April 22, 2018 Bible Story Focus: I can tell others about Jesus even when it s hard. Paul and Silas Acts 16:16-34 Memory Verse: Go and make disciples of all nations. Matthew 28:19, NIV Key Question: Who can tell others about Jesus? Bottom Line: I can tell others about Jesus. Basic Truth: Jesus wants to be my friend forever. Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Activities that encourage preschoolers to enter the classroom and begin engaging with peers and Small Group Leaders by providing age appropriate and hands on fun while introducing new concepts they will hear in the day s Bible story. 1. Coloring Sheet-introduces the Bible story/concept 2. Big News Theme Table- Kids will be able to explore a newspaper, play with microphones, phones, making notes to mail in the pretend mailbox, megaphones, etc. As they explore these items, reinforce that these are ways people share news and we can share the best news, that Jesus is Alive and He loves you with everyone we know! Key Question: Who can tell others about Jesus? Children Respond: Bottom Line: I can tell others about Jesus. 3. Outside Time-See Playground Safety Guidelines, at 15 min after service starts you may take your children out weather permitting Gather children for a Large Group time that includes interactive worship and the Bible story. Worship: Inviting People to Respond to God Engage kids hearts through dynamic and interactive worship in a Large Group setting. Use the monthly song provided with the curriculum to lead your preschoolers in worship. Encourage children to be active during worship by incorporating the appropriate hand motions. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 1
What You Need: Paperclip Memory Verse Card in your Bible at Matthew 28:19. You will need a CD player and this month s worship song, Jesus Is Alive, which is included in your monthly files. The dance moves for this song are available on the Everybody Sing Dance Moves DVD. LEADER: Hello, hello, friends. It s so great to see you today! I m so excited, and I can t wait to sing with you about the BIG NEWS. But first, tell me: Who can tell others about Jesus? LEADER: Yes! [Bottom Line] I can tell others about Jesus. You can tell others the BIG NEWS that Jesus is alive! Let s sing this month s song all about that. Lead children in singing Jesus Is Alive, this month s worship song. Wonderful singing, my friends. Tell me: Who can tell others about Jesus? LEADER: Yes indeed, [Bottom Line] I can tell others about Jesus. Who can help me remember what we do next? We sang our first song. What do we do now? (Pause.) Yes! We say our memory verse. Are you ready to say it with me? Go (run in place) and make (pound fist into palm) disciples (hold the hand of the friend next to you) of all nations (extend arms over your head in a circle), Matthew 28:19. (Open your hands like a book.) Let s do it again. CHILDREN and LEADER: Go (run in place) and make (pound fist into palm) disciples (hold the hand of the friend next to you) of all nations (extend arms over your head in a circle), Matthew 28:19. (Open your hands like a book.) (Repeat several times.) LEADER: Yes! You ve got it totally memorized now. Way to go! I am so proud of you. Remind me one more time: Who can tell others about Jesus? Story: Communicating God s Truth in Engaging Ways Engage kids hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible story and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. These scripts are written to be told and not read. Advanced preparation is necessary. Bible Story Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 2
What You Need: Bible LEADER: Hi, friends! I m so happy to see you today. Who wants to hear an incredibly amazing, TOTALLY true story straight from the Bible? (Pause and hold up Bible.) Yeah, I m glad you re ready. Remember, everything in the Bible is completely and totally true! Our true Bible story starts with two guys, named Paul and Silas. Every day, Paul and Silas would go town to town and tell everyone do it with me (cup hands to mouth) BIG NEWS: Jesus is alive! Great job! They would tell everyone that Jesus is alive and He wants to be our friend forever. One day, they were walking along the road when they met a group of people who did not like that Paul and Silas were telling others about Jesus. They were so unhappy about what they were doing that they came and got Paul and Silas and put them in jail. That s right. They were thrown in jail just for telling everyone the (cup hands to mouth) BIG NEWS that Jesus is alive. Everyone say, Oh, no! CHILDREN and LEADER: Oh, no! LEADER: Being in jail for telling someone about Jesus that s hard! If I were in jail, I might be crying. Everyone pretend to cry. (Pause for responses.) Or I might be angry. Everyone show me your angry face! (Pause as children respond.) But do you know what Paul and Silas did? That night, sitting in jail, they started singing songs to God. They were in jail and it was HARD and they still praised God! Let s all sing Jesus Loves Me together with Paul and Silas. (Lead the children to sing Jesus Loves Me or another simple worship song your children would know.) Beautiful singing, everyone! All of a sudden, the ground started to shake. It was an EARTHQUAKE! The jail shook so much that the doors flew open. Paul and Silas were free! But then they saw that the guard looked sad. Guard. Instead of running away, Paul and Silas told him the (cup hands to mouth) BIG NEWS! And then they told the guard s whole family the (cup hands to mouth) BIG NEWS! And they decided to follow Jesus! Isn t that awesome? That s why, even when it s hard, we need to tell others about Jesus. Because you never know what God will do! I m so glad Paul and Silas chose to tell that guard and his whole family the (cup hands to mouth) BIG NEWS that Jesus is alive. But telling others this BIG NEWS isn t just a Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 3
job for the people we read about in the Bible. We can do it too. Who can tell others about Jesus? LEADER: Yes, we can! Even when it s hard, [Bottom Line] I can tell others about Jesus. But you know who can help us do hard things? God can. Let s pray and ask Him to help us share this BIG NEWS that Jesus is alive! Prayer LEADER: Dear God, thank You so much for the true stories we read in the Bible about people like Paul and Silas who told others the BIG NEWS about Jesus even when they were in jail. That must have been so hard. Help us to tell others about Jesus when it s easy and when it s hard. You are an awesome God who loves to help us. In Jesus name we pray, amen. Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Create a safe place to connect through activities that are written to reach every learning style while reinforcing the Bottom Line that was introduced during the Bible Story and applying it to real life experiences. In addition, these activities provide preschoolers with an opportunity to build relationships with their Small Group Leader. 1. Jail Birds Live for God Application Activity Made to Create: An activity that allows preschoolers to review the Bible story, Bottom Line, or memory verse by creating a craft What You Need: Jail Activity Page, white cardstock, washi tape (preferably black), and crayons What You Do: Before the Activity: Copy the Jail Bird Activity Page onto cardstock. Provide one per child. During the Activity: Let the children use the crayons to color their pages. Then encourage them to place the black washi tape anywhere they would like to on the page to create the bars of the jail. What You Say: During the Activity: Let s color our pages together. What kept people inside those jail cells? (Pause.) Yes, bars! Looks like they re missing from this picture. I want you to use this cool black tape I have to place bars over your jail cell. I can help you if you need it. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 4
After the Activity: Way to go, friends. I love this true Bible story about Paul and Silas. Even inside their prison cell behind those bars they chose to sing and praise God. They chose to tell the guard all about Jesus, too. And you know what? If Paul and Silas could do it, with God s help, we can too. Who can tell others about Jesus? [Bottom Line] I can tell others about Jesus. 2. Wonder DVD If you have time you may show the Wonder! Look at God s Story DVD to reinforce the lesson. Curriculum Materials for 3- through 5-year-olds 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com 5