Keep Calm and Respect God

252 GroupsAugust 2017, Week 1

Small Group, K-1

Bible Story:Keep Calm and Respect God (Faith of the Roman Commander) •Matthew 8:5-13

Bottom Line:Show respect to God because He’s in charge of everything.

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 kindergarten–1stgrade 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

Pat, Pat, Clap

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

No supplies needed

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 #2.

1. Go, Come, Do Something

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

Made to Imagine: an activity that promotes empathy and facilitates biblical application through role-play andreenactment

Aluminum foil; at least 2 feet for each kid

* 2. Everything

[Live for God | Application Activity]

Made to Create: an activity that explores spiritual ideas through the process of drawing, building, and designing

10-15 feet of butcher paper
Markers

3. Verse Leader

[Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity]

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

Bibles
Helmets kids made in “Go, Come, Do Something”

Prayer

[Pray to God | Prayer Activity]

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

Butcher paper kids drew on in “Everything”

Keep Calm and Respect God

Bible Story:Keep Calm and Respect God (Faith of the Roman Commander) •Matthew 8:5-13

Bottom Line:Show respect to God because He’s in charge of everything.

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 in preparation for their arrival. Ask God to give you wisdom as you start this new series on respect, a topic that all kids struggle with at times (some more than others!). Pray that they would leave your group with a deeper understanding of why it’s important to respect God.

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:

Collect kids’ offerings as they arrive.
Ask questions about what it means to be in charge:
What does it mean when someone’s in charge?
What kinds of things do people in charge do?
Who’s in charge of you?
Are you in charge of anything or anybody?

2. Pat, Pat, Clap

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

What You Need:No supplies needed

What You Do:

Sit in a circle with the kids. Show them how to do a “pat, pat, clap” rhythm (pat your legs twice, and then clap). Give them a chance to join you and keep the pattern going.
Then explain that you’re going to list things about God, while continuing the rhythm. For example: “God” (pat) “is” (pat) “love” (clap), OR “God” (pat) “is” (pat) “creator” (clap).
Let everyone have a chance to say at least one thing. It’s okay if they repeat something or if they’re not quite on the beat.
Finish the game by saying “God’s in charge” to the rhythm.

What You Say:

“That was a fun game, and it was great to hear all of those things about God. (Repeat some of the things the kids said.)[Transition] At the very end, I said, ‘God’s in charge.’ Let’s go to Large Group, where we’ll hear some more about that.”

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. Go, Come, Do Something

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

Made to Imagine: an activity that promotes empathy and facilitates biblical application through role-play

What You Need: Aluminum foil

What You Do:

If you haven’t already done so, tear off the aluminum foil in two-foot strips.
Give each kid a strip of foil, and guide them to make helmets out of the foil.
They can be creative with this. The helmets don’t need to be perfect, and they can all look different and kids can use their own heads to measure and mold the foil if they like. Just let kids have fun with it. Also make one for yourself.
When everyone is finished, tell kids to set their helmets down.
Put on your own helmet and tell kids you’re a centurion. Explain that in today’s Bible story, the centurion told Jesus that he would tell one soldier to go, one soldier to come, and one soldier to do something, and they would all do it. And that’s what you’re going to do right now.
Stand at one side of your space, and ask three kids to stand in the middle of your space (without their helmets).
Tell one kid to go to the other side of the space. Tell one kid to come to you. And tell the third kid to do something. (This can be anything, like do a jumping jack, take his shoes off and put them back on, or tell the group what his favorite movie is.) Then tell those three kids to sit back down.
Choose a kid to be the next centurion and wear his helmet. Position him on one side of your space, and choose three kids to stand in the middle. Repeat the game as described above.
Give each child a turn to be the centurion.
If any kid has trouble coming up with something to “do,” feel free to give suggestions or let other kids make suggestions.
Ask kids a few questions about the Bible story:
Who was the centurion in charge of? (the soldiers)
Who healed the centurion’s sick servant? (Jesus)
So who is in charge of everything? (Jesus; God)

What You Say:

“In our Bible story today, the centurion knew what it meant to be in charge, and he knew Jesus was someone who was in charge too. He told Jesus that he knew Jesus had the power to heal his servant without even seeing him. That’s pretty great, isn’t it? The centurion showed that he respected Jesus because he knew that Jesus was in charge. We also know that Jesus and God are in charge of everything, don’t we?[Bottom Line]Show respect to God because He’s in charge of everything.”

* 2. Everything

[Live for God | Application Activity]

Made to Create: an activity that explores spiritual ideas through the process of drawing, building, and designing

What You Need: Butcher paper, markers

What You Do:

Spread out the butcher paper on the floor or table and instruct kids to gather around it.
Set out the markers, and tell kids to work together to create a huge drawing of a landscape with land, trees, flowers, animals, people, weather, etc.
While kids are working, ask them to name which things God is in charge of (all the things!).
If your space allows for it, put the drawing on the wall as a reminder that God’s in charge of everything.

What You Say:

“We discovered that God is in charge of all of these things in our picture! What are some other things God is in charge of? (Pause for answers.) Yes! God’s in charge of everything! He created everything, and He’s in charge of it all.[Bottom Line]Show respect to God because He’s in charge of everything.”

3. Verse Leader

[Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity]

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

What You Need: Bibles, helmets from “Go, Come, Do Something” activity

What You Do:

Help kids look up this month’s memory verse.

Finding verses with kindergartners: Guide children to open the Bibles to the marked page. Point to the number one and the word Peter at the top of the page as you say “First Peter” aloud. Then guide children to find the big number 2 on the page. Explain that this is the chapter number. Finally, guide them to look under the big 2 for the little 17; 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.

Finding verses with 1st 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 1 Peter in the list under “New Testament.” You can help by telling them that 1 Peter starts with the number one and the letters P-E. When the kids find 1 Peter, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find 1 Peter. Help the kids find the page. When they find 1 Peter, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 2. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 17 in chapter 2.

Say the verse several times together. It’s short, so kids should catch on pretty quickly without having to look at it or repeat it after you.
Then ask one kid to put on his helmet and stand in front of the group as the centurion, who is in charge.
Instruct him to point to other kids one at a time, and each kid will say one word of the verse,
in order.
Give each kid a chance to be the centurion.

What You Say:

“We should ‘show proper respect to everyone,’ and that starts with God. Why are we supposed to show respect to God? What’s our Bottom Line? (Pause.) Yes![Bottom Line] Show respect to God because He’s in charge of everything.”

Pray and Dismiss

[Pray to God | Prayer Activity]

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

What You Need: Butcher paper kids drew on in “Everything”

What You Do:

Ask kids to gather around the butcher paper and tell kids to each put their hand on one thing on the picture.
Then allow time for each kid to thank God for being in charge of the thing they’re touching. For example: “God, thank You for being in charge of birds.”
This is an easy prayer, so encourage kids to pray out loud, but don’t force a child who’s very reluctant or a first-time visitor.
Close out your time together with the prayer below.

What You Say:

“God, thank You so much for creating everything—including us—and being in charge of it all. We’re glad you’re in charge of it all, because You’re the wisest and the greatest. There’s nobody else we’d want to be in charge! In Jesus’ name, amen.”

As adults arrive to pick up, tell kids to show them the butcher paper drawing. Ask kids to tell their parents who’s in charge of all the things in the picture.

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