3RD-5TH GRADE November 10/11, 2012 A Journey Home Week 6 Remain: Stay at Home Genesis 9:1-17, Genesis 17:5, Joshua 2-4, Matthew 6:2534, Lamentations 3:22-24, Mark 14:12-26, Matthew 3:13-16, Luke 15:11-32 (Visual representations God has given throughout history to remind us of his promises.) Learn and practice tangible ways to remember that God is a loving father who has created a family and home for us. Hang out with kids (10 minutes) Large Group (30 minutes) Small Group (20 minutes) Video/Song Review (10 minutes) Take time to listen to kids who are in your room. Ask them more than yes/no questions and then make eye contact and listen. Here are some questions to get you started: What is your favorite book? What do you like about it? Who is your favorite relative? Tell me about him/her. As parents pick up kids, remind them that we are all on a similar journey, and ask them to share something that they learned with their kid. In today s large group, we are going to give kids many examples of ways our family forgets that God loves us. And, we ll teach kids ways that we can always remember that God is our father and he loves us.
Start with the CONNECT questions. When you are asking what the worst part of their week was, sometimes kids will say very difficult things. When that happens, turn to the rest of the group and ask, have any of you ever gone through something like that, and what would you say to help your friend? Kids will learn how to care for each other if you regularly practice. The PROPS are a tactile way to help kids remember all of the reminders that God loves us. This would be a great day to ask kids if they have been baptized, and encourage them to talk to a parent if they are interested. QUESTIONS CONNECT What was the best part of your week? What was the worst part of your week? What are you worried about? REVIEW What does God s family forget over and over again? (That God loves us, that God wants to care for us, that God is a good father.) How did people in the video today remember that God is good and keeps his promises? (Rainbows, new names, sleeping in tents, communion, baptism, birds, flowers, and stories.) RELATE Why do you think that our family (God s family) forgets how good God is sometimes? What are some ways that you can remember that God loves you? Who are some people in your life that can help you remember how good God is? ACTIVITY--PROPS Each small group will get a set of props in a bag. Pull out each prop or card, and see if your group remembers how God loves us based on that prop. Give instructions: Today we learned that God s family forgets how great God is over and over and over again. I am going to pull something out of this bag/box, and I want all of you to help me remember how God used that thing to remind us that he loves us. Rainbows God rescued Noah and his family. He promised not to destroy the world again. Name Tag God gave Abram a new name (Abraham) when he made a promise that Abraham s family would outnumber the stars of the sky. Tents God gave his family a special holiday to remember that this is not our home, and during that celebration people sleep in tents.
2 ACTIVITY Communion God gave us this special way to remember that Jesus rescue is a special gift to our family. Birds Jesus told his friends that God cares for the birds, and we are much more important than birds, so God will care for us, too. Flowers Jesus told his friends that God makes sure that the flowers have beautiful things to wear, and he ll make sure we have clothes, too. Stories The stories that Jesus told remind us that God loves his family. Baptism Baptism is a reminder that Jesus died, but came back to life again. Have any of you been baptized? If you have decided that you want to be a part of God s family forever, one way to show the world is to be baptized.
1 Set the presentation area with a suitcase or box on the stage. Fill it with these props: globe/picture of Earth, snake, and a heart. Kids will remember the phrase we all forget that God loves us more than we can imagine if you do it the exact same way multiple times during the lesson. Have them do it with you and act like they are forgetting, too! WELCOME Hi everyone, I m so happy you are here. We re going to spend some time today talking about our family. And when I say our family, I mean God s family that includes me, you, and everyone you see in this room. Let s take a look at a video that shows someone discovering more about our family history. VIDEO Play Attic Video: Week 6 (about :30 in the box are some baby toys and a birth certificate) Has that ever happened to you? Have any of you ever found some things from when you were a tiny baby? Do you have pictures and special things from when you were a tiny baby. It s a good thing that we have those things like birth certificates and special toys to help us remember being a baby, because we all forget things. The same thing is true for God s family. (Tap your finger on the side of your head, as if you are trying to remember.) We all forget that God loves us more than we can imagine. So God has given us some ways to remember important things he doesn t want us to forget. REVIEW GOD S STORY Now, let s try to remember some of the good things that God has done since the very beginning of the story. (Pull a small globe or picture of the earth out of the box/suitcase.) First, God made our family an incredible home Earth. But, (tap your finger on the side of your head, as if you are trying to remember) we all forget that God loves us more than we can imagine. The first people forgot that too, (hold up a fake snake) they were tricked by God s enemy, and they disobeyed God. That changed things and separated them from God. Don t worry, that s not the end of the story. God keeps on showing our family that he loves us, but, (tap your finger on the side of your head, as if you are trying to remember) we all
forget that God loves us more than we can imagine. (Pull a heart out of the suitcase/box.) God sent his own son, Jesus, to rescue his family. But, (tap your finger on the side of your head, as if you are trying to remember) we all forget that God loves us more than we can imagine. GOD S STORY VIDEO God is a very, very good father. And He knew that we would forget that he loves us, so, he gave us ways to remember. Play video: God s Story, God Reminds His Family He Loves Us (about 4 minutes) Wow, I love that God gave us so many ways to remember that he loves us. Just like we can t remember everything from when we were tiny babies, (tap your finger on your head, like you are trying to remember) we also forget that God loves us more than we can imagine. WAYS TO REMEMBER I don t know about you, but I never, ever want to forget how much God loves me. What are some ways that you could remember that God loves our family? (Take 2 or 3 answers from kids.) God is trying over and over again to show us that he loves us, and he wants to make sure we never forget. Let s talk about the things we saw in the video to help us remember how much God loves us. (Show pictures on screen.) Rainbow God put the rainbow in the sky to remind us that we can trust him. There will never be another flood to destroy the world again. Name Tag God gave Abram a new name (Abraham) when he made a promise that Abraham s family would outnumber the stars of the sky. Tents God gave his family a special holiday to remember that he gave our family a new home, and during that celebration people sleep in tents for a week, just like God s family slept in tents in the desert. Communion God gave us this special way to remember that Jesus rescue is a special gift to our family. Birds Jesus told his friends that God cares for the birds, and we are much more important than birds, so God will care for us, too. Flowers Jesus told his friends that God makes sure that the flowers have beautiful things to wear, and he ll make sure we have clothes, too. Stories The stories that Jesus told remind us that God loves his family. Like, the story of the son who really messed up, but his father welcomed him home.
Baptism Baptism is a way that we can show the world that we are in God s family, and that we understand that Jesus died and came back to life. Once you have decided to be a part of God s family, and to follow Jesus, you can be baptized to show the world that you are in God s family. It s a very important way that we can remember that God is our real dad. All of these are ways that God wants to remind us that he loves us very, very much! You know one more really great reminder of God s love? YOU! Check out this verse from the Bible (show on screen): How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well. Psalm 139:14 God made you amazing and wonderful, and that is his most incredible reminder of his love. WORSHIP Let s sing a few songs to tell God how thankful we are that he gives each of us a place in the family. Song: BRAVE-ER-REE (PROVIDED) Song: You Come in a Hurry (PROVIDED) PRAY Invite a kid to come up front and pray for the group today. CLOSING SONG This song should be used at the end of Large Group. Song: Home (PROVIDED)
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One set of props per group for kids to retell the reminders (can be pictures if props are not available): Rainbow, name tag, tents, communion, birds, flowers, book, baptism Place props in a bag or box for the small group leader to pull out one at a time. Adventure Bible One old suitcase on stage with the following items: - Globe or picture of Earth - One fake snake - One heart or picture of a heart 1. Attic video week 6 (PROVIDED) 2. God s Story: God s Reminders, also available on itunes (PROVIDED) 3. Pictures on screen: rainbow, name tag, tents, communion, birds, flowers, book (story book), Baptism 4. How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well. Psalm 139:14 5. Music Video: Brave-Er-Ree (PROVIDED) 6. Music Video: You Come in a Hurry (PROVIDED) 7. Song: Home (PROVIDED) NONE What does God s family forget? Kids are on A Journey Home, too. Pick up a parent page to find out more. We all forget how much God loves us. Today, kids looked at many ways to remember that God loves us more than we can imagine. Look for reminders every day of God s love. Also, remember that people are a big reminder of God s love. Check out Psalm 139:14, God made you in his image! What a great reminder.