LEADER S GUIDE BIG MESSAGE LIVE BIG PICTURE: DOCUMENT PURPOSE POSITION This document is the Leader s Guide for BIG Picture POSITION. It contains a summary of the BIG Message LIVE. The BIG Draw Near User Guide document contains all the service element information, including the large group segment of your service. BIG IDEA: WHERE ARE YOU? BIG POINT: THROUGH JESUS WE CAN Make sure you read through and prayerfully study this material prior to your service to be fully prepared to minister to your children. BIG WORD: USER AGREEMENT Upon purchase of this resource, Hillsong Kids BIG gladly grants the buyer (The Licensee) or the organisation they represent, a free and non-exclusive license to tailor Hillsong Kids BIG print materials to fit their unique leadership requirements. However, it is prohibited to make changes to doctrine, scripture references, biblical principles and concepts presented. Please see doctrinal guidelines we have expressed in our What We Believe statement. These resources are intended to be printed for use only by the buyer or the organisation they represent and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by others. Any unauthorised reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of copyright laws. 2017 Hillsong Church. All rights reserved. 1 BIG MESSAGE LIVE 2017 Hillsong Church BUT IT IS GOOD FOR ME TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD; I HAVE PUT MY TRUST IN THE LORD GOD, THAT I MAY DECLARE ALL YOUR WORKS. PSALM 73:28 (NKJV)
BIG MESSAGE LIVE OUTLINE BIG IDEA: WHERE ARE YOU? BIG POINT: THROUGH JESUS WE CAN BIG WORD: BUT IT IS GOOD FOR ME TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD; I HAVE PUT MY TRUST IN THE LORD GOD, THAT I MAY DECLARE ALL YOUR WORKS. PSALM 73:28 (NKJV) LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the conclusion of this lesson children will: Learn that through Christ we are positioned to enter God s presence with boldness. Know that we can take steps to draw near to God. Discover a closer personal relationship with God. BUILD YOUR MESSAGE Use the outline in the following pages to construct a message that works for you and your children s ministry. Pray, read the scripture references and choose which elements best suit your audience. Then, prepare by gathering any supplies needed. SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: Psalm 73:28, Psalm 139:7-8, Luke 19:1-10, Ephesians 1:17, Ephesians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 10:19-22, Hebrews 10:25, James 4:8, Revelation 3:20 MY MESSAGE PLAN: SUPPLIES NEEDED: 1 BIG MESSAGE LIVE 2017 Hillsong Church
INTRO JESUS MADE A WAY SUPPLIES NEEDED: Screen images supplied with print material files. We read about heroes of our faith in the Old Testament who drew near to God in various ways. Before Jesus, people approached God quite differently than we do now. Instead of Church, there was a Temple. The Temple was where God s people would meet and where God dwelt. In the Temple the High Priest would need to offer sacrifices, usually animals of different kinds, prepared in a special way. These sacrifices would demonstrate forgiveness or covering for sin and could only be offered by the High Priest. The inner part of the Temple, where God dwelt, was known as the Holy of Holies and a big curtain separated God s presence from people. Only the High Priest could enter, and only did so once a year, with great fear and reverence. Through Jesus, that isn t how people must approach God any longer. Let s see what the Bible says in Hebrews 10:19 (NIRV), Brothers and sisters, we are not afraid to enter the Most Holy Room. We enter boldly because of the blood of Jesus. We, you and I, any person, not only a High Priest, can enter the most holy place, God s presence, because of Jesus! Instead of the High Priest offering sacrifices for forgiveness of sin, Jesus, the Highest Priest Himself, offered His own life as the perfect sacrifice, once and for all. Hebrews 10:20-21 (NIRV), His way is new because he lives. It has been opened for us through the curtain. I m talking about his body. We also have a great priest over the house of God. Jesus is higher than any High Priest, and He opened up the curtain that separated people from God s presence. Hebrews 10:20-22 (NIV), So let us come near to God with a sincere heart. Let us come near boldly because of our faith. Our hearts have been sprinkled. Our minds have been cleansed from a sense of guilt. Our bodies have been washed with pure water. We can draw near to God through Jesus. Because of Christ s sacrifice, His death and resurrection, we are now positioned to boldly draw near and enter into God s presence. Reminder: This is a great time to play the Big Story video to your group. We find it breaks up your Big Message Live really well and keeps the children focussed. STORYTELLING ZACCHAEUS SUPPLIES NEEDED: Sturdy ladder and a friend to hold it for you. Share the story of Zacchaeus with lots of big physical actions and for added humour, play up your exhaustion of moving about so much and stop and bend over to catch your breath now and then :) You will play both the role of Zacchaeus and Jesus. Set a tall sturdy ladder to one side of the stage to act as the tree Zacchaeus climbs and have a helper ready to hold it as you climb up and down as Jesus and Zacchaeus converse. Wherever Jesus went, large crowds gathered and Jesus visit to the town of Jericho was no different. (Move from one side of the stage all the way to the other side as you say aaaalllll ) There were people lining the streets from one end of town, aaaaaallllll the way to the other end of town. People crowded the streets to see Him. One of the people in the crowd was a man named Zacchaeus, (Drop to your knees), a very short man named Zacchaeus. He was Jewish like everybody else, but people hated him because he worked as the chief tax collector. (Move around the stage, on your knees acting as short Zacchaeus knocking on doors.) Day after day Zacchaeus would go from house to house collecting money on behalf of the Roman leaders. Knock Knock, Pay up! Next house.. Knock Knock, Pay up! to the next house, Knock Knock, Pay up! and the next, Knock Knock, Pay up! and the next, Knock Knock, Pay up! Zacchaeus became very wealthy by talking money from people. He would even take extra taxes so he could keep some of their money for himself and no one could do a thing about it! Zacchaeus wanted to see who this man named Jesus was, but he had a LITTLE problem. (Act as short Zacchaeus stretching up and moving around trying to see over and move about the crowd.) He was too short to see over the crowd. He tried to push his way to the front, but no one would let him through. He tried to squeeze past people on the side, but the crowd gave him the cold shoulder. So he came up with a plan. (Walk on your knees to the ladder, and have a friend hold it steady for you as you climb it, with your feet.. not on your knees) Dashing down the road ahead of where Jesus was he climbed a Sycamore tree so he could see Jesus walk by. (Put your hand to your forehead looking down the road to see Jesus coming.) When Jesus reached that tree, (Climb down the ladder, run to the other side and look up at Zacchaeus,) He stopped and called out to the man sitting in the branches, Zacchaeus. (Climb back up the ladder,) Me? Zacchaeus said. That was the last thing he was expecting! He almost fell out of his tree! (Climb down the ladder, run to the other side and look up at Zacchaeus.) Jesus said, Zacchaeus, come down out of that tree, I want to be a guest at your house today, I want to spend time with you. (Climb back up the ladder,) Really, are you sure you ve got the right Zacchaeus? he said. The crowd couldn t believe it either, Why would Jesus want to spend time with this thief?! 1 BIG MESSAGE LIVE 2017 Hillsong Church
STORYTELLING CONTINUED... (Climb down the ladder, run to the other side and look up at Zacchaeus,) Jesus said, Yes you! I want to be a guest in your home. Jesus had a habit of spending time with people who others didn t like. The Pharisees and teachers of the law always stayed together, in the synagogues and had people come to them. Not Jesus, no, He went to meet people where they were at. He spent time with those who were classified as sinners. Through Jesus, Zacchaeus drew near to God. He was a changed man. (Go down onto your knees.) Zacchaeus said, I will give half of all my wealth to the poor and if I have cheated anyone I will pay them back four times the amount. (Stand up again.) Jesus looked down at Zacchaeus and declared, Today is salvation day in this home! He may not have expected it, but when Zacchaeus positioned himself up that tree to get close to Jesus, he had an encounter that changed his life. Through Jesus we can draw near to God. OBJECT LESSON WHERE ARE YOU? SUPPLIES NEEDED: Screen images supplied with print material files. A globe. A smartphone with a maps app that will tell you your location co-ordinates. With a large group you could display this on the screens via a computer showing google maps and clicking on the location button which will place a blue dot to show your current location. Right click on the pin and choose what s here, and a box will show with your location co-ordinates. When you look at a map or a globe you ll see horizontal lines and vertical lines. (Show your globe and the screen image of a map.) These are latitude, the horizontal lines and longitude, the vertical lines which give us co-ordinates. These lines are a numbered grid system that gives every location on earth a global address. Because the address is in numbers, people can communicate a position no matter what language they might speak. Where are you? How do you know where you are right now? Pretty much everyone relies on a GPS to help them find where they are and where they are going. GPS stands for Global Positioning system. Have you ever wondered how GPS works? GPS is a system that uses radio frequencies to find the exact location co-ordinates of where someone or something is, anywhere on earth at any point in time. A bunch of satellites orbit the earth twice a day, traveling at over 7,000 mph. They are solar powered but have battery backup for when they are in the earth s shadow and are positioned so that at any given time there are at least 4 satellites visible from any point on earth. When a GPS device is switched on it listens by receiving radio waves sent from space, to find the four nearest satellites to help calculate your current location. So where are we right now? What s our position? Let s look up our location co-ordinates on this map. (Show or tell the children what your current co-ordinates are.) When you think about drawing near to God, where are you? Do you feel far off and distant from God or do you feel like you re drawing nearer and nearer to Him? The good news is, where you are now, is not where you have to stay. God s promise is that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. Ephesians 2:13 (NIV), But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Because of Jesus, we don t need to be far off, we have been brought near. Through Jesus we can draw near to God. 1 BIG MESSAGE LIVE 2017 Hillsong Church
POINTS 1. WHERE ARE YOU? (Share a story about a time you played hide and seek and had the best hiding spot.) When I was little, my brothers and I would play epic games of Hide and Seek. They would go on for hours. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Ready or not, here I come! Once I hid in the top shelf of a cupboard and no-one could find me for ages! Another time I hid right in my bed, I climbed in and pulled the covers up and used one arm to reach out and put the pillows back in perfect place. It was like I was hiding in plain sight, my brothers came right by and had no clue I was there. God doesn t play Hide and Seek with us, He knows right where you are at all times. We are never out of His sights. Psalm 139:7-8 (NIV) says, Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Our position isn t dependent on God, He has not hidden Himself from us. He is right here waiting for us to draw near to Him. In fact the Bible says He stands at the door to our heart and knocks for us to open the door and invite Him in. Revelation 3:20 (NIV), Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Where you were is not where you have stayed, and where you are now is not where you will be forever. You can draw nearer to God because of Jesus. Psalm 73:28 (NKJV) But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, That I may declare all Your works. 2. STEP BY STEP Share about a time you climbed a mountain (or at least a big hill.) For my recent vacation I travelled to the little island of Tasmania the most southern state of Australia. We could have gone on a little nature walk, but instead we chose to spend seven full days climbing in the breathtaking Cradle Mountain Region. This was very exciting but I wasn t sure if I could do something so huge. The way to climb a mountain is actually simple - you do it Step by Step. A close and personal relationship with Jesus can seem like an unconquerable mountain, but we can take steps to draw near to Him. What could some of the steps be? Well, one is to read God s Word, the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV), All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. What other steps could we take? Another is prayer. Ephesians 1:17 (NIV), I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. We can get to know God through His spirit, in prayer. 3. BFF Do you have a BFF - a Best Friend Forever? Think about how you feel when you get to spend time with them. You look forward to it, you enjoy every moment and don t want to leave when it is time to go home. Sometimes after spending all day together with my best friend, I go home and I will still call her and talk some more! This is how God has designed us to be in relationship with Him. James 4:8 (ESV), Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. God wants to draw near to you, He loves you with all of His heart. That is why He sent His son, Jesus, to save you so He can spend all of eternity with you. He never gets tired of you, He never wants space, He thinks you are amazing. Sounds like a BFF to me! Through Jesus we can draw near to God. 1 BIG MESSAGE LIVE 2017 Hillsong Church