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

Transcription

1 PRELUDE SOCIAL WORSHIP GROUPS HOME Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner Creative Team Kristen Ivy Mike Clear Molly Bell Elloa Davis Elizabeth Hansen Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Contributing Writers Holly Crawshaw Sherita Harkness Kristy Hecht Cara Martens Emily Meredith Rachael Sibcy Editors Molly Bell Elloa Davis Dana Wilkerson Illustrations & Graphic Design Brian Bascle Mike Davis Joe Goode Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt Orange Specialists Amy Grisham Abbey Carr Amy Fenton Leslie Galema Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Courtney Templeton 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. 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 PRELUDE SOCIAL WORSHIP GROUPS HOME BIBLE Dude, Where s Your Brother? Older Brother Luke 15:21-32 BOTTOM LINE When you don t forgive, you miss out. MEMORY VERSE Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13, NIrV LIFE APP Forgiveness deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn t have to pay. BASIC TRUTH 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 Duck, Duck, Party! (kindergarten and 1st grade) Odd Man Out (Musical Chairs) (2nd and 3rd grade) : Communicating God s truth in engaging ways Opener Worship Bible Story Prayer Closer WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God Let It Be Known from Movin Me No One Higher from Living Inside Out GROUPS: Creating a safe place to connect For kindergarten and 1st grade: Pigpen or Party; Measure of Forgiveness; Dance Party For 2nd and 3rd grade: Life-Sized Chutes and Ladders ; Story Strip; Memory Verse Toss Prayer HOME: Prompting action beyond the experience GodTime Parent Cue I need to make the wise choice. PAGE 2

3 PRELUDE SOCIAL WORSHIP GROUPS HOME BIBLE Dude, Where s Your Brother? Older Brother Luke 15:21-32 BOTTOM LINE When you don t forgive, you miss out. MEMORY VERSE Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13, NIrV LIFE APP Forgiveness deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn t have to pay. BASIC TRUTH I need to make the wise choice. GETTING READY 1. OPENER/CLOSER WHAT YOU NEED: Host Work clothes for Host (from previous weeks) Tool belt for Host (from previous weeks) 2 fabric measuring tapes Large letter H (can be fabric, wood, paper) Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Upbeat music to use as kids enter and exit the room Suspenseful music to use during the game Large Group Visuals (downloadable from the website): Forgiveness 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. Download the music from a resource such as itunes and have it ready to play. Cut the two fabric tape measures into three-inch sections. Place each set of tape measure pieces in a separate pocket of the tool belt. Place the doghouse stage left. 2. BIBLE WHAT YOU NEED: Storyteller Host Shirt for Host that says OLDER BROTHER (could be a white T-shirt with words written in black permanent marker) Bible Large backpack filled with the following (from last week): o Fake money o Stuffed or rubber pig o Party hat o Sunglasses o Several banana peels PAGE 3

4 o Map or globe o Small bucket with a handle o Small trash can Punch bowl with the following items (from last week): o Gaudy plastic ring o Slip-on sandals o Robe (like a Bible-times robe or bathrobe) Large Group Visuals (downloadable from the website): 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. Place all the props from last week inside the backpack. The backpack should be onstage when the Storyteller enters. 3. WORSHIP WHAT YOU NEED: Worship Leader(s) Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Let It Be Known from Movin Me* No One Higher from Living Inside Out* *Live lyrics video available from 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. 4. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES GET REEL: This month with Get Reel 2.0, we re discovering what kind of work goes into true forgiveness. This week, we recommend playing the Live Loud video to inspire the key faith skill of Worshiping with Your Life. Also on Get Reel 2.0, you can enhance your environment with themed audio transitions (instrumental) to help you move between segments in your Large Group production. PAGE 4

5 SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter. Host enters wearing tool belt and work clothes and holding the letter H. HOST: What s up, what s up, everybody? My name is [Host s name], and this is [your environment s name] the place where all the cool kids hang out. Everybody put on your pretend cool sunglasses and say, What s up? HOST and KIDS: (Mime putting on sunglasses) What s up? HOST: Now that we ve got our shades on, we can get started. Raise your hand if you were here last week. (Pause for response.) So you know that we heard a story that Jesus told about two brothers: a younger brother and an older brother. Well, if you weren t here, don t worry! We stopped RIGHT in the middle of the story! I hate when that happens, but today we re going to find out the ending. I can t wait! First, let s look at this month s Life App. Since it s week three of this Life App, there should be someone in the crowd who remembers what it is. Anybody? (Pause for response.) That s right! It s forgiveness. Let s look at the definition of forgiveness. CG: Forgiveness Slide Forgiveness is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn t have to pay. Let s say that together! HOST and KIDS: Forgiveness is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn t have to pay. HOST: You guys got that one DOWN. And you know, I really needed to hear that definition again, too, because I definitely need to forgive someone. As you guys know, I ve been fixing up the doghouse I built for my dog. This week, I bought this (hold up the letter H ) H. My dog s name is Hammer the Hound Dog. So, I wanted to put the letter H directly in the center of his doghouse. But my BROTHER cut up my tape measures as a prank a very, very bad prank, by the way. Now I don t know how to measure off the center, so the entire project is ruined! (Thinking) Hey, maybe not. Would any of you guys like to help me out? Are there any small groups in here that are really good with numbers? Raise your hands! Choose two groups and have them come to the stage. Come on up! Here s the deal. There are two sets of cut-up tape measures. Pull one pile from one pocket and place it in front of one small group, and place the other pile in front of the other group. When I say go, the first group to arrange the pieces in the correct order wins. PAGE 5

6 (To audience) While they re doing that, I need you to get LOUD! So, audience, if you re on this side of the room (point to the left side), cheer for this group (point to left group). And if you re on this side of the room (point to the right side), cheer for this group (point to right group). On your marks, get set, SORT! SFX: Suspenseful music As the small groups sort the tapes, encourage the audience to cheer. Walk around commentating on which group has the most pieces correctly laid out. Since the audience can t necessarily see, it will be important that you are creating a lot of hype, even if one group is significantly in the lead. When the first group has an entire measuring tape sorted, end the game. Would you look at that? We ve got a group of math experts on our hands today! You guys sorted that measuring tape for me. Maybe now I can THINK about forgiving my brother, but first let s give them a big hand as they go back to their seats. (Pause for applause.) And the rest of you, get ready for worship! Let s sing some songs together and tell God how much we love Him and how awesome it is that He loves us all the time, no matter what. The anticipation will only make the story better! See you guys again soon! Worship Leaders enter as Host exits. WORSHIP WORSHIP LEADER: Well, everybody, I want you to stand to your feet and get your singing voice ready. When something good happens to you, what do you normally do? (Pause for response.) Do you tell somebody? Yeah. God forgave you and me. That is something good that we need to share with others. It is time for us to let it be known that our God saves! Sing it out. SFX: Let It Be Known / track 5 from Movin Me Yeah, we lift up God s praises. Wow, that was so good. When I stop and think about how God has been so good to forgive us when we do wrong I can t help but remember what an incredibly kind and loving God we serve. Psalm 23:6 says: I am sure that your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. And I will live in the house of the Lord forever (NIrV). He is good to us. Let s sing and lift your hands in worship because there is no one higher than our God. SFX: No One Higher / track 6 from Living Inside Out Storyteller enters as Worship Leader exits. SETTING UP THE TELLER: Hey, friends! It s me, [Storyteller s name], and I can t wait to wrap up our story about the younger brother. PAGE 6

7 But first we need to review what s already happened. Is my volunteer from last week here? The kid who played the younger brother? Would you mind helping me out one more time? Come on up! Chose the kid from last week if he is there. If he is not there, you can bring up someone from his small group. Last week we met the younger brother of our two brothers. Our younger brother had gone to his dad and asked for the money his dad had saved to give to him in the future. This was a very disrespectful thing to do. And it probably hurt the dad s feelings very, very much. As you quickly recap, place all the props on the kid, just like last week, but much quicker. The younger brother took his father s money (fake money) and traveled around (map) FAR away. He then wasted (small trash can) that money (party hat) going to parties and doing things (sunglasses) that he knew were wrong. When the younger brother spent all of the money his father had given him, he had to take a job (pig) feeding pigs (bucket). Things got so bad for the younger brother that he wished he could eat as well as the pigs he was feeding (banana peels). That s when he decided to go home and tell his father how he knew he had messed up. He was going to ask his dad to take him back as one of his servants! THE YOUNGER BROTHER RETURNS HOME TELLER: This wasn t a great situation, but the younger son didn t have a choice, so he began his journey home. As you explain the journey home, remove the backpack, putting the props back inside as you talk. Do you remember what happened next? Jesus says when the younger brother was still a long ways off from home, his father saw him walking in the distance. How many of you think the father was angry? Raise your hands. (Pause for response.) How many of you think the father wasn t angry? (Pause for response.) Well, let s see what happens next. The father saw the younger son walking toward home, and Jesus says that his heart was filled with love for his younger son. He felt sorry for him, and he ran out to meet him, hugging him, and forgiving him right away. The son tried to apologize, but listen to what the father said (read directly from Luke 15:22-24): But the father said to his servants, Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.... Let s have a feast and celebrate. This son of mine was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found (NIrV). THE OLDER BROTHER IS UPSET TELLER: Not only did the father forgive the younger son, but he also decided to throw a huge party to celebrate his return. Take the backpack from the kid and hand him the punch bowl. Take out the props inside and dress him as you talk. The father draped (robe) the younger son in a very fancy robe. He placed (ring) a ring on his finger, and (sandals) new sandals on his feet. And then they began to celebrate. PAGE 7

8 But not everyone was happy about this. While all of this was happening, the older brother was out working the fields. When he came home, he saw that a party was being thrown for his younger brother s return. Think about how that would make you feel. HOST enters, wearing the Older Brother shirt. HOST: (Bellowing) It s not faaaaaiiiiiiir. It s just not fair! I ve stayed home, I ve worked hard, and I ve been a good son. (Point to kid.) Nobody is giving ME a robe. Nobody is giving me a RING and SANDALS. And I ve never been thrown ONE PARTY! Brothers are the WORST! They ruin people s doghouses and they get parties when they don t deserve it! It s not faaaaaiiiiiir! Host stands on the opposite side of the stage to the volunteer playing the younger brother. He pouts. FATHER INVITES OLDER BROTHER TELLER: Okay, so maybe he didn t say it quite like that, but the older brother was upset! But of course, the father loved him too. He wanted his entire family at the party. The father headed over to where the brother was pouting. Storyteller walks nearer to the Host as he delivers the next lines. And listen to what he says: My son, the father said, you are always with me. Everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad. This brother of yours was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found (Luke 15:31-32 NIrV). But even when the father tried to get the older son to come into the party, it didn t seem like he was going to go in and have fun with everyone. He was so angry and so upset. He didn t want to forgive his younger brother and most likely missed out on the celebration. Host exits and takes off the Older Brother T-shirt. WRAPPING UP THE TELLER: This was too bad, because the father in our story loved both of his sons very much. Just like God loves us all the time, the father loved the son who did right AND the son who did wrong. God forgives us all the time when we act like the older brother AND when we act like the younger brother. And because of our heavenly Father s love and forgiveness, we should forgive others, too. When we don t forgive and we stay angry with someone, it makes our hearts sad. And when that happens, we will eventually miss out on joy and peace that come from forgiving others. We miss out on strong relationships with our friends. We might even miss out on getting forgiveness when we need it, too. CG: Bottom Line Slide That s why the one thing to remember today is this: [Bottom Line] When you don t forgive, you miss out. Say that with me. PAGE 8

9 TELLER and KIDS: [Bottom Line] When you don t forgive, you miss out. TELLER: That s right. How about we pray right now and ask God to help us forgive others when they do something that hurts us? Let s pray together. PRAY TELLER: God, sometimes it s really hard for us to forgive. It s especially hard when something really unfair happens to us. But You forgive us all the time, no matter what. And we want to do the same thing. We want to forgive so we don t miss out. We love You and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen. Host enters as Storyteller exits. CLOSER HOST: So the older brother seemed like a good person. At least from what he said, it sounds like he was responsible and didn t really get into trouble. But there s something he struggled with, huh? He wanted things to be FAIR. So instead of forgiving his younger brother, the older brother decided to pout, and he missed out on the fun of the party, and on being at peace with his dad, and on being friends with his brother again. Here s the thing: It can be so easy for us to hold onto the wrong things other people have done. Maybe your mom says you can have ice cream after you and your sister clean your room. You spend two hours doing an awesome job, but your sister takes like two minutes. Mom takes you BOTH for ice cream, but you re so mad at your sister for not doing as much work as you did that you don t even enjoy your mint chocolate chip. Or your friend borrows your favorite game, but he accidentally drops it in the dog s water dish. You re so angry you decide not to invite him to your birthday party, and you miss out on the fun time you could have had! In either case, choosing to forgive would make all the difference between you being miserable and you getting to enjoy a fun time with friends or family. That s why this is the most important thing to remember today. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] When you don t forgive, you miss out. Say that with me. HOST and KIDS: [Bottom Line] When you don t forgive, you miss out. HOST: Forgiveness isn t about being fair. It s about remembering that God has forgiven YOU. And because of your love for God and through God s power, you can forgive others. It s not easy, but it s always worth it. You ll talk more about all that in Small Group, so let s get going. We wouldn t want to miss out! Dismiss children to their small groups. SFX: Play high-energy music as the kids exit. PAGE 9