Kindergarten & 1 st Grade Week 1, March 6 Return of the Dead Guy Bible Story: Return of the Dead Guy (Lazarus raised to life) John 11:1-45 Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is. Memory Verse: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b, NIV Life App: Hope believing that something good can come out of something bad. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Early Arriver Activity (8:45) (10:45) (4:15) (6:15) What You Need: An offering container Encourage kids to place their offerings in the offering container. Ask the following questions: o What s the best trip or vacation you ve ever taken? o Have you ever been camping? Who likes/doesn t like camping? o Does anyone have a cool story about camping they want to share? Plug In (9:00) (11:00) (4:30) (6:30) I m Going Camping! What You Need: No supplies needed Create a packing list of items for a camping trip. You will start everything off by saying, I m going camping and I m going to take a backpack. The kid to your left will add a new item by saying, I m going camping and I m going to take a backpack and some bug spray. Continue adding new items as you go around the circle. Remember, each kid must list all the items that have already been mentioned and add a new item when it s their turn! You may need to prompt the kids to help them remember all of the items, especially as the list gets longer. Whoa, you guys sure chose some interesting items for our camping trip! [Transition] I think we might see a tent similar to this one in Large Group. Let s go find out what it s for! Lead your group to the Large Group area. Prayer Time After large group, gather children in their small groups. Lead them in prayer focusing on The Bottom Line. Catch On #1 Lazarus, Come Out! (application activity / review the Bible story) What You Need: Lunch sacks; 1 for each kid, yarn, glue sticks, construction paper, scissors, markers/crayons, tape, blanket or sheet for tent Hand out a lunch sack to each kid. Assign the parts of the story and have the kids create a lunch sack puppet depicting that character. (There can be more than one of each.) o Story characters: Lazarus, Mary, Martha, Messenger, Jesus, a few disciples, a few friends of Mary and Martha, crowd members Give the kids a few minutes to complete their puppets. Use the tent as the tomb and reenact the story as a puppet show with the script below. Make sure each kid knows what puppet they have so they can act out their part when called upon. Lazarus Script A man named Lazarus had two sisters, Mary and Martha. One day, Lazarus got sick very sick. And Mary and Martha got scared really scared. So they sent a messenger to their friend Jesus. He said, Lord the one you love is sick. (John 11:3, NIrV) Mary and Martha waited and waited. And Lazarus got sicker and sicker. When the messenger returned, Jesus wasn t with him. But he did have a message from Jesus. He said, 1
This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God s glory. God s Son will receive glory because of it. (v. 4) So they thought Lazarus would get better. But he didn t. Instead, Lazarus died. They placed Lazarus body in the tomb and Mary and Martha and all their friends were so sad. Days later, the messenger returned and said, Jesus is coming! He s just outside the town! Martha ran to meet him. She said, Lord I wish you had been here. Then my brother would not have died. (John 11:21, NIrV) Mary, Martha, Jesus and a crowd of friends and family arrived at the tomb where Lazarus was. And Jesus wept. He was so sad. There was a huge, heavy stone covering the entrance of the tomb. Jesus told them to roll it away. Martha said, Lord, Lazarus has been in there for four days. Um, well, it s not going to smell very good. But Jesus told them to remove the stone. Then Jesus prayed, Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me. But I said this for the benefit of the people standing here. I said it so they will believe that you sent me. (vv. 41-42) Lazarus, come out! (v. 43) After a moment, there was movement. Then Lazarus stumbled out of the tomb, alive and well! Mary said, You re alive! Mary and Martha hugged their brother. Many people saw what Jesus had done and believed in Him. God s power was even greater than death! Isn t this story amazing? Can you imagine if you had been in the crowd that day? Everyone went from super sad to super joyful. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead! Talk about a powerful God! He s even more powerful than death! All month long we re talking about hope. Hope is believing that something good can come out of something bad. Mary and Martha were hopeless when Lazarus died. But I LOVE the part of the story where Jesus prays and says, God, I do this so the people listening will know that you sent me. Jesus wanted that crowd to know that something good can come out of something bad because of God s great love and power. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is. [Make It Personal] (Tell your group about a time when you needed help and God provided it. Make sure to keep your examples kid-friendly. Talk about a time when you prayed for something and God answered your prayer in a powerful way. Catch On #2 Verse in a Tent (memory verse activity) What You Need: Bibles, flashlight or smart phone light Gather everyone inside the tent. If your tent is too small, just gather everyone around the entrance. If inside the tent, turn on your flashlight or smart phone light. Using the tips below, help the kids look up John 16:33b and read it together. Finding verses with kindergartners: Guide children to open the Bibles to the marked page. Point to the word John at the top of the page as you say John aloud. Then guide children to find the big number 16 on the page. Explain that this is the chapter number. Finally, guide them to look under the big 16 for the little 33; this is the verse number. Tell them to leave their finger on the verse as you read the verse aloud. Then lead everyone to say the verse together. Finding verses with 1 st graders: Guide them to open their Bibles to the front and find the table of contents. (Hold up a Bible opened to the table of contents to show the kids what the page looks like.) When the kids find the table of contents, lead them to find John in the list under New Testament. You can help by telling them that John starts with the letters J-O. When the kids find John, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find John. Help the kids find the page. When they find John, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 16. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 33b in chapter 16. Talk about the word trouble and what it means. What kind of trouble do the kids in your group face? Do they literally get IN trouble with parents or grandparents sometimes? Is there something at school that is giving them trouble as they re trying to learn something new? This is such a great verse to learn! We will face hard stuff what this verse calls trouble! But we don t have to be scared. There is hope because God wins in the end. He is more powerful than any trouble we might face. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is. 2
Kindergarten & 1 st Grade Week 2, March 13 The Savior s Playbook Bible Story: The Savior s Playbook (Jesus encourages the disciples) John 14 16 (Supporting: John 12 13) Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus promised. Memory Verse: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b, NIV Life App: Hope believing that something good can come out of something bad. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Early Arriver Activity (8:45) (10:45) (4:15) (6:15) What You Need: An offering container Encourage kids to place their offerings in the offering container. Ask the following questions: o What s your favorite meal? o If you could invite anyone in the world to dinner at your home, who would you invite? o What food would you want your mom or dad to serve? o What would you have for dessert? Plug In (9:00) (11:00) (4:30) (6:30) I Remember What You Need: White boards, markers Pass out the white boards to each child. Ask the kids the following questions: o Have you ever had a friend or family member that moved away? o How do you remember that friend? o Do you have any pictures of the two of you? o Do you have anything that they gave you as a gift? Ask them to draw a picture of a friend or family member that lives far away or that you don t get to see very often. Let them share their pictures with the rest of the group. Sometimes friends or family have to move away to a new place. And when that happens, it s nice to have a way to remember them. [Transition] Let s head to Large Group and find out about how Jesus told His followers to remember Him. Lead your group to the Large Group area. Prayer Time After large group, gather children in their small groups. Lead them in prayer focusing on The Bottom Line. Catch On #1 The Last Supper (application activity / review the Bible story) What You Need: Bible Story Pictures Activity Page; 1 set for each Small Group, crayons, tape, snacks, cups of water, napkins, tent or fort Pass out the snacks and cups of water. Ask the kids to sit on the floor with their snacks. Talk about how the disciples sat on the floor for their last supper. Hold up the Bible Story Pictures Activity Page. Review the story and what happens in each scene. Tape the pictures to the front of the tent in the correct order to review. Jesus gathered His disciples for a special meal. He knew it would be the last meal they would have together. He asked them to remember Him. He gave them a promise that He would be with them always, even when they couldn t see Him face to face. Jesus was about to face something really hard, but He wanted His friends 3
to know that everything would be okay. He wanted them to have hope. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember what Jesus promised. Catch On #2 God s Promises (application activity) What You Need: White board, dry erase markers Ask the kids about promises. What is a promise? Has anyone ever made a promise to them? Have they ever made a promise to anyone else? Pass out the white boards and markers. Read the following Scriptures that name some of the promises of God. After you read each verse, read the promise and draw the listed symbol on the white board for kids to copy on their white boards. o Psalm 136:1, NIrV: Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever. The promise: God will love you forever. Symbol: Heart o Isaiah 49:13, NIrV: Shout for joy, you heavens! Be glad, you earth! Burst into song, you mountains! The Lord will comfort his people. He will show his tender love to those who are suffering. The promise: God will help you feel better when you re sad. Symbol: Band-Aid o Psalm 4:8, NIrV: In peace I will lie down and sleep. Lord, you alone keep me safe. The o promise: God will keep you safe. Symbol: Pillow Hebrews 13:5, NIrV: God has said, I will never leave you. I will never desert you. The promise: God will never leave you. Symbol: Write the words NEVER LEAVE Did you know that there are over 3,000 promises that God has made to us in His Word? And did you know that God always keeps those promises? Every time. Jesus promised His disciples that they would see Him again. He wanted them to have hope that something good could come out of something bad. He wanted them to remember all that He had taught them. [Make It Personal] (Tell kids about a promise from God that has helped you in the past. How did knowing that promise help you have hope?) [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember what Jesus promised. 4
Kindergarten & 1 st Grade Week 3, March 20 The Greatest Story Ever Told Bible Story: The Greatest Story Ever Told (Crucifixion) John 18-19 (Supporting: Matthew 27; Luke 23) Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember God is still at work. Memory Verse: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b, NIV Life App: Hope believing that something good can come out of something bad. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Early Arriver Activity(8:45) (10:45) (4:15) (6:15) What You Need: An offering container Encourage kids to place their offerings in the offering container. Discuss the scenarios below. Talk to the kids about how these situations seem bad. Ask them to give you some examples of something good that could happen in each situation. o You forget to grab your lunch off the counter. (A friend shares her lunch with you. It s pizza day in the cafeteria.) o They re out of your favorite flavor of ice cream. (You try a new flavor and love it.) o You get a cold the day before a big field trip. (You miss it but get to stay home and watch a movie with your mom.) Plug In (9:00) (11:00) (4:30) (6:30) The Never Ending Story What You Need: No supplies needed Tell the kids that today you will create a super silly story. Tell them that you want them to add a new line to the story as they go around the circle. You will start them off. Remind them to listen to what s happened so far so that their addition to the story makes sense with what has already happened BUT tell them to try to make it as silly or crazy or outrageous as possible. Go around the circle at least twice if possible, until it s time to head to Large Group. Okay, you all created a super crazy story! And guess what? Our story doesn t have an ending so far, does it? This crazy story could go on and on and on and on. [Transition] Today, we won t hear the end of the story in Large Group either, but don t worry. I promise when we DO get to the end, it s a VERY happy one. So let s go! Lead your group to the Large Group area. Prayer Time After large group, gather children in their small groups. Lead them in prayer focusing on The Bottom Line. Catch On #1 The Cross (application activity / review the Bible story) What You Need: White cardstock; 1 piece for each kid, painter s tape, scissors, crayons Give each child a piece of cardstock. Give each child two pieces of painter s tape one about four inches long and one about eight inches long. Make sure to cut the pieces instead of tearing them so the ends are straight. Instruct them to place the tape onto the page to form a cross. (The four-inch piece will be the horizontal part of the cross. The eight-inch piece will be the vertical piece. You may need to help kindergarteners with this.) Have the kids use the crayons to color the white cardstock in any pattern they choose around the painter s tape. Encourage them to be creative and draw lines or shapes or patterns around the cross. Make sure they write their names on their papers. Set aside as you discuss today s Bible story. 5
It s hard to talk about what happened to Jesus on the cross, isn t it? It s hard for us to imagine the pain that He faced. And it wasn t because He had done anything wrong. Jesus died on the cross because of our sin the things we do that are wrong. God is perfect and when we do things that are wrong, it hurts our relationship with Him. Because Jesus took our punishment for our sin, we can have a relationship with God and that is GOOD NEWS! That is the best reason to have hope. Next week, we will hear how the most amazing event in all of history took place because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Something good WILL come out of something really, really bad. This isn t the end of the story. [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember God is still at work. Catch On #2 Good Out of Bad (application activity) What You Need: Paper, crayons or markers Before passing out the paper and crayons, brainstorm some ideas for bad situations. These could be someone pushing a friend, breaking something, or anything that would make them sad or angry. Pass out the paper and ask the kids to draw a bad situation. (Either something mentioned while brainstorming or an idea they had on their own.) When they re finished, have them find a partner. Once they re sitting together, ask them to show their drawings to each other and explain what s happening. The partners will switch their drawings, flip them over to the back, and draw something good that could happen as a result of this bad situation. (You may need to help give them some specific ideas if they re having trouble coming up with a way that something good can come out of something bad. This activity is attempting to take an abstract concept and make it more concrete.) Would anyone like to share their pictures and the outcomes today? (Pause and allow a few kids to share.) Sometimes when something bad happens, it s hard to believe that anything good can come out of it. [Make It Personal] (Keeping it age-appropriate, tell kids about a time when something bad happened to you, but something good happened in the end. Remind them that even when bad things happen, they can always hope for something good in the end because God is still at work.) That s why hope is so important. We can have hope and believe that something good can come out of something bad when we trust in Jesus. He loved us so much that He was willing to face the pain of the cross and take our punishment. I know things seem bad now because we ve only heard the bad side of Jesus story like the front side of your pictures. But I promise that God is still at work. And something amazingly awesome is coming next! [Bottom Line] Whatever happens, remember God is still at work. 6
Kindergarten & 1 st Grade Week 4, March 27 Son of God Is Not Dead Bible Story: Son of God Is Not Dead (Resurrection; Easter) John 20:1-18 Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember God loves you. Memory Verse: In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33b, NIV Life App: Hope believing that something good can come out of something bad. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Early Arriver Activity (8:45) (10:45) (4:15) (6:15) What You Need: An offering container Encourage kids to place their offerings in the offering container. Talk about Easter traditions and ask: o What is your favorite thing about Easter? o How will you celebrate with? Who will be at your celebration? o What is your favorite Easter tradition? Plug In (9:00) (11:00) (4:30) (6:30) Egg Race What You Need: 2 plastic eggs, 2 plastic spoons Divide your group into two teams for an egg and spoon race. Make sure teams are even. If not, one child will need to go twice. Line kids up five feet or more from the wall. Each kid will take a turn walking with their egg in the spoon to the wall and back, then pass the spoon to the next teammate in line. If they drop the egg, they must return to the front of the line and start over. First team to finish wins! That was so fun! But you know, Easter isn t just about eggs! [Transition] Today we re going to find out what Easter is REALLY all about. And it s amazing. Let s head to Large Group to hear all about it! Lead your group to the Large Group area. Prayer Time After large group, gather children in their small groups. Lead them in prayer focusing on The Bottom Line. Catch On #1 Who s Missing (application activity) What You Need: Tent or fort Ask the kids to sit in a circle. Explain that you will play a game called Who s Missing? Select one kid to be It and sit in the center of the circle with his/her eyes closed. Quietly tap a child on the head and tell him to hide in the tent/fort. Once that child leaves, the remaining kids should scoot together so that you cannot tell who s missing. Once the child is hidden in the tent, ask the kid who is It to open his eyes and guess who is missing. Pick a different kid to hide and a different kid to be It each round. Play as long as time and interest allow. [Make It Personal] (Tell the kids about a time you needed hope that things would be okay. What happened? Select a kid-friendly example.) When Mary went to the tomb on Easter morning, who was missing? That s right! Jesus! He wasn t in the tomb because He was ALIVE! Jesus beat death once and for all and made a way for us to have a relationship with God. God loved us so much that He sent Jesus for us. And that s a big reason we can have hope, no matter what happens. So, [Bottom Line] whatever happens, remember God loves you. 7
Catch On #2 Egg Verse (memory verse activity) What You Need: 12 Plastic eggs, Memory Verse Words Activity Page; set for each Small Group Review John 16:33b as a group. Cut the memory verse cards apart and place each card inside a plastic egg. Place the eggs in a pile about five feet away from the group. Line up the kids and have them run, one at a time, to the pile of eggs, grab one, and bring it back to the group. Once all the eggs are gathered, let the kids open them and put the words of the verse in order. Point out the numbers on the bottom of the cards to help any early readers. Read the verse together as a group. Do you see right here (point to the card) where it says, I have won the battle? Jesus knew that one day He would beat death that He would rise again on Easter to show us how much God loves us. Isn t that amazing? We can have hope because [Bottom Line] whatever happens, remember God loves you. 8