SUNDAY MORNINGS May 21, 2017, Week 3 Grade: Kinder

Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Prayer Groups, 15 minutes) Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today s Bible Truth. Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Thank God that He gives each of us what we need to keep going. Pray that your few would recognize these areas of their lives and ask for God s help in having determination. Do the same for yourself, and consider sharing this with your few today. You ve Got What I Need What You Need: You ve Got What I Need Items Activity Page, paper, and crayons What You Do: Pass out the cards from. Give one to each kid. Tell kids you re going to read some scenarios. They have to decide if the picture of the object they re holding is what you would need in that particular situation. The kid holding the correct card should stand up and say, I ve got what you need! and then tell the group what his/her picture is. If time allows at the end, pass out paper and markers. Come up with a couple scenarios of your own and let kids draw what they think you would need. Scenarios to read: If I m going to play baseball I need a (baseball). If I m going to drive a car I need a (steering wheel). If I m going to build a house I need a (hammer). If I m going to go to school I need a (backpack). If I m going to read a story I need a (book). If I m going to be in a band I need a (guitar). If I m going to go swimming I need some (goggles). If I m going to take a shower I need (soap). If I m going to walk my dog I need a (leash). If I m going to clean my bathroom I need (cleaner). What You Say: You guys all came up with different drawings, but there was one thing we all had in common. We knew we needed something to accomplish each task. [Transition] Today in Large Group we are going to learn about someone who always gives us what we need. Lead your group to the Large Group area. 2

Outer Wall Bible Truth: Outer Wall (Armor of God) Ephesians 6:10-18 Bottom Line: God gives you what you need to keep going. Memory Verse: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9, NIV Life App: Determination deciding it s worth it to finish what you started. 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: Welcome Slide SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter. CG: The Amazing Maze Theme Slide Host welcomes kids as they enter. HOST: Hey, everyone! It s me, [Host s name], and I am so glad that you re hanging out with us today in The Treehouse! If you re ready to have the BEST morning of your entire life, look at your neighbor and fist bump them and say, We re ready! HOST and KIDS: We re ready! HOST: That s right! Power Praise Team enters. Worship WORSHIP LEADER: Hey, everyone! Hope you re having an awesome day. Let s get started! SFX: We Shine Let s use our energy to praise God and celebrate all that He has done for us. I m gonna walk by faith. Can you say that with me? I m gonna walk by faith. I am excited to sing praises to God with you. Let s make it known that we re gonna walk by faith. Sing it now. SFX: Walk By Faith Yeah, it s so good to sing out together. If you ve ever been to the beach you ll remember the way that the waves just keep coming and coming. When you re little, they can knock you down and then it s hard to get up. Sometimes life can feel like that. But God is always there to help us walk through the ocean and the waves of life, no matter how hard they try to knock us down, God will hold us up. 4

SFX: Oceans You guys have a great week and we will see you soon! Power Praise exits. HOST: That is always fun. We are going to keep having a blast today talking all about this month s Life App of determination. Check out this morning s video. CG: 252 Intro Video Host joins the children in the audience. Historyteller enters. HISTORYTELLER: Hey, hey, friends! What s going on? My name is [Historyteller s name] and I am so, so glad you are here with us today. We ve had a lot of fun this morning, and that fun isn t going to stop now. Today we re going to learn about one of the coolest chapters in the Bible: Ephesians 6. Now, you might know this already, but the Bible is actually not just ONE book. It s a book that has a lot more books inside of it, and some of these books actually started out as letters from the first followers of Jesus to churches they helped start. These books and letters tell us God s story the greatest story ever! But the Bible also gives us lots of super important information about how God wants us to live our lives. We ve been talking about determination all month long. And it must be pretty important because God has given us all sorts of stories and verses in the Bible that tell us about how God wants us to show determination. And the good news is God has promised to be with us every step of the way through His Holy Spirit and give us everything we need to show determination. Let s look at something else the Bible tells us that God has given us to help us show determination. ARMOR BACKGROUND Pick up the sword and hold it up. HISTORYTELLER: We don t see swords much nowadays, do we? No, we don t. But a long, long time ago, when the Bible was written, swords were a really important and a really common weapon. Pick up the helmet and hold it up. Can anyone tell me what this is? (Pause.) It s a helmet; that s right. And just like swords, we don t see helmets like this often. But in Jesus time, soldiers used helmets along with the sword and other pieces you see here for protection. Protection against what? Anything that could hurt or injure you. ARMOR HISTORYTELLER: The author of Ephesians is a man named Paul. Paul loved God very, very much. And Paul knew a lot about determination. In chapter 6, Paul tells us about another type of armor. It s a type of armor God gives US so we can avoid hurt or injury and so we can show determination. This armor that God gives will help us to stand strong in who God says that we are and to be determined 5

throughout our entire lives. We just need to learn how to wear it and use it. I need six volunteers to help me with this next part of our Bible Truth for today. Choose six volunteers and invite them onstage. Have them line up side by side across the stage. These guys are going to help me explain the armor of God and how each piece protects us and helps us show determination. Pick up the belt and place it on the first kid as you speak. First, Paul tells us to put on the belt of truth. (To kid) Don t forget that word. You are truth. When I point to you, you say, Truth! Got it? Good. What is the truth? Well, the truth is whatever God says is true. Easy enough, right? So first, we re to put on the belt of (point to kid) truth. Pick up the breastplate and place it on the second kid as you speak. Next, we re to place the breastplate of godliness on our chests. What does it mean to be godly? Well, it means being like God. And since Jesus died on the cross for our sins and gave us His new, clean heart, it means remembering that God made us godly like Jesus. And then we need to act on that godliness by being kind, good, humble, and fair, like God is. (To kid) So, when I point to you, you say, godliness. This is the breastplate of (point to kid)... yes, godliness. Tell the third kid to exchange his shoes for the prop shoes. Or if they are big enough, he can just wear them on top of his other shoes. Then Paul tells us about the next piece in the armor of God. He says to wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. In other words, be ready to share the story of Jesus how He loves everyone and He made a way so everyone can be God s friend forever. Another word for the good news of peace is the gospel. (To kid) So, when I point to you, I want you to say, gospel. (Point to kid.) As you review below, point to the kids to say their words. Okay. Let s review. So far we ve got the belt of (point to kid) truth, the breastplate of (point to kid) godliness, and the shoes of the (point to kid) gospel of peace. Let s see what other armor God has given us. Hand the shield to the fourth kid. Paul tells us next about the shield of faith. Faith is believing what God says is true, no matter what. To have faith means we are sure that God always, always, always keeps His promises. (To kid) When I point to you, you say... (point to kid), yes, faith! Put the helmet on the fifth kid. 6

Next, we re to put on the helmet of salvation. We receive salvation when we accept that Jesus paid for our sins on the cross and when we accept the new life that He gives us. Salvation means that since our hearts are clean, Jesus lives inside us through His Holy Spirit, and we are going to be His friends forever even in heaven. (To kid) When I point to you, you know the drill. (Point to kid.) Yes, salvation. Hand the sword to the sixth kid. Finally, Paul tells us to pick up one more piece of God s armor the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God, or the Bible. The Bible teaches us, it helps us, and it protects us. We can fight off lies with the truth that s inside of it, but only if we read it. (To kid) So, when I point to you, say, Bible. (Point to kid.) Okay, everyone. Let s review the Armor of God. I m going to point to each volunteer and they re going to say their word. We re going to do it over and over again until you all catch on. So, if you know the word, say it with us! Point to the volunteers in order, letting them say their words aloud. Do it over and over again until most of the audience catches on. APPLICATION HISTORYTELLER: Amazing job, everyone. Volunteers, you can put your pieces of armor down and head back to your seats. You see, God wants us to show determination, and that can be really hard! That s why we need the Armor of God to help us do that. We need truth. (Pick up belt.) We need to believe that what God says is true and act as if it s true. If we aren t living like what God says is true like He loves us we need to make a change. We need godliness. (Pick up breastplate.) We need to remember that God made us godly like He is and since we re godly, we can now love like He does. We can be kind. We can stand up for people when they re picked on. We can include friends who are being left out. We need to (pick up shoes) share the gospel telling others how God loves them and wants to be their friend forever. That s one way we can honor God with our lives AND help others. We need (pick up shield) faith. Believing that what God says is true no matter what will help you stay determined even when you re faced with trouble, hard times, or doubt. Faith in God reminds us of all God s done for us, and all He has promised to do. We need (pick up helmet) salvation remembering that Jesus paid for your sins and gave you a new, clean heart so you can be His friend forever. A relationship with Jesus will be your main source of comfort and peace throughout your life. We need (pick up sword) the Word of God not just today, but every day. God wants us to know His words. He wants us to use the Bible to learn about Him, to give us comfort when things are hard, and to help us defend ourselves when lies come our way. 7

WRAPPING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: You can practice putting on God s armor. And when you do, don t get bogged down in exactly what each piece means, because they overlap. The point of putting on God s armor is to help you remember what God says is true about you and about life. When you put on the Armor of God, you are stronger, braver, and happier. Life won t necessarily be easier, but it will be so much better. You will be able to show determination no matter what, because [Bottom Line] God gives you what you need to keep going. That s our Bottom Line for today. Read it with me. CG: Bottom Line Slide HISTORYTELLER and KIDS: [Bottom Line] God gives you what you need to keep going. HISTORYTELLER: That s right! It really goes hand in hand with our memory verse for this month. Read it with me a few times. CG: Memory Verse Slide Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9, NIV Just remember, this can still be hard for us to get right all the time. So how about we pray and ask God to help us rely on His strength and power to show determination and keep going? Let s pray! Pray HISTORYTELLER: God, thank You for the Bible. Thank You for all the things we learn from Your words. And thank You for giving us everything we need to show determination. Help us learn how to put on Your armor and wear it each day. Help us to show determination and ask You for help when we need it. Thank You for giving us what we need to keep going. We love You and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen. Raise your hand if you have an offering today and we will bring the bucket over to you. Historyteller exits. Host enters. Closer HOST: Hey, everyone! Listen up for a second. There are going to be times in your life when you just aren t going to be able to handle things all on your own. It s like if you re having trouble in school, you might need a tutor. Or if you have to get a glass from the cabinet and it s too high for you to reach, you might need someone taller than you are to lend a hand. The same is true of situations in your life. You re going to have a different sort of things that happen that just seem too difficult to handle, like being tempted to do things you know you shouldn t or feeling like you re not good enough. The good news is: If you believe Jesus is who He says He is and you put your faith in Him, He s sent His Holy Spirit to help you. 8

So ask God to help you wear His armor well. Ask Him to help give you more strength and protect you from harm. Read your Bible your sword. The Bible can help you discover what God has to say about the situations you face. Here s the one thing to remember today. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] God gives you what you need to keep going. Say that with me. HOST and KIDS: [Bottom Line] God gives you what you need to keep going. HOST: With God s help, you can face whatever comes your way and keep going because He is with you! You can [Basic Truth] trust God no matter what. It s time for Prayer Group, where you ll talk even more about all this. So let s get going! Have a great week, everyone! CG: Prayer Group Slide Dismiss children to their Prayer Groups. Pray and Dismiss (10 minutes) What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Start off by brainstorming some things God gives us, like parents/aunts/uncles/grandparents who love us, a church group to learn with, food, places to sleep, friends, and even brothers and sisters. Then sit in a circle with your few and have each person say, Thank You, God, for giving me (fill in the blank). Once everyone has had a chance to thank God for something He gives us, close the group in prayer. What You Say: God, thank You for giving me everything I need. Even when we may not think we have everything we want, we can trust that You will never leave us without what we need. Help us to always be grateful for what You have given us and never grow tired of doing what You have asked us to do! Thank You that You always give us what we need to keep going. As adults arrive to pick up, remind the kids that this week they can put on the armor of God, and no matter what they face, [Bottom Line] God gives you what you need to keep going. 9