Kindergarten-2nd

November 1-2, 2014

Ruth 1-4; Philippians 4:6

Ruth

God Wants Everybody to be Part of his Family

Connect Time (20 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (25 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together.

Today is about inviting people to be part of God’s family. While we want to encourage kids to be invitational, we do NOT want to assume that all kids believe in Jesus. Throughout the lesson, be ready to answer questions about what it means to follow Jesus (and there’s no right or wrong way to answer this; just be honest!)

As kids leave, encourage them to tell their parents about the large “family portrait” we’ve created.

We’re talking about Ruth and Naomi. While this story is often used as a platform to discuss friendship, today we’re talking about how it shows that God wants EVERYONE to be part of his family.

GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they’re going to hear. FAMILY PHOTOS *You can easily do this in large or small groups

• Give each kid a 1/2 sheet of paper (pre-cut) • Ask them to draw themselves, using stencils and crayons or markers • As they draw, ask them to share the best and worst parts of their week.

Kids should take their portrait to Large Group. Have one leader bring ONE large tear-off sheet of paper per room. If you have extra time, remind them of your expectations for their behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader’s instructions.

Goal: Kids will (1) understand that God wants everyone to be part of his family and (2) identify a friend they’d like to invite to follow Jesus or at least learn about Jesus with them. Why? Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples or to make his family bigger. We want to encourage kids to follow that mandate. Tip: Make sure to take the large tear-off sheet of paper back to the room with you!  

REVIEW AND DIG DEEP 1. Why wasn’t Ruth a part of God’s family at first? 2. How did Ruth and Naomi become friends? 3. How did Ruth take care of Naomi? 4. How did God take care of Ruth? 5. Why did Ruth get to become a part of God’s family? 6. Why does God want EVERYONE to be a part of his family?

APPLICATION ACTIVITY

• ASK: What are some ways we can invite people to be part of God’s family? • Make another person with the stencils. • This time, kids should draw the friend they thought of in Large Group, the one they

want to be part of God’s family or want to learn about Jesus with • After they draw the friend, add it to the large family photo (this in reference to a

concept introduced and explained in large group). • As kids create, ask questions like this:

o Does anybody want to know more about what it means to be part of God’s family? What do you want to know? (Open the door to let kids ask questions. Just talk to them openly and honestly about what it means to follow Jesus.)

o What’s fun about inviting friends to join God’s family? o What’s hard about it? What’s easy about it? o Tell kids that next weekend, they can pick up their box for the Thanksgiving

Food Drive. How is that a way for us invite others to join God’s family?

*Pray together, thanking God that he wants everyone to part of his family. Time for the coloring page! If kids finish, play a game of Simon Says together.

 

 

*BEFORE YOU BEGIN: When leaders bring you a large, tear-off sheet of paper, cover it in lines with a gluestick. And keep it handy in case kids need it!

The script is a little shorter than usual because we have two videos. If you want to give kids a little longer for Connect Time though, you can. It’s really important that they finish their drawings.

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*Click to play intro music. Hi everybody! Welcome to Kids’ Club. It’s great to see you here. You guys just drew pictures of yourselves and they look pretty awesome. But I have a really cool idea. First, I need one leader per room/age group to come and hold a large sheet of paper. (Turn to kids): I want you each to come up here and stick your portrait to your leader’s piece of paper. It’s already sticky so just put your portrait down, press it and return to your seat. Ready, set, go! (Let kids put up their drawings. You have a stapler in the large group bin in case the glue isn’t working and you need to improvise. You can also lay the papers on the floor and have kids come and take a look.) OK, let’s look at this together (hold them up and look at the drawings, commenting briefly). What do all these pictures have in common? (Let kids respond.) That’s right, we’re all here at Kids’ Club! And that’s pretty cool because if we believe in Jesus, we’re part of God’s family. And maybe some of us don’t know much about Jesus yet. That’s OK. You’re here and you’re learning! So basically, these are like the biggest family photos we’ve ever seen! INTRO: RUTH AND NAOMI (show picture of Ruth and Naomi) Well, today we are going to hear the story of two friends named Ruth and Naomi. Naomi would have had her picture in a photo of God’s family…because she had been born in Israel and that meant she was part of God’s family. But Ruth wasn’t from Israel, which, back then, means she wasn’t part of God’s family. In fact, she lived in a country that God’s family didn’t like…called Moab. Ruth was married to a guy from Israel who followed God. We don’t know his name but we DO know he was Naomi’s son. That’s how Ruth and Naomi became friends. The really sad part is, Ruth’s husband dies. And she’s left alone with just Naomi. Ruth could have gone back to her family. But she decides she wants to follow God and be part of his family!

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Let’s watch a video to see what happens. As you watch, see if Ruth gets to be a part of God’s family, the Israelites, living in a country called Israel. Video: Ruth So did Ruth get to be part of God’s family? (Let kids say: yes). She sure did! Remember (from the video), Ruth told Naomi she wanted Naomi’s family to be her family and Naomi’s God to be her God! GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO BE PART OF HIS FAMILY And guess what? God loves ALL of us and wants us all to be in his family. It doesn’t matter if we live in Israel or Moab or America in _________(site location)—or wherever! If we choose to follow God and believe that Jesus rescued us, we get to be part of His family! WE CAN INVITE OTHERS TO BE PART OF GOD’S FAMILY In fact, Jesus gave his followers a very special job: he said to go and make his family bigger! There are lots of ways we can make God’s family bigger. Let’s see if we can think of a few. Everybody, stand up! (Let kids stand.) I’m going to say a few ideas. If it’s a way to make God’s family bigger, stretch your arms out wide, like this. If it’s not, shake your head “no” and say “nope.” Ready?

• Invite a friend to church so they can hear about Jesus (bigger) • Tell your friends about Jesus (bigger) • Be rude to others (nope) • Show your friends that Jesus loves them by helping them out (bigger) • Make fun of somebody you don’t like (nope) • Praying that other people will know Jesus (bigger)

Great job! OK, you can have a seat. (Let kids sit.) Jesus wants us to be all about talking about him and acting like him so that more and more people will want to be part of his family. Right now, Crossroads is doing something really cool to act like Jesus. It’s called the Thanksgiving Food Drive. Does anybody know what that is? (Let kids respond.) Yes, it’s when we fill boxes with food for families. Jesus always fed people who were hungry, so we want to act like him. As we watch this video, see if you can figure out why acting like Jesus might make people want to follow him: Video: Thanksgiving Food Drive So why would acting like Jesus or giving boxes of food be a way to make God’s family bigger? (Let kids respond.) That’s right, maybe people will realize how much Jesus loves them and want to be part of God’s family! RESPOND So look up on this big poster of God’s family. I want you to think for a minute of a friend that you wish was part of this poster, a friend that you want to be part of God’s family with you. If you

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can think of a really good friend, put your hand over your heart (let kids respond; you do it too). (Share a personal story of a friend you want to share Jesus with and how you plan to do it. Then move on.) You know, sometimes, I’m worried to tell my friends about Jesus. I just don’t know exactly what to say. But for the next few weeks, we’re going to learn a verse that’s all about trusting God and asking for his help. It’s in a book called Philippians: SLIDE: Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to him. I love that verse. I’m going to ask God to show me ways to make his family bigger! In fact, let’s pray together right now. PRAY Ask God to show us ways to make his family bigger. Give kids about 30 seconds to listen for God’s voice. WORSHIP Now let’s stand and enjoy praising Jesus as a family and telling him how great he is. Let’s tell him we’re part of his family if we believe in him. The first song is called “I’m Yours.” The next song is about how great it is to follow Jesus. Music Video: I’m Yours Music Video: Come With Me MAKE SURE LEADERS TAKE THEIR ROOM’S POSTER BACK WITH THEM FOR SMALL GROUP!

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Per kid half sheet of blank computer paper

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Per group Some stencils to share (OT: IN-4/6978) 1 large tear-off sheet of paper markers/crayons

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Per kid Coloring pages half sheet of blank computer paper stencils (from Connect Time)

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Per group Bible Markers/crayons

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Tell me about Ruth. Who does God invite into his family?

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Daily Talk Starts separate doc

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2 Glue sticks per service (can re-use, but in case they run out) 1 stapler 1 large tear off sheet of paper per room per service

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1. Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website)

2. Image: Ruth and Naomi 3. Video: Ruth

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tLLpVV7XT0)

4. Video: Thanksgiving Food Drive (Ben Saunders will send a file; if hasn’t yet, use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q561PjmzmSg)

5. SLIDE: Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything.

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Ask and pray. Give thanks to him. 6. Video: I’m Yours

(http://vimeo.com/77168212) 7. Video: Come With Me (with hand motions;

http://vimeo.com/49923933)