Spiritual Gifts for the Soul

Transcription

1 Spiritual Gifts for the Soul Bible Truth: Spiritual Gifts for the Soul (Gifts of the Spirit) 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-11 Bottom Line: God made you to do good. Memory Verse: For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10, NIV Life App: Uniqueness discovering who God made you to be so you can make a difference. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Social: Setting the Tone for the Experience (9:00, 10:15, 11:30) This or That; Same or Different No supplies needed Bible: Communicating God s Truth in Engaging Ways (9:15, 10:30, 11:45) Bible Presentation in Large Group Prayer (9:50, 11:05, 12:20) No supplies needed Dismiss (10:00, 11:15, 12:30) 1

2 Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Prayer Groups, 15 minutes) Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Once again, thank God for how uniquely He wired each individual kid in your group. Ask Him to help your few unlock the potential of the talents and abilities He gifted them with. Pray that your kids would use those talents and abilities to honor God in everything they do. This or That; Same or Different What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Tell students you re going to give them a question and some options for answers. Then they will show their answer by physically moving to the area that aligns with their choice. Give them an example to start out: Which animal makes a better pet: a dog (gesture to the right) or a cat (gesture to the left)? Once students have moved to show their answer, give each group a chance to share why they chose the answer they did. Wait a minute or two, listening for the conversation to slow or get quieter, and then ask other questions to get them moving. Don t forget to indicate which side corresponds with which answer. Sample questions (feel free to add your own based on your group and interests): o Would you rather live in the country or the city? o Should all students be required to learn a second language? Yes or no? o Which is worse: bad breath or body odor? o Would you rather be indoors or outdoors? o Would you rather be playing sports or watching sports? o Would you rather be playing music or listening to music? o Would you rather travel in a plane or on a boat? o Would you rather have ice cream or cake? What You Say: You had a lot of strong opinions! Did you notice that you agreed with some people on certain things, but not on other things? Today s Bible passage talks about a complicated topic that adults can even struggle to understand. We are going to talk about all the different gifts that come from the same God. If we can see how God s created and empowered each of us to do unique things in the world, it helps us to not look around and want to be more like someone else. [Transition] Let s go to Large Group and find out more. Lead your group to the Large Group area. 2

3 Spiritual Gifts for the Soul Bible Truth: Spiritual Gifts for the Soul (Gifts of the Spirit) 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-11 Bottom Line: God made you to do good. Memory Verse: For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10, NIV Life App: Uniqueness discovering who God made you to be so you can make a difference. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Bible: Communicating God s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 35 minutes) 1. Opener/Closer What You Need: Host Volleyball Aluminum foil Basketball GETTING READY 2. Bible Truth What You Need: Historyteller Bible 3 boxes o Wisdom : Spiral-bound notepad, textbook, and pencil o Knowledge : Soccer ball o Faith : Backpack 3. Worship What You Need: Power Praise Team Music and Sound Effects (SFX): Get Down Generation for You I Will Follow 3

4 Spiritual Gifts for the Soul Bible Truth: Spiritual Gifts for the Soul (Gifts of the Spirit) 1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-11 Bottom Line: God made you to do good. Memory Verse: For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10, NIV Life App: Uniqueness discovering who God made you to be so you can make a difference. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Bible: Communicating God s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 35 minutes) Engage kids hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible Truth, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. CG: Gadgets and Gizmos Theme Slide Host enters carrying the foil-wrapped ball. Opener HOST: Hey gang, welcome to The Park! My name is [Host s name] and believe it or not, I ve done it again! My gadgeteer-wired brain simply could not rest last night, and in the wee hours I created a gizmo that is so futuristic, so technologically advanced, so magnificently wired it might just change the world (whisper) forever! It is SO distinctive and unique; there is nothing like it, and I am itching to show it to you right after praise and worship! So, help me get the Power Praise team in here. Host joins the audience as the Power Praise team enters. Worship POWER PRAISE: Thank you very much. Well, it is time to sing and give praise to our amazing God. Everybody stand up on your feet and get ready to sing. This is the day the Lord has made, so let s rejoice and sing His praises. C mon! SFX: Get Down Yes, we will never stop singing God s praises. Each day is a gift. It s been an amazing month learning about how God uniquely created and formed our lives. Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV). Our lives can make a difference. Let s sing about doing just that. I want to hear you sing out. SFX: Generation for You Yeah, we will live differently. We will love, give and serve. Let s draw close to the Lord as we sing. We will follow God because His love for us is so great. Let s honor Him as we sing. SFX: I Will Follow 4

5 That was amazing. Thanks for having us. Have a wonderful week and we ll see you next Sunday. Host retakes the stage as the Power Praise team exits. HOST: I love each and every one of those kids. They are so unique. Hey, that actually reminds me of what we re talking about this month: uniqueness! CG: Uniqueness Slide Uniqueness is discovering who God made you to be so you can make a difference. That s right! God made all of us special and unique with unique talents, and that s where my latest invention comes in! I hold in my hands the Shake-Powered Hidden Expertise Realization Engine or SPHERE for short! The SPHERE can help anyone and I mean ANYONE find their hidden, unique skill or ability. It may even be something you re not totally aware of! Just give this beauty a rattle and it will project your hidden ability onto the big screen. Let me demonstrate. CG: SPHERE Slide 1 Shake the SPHERE. Wow! Excellent dancer?! I had no idea I could dance, but the SPHERE is never wrong, so let s give it a shot! Dance a bit to the best of your ability. When finished, act clearly proud and impressed with yourself. Who knew, right?! In fact, let s test out the SPHERE with some volunteers! Anyone out there want to find out their hidden talent? CG: SPHERE Slide 2 CG: SPHERE Slide 3 CG: SPHERE Slide 4 CG: SPHERE Slide 5 CG: SPHERE Slide 6 Call five kids to the stage who would be likely to demonstrate whatever appears on the screens. Hand the sphere to the first volunteer to shake, at which point the next slide should come up. The volunteer completes the task, and then the next volunteer takes a turn. THAT. WAS. INCREDIBLE. All of you are WAY more talented than you look and I bet WAY more talented than you realized! Thanks for helping me take the SPHERE out for a spin. How about you all help me welcome [Historyteller s name] to the stage? Host exits as Historyteller enters carrying the three boxes and places them on a table 5

6 SETTING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: What s up, everyone? I couldn t be more excited to have you here this morning. We are going to be looking at something in the Bible I find particularly encouraging. All month long you ve heard us talk about how all of us are uniquely made. Nobody looks or talks or thinks just like you. Even if you are a twin, you have characteristics that make you completely different than your sibling. When God designed people, He wanted some of us to have the ability to remember everything we read in a book or be quick with complex math problems. He created some of us to have an uncanny ability to throw a baseball or run fast. It might sound weird to say it, but these special talents come from God even if your talent is yodeling. Those are great and all, but did you know God gives SPECIAL gifts to those who are followers of Jesus? It s true. Although everyone in the world is made unique, the Bible teaches those who believe Jesus is the Son of God are provided with gifts that come from His Holy Spirit. Check it out! In 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, it says (open Bible and read 1 Corinthians 12:4-6): There are different kinds of gifts. But they are all given to believers by the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve. But they all come from the same Lord. There are different ways the Spirit works. But the same God is working in all these ways and in all people (NIrV). Those who are believers in Jesus are all guided by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit provides a number of gifts to God s people such as serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, and a whole host of others. I find this so encouraging because it means I have been given a gift from God to be used for the good of others. I brought these three boxes to the stage with me to help us understand. WISDOM Pick up the wisdom box. HISTORYTELLER: Each of these boxes represents a spiritual gift. This first box symbolizes wisdom. When God gives the spiritual gift of wisdom to His people, they have an uncanny ability to spot trouble and provide direction to all of those involved. Wise people have the skill to see things from God s perspective and recognize right from wrong. Let s think about something for a moment: how could wisdom be used for the good of others? Take the lid off the wisdom box and pull out a spiral notepad, textbook, and pencil. Flash each object as it is referenced in the scenario. How about this? Let s say you have a huge test coming up and the entire class is nervous about it. Although you re a bit nervous too, you re confident because you ve done what you need to do in order to do well on the test. You read the textbook. You took notes in class. You even reviewed your notes. Then comes Billy. Not only has he NOT studied; he has either skipped or slept through most of the classes. Billy spots you looking over your notes before school and strolls over with a terrible plan to help him do well on his test. He wants you to make it easy for him to glance at your answers from behind. How would you respond? Take a few responses from the audience. Make sure good and bad responses are briefly discussed. If God has gifted you with wisdom, you d recognize the trouble with his plan. You know allowing him to 6

7 cheat is not a wise choice. God teaches against lying and deceit. With the gift of wisdom, you quickly offer your notes to give him a chance to review before the big test. Put down the wisdom box and pick up the knowledge box. KNOWLEDGE HISTORYTELLER: But what if wisdom is not your gift? Maybe God has gifted you with knowledge. Although knowledge is similar to wisdom, it s different. Those with the spiritual gift of knowledge have the ability to read, retain, and communicate God s truth when the time is right. It s like you have book smarts with a Bible. Take the lid off the knowledge box and pull out the soccer ball. How could this spiritual gift be useful? Let s say your good friend Olivia is an accomplished soccer player. She s on the club team, she has the flashy shoes, and she s got a fancy hairdo. Not only that, she s got the skill to play the game really, really well. In case you re wondering, Olivia plays striker. The rest of her team isn t bad either. In fact, her team has done better than expected in the Super Club World Soccer Cup Classic. Their next game is a really big one. If they win, they move on to the Super Club World Soccer Cup Classic Championship. Yes, I said CHAMPIONSHIP. However, Olivia calls you in a worried panic. In the midst of her rambling, your gift of knowledge kicks into high gear. When she finally takes a breath, you take the opportunity to recall some of God s truth you remember from your own Bible studying. You ask Olivia about why she s so worried. You continue to remind her God has a good plan for her life. The tournament and soccer skill is evidence of that. While Olivia is quiet on the phone, you continue to remind her what Jesus said on the topic of worry. You remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6 about not worrying. You explain that instead of worrying, she should seek God in all situations. The use of your gift of knowledge was enough to calm Olivia down and remind her to lean on God when she gets anxious. FAITH Put down the knowledge box and pick up the faith box. HISTORYTELLER: Maybe your spiritual gift is not wisdom or knowledge. It could be something like faith! Those gifted with faith have complete confidence in God even if they don t know how a situation will turn out. It s not that they are perpetually positive people, but they have placed their complete trust in God s plan, even though they can t see it and don t understand it. Let s see how the use of this gift could play out. Open the faith box. Pull out the backpack and put it on. Let s not kid ourselves. Moving into sixth grade can be scary. Often, it means attending a new school with new schedules and new friends. You know this. I know this. And Ethan knows this. In fact, your good friend Ethan knows this all too well. His older brother told him about the harder classes, loads of homework, and toughness of middle school athletics. He s overwhelmed. Just the thought of prealgebra makes him want to sprint to the bathroom. The sound of a gym whistle makes Ethan fall to the ground with a pulled hammy. If you ve been gifted with faith, how could you help? 7

8 Take a few responses from the audience. Thankfully, Ethan has a good friend with the spiritual gift of faith. While Ethan is panic-stricken with an uncertain future, you are unshaken. Don t get me wrong, you aren t giddy with all the upcoming changes at the summer s end, but you know God s got a plan for you and Ethan. At every sight of anxiety, you calm Ethan down by reminding him God s got this! And you do this with a steadfast confidence that comes from your faith. Take off the backpack. WRAPPING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: And you know what else? Those are just a few of the spiritual gifts God gives to those who follow Jesus! There are tons more. Maybe you have no problem generously giving to those around you. That s the gift of generosity. Some of you may have the ability to teach your peers from the Bible in a way they can understand. That s the gift of teaching. Some of you may be wondering what spiritual gift God has given you. Whether you know or don t know your gift, God promises to give one to everyone who follows Jesus, and He expects us to use it for the good of others. In fact, 1 Corinthians 12:7 says (open Bible and read 1 Corinthians 12:7): The Holy Spirit is given to each of us in a special way. That is for the good of all (NIrV). Our Bottom Line echoes this truth. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] God made you to do good. These gifts are not intended for you to use for yourself. Rather, you are to use your spiritual gifts to lead others to Jesus. Let s pray. Pray HISTORYTELLER: Dear God, thanks for making us all unique. Nobody on earth is the exact same. Please help us to use the spiritual gifts You have given us for the good of others. Please help our actions to point others to You. We love You and we pray all these things in Jesus name, amen. If you have an offering or a tithe to give today, you can bring that on up to the offering bucket now. Historyteller exits. Host enters with the SPHERE ball. Closer HOST: My Shake-Powered Hidden Expertise Realization Engine can crank out some pretty fantastic talents. If anything, the SPHERE highlights we are all unique. For example, did you know [senior pastor s name] has the hidden talent of being the greatest stick figure artist EVER? It s true. SPHERE told me this morning. Each one of us is one-of-a-kind, made-by-the-creator-of-the-universe unique! This tells me you re important, and you re here for some important reason. Sound familiar? I hope so. It s pretty much what our memory verse has been trying to say. Read it with me. CG: Memory Verse Slide For we are God s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in 8

9 advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10, NIV That s true no matter who you are, but if you are a follower of Jesus, your reason for being here is in the Bible. Jesus said: You are the light of the world, and Let your light shine so others can see it. Then they will see the good things you do. And they will bring glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:14, 16 NIrV). Christians are called to shine our lights to do good so God can be honored. That s what we were made to do. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] God made you to do good. And we are to do good by using the gifts God provides us. When you consider all the talents the SPHERE has revealed the yodeling, the dancing, the impersonating they all pale in comparison to the gifts God gives to those who follow Jesus. These gifts are intended to help us shine our lights in different ways. Don t get me wrong. Saying your ABC s really, really fast is an amazing talent, but it doesn t produce the same awesome results as generously giving to those around you who need the help. So this week, keep your eyes open for your gift, or ask a trusted adult to help you figure out what your gift is. And when you realize it, don t keep it to yourself. Let it shine so others can see God through your actions. I m going to use whatever it takes to do good. Whether I have my Shake-Powered Hidden Expertise Realization Engine or some other gizmo, I ll do good. Why? Because I, like all of you, am unique. Have a great time in Prayer Group and an awesome week ahead! See you next time! CG: Prayer Group Slide Dismiss children to their Prayer Groups. 9

10 Pray and Dismiss (10 minutes) What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Go around the circle and ask kids to tell one skill or gift they have. Pray a short prayer for each person to be able to use his or her gift as God intends. o Please help [child s name] to learn and use the gifts you ve given [him/her]. o Use [child s name] s gift of to strengthen others. o Thank You for making [him/her] able to. If a kid cannot think of a gift, pray that he will recognize the gifts God has given, or pray about a gift that you have observed in him. What You Say: This week, I ll continue to pray for each of you to be able to discover and use the gifts God has given you in all the ways He intended them to be used. [Bottom Line] God made you to do good. He gives all that you need to serve Him in ways that no one else can. You re uniquely created in God s image and made to do incredible things for Him. Pass out Parent CUE cards as adults arrive for pick-up. 10