Rise Up
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
Rise Up April 3 Bible Story: Rise Up (Ascension/Pentecost) • Matthew 28:20, Acts 1–2 Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember God is with you. Memory Verse: “But those who trust the LORD will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.” Isaiah 40:31, NIrV Life App: Perseverance—refusing to give up when life gets hard. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction Early Arriver No supplies needed Coach Says Whistle
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect 1. Tangled Up (application activity) A ball of twine or yarn * 2. Four Corners (memory verse activity / possible environment-wide activity) Print the “Four Corners” Activity Pages; 1 set for each Small Group Tape Small rocks; 1 for each kid Bibles (mark them at Isaiah 40:31 for kindergarteners) Prayer No supplies needed Additional Resources: Make copies on cardstock of this week’s GodTime card. Tell parents about our additional family resources: Studio252.tv, CUE Box, and the Parent Cue app. To find out more about these great resources, go to http://www.Studio252.tv/leaders.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
1
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
Rise Up Bible Story: Rise Up (Ascension/Pentecost) • Matthew 28:20, Acts 1–2 Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember God is with you. Memory Verse: “But those who trust the LORD will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.” Isaiah 40:31, NIrV Life App: Perseverance—refusing to give up when life gets hard. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today’s story. Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Pray specifically for the kids you know are going through tough times. Ask God to let those kids feel His presence. Pray that God’s presence would bring comfort and encouragement to those kids—that they would know it’s worth it to keep pushing through. 1. Early Arriver Idea What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Ask kids if they have ever run in a race at school or with their family. Did they like running the race? What made it easy? What made it hard? What was their favorite part of the race? Would they want to do it again?
2. Coach Says What You Need: Whistle What You Do: Tell kids you’re going to give them a command and then blow the whistle. Instruct kids only to do the action when you blow the whistle. Then give kids an active command (i.e. run in place, high knees, jumping jacks, pushups, turn in a circle, kick your leg, bend your knees, etc.) and either blow the whistle or remain silent. If a kid does the action when you remained silent after the command, he or she must sit out until the next round. Speed up the commands up as the game progresses to make it more difficult. What You Say: “That game got pretty hard, didn’t it? The harder it got, it would have been easy to just give up. But sometimes we have to just keep going no matter how hard it gets. [Transition] Today in Large Group, we are going to hear about something Jesus gave us to make it easier to keep going.” Lead your group to the Large Group area.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
2
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. 1. Tangled Up (application activity) What You Need: A ball of twine or yarn What You Do: Guide kids to sit in a big circle with about two feet of space between each kid. Hold up the ball of yarn and tell kids they will use it to create a giant spider web. Hand the ball of yarn to one kid and instruct him to hold onto the end of the yarn as he tosses the ball across the circle to another kid. (You may need to help each kid as she makes her part of the web.) Then the second kid holds her end of the yarn while tossing the ball back across to the other side of the circle, to a kid who hasn’t touched the yarn yet. Continue this until you have a fully formed web. Then help kids stand up and move to one side of the web. Tell kids that their goal is now to get to the other side of the web without touching the string. If someone touches the string, that person now has to go back to the other side and start over. What You Say: “It would have been a lot easier to get from this side of the room to the other side if you hadn’t had to avoid touching the string, wouldn’t it? Sometimes something in our lives seems easy, but then it gets harder somehow. [Bottom Line] When life gets hard, remember God is with you. When you’re in a tough situation, like you just started at a new school and you don’t know anyone or you are trying to read a chapter book and it seems like you will never finish it, remember to pray about it and ask for God’s help. What’s another tough situation where you might want to ask God for help? (When school is hard; parents aren’t getting along; parent loses job; friend is mad at you.) God always listens to our prayers and is with us no matter what we are dealing with.” * 2. Four Corners (memory verse activity / an environment-wide activity) What You Need: “Four Corners” Activity Pages; 1 for each Small Group, tape, rocks; 1 for each kid, Bibles What You Do: Help kids look up Isaiah 40:31 in their Bibles. Finding verses with kindergartners: Guide children to open the Bibles to the marked page. Point to the word Isaiah at the top of the page as you say “Isaiah” aloud. Then guide children to find the big number 40 on the page. Explain that this is the chapter number. Finally, guide them to look under the big 40 for the little 31; 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. st
Finding verses with 1 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 Isaiah in the list under “Old Testament.” You can help by telling them that Isaiah starts with the letters I-S. When the kids find Isaiah, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find Isaiah. Help the kids find the page. When they find Isaiah, explain that
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
3
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 40. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 31 in chapter 40.
Tape the Activity Pages in the four corners of the room. In the first corner, place the rocks under the Activity Page. Ask kids to start at the first corner and pick up a rock and make strong arms while they say the first line of the verse. (Make sure they put the rock down before moving to the next corner!) Then, tell kids to go to the second corner and flap their arms like wings while they say the second sentence of the verse. Next, instruct them go to the third corner and run in place while they say the third line. Finally, move them as a group to the fourth corner and crabwalk while they say the last sentence. Repeat as time and interest allow, letting kids go at their own pace.
What You Say: “This verse makes some really big promises! Even though we know we won’t really be able to actually fly, we do know that if we trust God, we can do more than that if we believe God’s promises. [Bottom Line] When life gets hard, remember God is with you. If you trust Him, God will help you do things you never thought you could.”
Pray and Dismiss What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Lead kids to stand in a circle and do calf raises as you say the prayer below. What You Say: “God, thank You so much for helping us persevere when things get hard. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be with us and show us the right thing to do. Please remind us that You are with us. Amen. Let’s say the Bottom Line together one more time. [Bottom Line] When life gets hard, remember God is with you.”
Give each child a GodTime card as adults arrive to pick up.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
4
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
Rise Up April 3 Bible Story: Rise Up (Ascension/Pentecost) • Matthew 28:20, Acts 1–2 Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember God is with you. Memory Verse: “But those who trust the LORD will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.” Isaiah 40:31, NIrV Life App: Perseverance—refusing to give up when life gets hard. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction Early Arriver No supplies needed Coach Says Whistle
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect 1. Tangled Up (application activity) A ball of twine or yarn * 2. Four Corners (memory verse activity / possible environment-wide activity) Print the “Four Corners” Activity Pages; 1 set for each Small Group Tape Small rocks; 1 for each kid Bibles (mark them at Isaiah 40:31 for kindergarteners) Prayer No supplies needed Additional Resources: Make copies on cardstock of this week’s GodTime card. Tell parents about our additional family resources: Studio252.tv, CUE Box, and the Parent Cue app. To find out more about these great resources, go to http://www.Studio252.tv/leaders.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
1
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
Rise Up Bible Story: Rise Up (Ascension/Pentecost) • Matthew 28:20, Acts 1–2 Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember God is with you. Memory Verse: “But those who trust the LORD will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak.” Isaiah 40:31, NIrV Life App: Perseverance—refusing to give up when life gets hard. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today’s story. Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Pray specifically for the kids you know are going through tough times. Ask God to let those kids feel His presence. Pray that God’s presence would bring comfort and encouragement to those kids—that they would know it’s worth it to keep pushing through. 1. Early Arriver Idea What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Ask kids if they have ever run in a race at school or with their family. Did they like running the race? What made it easy? What made it hard? What was their favorite part of the race? Would they want to do it again?
2. Coach Says What You Need: Whistle What You Do: Tell kids you’re going to give them a command and then blow the whistle. Instruct kids only to do the action when you blow the whistle. Then give kids an active command (i.e. run in place, high knees, jumping jacks, pushups, turn in a circle, kick your leg, bend your knees, etc.) and either blow the whistle or remain silent. If a kid does the action when you remained silent after the command, he or she must sit out until the next round. Speed up the commands up as the game progresses to make it more difficult. What You Say: “That game got pretty hard, didn’t it? The harder it got, it would have been easy to just give up. But sometimes we have to just keep going no matter how hard it gets. [Transition] Today in Large Group, we are going to hear about something Jesus gave us to make it easier to keep going.” Lead your group to the Large Group area.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
2
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. 1. Tangled Up (application activity) What You Need: A ball of twine or yarn What You Do: Guide kids to sit in a big circle with about two feet of space between each kid. Hold up the ball of yarn and tell kids they will use it to create a giant spider web. Hand the ball of yarn to one kid and instruct him to hold onto the end of the yarn as he tosses the ball across the circle to another kid. (You may need to help each kid as she makes her part of the web.) Then the second kid holds her end of the yarn while tossing the ball back across to the other side of the circle, to a kid who hasn’t touched the yarn yet. Continue this until you have a fully formed web. Then help kids stand up and move to one side of the web. Tell kids that their goal is now to get to the other side of the web without touching the string. If someone touches the string, that person now has to go back to the other side and start over. What You Say: “It would have been a lot easier to get from this side of the room to the other side if you hadn’t had to avoid touching the string, wouldn’t it? Sometimes something in our lives seems easy, but then it gets harder somehow. [Bottom Line] When life gets hard, remember God is with you. When you’re in a tough situation, like you just started at a new school and you don’t know anyone or you are trying to read a chapter book and it seems like you will never finish it, remember to pray about it and ask for God’s help. What’s another tough situation where you might want to ask God for help? (When school is hard; parents aren’t getting along; parent loses job; friend is mad at you.) God always listens to our prayers and is with us no matter what we are dealing with.” * 2. Four Corners (memory verse activity / an environment-wide activity) What You Need: “Four Corners” Activity Pages; 1 for each Small Group, tape, rocks; 1 for each kid, Bibles What You Do: Help kids look up Isaiah 40:31 in their Bibles. Finding verses with kindergartners: Guide children to open the Bibles to the marked page. Point to the word Isaiah at the top of the page as you say “Isaiah” aloud. Then guide children to find the big number 40 on the page. Explain that this is the chapter number. Finally, guide them to look under the big 40 for the little 31; 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. st
Finding verses with 1 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 Isaiah in the list under “Old Testament.” You can help by telling them that Isaiah starts with the letters I-S. When the kids find Isaiah, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find Isaiah. Help the kids find the page. When they find Isaiah, explain that
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
3
252 Groups
April 2016, Week 1 Small Group, K-1
the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 40. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 31 in chapter 40.
Tape the Activity Pages in the four corners of the room. In the first corner, place the rocks under the Activity Page. Ask kids to start at the first corner and pick up a rock and make strong arms while they say the first line of the verse. (Make sure they put the rock down before moving to the next corner!) Then, tell kids to go to the second corner and flap their arms like wings while they say the second sentence of the verse. Next, instruct them go to the third corner and run in place while they say the third line. Finally, move them as a group to the fourth corner and crabwalk while they say the last sentence. Repeat as time and interest allow, letting kids go at their own pace.
What You Say: “This verse makes some really big promises! Even though we know we won’t really be able to actually fly, we do know that if we trust God, we can do more than that if we believe God’s promises. [Bottom Line] When life gets hard, remember God is with you. If you trust Him, God will help you do things you never thought you could.”
Pray and Dismiss What You Need: No supplies needed What You Do: Lead kids to stand in a circle and do calf raises as you say the prayer below. What You Say: “God, thank You so much for helping us persevere when things get hard. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be with us and show us the right thing to do. Please remind us that You are with us. Amen. Let’s say the Bottom Line together one more time. [Bottom Line] When life gets hard, remember God is with you.”
Give each child a GodTime card as adults arrive to pick up.
©2016 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
4
