252 GroupsAugust 2017, Week 4

Small Group, 2-3

Keep Calm and Respect Your Leaders

Bible Story:Keep Calm and Respect Your Leaders (David spares Saul)•1 Samuel 24

Bottom Line:You respect God when you respect the people He’s put in charge.

Memory Verse:“Show proper respect to everyone.” 1 Peter 2:17a, NIrV

Life App:Respect—showing others they are important by what you say and do.

Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

GET READY

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

Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction(Choose one or both of these activities.)

Early Arriver

Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding

  • An offering container

Swat with RESPECT

Made to Move:an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy in the body

  • 14 ping-pong balls
  • Create 2 sets of “RESPECT”ping-pong balls:
  • Each set contains 7 ping-pong balls.
  • Each ping pong ball in a set needs a letter on it spelling the word “RESPECT.”
  • Write the letters on the ping-pong balls or write a letter on a piece of masking or duct tapeand tape it to the ping-pong balls.
  • 2 flyswatters
  • Tape

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect(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 #1.

* 1. Who Is It?

[Talk about God | Bible Story Review | Application Activity]

Made to Play: an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and working as a group

  • Print the “Who Is It? Cards” Activity Page on cardstock and cut apart; 1 set for each small group
  • Print the “Question Cards” Activity Page and cut apart; 1 set for each small group
  • 2 flyswatters
  • Tape

2. RESPECT the Leader

[Live for God | Application Activity]

Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding

  • Provide materials to create a 3x3 gridfor each Small Group. For example, you could use 9 hula-hoops or 9 carpet squares.You can also make a grid on the floor using painter’s tape.
  • 1 beanbag
  • Painter’s tape
  • 10 pieces of paper; 5 in one color and 5 in another color
  • Paper
  • Markers or pencils

3. RESPECT Scramble

[Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity]

Made to Explore: an activity that extends learning through hands on experimentation and discovery

  • Print the “RESPECT Cubes” Activity Page; 1 for every 2-3 kids
  • Scissors

Prayer

[Pray to God | Prayer Activity]

Made to Reflect: an activity that creates space for personal understanding and application

  • No supplies needed

Additional Resources:

  • Make copies on cardstock or email this week’s GodTime and Parent Cue cards.
  • Tell parents about our additional family resources:Studio252.tv, CUE Box, and the Parent Cue app.

Keep Calm and Respect Your Leaders

Bible Story:Keep Calm and Respect Your Leaders (David spares Saul)•1 Samuel 24

Bottom Line:You respect God when you respect the people He’s put in charge.

Memory Verse:“Show proper respect to everyone.” 1 Peter 2:17a, NIrV

Life App:Respect—showing others they are important by what you say and do.

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, spend some time praying that kids’ hearts would be prepared for the truth they’re going to be presented as you wrap up this series on respect. Ask God to bring to mind the people they have a hard time respecting and also reveal to them ideas of ways that they could show those leaders in their lives more respect.

1. Early Arriver Idea

Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding

What You Need:Offering container

What You Do:

  • Invite kids to put their offerings into the offering container as they arrive.
  • Engage kids in conversation.Use the optional questions below to facilitate discussion.
  • Share an example of how you showed respect to your parents last week.
  • Give an example of people who are in charge of something.At school, who are the people in charge?What are they in charge of?
  • What about at church?
  • What about in your home?
  • Or on your sports team?

2. Swat with RESPECT

Made to Move:an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy in the body

What You Need:2 sets of RESPECTping-pong balls, tape, 2 flyswatters

What You Do:

  • Divide the group into two teams.
  • For each team, place a piece of tape—about 2 feet long and sticky side up—on the floor.
  • You will need to secure the ends of the tape to the floor to prevent it from moving during the activity.
  • Establish a starting line for each team about 15 feet from the tape.
  • Give each team a set of RESPECT ping-pong balls.
  • Using a flyswatter, one kid from each team swats the ping-pong ball, rolling it from the starting line and stickingit on the tape.
  • The kid returns to her team and then the next kid races to stick another ping-pong ball on the tape.
  • The goal is to be the first team tostick the ping-pong balls on the tape in order to spell the word“RESPECT.”
  • If they stick the ping-pong balls in the wrong order, they must swat the incorrect balls off the tape and try again.
  • No hands can touch the balls—only flyswatters.
  • The first team to stick all the balls on the tape in order wins.

What You Say:

“Can anyone give me the definition for respect?(Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do.) This month we have talked about the importance of showing respect to God, to the people God made, and to our parents.[Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to hear about another group of people we need to respect.”

Lead your group to the Large Group area.

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes)

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

* 1. Who Is It?

[Talk about God | Bible Story Review | Application Activity]

Made to Play: an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and working as a group

What You Need: “Who Is It? Cards”and “Question Cards” (Activity Pages), 2 flyswatters, tape

What You Do:

  • Divide the group into two teams and give each team a flyswatter.
  • Tape the “Who Is It?Cards” on a wall.
  • As you tape each card on the wall, tell kids who is on the card.
  • Note: If you don’t have sufficient wall space, this activity can be done on the floor too.
  • One kid from each team stands in front of the wall with their team’s flyswatter.
  • Shuffle the “Question Cards,” pick a card, and read the question. (The answers are on the cards, so make sure kids don’t see them.)
  • As soon as you say, “Who is it?” the first kid to swat the correct answer wins a point for their team.
  • For each question, choose a different kid from each team to be the “swatter.”
  • Explain there are RESPECT Bonus Questions so even the kids who are not swatting should be sure to pay attention so they can answer the bonus questions.
  • When you ask the bonus question, anyone can answer. The kid who raises his hand first gets to answer first.

What You Say:

“It had to be hard for David—always running and hiding and always being afraid that Saul and his army would catch him and kill him.And yet, in the cave, David had a chance to get rid of Saul and become king instead of Saul.But David didn’t get rid of Saul, did he?What did David do? (David cut a piece of Saul’s robe off. David showed Saul he wouldn’t harm him even though he had the opportunity to do so.) David didn’t harm Saul because God put Saul in charge.David respected God by respecting the people God put in charge—by respecting Saul.There will be times when you will disagree with the people God has put in charge. Maybe you think the coach isn’t playing you enough in the soccer game, but it is still important to show respect to your coach.Maybe you think your parents have too many rules, but it is still important to show respect to your parents.You show others [Bottom Line]you respect God when you respect the people He’s put in charge.”

2. RESPECT the Leader

[Live for God | Application Activity]

Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding

What You Need: 9 hula-hoops, masking tape, paper, marker/pencils, a bean bag, 2 colors of paper

This game can either be played in one large group OR each group can take turns using the hoops

What You Do:

  • Create a three-by-three grid on the floor using hula-hoops.
  • Brainstorm with kids a list of people God has put in charge.Feel free to use some of the ideas discussed during the early arriver conversation.
  • Write each idea on a piece of paper and place it in one of the nine hoops.Examples could be: teacher, band director, coach, babysitter/nanny, mom, dad, principal, bus driver, pastor, police officer, crossing guard, etc.
  • Divide the group into two teams.Give each team five pieces of paper.Each team should have a different color.
  • Put a piece of masking tape of the floor for a starting line.Teams stand behind the starting line.
  • Each team takes turns throwing a beanbag into one of the hoops.
  • Before the team can place their paper in the hoop, they must give an example of how they would show respect to the person in charge listed in the hoop where their beanbag landed.
  • The first team to get threeof their team’s papers in a row—either horizontally, vertically, or diagonally—wins.

What You Say:

“You came up with some great ways to respect the people God put in charge.Following the rules, not complaining, and saying thank you are just some of the ways you can respect people God has put in charge.You should show respect to your leaders, your coaches, and your teachers not because they are always right but because God put them in charge.A great way to think of it is:[Bottom Line]you respect God when you respect the people He’s put in charge.And to respect God and to show others God is important by what you say and do is always a wise choice.”

[Make It Personal] (Give kids an example of someone who is a leader to you, such as a boss, your Bible study leader, a captain of a sports team, a professor, etc.Share one way you show them respect, such as showing up to work on time, preparing for the weekly group meetings, listening to ways you can improve your game, etc.)

3. RESPECT Scramble

[Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity]

Made to Explore: an activity that extends learning through hands on experimentation and discovery

What You Need:“RESPECT Cubes” Activity Pages, scissors

What You Do:

  • Divide kids into groups of two or three.
  • Give each group a “RESPECT Cube” Activity Page and scissors.
  • Instruct kids to work together to cut out all the “RESPECT Cubes” and then use the letters to spell out the entire memory verse.
  • The first team to complete the memory verse wins.

What You Say:

“Let us say our verse together: Show proper respect to everyone, 1Peter 2:17.Ultimately, when you show everyone they are important by what you say and do, you are showing God you think He is important.You respect God when you respect the people He made, you respect God when you respect your parents, and [Bottom Line]yourespect God when you respect the people He’s put in

charge.”

Pray and Dismiss

[Pray to God | Prayer Activity]

Made to Reflect: an activity that creates space for personal understanding and application

What You Need:No supplies needed

What You Do:

  • Stand in a circle either holding hands or huddled with arms across each other’s shoulders.
  • Give kids a place—such as school, church, home, soccer field, etc.—and ask them to think of one leader associated with that place.For example, at school, a leader could be a teacher, principal, janitor, etc.
  • You will pray and simultaneously kids will fill in the blank by saying a name of the leader they were thinking of.All the kids will speak at the same time.
  • An example prayer:
  • God, when we are at school, help us to show proper respect to everyone, especially (have kids all say a name of a leader at their school).
  • God when we are at church, help us to show proper respect to everyone, especially (again kids say a name of a leader at church).
  • Repeat for a couple different places.

What You Say:

“God is in charge of everything.We can trust Him no matter what and it is a wise choice to respect God and show others how important God is by what you say and do.Show proper respect to everyone and remember [Bottom Line]yourespect God when you respect the people He’s put in charge.”

As adults arrive to pick up, tell them today we learned that we show respect to God when we respect the people He’s put in charge.Explain that the kids heard a story about David and King Saul, and encourage parents to ask their kids how David showed respect to God by respecting King Saul.

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