PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME 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 Holly Crawshaw Emily Meredith Becky Jarrett Nicole Jones Julie Tiemann Rachael Sibcy Editors Molly Boylan Elloa Davis 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 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. 2016 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.
SOCIAL PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY Foretweeting God Promises a Savior Isaiah 9:6-7 BOTTOM LINE I can have joy because God keeps His promises. MEMORY VERSE Always be joyful because you belong to the Lord. I will say it again. Be joyful! Philippians 4:4, 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 Put a Bow on It STORY: Communicating God s truth in engaging ways Opener Worship Bible Story Prayer Closer WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God Frosty the Snowman from Jingle Jam: Wrapped Up Joy to the World from Jingle Jam : Creating a safe place to connect Pass that Box God s Promises Flip Book Unwrap a Verse Prayer HOME: Prompting action beyond the experience GodTime Parent Cue Joy finding a way to be happy even when things don t go your way BASIC TRUTH I can trust God no matter what. PAGE 2
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY Foretweeting God Promises a Savior Isaiah 9:6-7 BOTTOM LINE I can have joy because God keeps His promises. MEMORY VERSE GETTING READY SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (Choose one or both of these activities.) Early Arriver An offering conainer 2 small packing boxes Christmas wrapping paper Tape Scissors Put a Bow on It 2 wrapped boxes prepared during Early Arriver Stick-on bows; 20 for each small group Plastic spoons; 2 for each small group Always be joyful because you belong to the Lord. I will say it again. Be joyful! Philippians 4:4, NIrV : 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 #2. 1. Pass that Box (review the Bible story) 1 of the gift boxes from earlier LIFE APP Joy finding a way to be happy even when things don t go your way BASIC TRUTH I can trust God no matter what. 2. God s Promises Flip Book (application activity) Print the God s Promises Activity Page; 1 for each kid Scissors Pencils Stapler Bibles 3. Unwrap a Verse (memory verse activity) Roll of plastic wrap Print the Memory Verse Cards Activity Page and cut apart; 1 set for each small group Note: The same cards will be used in week 3, so consider printing on cardstock and setting them aside to be used again. Candy or small prizes PAGE 3
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Assemble the plastic wrap ball ahead of time! Cut apart the Memory Verse Cards. Select one card and a piece of candy or small prize and put it in the center of a small piece of plastic wrap and roll up like a ball. Keeping the ball attached to the original roll of plastic wrap, continue to add layers with a Memory Verse Card and a piece of candy or small prize inside each one to make the ball larger and larger. Continue until all the Memory Verse cards are wrapped inside the ball. Prayer Kids flip books from God s Promises Flip Book Additional Resources: Make copies on cardstock or email 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 http://www.studio252.tv/leaders. PAGE 4
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. Pray that kids would experience the authentic joy that is offered to them and desire it above any joys the world can give. Ask the Holy Spirit to ignite their hearts with understanding and that you all, as a group, would grow more intimate with our awesome God in your time together today! 1. EARLY ARRIVER IDEA WHAT YOU NEED: Offering container, 2 small packing boxes, Christmas wrapping paper, scissors, clear tape Encourage the kids to place their offerings in the offering container. Ask kids: o What does the word promise mean? o Has anyone made a promise to you this week? o What was that promise? o Did they keep it? As you are discussing the questions, ask the kids help you wrap the two boxes with the Christmas wrapping paper. (Don t put any bows on the boxes!) 2. PUT A BOW ON IT WHAT YOU NEED: 2 wrapped boxes from Early Arriver, stick-on bows, plastic spoons Divide the group into two teams. Place the gift boxes (one per team) about 20 feet away. Kids must grab a stick-on bow (do NOT remove the back that covers the sticky part), balance the bow on the spoon to their team box, remove the sticky backing, and stick the bow on the box. Then they run back and hand the spoon to the next child in line. If kids drop the bow, they must return to the starting line and walk with the bow again. The first team to get all 10 of their bows on the box wins! Adaptation: If you have multiple groups in one room, instead of dividing groups into teams, let each group be its own team and race groups against each other! This is a great way to inspire Small Group pride! Great job, everyone! I LOVE Christmas, don t you? But Christmas is about ONE special gift that you don t find under the tree. [Transition] Let s head to Large Group to find out about the gift God promised so long ago. Lead your group to the Large Group area. PAGE 5
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. PASS THAT BOX (review the Bible story) WHAT YOU NEED: 1 of the gift boxes from Early Arriver, Christmas music Gather the kids and have them sit down in a circle. Start the music and prompt the kids to pass the box around the circle. When you stop the music, the kid holding the box must answer a Bible story review question from the list below. If kids notice that you re watching where the box is when you stop the music, you can close your eyes or turn your back to them as they pass the box. The child holding the box may phone a friend by asking another friend for help. Review Questions: 1. Who were the first two people God created? (Adam and Eve) 2. Adam and Eve lived in a beautiful garden without a care in the world. They even walked and talked with God. But one day, that changed. What happened? (Adam and Eve sinned and weren t perfect anymore) 3. God made a promise to Abraham. What was that promise? (his family would become a great nation and live in a land God picked for them) 4. What were God s chosen people called? (Israelites) 5. The Israelites disobeyed God and were forced to wander in the desert for how long? (40 years) 6. What was the name of the man God sent to tell the people a special message? (Isaiah) 7. The prophet Isaiah promised that a child would be born to rescue us. Who was this baby? (Jesus) 8. Why was it important for God to send Jesus, His Son, to the world? (Because He took on all of our sins by giving His life as the price so we could be close to God again.) Throughout history, God s people found themselves in trouble. And every time, God rescued them. In our Bible story today, we learned that [Bottom Line] I can have joy because God keeps His promises! What is the BIG thing that God promised us way back in the Old Testament in Isaiah? Who did He say would come to rescue us to save us? (Pause for responses). That s right! Jesus! God fulfilled His promise to us by sending His only Son, Jesus! That s what Christmas is all about. [Bottom Line] I can have joy because God keeps His promises. * 2. GOD S PROMISES FLIP BOOK (application activity) WHAT YOU NEED: God s Promises Activity Pages, scissors, pencils, staplers, Bibles Pass out the God s Promises Activity Page to each child to cut apart. Pair kids up and pass out the Bibles. PAGE 6
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Instruct them to work together to look up one or two of the verses on the cards. Provide help as needed. Read the verses together as a group. Give the kids a few minutes to write the verse in their own words or draw a picture of what each promise means to them. If you don t have enough time for kids to write/draw all the verses, they can continue at home. When kids are finished, help them stack their cards together and staple on the left hand side to create a flipbook. [Make It Personal] (Read one of the verses from the flipbook and tell the kids how this particular promise from God has made an impact in your life. Maybe He s protected you when you were scared (Psalm 118:5-7). Maybe He s provided for you when you needed it (Philippians 4:19). Or maybe you ve seen how He had a plan for you during a certain point in your life (Jeremiah 29:11). Remember to keep your examples age appropriate.) God s Word is FULL of His promises. In fact, the whole Bible is like a big promise to you and to me. And God ALWAYS keeps His promises. He doesn t say one thing and do another. We can have joy, no matter what happens, because of the promises we read in His Word. Isaiah said a baby would be born that would save the world. And that baby was Jesus! Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas! [Bottom Line] I can have joy because God keeps His promises. 3. UNWRAP A VERSE (memory verse activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Prepared plastic-wrap ball (see Get Ready ) Help the kids look up Philippians 4:4 using the navigation tips below and read it together. Finding verses with 2nd and 3rd graders: Guide them to open their Bibles to the front and find the table of contents. (Hold up a Bible opened to the table of contents to show the kids what the page looks like.) When the kids find the table of contents, lead them to find Philippians in the list under New Testament. When the kids find Philippians, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find Philippians. Help the kids find the page. When they find Philippians, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 4. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 4 in chapter 4. Gather the kids and have them sit on the floor in a circle. Show them the plastic wrap ball. Encourage the kids to pass the ball around the circle, allowing each kid to unwrap it enough to reveal a card and a piece of candy or prize. Place the cards they find in the center of the circle. Kids may keep the candy or prizes they find. Once all the cards are collected, let the kids work together to put the words in verse order. Then read the verse together once more for review. Adaptation: If you have multiple groups in the room, it could be run to do this as a race between the groups. This verse gives us a GREAT reason to have joy! We can have joy because we belong to God. We belong to God because God sent us Jesus. God promised to send a Savior and He kept that promise. That s why we celebrate Christmas. [Bottom Line] I can have joy because God keeps His promises. PAGE 7
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME PRAY AND DISMISS WHAT YOU NEED: Kids flip books from God s Promises Flip Books Instruct the kids to select a promise from their flip book. Give the kids a couple minutes to pray on their own and thank God for this promise that can help them have joy. After a few minutes, pray for the kids in your group to have joy this week because of the promises that God has made. God has given His Word, which is full of promises, to us. And the BEST part is that He never makes a promise that He doesn t keep. [Bottom Line] I can have joy because God keeps His promises. Even when things are hard, even when we re discouraged or unsure of how things will turn out, and even when it seems like there is NO reason to be happy, we can still have joy because God never changes. When He says He ll do something, you can count on Him to do it. Encourage the kids to show their parents the God s Promises Flip Books they created today and talk about the promises they found in God s Word. PAGE 8