Hello, hello, hello! Can you believe it?! We are at the end of June! I love how you ve all shown such amazing DETERMINATION during this series. For some of you this is your first time here in the Way Station. We want to take some time to welcome our new first graders. On the count of 3, can I have everyone say Welcome as LOUD as you can? Ready? 1 2 3 WELCOME! We are so glad you are joining us for some amazing fun! But since it s your first time here in the Way Station, I thought we d go over our rules! ELEM Maze WK 4 (1) We have the rules in place to make sure we can have so much FUN and be SAFE at the same time! Now you may have heard me mention that this series is all about determination. Let s go over what determination is together! Determination is deciding it s worth it to finish what you started! Yes! Each week I ve challenged you with an a-mazeing maze and given some of you an opportunity to put that determination into action. But today it s my turn. Do YOU think you can make a maze so tricky, so complex, so AMAZING that I will get stuck and never find my way through?! ELEM Maze WK 4 (2) You do?! All right, here s how this is going to work. I need all of you to stand up and spread out around the room and create a live maze. Where I m standing right now on stage is the starting point of this amazing maze, and I ll have to navigate through the crowd without touching any of you to get to the back of the room. Now, I know what you re thinking: that s TOO easy, so here s the catch. (Host takes out blindfold.) I will attempt this maze BLINDFOLDED! (To self) Oh, wait. Now it seems TOO hard. Maybe I should get some help. (To audience) Okay, I need a navigator someone who can help me get to the finish line. Host chooses volunteer ELEM Maze WK 4 (3) (To volunteer) You will stand up here on the stage and watch as I trek through this maze. You ll have to tell me if I should go left or right, forward or backward to ensure that I don t run into any of your friends out there. Got it? Good! (To audience) And to make this even more challenging, I need you all to snap your fingers or clap your hands so it s just a little bit harder for me to hear my navigator. Is everyone ready? I think I m ready. Let s do this! Allow kids some time to make a live maze. Additional leaders should help with the maze plan. Kids should hold hands or link arms to form lines and bends. Host and other leaders lead the game. ELEM Maze WK 4 (4)
Maze_Logo_Slide w/game music I did it! Thank you, [volunteer s name]! I literally couldn t have reached the end without you! I didn t know where I was going or how it would turn out, but you knew the end and how to help me get there! And the rest of you? You are amazing maze creators. Let s keep standing and worship our amazing Creator, God! Maze_Worship Maze_We Will Not Be Shaken_Worship Video Maze_Eyes on You_Worship Video Yes. It is so encouraging to sing out promises from God s Word. God s Word is true. It never fails or changes. ELEM Maze WK 4 (5) Maze_Lesson Now on to our true story from the Bible. Our story comes from the last book of the Bible, Revelation. In Revelation the Apostle John shares about how God let him see a glimpse of what God has promised for us in the future. It s a beautiful view of what God has planned for us, but John only saw it; he didn t get to visit it at that time. See, John was a prisoner on an island called Patmos when he received the vision from God. Let s check it out! Maze_Wk 4_Bible Story_Video LEM Maze WK 4 (6) The book of Revelation can at times seem difficult to understand, but what John is saying is that God has been determined to make His Creation perfect again since the very beginning! Even though we have sinned against Him, at no point has God turned His back on us or the world He created! And He never will! Which bring us to our Bottom Line today! Maze_Wk 4_Bottom Line_Slide God has promised us that when we choose to not give up, our reward is more beautiful and wonderful than anything we could ever imagine: eternity with God. Let s pray. ELEM Maze WK 4 (7) Lead kids in Prayer Prayer: God, thank You so much that You have such a great ending to Your Story. Thank You so much that living forever with You in a place that is perfect and good has been Your plan all along. When life gets hard, help us to have determination because the end of Your Story is so good. Help us remember that there s no place like the home You re creating for us. We love You and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen. You know what I m thankful for, though? I m thankful that God never gave up on us. He could have said, Enough! I don t want to spend time with people who sin against Me. I m starting over. But He didn t. He gave us a way to become pure and close to Him again: His Son, Jesus. LEM Maze WK 4 (8)
Everything that God has been doing since the beginning has been about making it possible to be with Him forever, worshiping Him. So no matter what happens in our life, we can know that God has His best in mind for us. We can keep going and show determination. Like our memory verse says: Maze_Memory Verse_Slide Galatians 6:9 says Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. And don t forget, if you think you know the memory verse by heart, you can tell your small group leader or Way Station leader and you ll receive a pin! ELEM Maze WK 4 (9) Maze_Announcements I m so thankful for this message we heard today. Let s respond and put our faith in action as we give our offering and participate in our Family Mission. Maze_Offering_Slide Let s determine to always keep God first with our money. That is showing Him honor. Give the first part of your money to Him, because He is so special and so important to us! If anyone has offering, please place it in (indicate area). Maze_June Family Mission_Video Maze_June Family Mission_Slide As you heard in the video, we are collecting new or gently used school uniforms. Check out the flyer to find out more details. You can drop off all uniforms at our Drop Spot by check in. ELEM Maze WK 4 (10) And don t forget; once you ve completed the Family Mission, let one of us here in the Way Station know so you can receive a pin! Before we leave today I thought we d play one more game! Let s use our determination to spot 5 differences in each household pet. See if you can identify them before time runs out. The game has 5 rounds. Let s Play! Maze_Spot the Difference_Game Video Maze_Logo_Slide Great job spotting those differences! I m so thankful that we don t need to know all of the answers, because God does. And when we finish what we ve started, we show God that we truly believe He s with us every step of the way. So don t give up! See you next time! Maze_Dude Perfect_RC Battle Video ELEM Maze WK 4 (11)