LAKEVILLE CAMPUS 3-5 LESSON Date: 1-24-18 Bible Lesson: Parables Matthew 5 Memory Verse: Proverbs 8:11 Check In to Small Groups 6:15 6:30pm Welcome children, make sure everyone has been checked in and has a printed nametag Check in with students regarding their week so far Children can work on the Extra Activity sheet until all group members arrive. (Activity sheets will be available in your folders) Small Group Application 6:30 6:50pm Let Your Light Shine Discussion You Are the Light of the World Lantern Transition to Large Group 6:50-6:55pm Please be aware that groups will be meeting in the AC (Activity Center), so as you arrive please be respectful of their space and the noise level. Large Group Gathering 6:55-7:20pm Please try to sit as a group. Transition to Small Group 7:20-7:25pm Wrap Up 7:25-7:30pm Memory Verse Dismissal 7:30pm Please do not dismiss any child without a parent or guardian pick up slip! Thanks!
READ Matthew 5: 13-16 Leader Preparation, It Starts with the Heart You cannot make yourself the light of the world. Jesus says you are the light of the world because of your relationship with him. The God who said, Out of darkness the light shall shine! is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6 TEV). God speaks the light of Jesus into our hearts, and his light shines so powerfully through us that we are like stars in the universe that point the whole human race toward real life (Philippians 2:15-16). This is a portrait of discipleship. Jesus, who is the light of the world, re-creates us into the light of the world. We are light, not because of anything in ourselves, but because we are in a supernatural union with the light of the world. He calls us to follow after him, and he says, Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness (John 8:12 TEV). Our focus must always be on the light, humbly trusting Jesus to reveal the light through us. Prayerfully remember My influence and visibility is a result of who lives in me, not because of what I do. It is God who puts me in a place of influence and visibility. I am merely a steward of my influence and visibility, so it is important I get out of the way and let Jesus work through me. Only God can measure the significance of my influence and visibility. I may influence one person who will then influence the world. My focus is on following Jesus wherever he leads.
3-5 AS CHILDREN ARE ARRIVING: Welcome each child and their family as they come in and introduce yourself as the Small Group Leader. Make sure every child has checked in and has a printed name tag. As the children are waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, they may work on an Extra Activity sheet. These sheets can be found in your folder. SHARE GOD MOMENTS: Take turns each week as children arrive sharing how you have seen or experienced God this past week. Get them in the habit of looking for the many ways God is communicating with us every day. Did they see Him, hear Him, feel Him, dream about Him, etc. Give Examples: The other day I was at the grocery store and was waiting in line. It was really busy all the lines were full of people with overflowing grocery carts. A man came up to the line next to me carrying just a loaf of bread and a container of milk. The woman in line in front of him saw that he only had 2 things and she had a full cart, so she let him go ahead of her. It reminded me of Jesus telling us that we are to put others needs before ourselves. I m going to try and do things like that more often. PRAYER Ask for any prayer requests and have the children take turns praying for each other every week. Heavenly Father, thank you for the opportunity we have to gather together tonight and praise and worship you. Please guide our time and open our hearts and our minds up to what you want us to learn. Help us to be more like you Jesus so we can share your love and your truth with others. In Your Powerful Name we pray. Amen. Choose a Children s Leader Every week choose one child to be the Children s Leader for the evening. It should be a different child every week so that everyone has several turns to be the leader. It will be the CL s job to remind everyone of your group covenant and help the Small Group Leader with handing out supplies and making sure that everything gets put away properly at the end of the night. Example: making sure pens are all put back in the bag and zipped shut, throwing away garbage, etc. This will help teach and prepare our children to serve and be leaders for God s Kingdom. You may choose each week, which activities will work best for your group.
Activity #1: Let Your Light Shine Discussion Bag of yellow glow stick bracelet (1 per child) Let Your Light Shine paper (1 per child) Discussion Questions (below) Bible SAY, Tonight we learned a parable. Remember a parable was a special story that Jesus would share to help teach an important lesson. Tonight s parable was in the book of Matthew. HAVE the children open their Bibles to Matthew 5:14-16 and read it aloud as they follow along. SAY, We are the light of the world! Jesus does not want us to hide the light He s given us. ASK the following questions and discuss each one. 1. What does it mean to be a light? 2. Ask how we get this light? (Given to us by God) 3. How can we strengthen it? (going to church, reading the bible, praying, doing good works) 4. Does it ever go out? Completely? (It may dim if we stray from Jesus, but never completely goes out.) 5. How to do we make it burn brighter? (renewing our faith: worship, church, prayer, good works, etc) To summarize, being a light of the world means working our hardest to live like Jesus did because he is the best example of a light of the world 6. How do we share our lights with others? Share ideas 7. How can we let our light shine in our families, at school, with friends, with neighbors, at church, etc? (If some children are having a hard time coming up with answers, refer back to their favorite sport and ask how they help out their teammates, coaches etc.) GIVE each child a glow stick bracelet and a Let Your Light Shine card. SAY, Glow sticks are fun to shine in the dark! And since that is what we want you to remember about this lesson, each of you gets to bring home a glow in the dark bracelet! Every time you see a glow stick in the future, I hope it reminds you to be a light for Jesus! Activity #2: You Are the Light of the World Lanterns Colored paper with lines (1 per child) Scissors Tape Pens Markers Strips of colored paper (1 per child) ASK, What are some ways that you can be a light for others? DISCUSS IDEAS HAND each child a colored piece of paper. SAY, We are going to make a paper lantern full of ideas on how you can share the light of Jesus.
Directions: 1. Have the children write ideas on how they can share their light with others BETWEEN the lines. DO NOT WRITE ON THE LINES. 2. Have the children fold the paper in half horizontally and cut ONLY on the lines. 3. Open up the paper and have the children now fold over the paper vertically and tape the ends where indicated on the paper. 4. Now tape on the handle, by taping a strip of paper to the top. 5. Tada! Your lantern is complete! TRANSITION to Large Group 3rd-5th Grade Large Group Will Take Place in the Activity Center. TRANSITION to Small Group Wrap Up: Memory Verse Last Week s Verse: Ephesians 6:10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. This Week s Verse: Proverbs 8:11 For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you Desire can compare with it. Bag of Star Stickers Directions: 1. Children should have their HALO Book Marks from last week. 2. Have the children recite last week s memory verse and hand out Star Stickers to those that have it memorized. 3. Read this week s Memory Verse in your Bible and ask the children to look it up in their Bibles and read along. 4. Encourage the children to mark each week s verse in their Bible with their new Book Mark to make it quick and easy to reference. Optional: Highlighters and pens are provided so they may highlight or underline each week s verse.