John 3:16 - Gave His Son Big Idea: God gave up His riches to come to earth. Key verse: he became poor, you can become Thoughts for leaders Riches (and poverty) is often on the minds of those of us in North America. We all have dreamt of making it big and enjoying all the luxuries the TV promises to the rich and famous. Who wouldn t want to win the lottery, own a mansion, drive the latest sports car and go on the best vacations? While there may not be anything wrong with dreaming of these visions of wealth, Jesus lived the opposite way. He could have had any of these things, but chose an earthly life that forfeited his wealth. He understood true riches, and gave up everything so we could have the kind of wealth that matters: freedom, hope, love, peace, joy and ultimately, a new home in heaven. In this economic climate, whenever we find ourselves stressed out or even just fantasizing about the so-called good life, may we reflect back on our Lord and remember what He showed us the good life really is. Supplies list: Small Group Memory Verse Craft Table Games Poster Board Markers Poster Board Marker Scissors - Empty cardboard container with resealable lid - Decorative paper - Scissors - White glue - Foam brush - Copy of craft 1.20 - Means of dividing playing area (ropes/ boundary markers) - Treasures (plastic lids/bean bags); about enough for one per person - 2-4 Hula hoops/ropes 1
Leader says: We re going to do a quick survey! Here s how it works. Let s pretend every person in this room suddenly was rich crazy, super rich! Now I m going to shout out some options, and you have to decide which one you would have if you could buy anything you wanted. So, for example, if you would rather own an old beater of a car, run to the right side of the room (point to the right), or if you would rather own a brand new Jaguar, run to the left side of the room (point to the left side.) Ready? Let s try it. Who wants the beater car? (point right). Who wants the jaguar? (point left). If you do not have room for children to run, try having them cheer for their top choice instead. (allow children time to figure out where to run). Okay! Now let s do a couple more. (For each choice, point the direction you want the kids to run). Would you rather live in a mansion or a shed? Would you rather travel in a private jet or on a donkey? Would you rather be born in a sleek new hospital or in a barn? Would you rather have the richest people in the world bring you gifts, or poor farmers? Alright! Great choices! Let s sit back down for a few minutes. (allow children time to settle into their seats). That was pretty easy, wasn t it? But today we re talking about Someone who had all the money in the world, and made very different choices you and I made. We re going to find out more about Him and why He gave up some of those rich ways of living. 2
Leader says: Something amazing happened one night more than two thousand years ago God decided to come to earth as a little baby! Now, He not only owns all the money in the world He owns the whole world itself! So you can imagine He would choose to be born in the nicest of hospitals with all the best doctors around, then go in a private jet to his huge mansion with fourteen hot tubs just for him, and grow up with all the richest people in the world coming to his birthday parties and giving him really expensive things! He s the God of the Universe of course He could do that! But does anybody know where He chose to be born? That s right in a barn. They didn t even have a crib for him, so he had to sleep in the trough that animals ate out of eww! And He didn t pick rich parents: He chose a poor carpenter and his girlfriend to be His parents. He didn t get kings and presidents visiting him: in fact, the King tried to kill Him when he heard Jesus was born, because he didn t want to share his kingdom with anybody not even God! So why would God give up all the nice things He s used to in heaven to come to earth like that? He s used to living in heaven, sitting on a throne, surrounded by angels who are his servants it must have been really strange for him to be born in a barn with no servants at all! The Bible says You know the Christ. Even though he was rich, he (2 Corinthians 8:9) God loved us so much that He came to earth, not as a prince or a king, but as a servant, to live like we lived, and one day to die to save us. The Bible is not promising that we ll win the lottery and become rich that way it means that because Jesus gave up everything He had to save us, He gives us true riches that money can t buy, like freedom, hope, peace or joy. The most priceless gift anyone can give is our freedom, and that s what God gave! That freedom ended up costing Jesus more than just a throne: it cost him his life! Let s end with reciting this month s memory verse: John 3:16 - "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. 3
Copy of questions for each small group leader Poster board/large paper & felt markers for each group Prayer Journals Leader says: What is one thing you would have a really hard time giving up, no matter how much you loved someone? (Your own bedroom, having a shower every day, heat in your house, your favourite toy, your TV, your brand-name sneakers) Has anyone ever given up something to give you something special? Our verse for this week is grace shown by our Lord Jesus he became poor, you can become What did Jesus give up to come to earth? What kind of riches does Jesus give us? (freedom, peace, joy, patience, love, forgiveness, hope) Do you think his sacrifice was worth it? Let s thank God today for becoming poor so we could become rich! God hears our prayers whether we say them, think them or write them, so today let s write or draw on this poster board all the things that God has given us that we are thankful for! End with prayer journals 4
Monthly verse: John 3:16 - "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. Weekly verse: Christ. Even though he was rich, he he became poor, you can become In advance, write out the verse on a large piece of poster board. Cut the piece into 7-10 pieces (more for older groups, less for younger). This works best with groups of less than 20 kids, so if you are a large group, break your group up into smaller groups and have one poster board per group. Start with reciting this month s memory verse. If your group has forgotten it, recite it three times while doing jumping jacks! Then, move onto memorizing the new verse: Have your group recite the verse five times (count down on your fingers). After that, remove one piece from the poster board. Recite it again. If they can do it easily, remove another piece, and keep removing pieces after each recitation until there s nothing left, but the group can still recite the memory verse. If at any point, they begin to stumble, recite the verse together 3 times (or more) before removing another piece to help cement the verse in their minds. 5
True Treasures Empty cardboard container with resealable lid (ie empty Pringles, oatmeal, cocoa powder, nuts, etc.) Decorative paper Scissors White glue Foam brush Copy of craft 1.20 1. Cut out a rectangle of decorative paper to fit around the container. 2. Glue in place (tip: to keep a smooth surface, dab glue onto paper, then use foam brush to spread thinly to the edges of the paper.) 3. Decorate with stickers, drawings and a copy of today s memory verse (craft 1.20) 4. Have an adult help cut a slit in the lid for coins. 6
Craft 1.20 Print one verse per child Lesson 1.2 Christ. Even though t he was rich, he 7
Stolen Treasure - Means of dividing playing area (lines on gym floor, tape to make lines, ropes, boundary markers, etc.) - Treasures (ice cream pail lids, bean bags, or other similar items); about enough for one per person - Hula hoops/ropes to mark out treasure chests for each team (2 or 4) Divide group into two teams (for groups of 20 or less) or four teams (for groups of 20 or more). Divide the playing area either in half, or in quarters, depending how many teams there are. Each team has a treasure chest (hula hoop, or rope outlining the area) in the far corner of their playing area. The goal is to have the most treasure in their chest by the end of the game (1o minutes.) Each team tries to steal treasure from opposing teams treasure chests. This is done successfully by sneaking into opposing teams territory, taking one treasure (they are very heavy, so you can only carry one at a time!) and bringing it safely back to your own treasure chest without being tagged by the opposing team. If you get tagged (while on other team s territory only), you must sit down where you were tagged, and any treasure you were holding gets returned to the original treasure chest. You can only be freed by a member of your own team tagging you. Once tagged, both team members get a free walk back to your own territory but may not bring any treasure back with you. You cannot be tagged while in the treasure chest area, and you are not allowed to be in your own treasure chest area (unless returning treasure to it). Your goal, as a team, is both to steal other team s treasures to bring to your own treasure chest as well as to protect your own treasure by tagging opposing team members who are in your territory. You will also need to keep an eye out for any of your team members who are caught in other team s territories, to free them. You may not stand closer than 3 feet to your own treasure chest when guarding it. 8
Bright Idea Make a fun treasure chest snack by decorating cupcakes with gold chocolate coins All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader s Version, NIrV Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIrV and New International Reader s Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. 9