Group Experiences for K-5Th Grades s1

252 Groups November 2014, Week 2

Small Group, 4-5

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

FOR LEADERS ONLY

GOD VIEW: the connection between GRATITUDE and

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

This month, let’s think about how:

(1) God is at work in our lives even though we may not understand.

(2) Our response of gratitude shows that we trust God in all circumstances.

This week, we’re discovering:

We will take a look at a powerful story in Luke 17:11-19 about ten lepers who asked Jesus to be healed. But when their skin condition went away, they became so ecstatic about the miracle that they ran off and forgot to say “thank You.” Well, all except for one, who came back.

Our Bottom Line is: Take time to say thank you. We want to influence children in such a way that they become the kind of people who go out of their way to say thanks.

Our memory verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks no matter what happens. God wants you to thank him because you believe in Christ Jesus.” (NIrV) There are many times when we don’t want to give thanks, but our hope in Jesus allows us to be thankful regardless of our circumstances.

Return of the Leper

Bible Story: Return of the Leper (Jesus heals 10 lepers) • Luke 17:11-19

Bottom Line: Take time to say thank you.

Memory Verse: “Give thanks no matter what happens. God wants you to thank him because you believe in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIrV

Life App: Gratitude—letting others know you see how they’ve helped you.

Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

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. In keeping with today’s Bottom Line, take some time to thank God for the blessings in your life and for the challenges that you might be learning from. Ask God to help you give the kids practical, useful ways that they can remember to take time to say thank you, to those around them and also to God.

1. Early Arriver Idea

What You Need: Offering container, 1-2 board games or card games

What You Do:

Invite kids to put their offerings into the offering container as they arrive. Play the board game with the kids as you wait to start the Plug In activity or wait to go to Large Group. As you play the game, ask the kids what the Bottom Line was last week. (You always have something to be grateful for.) Ask kids about the times they showed gratitude and said thank you to someone throughout the week.

2. Speed Thank You

What You Need: Timer, paper, marker

What You Do:

The kids will see how often they can say “thank you” in 20-30 seconds. Depending on the size of the group, have the kids go one at a time and have the group count the number of times they say thank you in the given amount of time. Keep a tally on the paper. The kid who says thank you the greatest number of times wins.

What You Say:

“Wow! You could say thank you a lot of times in such a short amount of time. [Transition] Let’s go to Large Group and hear a story about how important it is to say thank you.”

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.

* 1. Who has the Answer? (application activity / review the Bible story)

What You Need: 2 sets of “Puzzle” Activity Pages, 2 “Puzzle Board” Activity Pages

What You Do:

Divide the group into two teams. Explain that the teams will compete to answer questions about the Bible story. For each correct answer, the team will get one puzzle piece. The team with the most puzzle pieces at the end wins. Read the following questions. If a team answers incorrectly, the opposing team gets a chance to answer the question.

o What book of the Bible is our story in? (Luke)

o What did it mean to be considered “unclean”? (you lived on the outskirts and not in the town with your family and friends, you had a condition that was considered contagious)

o How many guys in the story had the skin disease? (10)

o What did Jesus tell the men to do? (Go show yourselves to the priest. Explain to the kids how crazy this must have sounded to the men. Remember these men weren’t allowed to go near people or into the town and yet Jesus asked them to do both.)

o What happened on the way to see the priest? (They were cured)

o What is our Bottom Line for today? (Take time to say thank you.)

o What did the men do when they found out they were cured? (Nine of them went on their way and one of them went back to thank Jesus and praise God.)

o What is our definition of gratitude? (Gratitude is letting others know you see how they’ve helped you.)

What You Say:

“You guys did a great job remembering the story. How amazing that must have been for the 10 men—to be isolated and sick and suddenly—BAM!—they were healed. Wonderful things happen all the time and sometimes we forget to say thank you for them. Sure, being cured from a sickness is a BIG kind of wonderful, but what about the small things? Maybe you are so nervous about a spelling test and you ask God to help you and—BAM!—you find out you got an A on it. Do you remember to thank God? Or you are so hungry after school, and you walk in the door and—BAM!—your mom has a delicious snack awaiting you. Do you remember to thank your mom? Or you want to go to the movies and—BAM!—your older sister offers to drive you to the theater. Do you remember to thank her?

“It isn’t that we aren’t grateful, it is just sometimes life is busy or we just forget to say thank you. [Apply] This week, let’s try to be like the one man who took the time to run back to Jesus to say thank you; let’s remember to [Impress] take time to say thank you.”

5-6 Challenge: Once you’ve divided up the kids into teams, have each team look up how Jesus healed the 10 Lepers in Luke 17:11-19. Instruct each team to write their own set of eight review questions about the Bible story. They can try to stump the other team while reviewing the Bible story at the same time.

* 3. Say Thanks (application activity)

What You Need: Bibles

What You Do:

Lead the kids in a Scripture search by doing a “Race to the Verse.” Challenge the kids to locate the following verses, one at a time, as quickly as they can. Let the winner of each verse read it aloud. (Verses below are from NIrV.)

· Philippians 1:3 (I thank my God every time I remember you.)

· 1 Corinthians 1:4 (I always thank God for you. I thank him because of the grace he has given to you who belong to Christ Jesus.)

· Ephesians 5:20 (Always give thanks to God the Father for everything. Give thanks to him in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.)

· Psalm 136:1 (Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever.)

· Colossians 3:17 (Do everything you say or do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Always give thanks to God the Father through Christ.)

· Colossians 3:15 (Let the peace that Christ gives rule in your hearts. As parts of one body, you were appointed to live in peace. And be thankful.)

· 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (Give thanks no matter what happens. God wants you to thank him because you believe in Christ Jesus.)

What You Say:

“The Bible has a lot to say about how we should [Impress] take time to say thank you. [Apply] When someone has helped you, don’t hesitate to show them gratitude and take time to thank them whether it is with a phone call, a text message, or a note. And remember to take time to thank God for all the incredible people He has put in your life.”

If you lead older kids, consider asking these discussion questions:

· Talk about the last time you told someone thank you. What did they do? How did you say thanks?

· What are other ways people have helped you?

· What gets in your way to remember to take time to thank the people who help you?

· What can you do to help remind yourself to get in the habit of taking time to thank others?

Pray and Dismiss

What You Need: “Whistle” Activity Pages or sticky notes, tape, pencils

What You Do:

Gather in your “Time Out Zone.” Explain to the kids they are going to take a “time out” and stop to think of someone who has helped them—someone in their lives that they could [Impress] take time to say thank you to. Have kids write the person’s name on the paper provided and put the notes on the “T” on the wall. Kids can share stories about the person they wrote down. [Make It Personal] Be ready to share with the group the name you wrote down and why you should thank that person.

What You Say:

[Apply] “There are people in our lives who help us in a lot of different ways and we need to remember to thank them. This week, take time to thank someone who has helped you. Let’s take a ‘time out’ and thank God right now for the incredible people He has put in our life. (Have each kid say, “Thank You God for …” and fill in the person’s name.) God, You are AWESOME! And we can trust You no matter what! We are so thankful for all the people you have given us—people that help us, encourage us, take care of us, and teach us. Help us to remember to take time out this week and thank the people in our lives. Amen!”

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

Adapted by Rosie Villodas- New Life Fellowship, October 2014.