252 GroupsAugust 2015, Week 2

Small Group, K-1

Friends?

Bible Story: Friends? (Rehoboam listens to fools; choose your friends wisely)•1 Kings 12:1-15 and Proverbs 13:20

Bottom Line:If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.

Memory Verse:“Choose my teaching instead of silver. Choose knowledge rather than fine gold.”Proverbs 8:10, NIrV

Life App:Wisdom—finding out what you should do and doing it.

Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.

8:45/10:45 - Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction(Small Groups, 30 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. Ask God to give you insight into the kids’ lives and an ability to know how to ask the right questions for today’s topics. Pray that you would be wise yourself in how you talk about who your kids hang out with and who they allow to influence their lives.

1. Early Arriver Idea

What You Need:An offering container

What You Do:

  • Invite the kids to put their offerings in the container.
  • Chat with the kids about friendship. Recognize that K-1 kids are beginning to work their way through what it means to make friends and be a good friend to others. They are still primarily focused on themselves but are able to understand some of the give and take involved in getting along with others.
  • Ask questions like:
  • What are some things you like best about your friends?
  • What do you think makes a good friend?
  • Who do you like to hang out with?
  • Who do you know that is very wise? How can you tell that he or she is wise?
  • Tell me about some wise things you did last week.

2. Make the Wise Choice (Name That Friend)

What You Need:No supplies needed

What You Do:

  • During Social this month, you will let the kids choose between two really silly and unwise options and one wise or good one each week.
  • Here are today’s choices:
  1. Hold your arms in the air until it’s time to go to Large Group.
  2. Stand alone and whisper the word “pickle” 1000 times.
  3. Play a fun game called “Name That Friend.”
  • Congratulate the kids for making a wise choice. (Hopefully they did!)
  • Have the kids sit together on the floor. Choose one child to move to a spot a short distance away from the rest of the group.Tell him to turnaround and cover his eyes.
  • Next, quietly point to someone from the group and have her tiptoe up to the kid in front. In a disguised or funny voice have her say, “Do you know me? I'm your friend,” and then quietly rejoin the group.
  • At your signal, have the child in the front uncover his eyes, turn around, and try to guess the name of the kid who spoke to him. Give three guesses and then let another child come to the front and take a turn.
  • Continue until all the kids have had a turn or as time allows.

Note: If your group is relatively new, you might choose to have everyone say their names before the game gets started. Or you can let kids point to the person they think is the secret speaker.

What You Say:

“It’s great when we know our friends so well that we can tell who they are even when they’re disguising their voice. [Transition] In our Bible story today, a man had some friends that he went to for help. They didn’t talk to him in a silly voice, but they did give him some foolish advice. Let’s go to Large Group and hear about it.”

9:15/11:15 - Lead your group to the Large Group area for worship and today’s Bible Story (30 minutes)

9:45/11:45 - Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 35 minutes)

Create a safe place to connect and learn howthe Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions.

*1. Jump Wisely (application activity / review the Bible story)

What You Need: Masking tape

What You Do:

  • Put a line of masking tape or painters tape down the center of your area. Put a tape “T” on one side of the line and an “F” on the other. Tell kids to put one foot on each side of the line.
  • Explain that you will be saying something about today’s lesson. If kids think what you’re saying is TRUE, tell them they are to jump to the “T” side of the line. If they think what you’re saying is FALSE, or not true, tell them to jump to the “F” side.
  • Read the following review and application statements then have the kids make their choice as you say, “Jump Wisely!” after each one.
  • After each question, briefly discuss the answers the kids gave. If a statement is false, let them share what the correct answer should be.

True or False (Review):

  1. Rehoboam was the daughter of King Solomon. (F)
  2. Rehoboam had a hard decision to make. (T)
  3. Rehoboam’s young friends gave him some really wise advice. (F)
  4. Rehoboam did not follow the wise advice of his father’s friends. (T)
  5. Everything worked out great for Rehoboam. (F)

True or False (Application):

  1. Saying “NO” when someone wants to copy your answers during a test is wise. (T)
  2. Disobeying your parents is wise if your friends say it’s okay. (F)
  3. [Bottom Line]If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.(T)
  4. We learn how to be wise by watching a lot of TV. (F)
  5. God says wisdom is more precious than gold and silver. (T)

What You Say:

“There may be times when your friendswantyou to do something that you know is wrong. The wise thing to do is to say ‘no.’ We can learn a big lesson from King Rehoboam. He followed the advice of friends who weren’t wise. He ended up making some serious mistakes that hurt a lot of people. Remember that God wants to give you wise friends who help you make good choices. The best kinds of kids to hang out with are those who will help you do the right thing. Like Rehoboam, the people you listen to and spend time with can make a huge difference in the choices you make. So, be friendly and kind to everyone, but always choose your closest friends wisely. [Bottom Line]If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.” [Make It Personal] (Tell the kids an age-appropriate story about a close friend you had when you were a kid or a friend you have today who helped you not join in when others around you were making an unwise choice. How did/do you help one another choose wisely?)

2. Jar of Pickles(application activity)

What You Need: Hula-hoops

What You Do:

  • Divide the kids into teams of 3-4. Have each team squeeze into a Hula-hoop and stand with their backs together. Tell them they are a “Jar of Pickles.”If you have more than two teams, you can have them take turns playing.
  • Challenge the “pickles”to performthe following tasks (or others that better suit your space). Tell them that the object of the game is to work together so that no one falls or comes out of the hoop.
  • Have kids:
  • Hop to the other side of the room.
  • Turn around three times and say today’s Bottom Line: [Bottom Line]If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.
  • Stand facing the inside and walk to a designated spot.
  • Run to a designated wall or other area.
  • Sit down and stand up four times.
  • Raise their hands in the air and then bend and touch their toes without letting the Hula-hoop drop to ground.

What You Say:

“Great job, ‘pickles’! You stayed in your jars and worked together to help your team with every task you were asked to do.Let’s say today’s Bottom Line together again. [Bottom Line]If you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.God wants you to surround yourself with good pickles—I mean PEOPLE—who want to follow God. It’s like a jar of pickles. If one pickles starts to go bad, it’ll eventually make the whole jar turn yucky. That’s how it is with friends, too. Surround yourself with friends who want to follow God. They will help you make wise choices that turn out well.”

3. Pick a Friend (memory verse activity)

What You Need: Bibles, paper, markers, Hula-hoop, plastic shovel (or large wooden spoon)

What You Do:

  • Help kids look up the memory verse.
  • Invite the kids to recite the verse together. Help them understand what Proverbs 8:10 means by explaining that if we have wisdom we have something better than gold or silver.
  • Give everyone a piece of paper and a crayon or pencil and then have kids write their names on the paper in large letters.
  • Tell the kids to wad up their papers and place all the wads inside the circle of aHula-hoop. Add a few blank paper wads to the mix and then “stir” up the pile.
  • Give one of the kids the shovel. Explain that he will pick a friend to say the verse with him by “digging” a name from inside the Hula-hoop of paper wads. If he digs up a blank paper, it means that he must say the verse by himself (with help if needed).
  • When a kid’s name is chosen, he joins the previous kid(s) in saying the verse. Continue taking turns digging up paper wads until all the kids are saying the verse together.

What You Say:

“God says that wisdom is more valuable than anything else in the world. That means that if you’re learning to be wise, you’re a wealthy kid! You may not have tons of money and a big fancy house but you’re still rich in the thing that God says is worth more than silver and gold—wisdom. One thing you can do to keep growing wiser is to remember that [Bottom Line]if you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.This week, make an effort to hang out with wise people, whether they’re other kids at school or church, or even older people like parents, grandparents, and teachers.”

10:25/12:25 - Pray and Dismiss

What You Need: Duct tape

What You Do:

  • Ask kids to sit down together.
  • Wrap a strip of duct tape around the palm of each kid’s left and right hands with the sticky side out.
  • Choose someone to stand and say today’s Bottom Line: [Bottom Line] if you want to be wise, hang out with wise people.Have that kid reach out his right hand and stick it to the left hand of another kid. Ask the second kid to do the same thing: say the Bottom Line and then reach out his right hand to another kid’s left hand. Continue until the kids have each had a turn.

What You Say:

“Wise kids stick together. They help one another do the things that please God. The opposite is true, too. If you surround yourself with foolish people, you’ll end up doing something foolish. If you stick with people who gossip, you’re going to gossip. If you hang out with mean kids, you’ll become mean. If all your friends break the rules, it won’t be long and you’ll be doing the same thing. Let’s stay in our circle as we ask God to help us find wise people to stick with this week.

“Dear God, we know that you want us to have wisdom. You want us to stick close to the people who love and follow You. Help us know the difference between friends who make wise decisions and those who don’t. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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