Keep Calm and Respect Others - PDF Free Download

Keep Calm and Respect Others Bible Truth: Keep Calm and Respect Others (Don t show favoritism principle) James 2:1-4, 8-9 Bottom Line: You respect God when you respect the people God made. Memory Verse: Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17a, NIV Life App: Respect showing others they are important by what you say and do. Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated. Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today s Bible Truth. Before kids arrive, pray and ask God to direct your conversation and to give you wisdom in how to handle any situation that might come up in your group today. Pray that God would allow you to create a safe place in your group where everyone feels respected and no one shows favoritism. Ask God to impress on kids hearts the importance of treating others with respect, no matter who they are, what they like, or how they act. What s Your Favorite? Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Gather kids together; the more kids participating in this activity the better. (If you have multiple groups in one room, consider doing this activity with all the kids in the room.) Tell kids you re going to ask, What is your favorite? and then they will fill in the blank. Options could include: color, sport, subject in school, food, animal, etc. As soon as you ask the question, kids call out their answers all at the same time and attempt to locate other kids in the room with the same answer. Kids with the same answer group together. As soon as groups form, ask another What is your favorite question. After you have asked the question several times, ask for a volunteer to provide the category for the next question and then repeat the game. Play with a few different categories as time and interest allow. What You Say: We had a lot of different favorites. And it is okay to have favorite things, like a favorite fruit or favorite sport or book. [Transition] However, when it comes to people, God has something to say about picking favorites. Let s head to Large Group to hear what it is. Lead your group to the Large Group area. 2

Keep Calm and Respect Others Bible Truth: Keep Calm and Respect Others (Don t show favoritism principle) James 2:1-4, 8-9 Bottom Line: You respect God when you respect the people God made. Memory Verse: Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17a, NIV Life App: Respect showing others they are important by what you say and do. Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated. Bible: Communicating God s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 35 minutes) Engage kids hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible Truth, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter. CG: Drumline Theme Slide Host is on stage welcoming the kids as they enter and playing one of the percussion instruments along with the music. Opener HOST: Hey, everybody! How s it going? Are you feeling it? Can you feel the rhythm? Yeah, me too! (Look at the instrument in your hands.) Although I might need a bit more practice. You see, you ve got to Respect the Rhythm... just like you ve got to respect the people in your life. CG: Respect Slide Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do. In today s Bible Truth, we ll learn what the Bible has to say about playing favorites. Sometimes we re tempted to do that to show more respect for some people than others. But God s standard is a lot higher. He wants us to respect EVERYONE! Now, as I look out at all of you fun people and all of your awesome small groups, I have to say you are ALL my favorites. But that doesn't mean we can t have a little competition! It s time for our Random Rhythm Dance-Off! SFX: Every Reason to Dance from Alive I need three Small Group Leaders up here on stage, and each of you needs to pick two kids from your small group to come with you. Host brings up three SGLs, each with two kids from their small group. (This gives the kids a chance to be engaged without singling anyone out or forcing anyone to dance on stage who doesn t want to.) 4

SFX: Fade out Every Reason to Dance All right! Thanks for playing, everyone. This is going to be awesome. This is what I like to call the Random Rhythm Dance-Off. Here s how it works: I ll play a bunch of random songs for you. And your job is to find a groove with whatever rhythm you hear, and dance like crazy! The only rule is that you ve got to Respect the Rhythm. You ve got to dance along with the beat no matter what kind of song you might hear. Some of them are going to be easier than others! Audience, your job is simple. When the dance-off is over, you ll get to choose who did the most unbelievable job. Be sure to cheer them on as we go. All right, let s do this! Are you ready for song number one? Are you set? Okay, teams, let s dance! SFX: September from Trolls All right! Song number two! SFX: Better When I m Dancin from the Peanuts Movie Song number three! SFX: Three Little Birds by Bob Marley Song number four! SFX: Orinoco Flow by Enya Song number five! SFX: Sandstorm by Darude Song number six! SFX: Songbird by Kenny G And finally... song number seven! SFX: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley Emcee the competition. Let each song go for around 15 seconds, or longer if one of the kids or adults is doing something really entertaining. Keep it moving so that the energy doesn t lag. As the songs are playing, get the crowd to cheer for the various contestants. Also keep reminding them to Respect the Rhythm and stay on the beat. 5

That was amazing! Great job, dancers. Audience, it s time to choose our champion with your level of applause. Lead the audience in applauding for each SGL in turn. Declare a winner, and then send the volunteers back to their seats. Now the rest of you can go ahead and stand up to show [Historyteller s name] some respect. Historyteller enters as Host exits. SETTING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: Hey, guys! Today I want to share something really important with you from the book of James. (Hold up Bible.) This book is actually a letter written by a guy named... (pause for response) James. James was the half-brother of Jesus. Before we get started, though, I ve got something special for four of you. Choose four people to come up for the special seating. I ve got some VIP seating for you here on the stage, because let s face it you are very important people. Helper bring out the beanbag chairs, snacks, and drinks for the VIP group. (To the VIP group) Yeah! You are today s VIPs, so you can enjoy some snacks and drinks and get comfortable. Awesome. (To audience) Now, everyone else can have a seat. I know what the rest of you might be thinking. Why not us? Why do THEY get to be the VIPs? Well, I guess some days you get to be the VIP, and some days you can t get a break. But time out for a second. The truth is, you re all VIPs. You re all very important people. And really, we should be treating each other like VIPs all the time. That s respect showing others they are important by what you say and do. Now, back to James. Open your bible to James 2:1. There are some here for you guys to share, if you don t have one. Listen to what he had to say in his letter. (Open the Bible to James 2:1 and read.) CG: James 2:1 Slide My brothers and sisters, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So, treat everyone the same (NIrV). That sounds simple enough, right? James said we should respect everyone by treating everyone the 6

same way. WHAT THEY DID HISTORYTELLER: But here s the thing there was a reason James had to write a letter and tell people to treat everyone the same. Guess why. (Pause.) Yep, because apparently they weren t doing it! People weren t respecting each other. Instead, they were playing favorites. They were treating the (air quotes) important people like VIPs and treating the (air quotes) not important people like they were absolutely nothing. If you were considered rich and important, you would have had special seating in their church. If not, you would end up sitting on the floor. Just think how those people would have felt sitting on the dirty floor with all those dirty sandals and stinky feet! Here s what James said about it. Read along with me at James 2:2-4. (Open the Bible to James 2:2-4 and read.) Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes. And suppose a poor man in dirty old clothes also comes in. Would you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes? Would you say, Here s a good seat for you? Would you say to the poor man, You stand there? Or Sit on the floor by my feet? If you would, aren t you treating some people better than others? (NIrV). WHAT WE DO HISTORYTELLER: It s easy for us to read those verses and think, I would never do that. I would always treat everyone the same. But unfortunately, it s too easy for us to do this without even thinking. Let s put it this way. What if you were going to a birthday party, and the guests were coming in, and all of a sudden, you saw J.J. Watt? How would people react? Hold up the picture of J. J. Watt (taped to a ruler) over your own face. Host enters and moves the stanchion belt or rope to the side. He holds a glass of lemonade. HOST: Oh, Mr. Watt. It s an honor to meet you, sir. Right this way. We have a special VIP entrance just for you. Here s a cold lemonade. By the way, can I get your autograph? And can I take a selfie with you? HISTORYTELLER: Right. But what if it was this guy? HOST: Wait. Who s that? (Pause.) No idea. Historyteller puts the normal guy face sign over his face. Host shrugs and exits. Historyteller puts down the face signs. HISTORYTELLER: Okay, the truth is, J.J. Watt is a very important person. But so is the next guy. And 7

so is the next girl. We re ALL important to God. But for some reason, we tend to get star struck with the famous and important. We show more respect to people who seem more important. We want the popular kids to like us. We take people for granted who we see all the time like maybe your little sister (clear your throat) and we treat them like they re NOT VIPs. I know you guys and gals have experienced this too. You probably don t feel like a VIP all the time. People don t treat you like a celebrity. You ve seen when people are treated with favoritism and when they aren t. And YOU probably feel disrespected sometimes, like when things seem unfair. WHAT GOD DOES HISTORYTELLER: Here s the great news. God s way is SO much better! He treats us all the same. He MADE us. And He treats ALL of us like VIPs. Let s look at James letter one more time. Open up to James 2:8-9 and read along with me. (Open the Bible to James 2:8-9 and read.) CG: James 2:8-9 slide The royal law is found in Scripture. It says: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. If you really keep this law, you are doing what is right. But you sin if you don t treat everyone the same (James 2:8-9 NIrV). So there it is. From the beginning, God has been telling His people: Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Leviticus 19:18b, Matthew 22:39, NIrV). [Basic Truth] Treat others the way you want to be treated. Treat everyone you see like they re important, because they ARE! Show the same kind of respect to others that you d want them to show to you. WRAPPING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: Let s not be like the people in James s letter. Let s not treat some people like LeBron and some people like they re nobody. Let s follow God s lead. Let s love our neighbor. CG: Bottom Line Slide Because it s like our Bottom Line says: [Bottom Line] You respect God when you respect the people God made. When we do that, we can change what s going on around us. We can inspire the people around us to treat each other with kindness. Just like James was saying, our churches can shine bright and set an example for others because of the way we respect each other. That means noticing people, listening to them, and caring about THEM instead of just caring about what they can DO for you. You can respect the bus boy at lunch or the fast food worker who takes your order. You can thank the person who stocks the shelves in the grocery store or the person who folds all the clothes people have tried on in the dressing room. Even just saying, Thanks for working so hard, would mean so much to them. All right, VIP group, I haven t forgotten about you. Thanks for helping us out today. You can head back to your regular seats. Let s give them our respect and give them a hand! VIP group, how about a hand for everyone else? Send the VIP group back to their seats. 8

Awesome. Remember, [Bottom Line] you respect God when you respect the people God made. How about we pray and ask God to help us respect the people He made? Let s pray. Pray HISTORYTELLER: God, thanks for this important reminder from James. It s easy for us to play favorites and to forget that EVERYONE is a VIP. We know that s the way You see us. After all, You made us! Help us to follow Your example and treat everyone with respect. We love You and we ask these things in Jesus name, amen. If you have an offering with you this morning, you can go ahead and put that in the bucket. I want us to experience some fun praise and worship time. Help me get the Power Praise team in here. Power Praise team enters as Historyteller exits. Worship WORSHIP LEADER: Yes, it is time for us to worship. I am pumped for the chance we get each week to sing praise to our God. We re gonna kick things off with a new song we ve been doing called Rock This Planet. C mon and get ready to sing about telling this world about God s love. Sing loud with me. SFX: Rock This Planet Yeah! Wow, you guys are sounding amazing today. Second John 6 says: The way we show our love is to obey God s commands. He commands you to lead a life of love. That s what you have heard from the beginning (NIrV). Let s show others God s love by how we live and treat them. This song is all about others being able to see God s love through us. I know you ll know it. Sing it loud with me. SFX: Living Inside Out Love it! This last song is a reminder to us that no one deserves our respect and love like God does. There is no one higher than Him, no one. Sing with us. SFX: No One Higher That was so wonderful. Thank you all for allowing us to come in and worship God with you. We will see you again next week. Power Praise team exits as Host enters. HOST: I have mad respect for the Power Praise team. They meet every week, even in the summer, to practice for Sundays. You should give them a high five every time you see them, and let them know how much respect you have for them. Historyteller exits as Host enters. 9

Closer HOST: It comes down to this: the Bible says to treat everyone the same. I don t think it means you have to invite the entire school to your birthday party. Rather, you shouldn t pick and choose who gets to experience God s love. Look around you right now. Look around the room. God made every person you see right now. God made you. God made the person sitting next to you. He made your friends and your neighbors, and He even made the people who are different than you and might not be your friends. God made all of them, and all of them need respect. They need to know that they re important that they matter. And when you respect others, it s one way you can show God that you have respect for Him and His creation. That s why the one thing to remember today is this. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] You respect God when you respect the people God made. Say that with me. HOST and KIDS: [Bottom Line] You respect God when you respect the people God made. HOST: But what does that look like in our lives? Let s think about all the people we interact with and what respect might look like. It means obeying the people who are in charge of you like your teachers, parents, coaches, and bus drivers. Or maybe it means asking your parents for help to send a thank you to the people who do things for you like collect your trash, put out fires in your neighborhood, clean up our church or your school, and help you when you re sick. It means being kind to the people who work hard at the grocery store or movie theater. For the kid on your team who isn t the star player but who works hard to make sure everyone has their gear and water during the games, it means treating him like one of the team. For your little brother who sometimes annoys you but just wants you to spend time with him, it means letting him play with you and your friends sometimes. Read this week s memory verse with me. CG: Memory Verse Slide Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17a, NIV. But let s be honest. Sometimes it s difficult to figure out how to do that. But right now, you re headed to Small Group, where you ll talk more about how you can show respect to God by how you show respect to others. Have fun, and we ll see you next week! 10

CG: Prayer Group Slide Dismiss children to their Prayer Groups. Pray and Dismiss (10 minutes) What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Ask kids to name some of the people in their lives, such as: teachers, parents, friends, teammates, kids in their class, etc. Pray with the kids. What You Say: God put a lot of people in our lives. One way to show respect to God is to pray for the people God made. This week, spend some time praying for the people around you. Maybe you know someone who is sick; you might ask God to help them. Maybe your friend is moving; you can pray for God s peace as they adjust to a new home. Maybe you know someone who is traveling or taking a trip; you might want to pray for safety. Maybe you know someone who drives you nuts and it is hard to be around them; you might want to pray for patience so you can show them respect. People matter to God and people matter to us. [Bottom Line] You respect God when you respect the people God made. Let s pray. God, You love us all so much! We are important to You! You want to hear from us and You want to be with us now and forever. Help us show others they are important by what we say and do. Open our eyes to see opportunities to show people respect because we know when we respect the people You made, we respect You. We love You! Amen. As adults arrive to pick up, tell parents we are learning about respect this month and how important it is to treat others the way we would want to be treated. 11