Group Experiences for K-5Th Grades

252 Groups September 2014, Week 4

Small Group, 2-3

252® Groups

Group Experiences for K-5th Grades

Scripture marked “NIrV” is taken from the NEW INTERNATIONAL READER'S VERSION®.

Used by permission of Biblica.

Scripture marked “NIV” is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®,

Statement of Faith

ABOUT GOD

God is the one and only true God, yet He exists in three persons: God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, so
everything belongs to Him and is under His control. God is holy, so He is
righteous, majestic, and loving. God is all knowing and purposeful, so He’s
at work to bring about His will. No person, thing, or idea compares to God.

ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES

God reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable,
and authoritative.

ABOUT PEOPLE

People are made in God’s image and for His pleasure. But everybody falls
short of God’s intention, or ideal, for people. In other words, everyone has
sinned. As a result, we are all separated from Him, even though He wants
an intimate relationship with each of us.

ABOUT SALVATION

That’s why Jesus—God’s Son—came and lived on this earth, died, and
rose again. God offers His free gift of salvation to all who believe in Jesus
and accept Him as Savior—the only way to be forgiven and reconciled to
God. Anyone who accepts this gift is adopted as a son or daughter into
God’s family and will live with Him forever in heaven.

User Agreement

Servants Got Talents

Bible Story: Servants Got Talents (parable of the talents) • Matthew 25:14-29a

Bottom Line: Show you can be trusted with more by taking care of what you have.

Memory Verse: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” Luke 16:10a, NIV

Life App: Responsibility—showing you can be trusted with what’s expected of you.

Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.

GET READY

Prepare ahead of time for 2nd–3rd grade Small Groups this week:

Plug In: Focus the Energy (Choose one or both of these activities.)

Early Arriver

· Offering container

· Ink pad

· Wet wipes

· Markers

· Paper

· Magnifying glass

Who Is It? (possible large-group activity)

· “Who Is It?” (Activity Page), one half page per kid

· Pencils

Catch On: Make the Connection (Choose as many of these activities as you like.)

* If you don’t have time to do all these activities, be sure to do activity #2. Activity #3 is particularly good for children who need to move in order to stay engaged.

Sculptures (application activity)

· A few pipe cleaners for each kid

· Foam balls (optional)

Memory Verse Toss (memory verse activity)

· 2 sets of “Memory Verse Cards” Activity Page

· 2-4 Ping-Pong balls or beanbags

· At least 16 cups

Prayer

· A gift box with a slot on the top

· Paper

· Pencils

Additional Resources:

· Make copies on cardstock of this week’s GodTime and Parent CUE cards.

· 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.

FOR LEADERS ONLY

GOD VIEW: the connection between RESPONSIBILITY and

God's character, as shown through God's big story

This month, let’s think about how:

(1) God has proven he can be trusted.

(2) When we trust God and respond to Him with our abilities, we are responsible.

(3) When we are responsible, we are a light to others. They will glorify God because of how they see Him at work in us.

This week, we’re discovering:

We’ll look at another of Jesus’ parables found in Matthew 25:14-29a. A business owner went on a trip and put three guys in charge of some money. Each one did something different, but only two of them were found faithful and given more responsibility.

Our Bottom Line is: Show you can be trusted with more by taking care of what you have. If you want more responsibility, show that you can be responsible with what you already have.

Our memory verse this month is Luke 16:10a, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” (NIV) When we show responsibility with the little things, there’s a good chance we’ll have opportunity for greater responsibility in the future.

Servants Got Talents

Bible Story: Servants Got Talents (parable of the talents) • Matthew 25:14-29a

Bottom Line: Show you can be trusted with more by taking care of what you have.

Memory Verse: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.” Luke 16:10a, NIV

Life App: Responsibility—showing you can be trusted with what’s expected of you.

Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.

Plug In: Focus the Energy (Small Groups, 10-15 minutes)

Focus the energy on today’s Bible story in a Small Group setting with an engaging discussion question and an interactive opening activity.

Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Pray for God to lead you as you lead the kids to think about ways that they can show they can be trusted. Pray for the kids as they take what they’ve learned this month and put it into practice to become responsible people who are good stewards of what God has given them.

1. Early Arriver Idea

What You Need: Offering container, inkpad, wet wipes, markers, paper, magnifying glass

What You Do:

Invite kids to put their offering in the offering container as they arrive. Guide the kids to make thumbprint creations. Have the kids press their thumbs onto the inkpad and then onto their papers. They can make several prints before they re-ink their thumbs. Invite the kids to use the magnifying glass to examine the prints. Discuss with the kids the difference in their fingerprints; no two are alike. Finally, encourage the kids to use the markers to turn their thumbprints into creative creatures. They can add details such as eyes, ears, legs, wings, fins, tails, horns, beaks—anything they choose; their creatures don’t even have to exist in real life!

2. Who Is It? (possible large-group activity)

What You Need: “Who Is It?” Activity Page, pencils

What You Do:

Depending on how many kids you have, this activity can be done as a small-group or as a large-group activity. Give each kid a copy of the “Who Is It?” Activity Page and a pencil. Challenge the kids to find someone in the group who is a match for each of the qualities/gifts on the list. The rule is that you have to use each person’s name once before you can repeat names on the list.

What You Say:

“Each of us is unique! None of us have all the same gifts, possessions, or even fingerprints. [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to learn what we should do with the gifts we have been given.” Lead your group to the Large Group area.
Catch On: Make the Connection (Small Groups, 25-30 minutes)

Make the connection of how today’s Bible story applies to real life experiences through interactive activities and discussion questions.

* 2. Sculptures (application activity)

What You Need: Pipe cleaners, foam balls

What You Do:

Using the pipe cleaners and foam, lead the kids to create a sculpture representing something they’re good at, something they enjoy doing, or an item they own that’s really important to them. [Make it Personal] Make your own sculpture with the kids.

When finished, invite kids to display their sculptures and take turns telling the group about them. After each one, brainstorm some ways kids can develop talents and use their possessions for God. [Make it Personal] Make sure to tell kids how you use the talent or possession represented by your sculpture.

What You Say:

“God has given you some amazing gifts: a good mind, strength, and a wide range of talents. God has uniquely crafted everyone in this room on purpose and for a purpose. When you show responsibility, you’re responding to God so He can work through you to change the world. [Apply] God wants us to take all that we have been given and do something good with it. Show that you can be trusted with what’s expected of you this week, even if it’s a small task and it seems unimportant. When you start showing more responsibility, get ready! God may trust you to accomplish some bigger things for Him. Why? Because you have [Impress] shown you can be trusted with more by taking care of what you have.”

3. Memory Verse Toss (memory verse activity / great for active learners)

What You Need: “Memory Verse Cards” Activity Page, cups, Ping-Pong balls or beanbags, masking tape

What You Do:

Divide the group into two teams. Give each team a set of cards and a set of eight cups. Instruct the teams to put one card in each cup. Set the cups up about five feet from the kids, placing each set of cups about three feet apart. Place a line of masking tape on the floor so the kids know how far back to stand from the cups. Each team gets a beanbag or Ping-Pong ball, and they will race to be the first to toss the beanbag into each of the cups. When a beanbag lands in the cup, they can remove the “key” from the cup. After all “keys” have been retrieved, the first team to put the “keys” in the correct order wins.

What You Say:

“This month, we have learned a lot about responsibility and how we can show we can be trusted with what is expected of us. [Apply] Can anyone give me a way we can show responsibility? Here’s a hint, what were our Bottom Lines this month? (By taking care of what God has made, by learning how to follow, by what we do, by making the most of what God has given us.) You came up with some great ways to show responsibility and, remember, whoever can be trusted with very little can also what? (Be trusted with much.) [Impress] Show you can be trusted with more by taking care of what you have.”

Pray and Dismiss

What You Need: Paper, pencil, gift box

What You Do:

Ask the kids to write on a piece of paper a gift God has given them. Examples could include: an opportunity, a skill or talent, an item, an answer to prayer, etc. Kids can share their “gift” ideas with the group if they want. Pass the gift box around. Let each kid put their “gift” in the box and say, “Thank You, God, for the gift you have given me.”

What You Say:

“God, You have a purpose for each of us. We ask You to open our eyes and ears for opportunities to make the most of what You have given us. We can trust You no matter what and we want to work hard to show the world we can be trusted too. Amen.”

Give each child a GodTime card. Pass out Parent CUE cards as adults arrive for pick-up.

Adapted by Rosie Villodas, New Life Felowship, August 2014.