small group leader guide - Life.Church Leaders
Small Group Discussion
Say the point and Bible verse together.
God’s love isn’t selfish.
SMALL GROUP LEADER GUIDE PUT OTHERS FIRST WEEK 1 DON’T BE SELFISH
Small Group Welcome 1. Introduce yourself, and welcome new kids by name. 2. Kids share what happened during the past week. 3. Check up on past week’s prayer requests and events. 4. Discuss the welcome question: If you wore another person’s shoes, whose shoes would you wear?
Small Group Activity
You’ll Need •
Don’t Be Selfish activity supplement (1 per group)
To Do Say: This game will teach us to think of others better than we think of ourselves. You’re gonna have to do whatever someone else says with a good attitude.
Philippians 2:3 NLT Don’t be selfish … Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 1. What does the Bible verse tell us to do instead of being selfish? Be humble and put others first
Choose a few review questions. 1. How do you think putting others first shows God’s love to them? Answers will vary. 2. Think about the Bible story we saw about Tabitha. How did she show she wasn’t selfish? She spent her time making clothes for people in need and taking care of them. 3. What does it mean to “Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes?” Think about someone else’s thoughts, feelings, and needs 4. What are some ways God put us first instead of being selfish? He created the whole world for us, He gave us Jesus, He forgives our sins, etc.
Choose an action step question. 1. What’s something selfish you need to stop doing? Bossing others, getting mad when I don’t get my way, ignoring others, interrupting, etc. 2. What can you do this week to show others God’s love isn’t selfish? Answers will vary.
1. Sit in a circle. 2. Choose one kid to pick an action they want everyone else to do from the Don’t Be Selfish activity supplement.
Pray together.
3. All kids do the action with a good attitude, even if it’s an action they didn’t want to do.
1. Ask kids to share things they’d like to pray about.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 until every kid has had a turn to choose an action for the group.
3. Pray together over the prayer requests.
5. If time allows, play the game again. Note: If you want to let kids make up actions that aren’t on the list, have them ask you if the action is okay before they tell the group to do it.
Choose questions to ask while kids play. 1. When was it hard for you to do the action that was picked? Answers will vary. 2. When is it hard for you to do what other people want instead of what you want? Answers will vary.
2. Write down their prayer requests. Not sure what to pray? Pray this: Dear God, please help us say no to selfishness and yes to loving others the way You do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Check Out Stay in small groups until kids are checked out.
1. Talk about earning points by returning the Challenge Card, and play the game again. 2. When a kid from your small group leaves, say something positive and specific to their family.
Please save questions on back for Small Group Discussion.
3. Encourage families to do the Challenge Card together.
Small Group Discussion
Say the point and Bible verse together.
God’s love puts others first.
SMALL GROUP LEADER GUIDE PUT OTHERS FIRST WEEK 2 GOD’S LOVE
Ephesians 5:2 NLT Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us … 1. Whose example of love should we follow? Jesus’
Small Group Welcome 1. Introduce yourself, and welcome new kids by name. 2. Kids share what happened during the past week. 3. Check up on past week’s prayer requests and events. 4. Discuss the welcome question: What do you love about Easter?
Small Group Activity
You’ll Need •
Rubber bracelet (1 per child)
•
Plastic egg (1 per child)
Choose a few review questions. 1. What does sacrifice mean? Giving up something you love to do something you love even more 2. What sacrifices did Jesus make to put us first? He chose to live on earth to show us how to live God’s way, He died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, etc. 3. What happens to your heart when you choose to follow Jesus? God changes your heart from a heart full of sin to a pure, clean heart that’s friends with Him. 4. When is it difficult for you to put others first? Answers will vary. 5. How do you think following Jesus can help you show God’s love well? Answers will vary.
Choose an action step question.
To Do
1. What is a sacrifice you can make this week to show love to someone else? Answer will vary.
Say: We’re going to go on a prize hunt—but when you find a prize, you have to make a sacrifice. Put others first by giving it away instead of keeping it for yourself!
2. What is one thing you can do to live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ? Answers will vary.
1. Sit in a circle and place all of the eggs in the center. 2. Kids to close their eyes. 3. While kids’ eyes are closed, sneak a rubber bracelet into an egg. Note: For larger groups, sneak rubber bracelets into two or three eggs. 4. Kids open their eyes and choose an egg. 5. Count to three, then kids open their eggs. 6. If a kid finds a prize in their egg, they give it to another kid in the group who does not have a prize yet.
Pray together. 1. Ask kids to share things they’d like to pray about. 2. Write down their prayer requests. 3. Pray together over the prayer requests. Not sure what to pray? Pray this: God, thank You for the sacrifices Jesus made to show us Your love. Please help us to follow His example. In Jesus’ name, amen.
7. Repeat the game until all kids have only one prize. 8. If time allows, kids take turns setting up the game by putting their own bracelet in an egg. When the bracelet is found, the kid gets it back.
Choose questions to ask while kids play. 1. Was it easy for you to sacrifice the prize, or hard? Answers will vary. 2. Is it easier for you to give up a prize in a game, or to give up something in real life? Answers will vary. Please save questions on back for Small Group Discussion.
Check Out Stay in small groups until kids are checked out.
1. Talk about earning points by returning the Challenge Card, and play a game like telephone or Simon says. 2. When a kid from your small group leaves, say something positive and specific to their family. 3. Encourage families to do the Challenge Card together.
Small Group Discussion
Say the point and Bible verse together.
God’s love forgives.
SMALL GROUP LEADER GUIDE PUT OTHERS FIRST WEEK 3 FORGIVE OTHERS
Small Group Welcome 1. Introduce yourself, and welcome new kids by name. 2. Kids share what happened during the past week. 3. Check up on past week’s prayer requests and events. 4. Discuss the welcome question: What would you do with a giant bag of gummy bears?
Small Group Activity
You’ll Need •
Roll of yarn (1 per group)
To Do Say: Let’s see what happens if we hold onto hurt instead of showing God’s love and forgiving. 1. The first kid says a hurtful thing someone did, holds the end of the yarn, and tosses the roll to another kid. 2. The next kid says a hurtful thing someone did and tosses the roll without letting go of the yarn. 3. Repeat so all kids get a turn and a yarn web is made. Say: Now, don’t let go! Keep holding the yarn and give your neighbor a double high five and shake their hand!
Choose a few review questions. 1. Why do you think forgiveness shows God’s love? Answers will vary. 2. When you forgive, which is more important: letting go of anger or getting even? Letting go of anger 3. If you hold onto anger instead of forgiving, what kind of attitude do you think you will start to show? Answers will vary. 4. What if someone isn’t sorry, or you’ll never, ever see them again. How do you think it will help you to forgive them? Answers will vary. 5. In the Bible story we saw, why did the king throw the first servant into prison? The servant refused to forgive others even though the king forgave him.
Choose an action step question. 1. What can you do this week to show others that God’s love forgives? Answers will vary. 2. What can you do if someone hurts you, but you really, really don’t want to forgive them? Pray, read about forgiveness in the Bible, ask God to do good things for the person who hurt you, etc.
Pray together. 1. Ask kids to share things they’d like to pray about. 2. Write down their prayer requests. 3. Pray together over the prayer requests.
Say: It’s hard to show God’s love when you’re holding onto unforgiveness. Let’s forgive and let these hurts go!
Not sure what to pray? Pray this: God, please help us forgive every time we get hurt or feel angry so others will know what Your love is like. In Jesus’ name, amen.
6. Kids reroll the yarn into a ball as you count to 100. 7. If time allows, repeat the game with kids picking the action to try to do at the end.
Choose questions to ask while kids play. 1. What made it difficult to high five and shake hands? Holding onto the string 2. When you hold onto anger and hurt, what do you think will be difficult to do? Answers will vary. Please save questions on back for Small Group Discussion.
1. Why should we forgive others? Because God forgave us, first
4. Kids try to do what you said without letting go.
5. Count to three, drop the twine, and start high fiving and hand shaking.
Colossians 3:13 NLT … Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
Check Out Stay in small groups until kids are checked out.
1. Talk about earning points by returning the Challenge Card, and play the game again. 2. When a kid from your small group leaves, say something positive and specific to their family. 3. Encourage families to do the Challenge Card together.
