest gift. o God loves you! o I like to eat mashed potatoes. The last kid says the sentence out loud. See how close the final sentence is to the original sentence. You did a great job of sharing the news down the line. [Transition] Let s head to Large Group to learn about some great news we will want to share with everyone. Lead your group to the Large Group area. PAGE 5

6 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME : CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. * 1. LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION! (application activity / review the Bible story) WHAT YOU NEED: Pipe cleaners, cotton balls, feathers, candy canes, doll, Bethlehem sign Lead kids to reenact the story of the shepherds visiting Jesus. Select kids to be the shepherds. Give the shepherds a candy cane for their staff. Select a couple of kids to be the angels. Make a halo out of pipe cleaners and place on the angels heads and give them a feather for each hand for their wings. Retell the story, encouraging kids to act out their roles in the story. Be prepared to prompt kids or give them hints as to what happens next in the story or with what they say. Below is a sample story review. Shepherds Visiting Jesus Take One! - Shepherds, where are you at the beginning of our story today? (In the field herding sheep) That s right! You are herding sheep. (Throw a bunch of cotton balls on the ground.) Here are all your sheep. Use your staff to gather them together. - (While the shepherds are herding, say to the angels) This is when you angels make an appearance. (Encourage the angels to fly around the shepherds, using their feathers as wings.) - Shepherds, you see the angels and you are terrified. Show me your I am scared look; you are so afraid you are shaking. - Angels, do you remember what you said to the terrified shepherds? (Don t be afraid. I bring good news to you. Jesus is born and He is your Lord and Savior. Jesus is in a manger in Bethlehem.) - (Say to the shepherds) The Angel of the Lord told you Jesus has just been born. I think you need to look shocked and amazed because that is some really good news! Show me your best surprised face. - The angels are very happy; perhaps even joyous, you may say. They are singing glory to God in the highest. (Encourage the angels to dance, and sing and dance with them.) - Shepherds, you just heard good news. Jesus is born. What do you decide to do? (Go to Bethlehem to visit Jesus.) Let s head to Bethlehem to visit Jesus. (Walk to Bethlehem to visit the baby.) - Shepherds, after you meet Jesus, what do you do? (Tell the good news to everyone they meet. Encourage kids to put their hands to their mouth and say, Jesus is born! ) You did an excellent job telling the story. The shepherds were so excited when they heard the good news that they told everyone they saw. God wants us to be like the shepherds in the story. He wants us to be excited about Jesus birth. He wants us to share the good news with others. [Bottom Line] God gave us great news. Who will you tell? That s our Compassion Challenge for today: to think about who in our lives needs to hear the good news about God s love, and how we can share it with them. PAGE 6

7 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME 2. GOOD NEWS RELAY (application activity / a possible environment-wide activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Jesus Loves You stickers, painter s tape Using tape make a start line. Divide the group into two teams and line the teams up at the starting line. About feet from the starting line, put enough Jesus Loves You stickers for each kid in your group, plus two extra ones. When you say, GO, a member of each team races to the stickers, grabs one, and returns to their team. The runner places a sticker on a teammate and says, Jesus Loves You. Once a kid receives a sticker, he becomes the next runner and races down to get a sticker for another teammate. The last kid to receive a sticker races down, gets a sticker, and puts it on you. The first team to put a sticker on every teammate and you is the winner. Jesus loves you! That is good news! And it is important to tell others Jesus loves them. What are some ways you can share God s good news with your friends or family? (Invite a friend to church, tell them the Bible stories you learned in class, treat them the way you want to be treated, etc.) Our Compassion Challenge for this week is to tell someone about Jesus! [Bottom Line] God gave us great news. Who will you tell? Is there is someone you know who needs to hear about Jesus? One way you could tell someone about the good news is to give them a sticker to let them know Jesus loves them. [Make It Personal] (Tell the kids who you are going to give a sticker to this week and why. Or share about a time when you told someone about God s good news or a time someone shared the Good News with you.) Here is an extra sticker for you to give to someone to share God s good news. (Give kids an extra Jesus Loves You sticker.) 3. HOPSCOTCH VERSE (memory verse activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Pattern Activity Page, Hopscotch Verse Cards, 8 pieces of paper or carpet squares, painter s tape Using the pattern in the Pattern Activity Page, create a hopscotch grid by taping the paper to the floor and placing the Verse Cards on the correct square in the grid. Kids will hop onto each of the squares while the group recites the memory verse corresponding to the squares. When kids land on the last square, the group will yell, That s good news! This memory verse is all about the good news that God loves us and He gave us the greatest gift ever: Jesus. And when we believe in Jesus, we get to live with Him now and forever. Now that is good news! One way to share God s good news is to share this memory verse with someone. [Bottom Line] God gave us great news. Who will you tell? PRAY AND DISMISS WHAT YOU NEED: Megaphone Activity Page or mobile device, paper, tape, Jesus Loves You stickers PAGE 7

8 PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Show kids a picture of a megaphone. Explain megaphones are used to make your voice really loud. Often megaphones are used to speak to a large number of people to make sure everyone can hear you clearly. Help kids make megaphones by rolling a piece of paper into a cone shape, with one small opening and one large opening. Help kids place tape on the outside edge of the paper to secure the cone. Give each kid a Jesus Loves You sticker to put on their megaphone. Pray with the kids using the megaphones. [Bottom Line] God gave us great news. Who will you tell? Who will you tell about Jesus? Maybe it is a friend or a family member. When we tell others about how much Jesus loves them, we want to be sure they can hear us; we don t want anyone to miss out on God s good news. Let s use our megaphones to tell the world, Jesus loves me. (Wait while kids say, Jesus loves me, into their megaphones.) Good job! That news was loud and clear! Now let s use our megaphones to say, Jesus loves YOU. (Wait while kids say, Jesus loves you, into their megaphones.) Wow! I could hear you all! [Bottom Line] God gave us great news. Who will you tell? Let s pray and ask God for help in sharing the good news with others! God, You are awesome! Thank You for loving us and sending us Jesus. Help us to share Your good news and to share Your love with others. Amen. Give each child a GodTime card. Pass out Parent Cue cards as adults arrive to pick up. Tell parents the kids learned about when the shepherds visited Jesus. Remind kids to give their stickers to someone to share God s good news. PAGE 8