LEADER S GUIDE BIG MESSAGE LIVE BIG PIctURE: DISCOVery BIG IDEA: ADVeNTUreS IN KNOWING GOD BIG POINt: I CAN KNOW GOD THrOUGH HIS living WOrD, THe BIBle BIG word: THIS IS HOW We KNOW WHAT real love IS: JeSUS GAVe HIS life for US. SO We SHOUlD GIVe OUr lives for OUr BrOTHerS AND SISTerS. 1 JOHN 3:16 (NCV) USER AGREEMENt Upon purchase of this resource, Hillsong Ki BIG gladly grants the buyer (The licensee) or the organisation they represent, a free and non-exclusive license to tailor Hillsong Ki 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. Hillsong Church. All rights reserved. DOcUMENt PURPOSE This document is the leader s Guide for BIG Picture DISCOVery DS. It contains a summary of the BIG Message live. The BIG Discovery User Guide document contains all the service element information, including the large group segment of your service. Make sure you read through and prayerfully study this material prior to your service to be fully prepared to minister to your children. DS C 2012 Hillsong Church
Learning Outcomes At the conclusion of this lesson children will: learn what the Bible is, how to use it and begin to apply it to our lives. Know that the Bible can help them on their adventures in knowing God. Understand that our purpose as Christians is to shine His light to those around us. BIG POINt: I CAN KNOW GOD THrOUGH HIS living WOrD, THe BIBle BIG word: THIS IS HOW We KNOW WHAT real love IS: JeSUS GAVe HIS life for US. SO We SHOUlD GIVe OUr lives for OUr BrOTHerS AND SISTerS. 1 JOHN 3:16 (NCV) BIG MESSAGE LIvE OUtLINE DOcUMENt PURPOSE Use this outline to construct a message that works for you and your children s ministry. INtRO rules that give you freedom. In life there are rules we have to live by. rules set by the government, rules set by our school and rules that our parents have for us. Who can tell me what some of those rules are? (Invite the children to share some rules that they have to live by). rules like: No eating before you go swimming, No running with scissors etc. Some people think that following Jesus means we just get more and more rules to follow. God s word is not just a bunch of rules to follow that are there to keep you contained. God s word gives us a map for our life and principles to help us honour God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. God s word helps us grow to be more like Jesus and have the best life possible. reading God s word and doing what it says brings great freedom! rules aren t there to stop us having fun, they give us freedom and keep us safe. We can know how God wants us to live because He tells us in His word. Scripture References: Psalm 119:105 Matthew 5:16 luke 8:1-15 John 14:15 John 14:21 John 15:3 romans 8:29-30 2 Timothy 3:14-17 2 Corinthians 4:6 Hebrews 10:10 2 John 1:6 StORYtELLING farmer and Seed luke 8:1-15 In luke 8 we read that Jesus tells a story about seed. Invite two children to come on stage to provide the sound effects for the story. As you tell the story show the buzz wor on screen. One child will make sound effects for the buzz wor that show in blue, the other child will make sound effects for the buzz wor that appear in red. Supplies Needed: Buzz Wor from Print Material Disc printed or shown on screen. DS C 2012 Hillsong Church
The sun rose and the rooster crowed (blue). The bir chirped (red) as they greeted the day. The farmer stretched and yawned (blue) as he got out of bed. He got dressed, laced up his boots and threw on his hat. The floor of his old house creaked (red) as he made his way out the door. The door slammed (blue) behind him. The farmer was headed to his barn to collect some seed and on the way he passed his cow (red) Bessy, his brown horse (blue) frank, his black horse (red) Midnight and his flock of chickens (blue and red). The door of the old barn was hard to open and the farmer grunted (blue) as he pulled it toward him. The straw and hay crunched (red) under his feet while he filled a bucket with some seed. The farmer went out to his field passing his cow (blue) Bessy, his brown horse (red) frank, his black horse (blue) Midnight and his flock of chickens (blue and red). The farmer scattered the seed and some landed on the ground some fell onto the path. The cow (red) followed the farmer along the path trampling the seed under its hooves. The bir squawked (blue) and flew down to eat the seed. Some seed fell onto rocky soil, some fell onto the ground where thorns were growing and some of the seed landed on good soil. Once the farmer had emptied his bucket of seed, he sneezed (red) made his way back to the barn, he stepped in a puddle (blue) and off in the distance he could hear the pigs (red) and the sheep (blue) ready to be fed. The farmer carried on with his jobs for the day, feeding all the animals and tending to his crops. Off in the distance dark clou gathered. Seeing the storm off in the distance the farmer went back inside his house, the old door slamming (red) behind him. The thunder growled (blue) and the rain poured (red) down. The water soaked the ground and frogs (blue) began to croak. A few weeks passed and it was time to check on how the seed was growing. The rooster crowed (red) and the bir chirped (blue). The farmer went outside and passed his cow (red) Bessy, his brown horse (blue) frank, his black horse (red) Midnight and his flock of chickens (blue and red). The farmer found that the seed that had fallen on the path didn t grow, it was trampled on and the bir (red) ate it all. The seed that fell on the rocky soil had died as it didn t get enough moisture to grow. The plants that grew from seed that fell where thorns were growing were choked by the thorns. The seed that fell onto good soil grew and grew and had produced a huge crop of plants, a hundred times bigger than how much seed was sown. DS C 2012 Hillsong Church
The seed is like the word of God. When it lan on good soil it doesn t get taken away, its roots grow deep and it isn t choked by troubles and worries. When the seed falls on good soil it grows and produces life. What sort of soil could you be when you hear God s word? Seed that falls on the path is like hearing God s word but letting what others say or letting our worries take away what God has said to you. Do you listen and let it speak to your heart or do you, like rocky ground, just hear the word and then go on living the same as you did when troubles come not allowing God s word to take root in your life? Or like seed that fell in the thorns do you let life and material things take over what God s word has taught you and choke it out? Seed that fell on good soil remin us to be open to hearing God s word. Putting it into practice and letting it take deep root in our life, it grows and produces fruit in our lives. OBJEct LESSON Bible is a Map for our Adventure in knowing God. Supplies Needed: Map folded up and placed inside a Bible. (Hold up your Bible) The Bible is a collection of writings by those who have known God personally. Wild exploits and adventure fill its pages. There are stories of love and loss, of victories and hard-fought battles, of miracles that inspire and astound. There are songs bubbling with joy, declarations of bold faith and laments from the pit of despair. There are sermons and letters from the first church pastors and the teachings of Jesus Himself. Prophets deliver raw and honest messages from God; poets attempt to capture the greatness of God with their wor, and ordinary people offer heartfelt prayers not too different to our own. When you go on an adventure to an unknown land you need a map to help you know where to go and how to get there. you don t recognise the places, the food, the currency or sometimes even the accents of the people there. Their customs are foreign and may not make sense to you. (Unfold the map from inside your Bible) When you begin your adventure in God s word, the Bible, you may not recognise the places and cities mentioned. Some of the customs will appear a little foreign. But the same God who inspired the stories of the Bible longs for relationship with us. He loves us individually and wants to walk the journey of life with us. In Psalm 119:105 the Psalmist describes God s word like this your word is a light unto my feet and a lamp to my path. God s word is like a map for us on our adventure in knowing God. We need to spend time learning from God s word and living the way He directs us to. God has a great adventure in store for your life and the Bible is His guide to help you on the journey. DS C 2012 Hillsong Church
POINtS 1. The Bible is God s Word to me. The Bible is like God s love letter to us. A love letter is given to you by someone that loves you. When you have a love letter you read it over and over again. God loves us and the Bible is God s word to us; it s like a love letter. every word in the Bible is inspired by God. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 describes it like this, All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV) This is my Bible. It s God breathed and useful for my life. It teaches me, corrects me and trains me to live a life that s right with God. I don t just keep it on the shelf up high and precious. I read it, I use it, and I do what it says! It s God s word to me and to you. 2. As I grow in my relationship with God I become more like Jesus God s word gives us a guide for our adventure in knowing God and Jesus is the ultimate example for how to live. When we follow Jesus we want to become more like Him. Through reading His word we grow in our relationship with God and get to know the person of Jesus Christ. We see how Jesus loved others and how He treated those around Him. Jesus loved others even when they treated Him badly. romans 8:29-30 (MSG) God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stan first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. 3. let your light shine When you hear great news all you want to do is share it with everyone you know. Think about how you felt when you first heard that God loves you and sent His son Jesus for you to be saved? This is the best news there is for everyone in the world. This is the Good News that we have and we want to share it with everyone. We can show others how much God loves them by how we live our life and how we love those around us. Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV) you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good dee and glorify your father in heaven. When people see how you live your adventure in knowing God they will see your light shine! let your light shine out so others can come to know God too. DS C 2012 Hillsong Church