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Large Group Series at a Glance for Elevate About this Series: Extra! Extra! A man from the land of Galilee is changing lives around the world! Through eyewitness accounts and exclusive interviews, get the full story of how Jesus faces off with a storm, defeats sickness, and helps people take down their fears. The greatest news is, he s ready to help you, too. Memory Verse: Psalm 138:3- When I called out to you, you answered me. You made me strong and brave. Weekly Overview: Lesson: Topic: Big Idea: Lesson 1: August 4/5 What if? Gospel story, John 18-21 Following Jesus can make me strong and brave. Lesson 2: August 11/12 Why do you fear? Jesus calms the storm, Luke 8:22-25 Jesus is greater than the things I m afraid of. Lesson 3: August 18/19 Rejected! Jesus accepts a woman, John 4 Jesus accepts me. Lesson 4: August 25/26 #Fail Jesus and Peter, John 13, 18, 21. Failure can t separate me from Jesus. : Tragedy Strikes Jesus and Lazarus, John 11 Jesus understands when I feel sad. 2
Series at a Glance for Elevate (continued) Lesson 1: What if? Who is Jesus? People around the world are asking, and many have their own answers. He s an incredible teacher, a fantastic leader, and a miracle worker, but there s one thing Jesus did that is greater than any other. Because of what He did, we never have to fear again. Find out Jesus incredible story in this week s edition of! Lesson 2: Why do you fear? Why are you afraid? Even Jesus friends, the disciples, could hardly believe their ears when Jesus said that! This week, find out how Jesus turned a raging storm into a calm boat ride, and discover how he can help us through our greatest fears today. Lesson 3: Rejected! Disgrace! Scandal! Witnesses confirm that Jesus is spending time with liars and thieves. Rumors are flying that he may even be a welcome guest in some of their homes. Why would someone like Jesus speak to these people? Get the whole story this week! Lesson 4: #Fail Read all about it! What happens when someone following Jesus messes up big time? What will Jesus do? Get the full scoop, and find out how Jesus responds to us when we fail today. : Tragedy strikes Breaking news: Lazarus, a man who is extremely close to Jesus, has died. Why did this happen? Could Jesus have done more? What is He feeling right now? Learn just how well Jesus understands when we feel sad, in this week s. 3
Lesson Outline for Elevate Lesson Segment Engage Opening Song (2:00) : Tragedy Strikes Total Running Time Welcome and Opening Activity (10:00) Question of the Day (3:00) Worship: Jump (5:00) 0:00-20:00 Involve Lesson Intro (2:00) Bible Story (6:00) Memory Verse (5:00) Group Activity (12:00) 20:00-45:00 Challenge Application (5:00) Worship: Remind Me, Movin Me (8:00) Wrap Up (2:00) 45:00-60:00 Video Cue Slide Cue Audio Cue Tech Notes 4
Opening Song 2:00 (Roll when directed) Elevate Opener Welcome to Elevate! It s time to get started. Throw away your popcorn, and find a spot to sit! We ll start with some breaking news. Do This: Sit down at the news desk, pick up the fake microphone, and address the kids from there. (Auto advance) Elevate Slide and News Underscore Advance to the Elevate Slide and underscore when the teacher sits at the desk. The underscore should begin loud and then be very quiet. Adjust volume as needed. Welcome and Opening Activity 10:00 Welcome everyone! My name is, I ll be your host for today s edition of Galilee Times. Today, our headline is: Tragedy Strikes! We ve been following the story of a man named Jesus, and today, we ll hear about something that made him very sad. Before we hear His story, though, there s an emergency in our news printing press! Game Title Slide: Relay the News and clear audio. This game is for everyone, and it s called Relay the News. It s a relay race for all of your groups! You re going to line up at your group flag. There s one bucket full of newspapers, and an empty bucket at the end of the line. We need your help getting newspapers out from the presses, into the empty bucket. The catch is, these are fresh newspapers, so you can only pass them using your elbows! You can t touch them with your hands at all. You have to pass them from one person to the next, until the last person drops it into the bucket. If you drop it, be sure to pick it up with your elbows! When I say go, the relay race begins! Once you get back to the line, be sure to pass the newspaper to the next person in line. Go ahead and meet by your group flag, your leader will get you lined up! 5
Know This: Depending on group size, the leaders should either line up all the kids in one line by the flag, or line up boys on one side and girls on the other (or however else works best to split them). Decide ahead of time whether the groups will be in one or two lines. Each grade will only have one bucket of papers, and one bucket to fill, so even if they are split, they will be working together to pass as many papers as they can. To help kids get set up, you could put masking tape lines between the buckets, and tell them to stand on the lines (this is especially helpful with younger kids). You have three minutes to relay as many newspapers as you can! Ready, set, go! 3:00 Countdown and Fun Game Music! (Auto-Advance) Game Title Slide: Relay the News and clear audio. Alright, you can come back to the front! Leaders, how many newspapers did your team get relayed? Great job everyone! That was a challenge, but it s important for people to know the news. We report exciting, challenging, and even sad things every day. Knowing what s really happening in our world is a good thing. It s so important, let s take a minute to find out what s happening in your world, with a question of the day! Question of the Day 3:00 Question of the Day Video (Auto Advance) QOTD Slide: What s something you hope you never have to do again? What s something you hope you never have to do again? Eat spinach? Fly in a plane? Get sick? Turn to the person next to you, and find out their answer! Do This: Emcee as the kids are sharing their answers. Encourage them to share with the people around them, and encourage any kid whose story you hear. 6
Know This: Allow kids time to interact with one another. Feel free to ask a few of them what their answer is. I wish we could choose everything that happened to us sometimes, but there are always things that happen that aren t great, and we can t do anything about it. Even when those things happen, though, God is still in control. Worship 5:00 Worship Slide That s one great thing about worshipping God. Worship means showing God love. When we sing about God, talk to him, and learn more about him, it help us remember that God is always in control, no matter how tough life gets. That s a great reason to celebrate, and even to jump! That s what this song is all about. Song 1: Jump (Auto advance) Worship Slide Worshipping God with you is awesome. Another way to spend time with God is by praying, or talking to him. Let s take a moment to do that now. You can talk to God about anything, but I ll take a moment to pray for all of us. God, we are so thankful for you. Thank you for being with us and helping us to be brave. Help us to trust you, no matter what is happening. Amen. Lesson Intro 2:00 Bumper Video (1:00) 7
Series Title Slide: Subtitle: Tragedy Strikes Do This: Return to the microphone and desk for the lesson intro. Thanks for tuning into. Today, the unthinkable happens! One of Jesus friends is sick, and things aren t looking up. Bible Story 6:00 Let s check in with our reporters in the field to find out what happens to Jesus when tragedy strikes. A death in the family and Jesus Wept (4:00) (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: Jesus is amazing! He is always in control, but that story shows us something else that s super important, too. Jesus understands when we feel sad. He felt hurt sometimes, and sad about things that happened, just like we do. That s one reason Jesus can help us be brave. What Jesus did in these stories was amazing, and it s not what usually happens, right? Jesus isn t going to bring every person to life again, but he does promise that everyone who follows him never has to be afraid of dying. They can know that we ll live with God, in heaven. Through Lazarus story, though, we can learn some important things. First of all, Jesus is even stronger than death. The other thing is, Jesus knows what it s like to feel sad. How amazing is that? Jesus, God s son, felt sad to lose one of his friends. If you ve felt that sadness, you should know that it s ok to feel that way. The Bible is full of stories of people who have felt sad, and even a little hopeless. One great part of the Bible to read when you feel that way is the book of Psalms, where our memory verse for this series comes from. Memory Verse 5:00 8
Memory Verse Slide: Psalm 138:3- When I called out to you, you answered me. You made me strong and brave. Do This: Read the verse from the screen. The person who wrote this verse called out to God for help. God answered him, but notice that he didn t just take away the problem. Instead, God helped him be strong and brave. Maybe God wanted him to grow and learn by facing the thing he was afraid of. Maybe God knew that this was best for him. God can help us be brave, too. All we have to do is ask. Let s try saying this verse together! If I raise my hand way up high, say it really really loud! If I lower my hand, get softer and softer. Let s say the verse together! Do This: Raise and lower your hand as you say the verse with the kids, getting louder and softer as you like. Repeat this 2-3 times. Group Activity 12:00 Know This: If you are able to do group time, you are encouraged to do it, as the closeness of a smaller group is a great thing for kids to experience. If you aren t able to do this section in group time, keep following this script, and direct the activity from the stage. Do This: If you are doing this activity in small groups, direct the kids to their group leaders now. (Auto-Advance) Series Title Slide: Knowing that Jesus understands when we feel sad is a big deal. Jesus gets it, because he s been through it. Check out this verse. Hebrews 4:15- We have a high priest who can feel it when we are weak and hurting. Do This: Read the verse from the screen. The writer here was calling Jesus our high priest, because for the people he was writing to, the priest was someone who would talk to God for them. The writer here tells us something super important about Jesus. He can feel it when we are weak and hurting. He understands how you feel when you re hurt, lonely, and sad, because those 9
things happened to him too. That s important, because even if no one else understands, Jesus does. Game Title Slide: Sad Gabs That means it s ok to be sad, but once we re ready to move on, what do we do? To find out, let s try an activity! I m going to put some words on the screen. They seem random, but if you say them just right, they ll sound like something else. Normally, this game is called Mad Gabs, but since this one is all about things we can do when we feel sad, we re calling it Sad Gabs! Let s give it a try. Game Underscore This is just a practice one, so it doesn t have to do with being sad. Can you figure out what this is supposed to mean? A pull or shard Do This: Read the words slowly. You can read them several times, but try not to give the answer away. Allow the kids some time to guess, but move on after about 30 seconds. What does that mean? A pull or shard. Let s find out if you re right! Apple Orchard Apple orchard! Saying it fast helps. Let s try another warm-up one. Rude all of dread knows rained ear Do This: Read the words slowly. You can read them several times, but try not to give the answer away. Allow the kids some time to guess, but move on after about 30 seconds. Rude all of dread knows reigned ear? What does it mean? Let s see! Rudolph the red nosed reindeer 10
Alright, now we re getting to the big ones. These next few are about things we can do when we feel sad. Tall king tug odd. Do This: Read the words slowly. You can read them several times, but try not to give the answer away. Allow the kids some time to guess, but move on after about a minute. This is something we can do when we feel sad. What does it mean? Let s find out. Talking to God. Talking to God! That makes sense. That s something Jesus did when he felt sad, too. He asked that God would show people how great he was, even through something that was very sad. It s great to know that Jesus and God both understand us completely, however we feel. Let s try another puzzle! Rye tab out wat tap pinned. Do This: Read the words slowly. You can read them several times, but try not to give the answer away. Allow the kids some time to guess, but move on after about a minute. Rye tab out wat tap pinned? Let s see what that turns into. Write about what happened. Write about what happened. That can help us remember important things, or just figure out how we re feeling when everything is going crazy. That s a great thing to do when you re feeling sad. Cure I wit sum won. Do This: Read the words slowly. You can read them several times, but try not to give the answer away. Allow the kids some time to guess, but move on after about a minute. Cure I wit sum won. Hmm. How could that help when we re feeling sad? Let s find out. 11
Cry with someone. Cry with someone. That makes more sense. Jesus knew that there is nothing wrong with crying. Taking time just to be sad is very grown up. You can be sad on your own, but it is a big help if you can find someone you trust, someone who will just listen to you, tell them about what happened, and even cry with them. It could be your parents, or even a leader here at church. We would love to listen to you, and pray with you if you would like. Let s try one more puzzle. Ream member ye wharl of ed. Do This: Read the words slowly. You can read them several times, but try not to give the answer away. Allow the kids some time to guess, but move on after about a minute. Ream member ye wharl of ed? Let s find out what it means. Remember you are loved. Remember you are loved. Whatever happens to you, whatever you are feeling, God loves you, and wants you to know he s there with you. Jesus, God s son, has gone through hurt, sadness, and fear, just like we do. He really knows, and really understands. Application 5:00 If there s one thing you should remember from today, it s this. Big Idea Slide: Jesus understands when I feel sad. Jesus understands when I feel sad, and when you feel sad. That s a big deal. A lot of people don t understand when we feel sad. They say things like It ll be ok, when it just doesn t feel ok. Maybe they try to fix the problem or cheer us up, when we just 12
want to be sad for a while. When you just need someone who understands, Jesus is always the best choice. Series Title Slide: Maybe you re thinking Ok, but I don t feel sad right now. What can I do with all this? That s a great question. Wherever you go this week, look around. There are people who are hurting, sad, and lonely all around us. School is starting up soon, for some of you it may have already started. At school, you will see people who are bullied, who don t have many friends, or who are going through something really tough. Remember, one of the best things you can do for them, is just listen. Ask how they are doing, and really listen. You could even say You seem a little sad, is anything up? If they don t answer, that s ok, but they might just be looking for someone to talk to. A great example of this is in the movie Inside Out. Inside Out picture These characters, Joy and Sadness, are lost, and trying to get back to their command center. They re being helped by an imaginary friend named Bing Bong, but he keeps on feeling sad and forgotten. Joy tries to cheer him up, but it doesn t work. Then, sadness sits down by him, and said That must feel awful. He talked to her and cried. Sadness didn t fix the problem, she just listened. Then he stood up, and was sad, but ready to go on. Series Title Slide: Everyone, even Jesus, feels sad sometimes. When you see someone who is sad or hurt, you can do something to help them, but it might be even more important to listen, to try to understand how they are feeling, to just be a friend to them. That s what Jesus does for us, so we can do the same for others. Worship 8:00 13
God is so good to us. However you re feeling today, take some time during this next song to think about how great God s love is, that he will listen to any problem, that he loves and understands you, no matter what. No matter what happens to us, our relationship with God will never change. That s what this song is all about. Let s all stand to sing, you can sing along, or just listen and think about how much God loves us. Song 2: Remind Me (Auto-Advance) Worship Slide Let s talk to God for a moment. God, your love for us is amazing. Thank you for being such a great father to us. Help us to trust you, no matter what is going on in our lives. Amen. Let s pick up the pace with a song about how God s love can change our lives! Song 3: Movin Me (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: That was great, I love worshipping God with all of you! You can sit down. Wrap-Up 2:00 Do This: Sit back down at the news desk. Thank you for tuning in to! Next week, we ll have some different programming. We re starting a new series, and celebrating our Fall Kick-Off weekend! Next week is a fantastic time to bring a friend. This week, remember Jesus understands how you feel, always. He ll always listen to you, and always cares about what you have to say. Let s finish up by talking to God. To help us stay focused on Him, let s close our eyes and bow our heads while we pray. 14
God, thank you for loving us. Help us to be brave, even when we feel sad. Amen. I ve had so much fun hanging out with you all today, I hope to see you next week! Elevate Slide Start hangtime music videos 15