PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME Chief Executive Officer Reggie Joiner Creative Team Kristen Ivy Mike Clear Molly Bell Elloa Davis Elizabeth Hansen Jessica McKee Brandon O Dell Greg Payne Phil Pierce Dan Scott Jon Williams Contributing Writers Holly Crawshaw Kristi Hecht Becky Jarrett Cara Martens Tim Seevers Rachael Sibcy Julie Tiemann Dana Wilkerson Editors Molly Bell Elloa Davis Dana Wilkerson Illustrations & Graphic Design Brian Bascle Mike Davis Joe Goode Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt Orange Specialists Abbey Carr Amy Fenton Leslie Galema Amy Grisham Barbara Graves Terri Jones Misty Phillips Stephanie Porter Annette Stickney Courtney Templeton Gay Tucciarone 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. 2017 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 The Goal Heaven Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27; 22:1-5 BOTTOM LINE Keep going because God knows the end of the story. MEMORY VERSE Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don t give up. Galatians 6:9, 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 Not Done Yet STORY: Communicating God s truth in engaging ways Opener Worship Bible Story Prayer Closer WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God Go from Alive God Is for Us from Living Inside Out We Believe from Kidmin Worship Vol. 4 : Creating a safe place to connect What s the Vision Rebus A Place for You Verse Switch Prayer HOME: Prompting action beyond the experience GodTime Parent Cue Determination deciding it s worth it to finish what you started. BASIC TRUTH I can trust God no matter what. PAGE 2
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME BIBLE STORY The Goal Heaven Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27; 22:1-5 BOTTOM LINE Keep going because God knows the end of the story. MEMORY VERSE Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don t give up. Galatians 6:9, NIrV LIFE APP Determination deciding it s worth it to finish what you started. BASIC TRUTH I can trust God no matter what. GETTING READY SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (Choose one or both of these activities.) Early Arriver An offering container Not Done Yet Print the Half-Finished Pictures Activity Page and cut apart; 1 set for each kid Colored pencils : 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. What s the Vision Rebus (application activity / review the Bible story) Print the Rebus Puzzle Activity Page; 1 set of puzzle for each kid Pencils/markers *2. A Place for You (application activity) Create an outline of a house (at least 3-foot square) somewhere in your environment; use one of the following options: o Use painter s tape and make an outline on the wall. o Provide small groups with a ball of yarn and instructions to make an outline of a house on the floor. o Create a mural using a large piece of butcher paper. Pencils/markers Paper Tape 3. Verse Switch (memory verse activity) Bibles Print the Verse Cards Activity Page and cut apart; 2 sets for each small group Tape Prayer No supplies needed PAGE 3
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME 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. Ask God to bring the big concept of heaven down into your kids world. Ask Him to guide today s conversation with your few, focusing on how He knows the end of the story and He s prepared an awesome place for all believers. Pray that your few would be encouraged to keep going because God knows the end of their story. 1. EARLY ARRIVER IDEA WHAT YOU NEED: Offering container Invite kids to put their offerings in the offering container as they arrive. Engage kids in conversation. Use the optional questions below to facilitate discussion. o What are some of the best things about your home? Your city or town you live in? o What are your favorite foods to eat? o What are your favorite games? Books? Music? 2. NOT DONE YET WHAT YOU NEED: Half-Finished Pictures Activity Pages, markers or pencils Spread the Half-Finished Pictures on the floor or table. Ask if kids notice what s wrong with the pictures. Challenge kids to pick a picture, show determination, and finish the drawing. If you have time, challenge each kid to finish drawing each of the four pictures. WHAT YOU SAY: You did a great job finishing the drawings. It seems as if you all knew what the final picture was supposed to look like. What would happen if you couldn t figure out what was in the picture? Sometimes when we don t know how something will end it can be very frustrating to show determination. [Transition] Let s head to Large Group to learn how to show determination when we don t know all the details or what the end result looks like. 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. WHAT S THE VISION REBUS (application activity / review the Bible story) WHAT YOU NEED: Rebus Puzzle Activity Pages, pencils or markers Review the Bible story with the kids. o Where was John when he wrote about heaven in the book of Revelation? o Why was John on the Island of Patmos? o John saw a vision of the future. Where did John s vision come from? Hand out the Rebus Puzzle Activity Pages and pencils. Challenge kids to solve the puzzles to describe what John saw in his vision. Rebus puzzle solutions are: o Jesus is making a room for each of you. o Heaven is a special place where you will be with Jesus always. o There will be no tears, no death, no sadness, no pain, no boredom. o There will be peace. o Everything broken will be made right. o God s glory will be our light. Not the sun, not lamps, not the moon or the stars. o There will be a new heaven and a new earth. o You can keep going because God knows the end of the story. Note: If time allows, you could hand out blank paper and markers and let kids make their own rebuses. When finished, they can trade with a friend and challenge the friend to solve their puzzle. WHAT YOU SAY: Even though John was imprisoned on an island for sharing the story of Jesus with people, he was determined to finish what he started. While on the island, God gave John a glimpse of the end of the story a glimpse of what heaven would look like. John didn t have all the words to describe what he saw, but he knew he had to share his vision. Just like John, you can decide it s worth finishing what you started. You can decide to [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story and God wants you to be a part of the end of the story. God wants you to be with Him in heaven. * 2. A PLACE FOR YOU (application activity) WHAT YOU NEED: Prepared house outline, paper, markers, tape Kids will draw a picture of the best room they could imagine living in. To prompt ideas, ask them to consider the following: o What would be in your room? o How would you decorate the walls? PAGE 6
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME o What s your favorite color? o Would your room have your favorite foods? o Would you share your room with someone? Maybe a pet? Tell kids to tape their rooms in the outline of the house. Discuss what is different about the rooms. What is the same? WHAT YOU SAY: What a great house! Those are such unique and special rooms! And there is a room for each of you. Even though you filled your room with all your favorite things, colors, and foods, not one of the rooms you created will even come close to the awesome room Jesus is preparing for you in heaven. You can t even imagine what Jesus has for you, but He promises it is there for you. You don t know exactly what heaven looks like, but you do know you can [Basic Truth] trust God no matter what, and you can [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story, and it is a better ending than any of us can even imagine! Optional Additional Discussion Questions Do you ever want to look at the last chapter of a book you are reading to find out how it ends? What about when you are watching a movie? Do you find it hard to wait to see how the movie is going to end? Would you ever stop reading a book because you didn t know the end? Or would you stop watching a movie because the end wasn t clear to you? When you have to do something and you aren t sure of how it is going to work out or how it will end, what can you do? God gave John a glimpse of what the end of the story looks like. He gave John a glimpse of heaven. Does God give us a glimpse of what it will be like to live in heaven with Him forever? How does knowing there will be no tears, no death, and no pain in heaven help you keep going here on earth? 3. VERSE SWITCH (memory verse activity) WHAT YOU NEED: 2 sets of Verse Cards Activity Page, tape, Bibles Divide the group into two teams. Shuffle each set of Verse Cards. Tape the cards to a wall across from each team. The cards should be in one row and in a random order. When you say GO, the first kid from each team races to the wall, selects two cards and switches their place in the row. He then races back to his team and the next kid in line races to the wall. Team members continue to take turns switching two cards until they have the verse in the correct order. The first team to put the verse in order wins. WHAT YOU SAY: The Bible shares God s Word His story with us. In the Bible, we can read about Jesus, we can read about how to live and how to make wise choices, and we can read about how much God loves us. But God s story doesn t end with the Bible. All of us are part of God s story; our lives are part of God s story. When we show determination and don t get tired of doing PAGE 7
PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOME good, we have opportunities to share part of God s story with others. So, for the times when you are tired, when it is seems like the job is too big, or when it is simply hard to finish what you have started, remember you can [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story! PRAY AND DISMISS WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed Ask kids to list some of the stories in the Bible they enjoy hearing about or reading. Encourage them to share verses they like. [Make It Personal] (Share an age-appropriate story about when you struggled to show determination because you didn t know how it would all turn out; you didn t know the end of the story. Is there a verse or story from the Bible that you turn to when you need help to keep going? What about a person who s particularly encouraging during those times and shares Scripture with you?) Pray and thank God for His Word. Be sure to specifically thank God for the stories and verses the kids listed. Close your prayer with asking for God s help to show determination and to [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story. As adults arrive to pick up, explain that we talked about heaven and how we can show determination and keep going because God knows the end of the story. Encourage kids to share their rebus puzzles with their parents, see if parents can solve them, and then share with them what they learned about heaven. PAGE 8