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SUNDAY MORNINGS December 2, 2018, Week 1 Grade: 1-2

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The Greatest Love of All

Bible: The Greatest Love of All (God Loves the World) • John 3:16 Bottom Line: God did something about our greatest need. Memory Verse: “For God so loved the world that he have his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV) Life App: Compassion—Caring enough to do something about someone else’s need Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Social: Setting the Tone for the Experience (9:00, 10:15, 11:30) 9:00 & 11:30 Clock-centration

• “Clock-centration” cut outs; one set for each small group 10:15 All I Want for Christmas

• “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” on Presentation Computer • Music player

Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (9:15, 10:30, 11:45)

• Bible Presentation in Large Group Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (9:40, 10:55, 12:10) 9:00 & 11:30 Advent-urous Compassion

• “Advent-urous Compassion” Activity Page; one for each kid • “Compassion Cues Stickers”; one set for every three kids • 1.5x2-inch sticky notes in a variety of colors; 25 for each kid • Markers

10:15 God So Loved the World

• Bibles; for Kindergarteners, mark Bibles at John 3:16 • Inflatable globe,

Prayer (9:50, 11:05, 12:20)

• Inflatable globe Dismiss (10:00, 11:15, 12:30)


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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 Bible Truth. Before kids arrive, take a few moments to pray for them. Pray that kids would begin to understand the enormity of what God did to meet our needs and what that says about how much He loves us. Ask God to allow them to enjoy the fun and excitement of the season while also beginning to internalize what it means for their relationship with Him. 9:00 & 11:30 Clock-centratio What You Need: “Clock-centration” Activity Pages What You Do:

• Sequentially place the “Clock-centration” cards face down (numbers up) in a circle on the floor, creating a large “clock.”

• Invite kids to take turns calling out two numbers. • Turn over the corresponding cards. • If the pictures match an animal to something it needs, place the matches to the side. • If the pictures don’t make a match, turn them face down again. • Continue until kids match all the cards.

What You Say: “Animals need many things. They need food, the right kind of home, shelter, and friends. What are some things that PEOPLE need? (food, water, clothing, shoes, friends, places to live) Yes, people need all these things. But did you know that there’s something people need more than anything else? [Transition] Let’s go to Large Group to find out what it is.”


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10:15 All I Want for Christmas What You Need: “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” cued up on the Presentation Computer What You Do:

• Play “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” and tell kids to pay attention to the chorus—particularly the line after the title line.

• Ask kids to think about what they would finish the statement “All I Want for Christmas is…” with. • Circle up and play a memory game.

o Begin by saying, “All I want for Christmas is [object or experience].” o Then the kid next to you says, “All I want for Christmas is [your answer] AND [a wish of

their own].” o Play passes around the circle, with the Christmas list becoming longer and longer. o If a kid can’t remember the wishes of those before them, that person is out of the game. o Play until only two kids remain.

• Talk about why we want certain gifts. What would those things do? Would we be happier? Would we feel more loved? Would they fill a real need in our lives? Discuss as long as time and interest allow.

Lead your group to the Large Group area.


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Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 25 minutes)

GETTING READY 1. Opener/Closer What You Need:

• Host • Fun Christmas attire for Host • Bible • Giant memory cards • Phone timer • Small prizes; one for each kid

2. Bible Truth What You Need:

• Bible • Giant memory cards (from the Opener) • Cardstock for sin/cross cards (LGV; see “What You Do”)

3. Worship What You Need:

• Power Praise Team Music and Sound Effects (SFX):

• “Better than the Best Thing” • “Look At Me” • “Sons & Daughters”


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Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 25 minutes) Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible Truth, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. SFX: “All I Want for Chirstmas” for Opening Activity CG: Theme Loop Video

Host enters with lots of energy (can be decked out in fun Christmas attire).

CG: Countdown Video CG: Theme Video Opener HOST: “Haaaaapppppy December, everyone! I’m so glad my favorite month of the year is finally here—the food, the fun, the fa-la-la-ing! Of course, the best part of all: it’s the month we celebrate when Jesus was born! God loves us so much, and He saw our greatest need was for a Savior, so He sent us Jesus. That’s why this month we’re going undercover to make others our mission, just like Jesus did. It’s all about . . . CG: Life App Video “. . . compassion—caring enough to do something about someone else's need. CG: Theme TransBack Video “Since we’re going undercover this month, I’ve got a great secret mission for you. If you’ve ever played Memory before, this game is kind of like that. Let’s see if you can figure out what’s UNDER these cards.

Move to reveal the giant memory cards. “I’ll give you a hint. They’re pictures of items you might receive for Christmas. Some of these are items you’d probably WANT. And some of them are probably what Great-Aunt Matilda gives you, and you have to PRETEND you want it.


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“As a team, you all will tell me which card you want me to turn over based on your applause. As my hand gets closer to the card you want me to turn over, you need to clap and cheer loudly. When two matching cards are turned over, we’ll have a match. “But here’s the catch: in order for you to win as a team, you have to uncover and match all the cards before the timer goes off. If you can do that, I’ve got a prize for each of you! Are you ready? Let’s set the timer for two minutes, and then let’s do this!

Set your phone timer for two minutes. (Note: If you have mostly younger kids, you may want to add a minute or two to the game.)

“Ready, set, go!

Point to the cards one at a time. Turn over a card whenever the cheers get louder. If the kids are getting the answers too quickly, you can mess with them some by pretending to be confused about which cards they want you to turn over. On the other hand, if they’re struggling to get a match, you can help them by pausing and encouraging them to cheer when YOU know a card is a match. (Or you can give them another minute to play.) Ideally, they’ll win, but just barely. Give out the small prizes when they win. As you gather the matches, covertly organize them according to wants and needs, keeping the matches together. Place the photos of the “wants” at the front. When you finish the game, put the cards into the seemingly empty prop box that has the three additional cards in it. Put the prop box to the side.

“Great job, everyone! How many of you saw some things up here that you’d like to get for Christmas? (Raise your hand.) How many of you saw some things that you’ve actually received for Christmas and had to PRETEND to be excited about? (Raise your hand.) Yep, me too! But now it’s time for something that I don’t have to pretend to be excited about, because I LOVE it. It’s Bible Time with [Historyteller’s Name}!

Host exits. Historyteller enters.

SETTING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: “The Bible is made up of 66 different books. (Hold up Bible.) One of those books is the book of John. It was written by a man named . . . who has a guess? (Pause for response.) Yep. John. John was one of Jesus’ closest friends, and he traveled with Jesus for nearly three years. That’s one reason we know John’s stories about Jesus are true—he saw it all happen with his own eyes! “One of the stories John told was about a religious leader named Nicodemus whose life was based on following rules. Nicodemus had a lot of questions about what Jesus was teaching, and he asked Jesus


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what He meant when He spoke of being born again. Nicodemus’s world was flipped upside down by what Jesus had to say. Jesus told him that everyone who believes in Him would have eternal life (John 3:15). “Listen to what it says in John 3:16. It’s a familiar verse you might have heard before, but imagine hearing it for the first time. CG: Blank Memory Verse Slide CG: Memory Verse Slide

Open the Bible to John 3:16 (NIV) and read. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” “For us to understand why this is so important, we need to back things up a little bit. OUR WANTS

Move over to the prop box from the Opener and pick up the memory cards.

HISTORYTELLER: “Earlier we played a game with these cards. Some of them were things you’d DEFINITELY want to get for Christmas. “For example, we’ve got the LEGO® set, . . .

Hold up the LEGO card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“. . . the bike, . . .

Hold up the bike card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“. . . the video game system, . . .

Hold up the video game system card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“. . . and, of course, the candy.

Hold up the candy card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“There’s nothing wrong with those things. There’s nothing wrong with even WANTING those things. But they ARE wants. They might make great Christmas presents, but we could go our whole lives without them and we could survive.” OUR NEEDS


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HISTORYTELLER: “So those were the wants. But there were some other things in the game that we might actually NEED. “These are things like food, . . .

Hold up the bread card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“. . . clothes, . . .

Hold up the socks card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“. . . toilet paper—hey, you might not think you need it until you DO, . . .

Hold up the toilet paper card and then move it to the back of the deck.

“. . . and even something like a toothbrush.

Hold up the toothbrush card and DON’T move it to the back of the deck, because you don’t want to reveal the new cards yet.

“Those things aren’t glamorous, but they ARE things we need.” OUR GREATEST NEED HISTORYTELLER: “Even though we might need those things, they aren’t our GREATEST need. There is one thing we need more than anything else: forgiveness. That’s because there’s something that ALL of us have in common: sin.

Turn around and put the S-I-N cards on the wall or board, in a vertical line, so the cards touch each other on the top and bottom.

“We all choose to sin sometimes. Sin is what we call it when we say, think or do something that is wrong. “Let me ask you a question. Do you think God ever does anything wrong? (Pause for response.) No. God is perfect! He’s 100 percent good—always. That’s why when we do something wrong, it’s like a wall between us and God. (Hold up both palms and act like there’s a wall between them.) Sin separates us from God” “Our sin is a BIG problem. God knew we couldn’t tear down the wall between us, so He made a way FOR us. He showed compassion to us. He [Bottom Line] did something about our greatest need. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus.”

Turn over the three cards to reveal the cross. “God sent Jesus to be our perfect hero and pay the price for our sin. Do you remember what it says in John 3:16?


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This time, read the verse from the screen.

CG: Blank Memory Verse Slide CG: Memory Verse Slide “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16, NIV. “God loved us so much that he gave his only Son, Jesus. When we believe in Jesus and put our trust in him, we receive forgiveness for our sins (clasp your hands) . . . AND we get to live forever in heaven with God! God gave us the greatest gift, Jesus, to meet our greatest need. Because of that, we can trust God no matter what.” WRAPPING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: “God loves us so much! That’s why He sent Jesus for us. That’s why we celebrate at Christmas. CG: Bottom Line Slide “God did something about our greatest need. “Let’s pray.” Pray HISTORYTELLER: “God, thank You for knowing all of our needs—but especially, thank You for knowing our greatest need and doing something about it. Thank You for loving us enough to send us Jesus so we can have a relationship with You without sin being in the way. Please help us to follow Your example. Help us to show compassion and love others the way You love us. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.” “If you have an offering with you today, raise your hand and we will bring the bucket over to you.” “Now, please stand up as we sing praises and worship to out God!” Worship Worship HOST: “There is no one greater than Jesus, our Savior. He is better than the Best Thing we could possibly think of. Let’s sing this together! CG: “Better Than the Best Thing” “You know, there are people that do not know about Jesus and there are people who know about Jesus and don’t belive that He is God’s son. When you are a believer, it’s your honor to make choices and do things that Jesus would make. That way, when people look at you, they see the love of Jesus.” CG: Look at Me


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“John 15:13 says: “No one has greater love than the one who gives their life for their friends” (NIrV). That’s exactly what Jesus did for us—He gave His life for us. That’s why we can truly love one another—because we are all God’s sons and daughters. Let’s sing this out so the world will know! CG: “Sons and Daughters” “That’s right! We’re God’s Sons and Daughters! I know it must make God so happy to hear us sing those words. You can all have a seat now.” Closer HOST: “When God sent Jesus to take care of our greatest need, He showed you, me, and everyone on the planet, compassion.” “God’s compassion makes me want to show compassion, too. How about you? (Pause for response.) That’s great! Did you know that when we show love and compassion to people, we show them how much God loves them too? “Let’s take the time to be kind to the people around us and show them we care. Let’s make it our mission to show God’s love this Christmas. “It can be so simple. (Hold your palm flat above your eyes.) Just keep an eye out and see if you can figure out what people need. Think about how you might be able to help. Maybe it’s sharing your jacket with someone who’s cold, sharing your lunch with someone who’s hungry, or sharing a kind word to encourage a friend. “Remember your undercover mission: to show compassion and share God’s love. I know all of you have great ideas about how you can do that. Be sure to tell your friends about them in Small Group. You can head that way right now. I’ll see you later!”

Dismiss kids to their small groups. CG: Theme Slide CG: Small Group Slide


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The Greatest Love of All Bible: The Greatest Love of All (God Loves the World) • John 3:16 Bottom Line: God did something about our greatest need. Memory Verse: “For God so loved the world that he have his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV) Life App: Compassion—Caring enough to do something about someone else’s need Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (10 minutes) 9:00 & 11:30 Advent-urous Compassion What You Need: “Advent-urous Compassion” and “Compassion Cues Stickers” Activity Pages, sticky notes, markers What You Do:

• Ask kids if they have ever seen an advent calendar. • Explain that an advent calendar is a way that we count the days until Christmas. • Tell kids that they’re going to make their own advent calendars to help them remember that

[Bottom Line] God did something about our greatest need when He gave us Jesus. • Give each child and “Advent-urous Compassion” page. Tell them that each space on the

calendar represents a day until Christmas. • Read the verse aloud, leading kids to point to each word as you read. • Show the “Compassion Cues Stickers” and guide kids to identify ways the people are showing

compassion. • Invite each child to choose four stickers and stick one on each “blank” calendar day. • Set out the sticky notes and guide kids to press one over each calendar day. • HINT: Guide kids to cover the bottom row first, then the next to bottom row, and so on. • Tell kids that every day until Christmas, they’ll take a sticky note off the calendar. Each day

they’ll be able to read more of the verse. • When they come to a day with a sticker, they can look for a way do that act of compassion for

someone. • NOTE: Go ahead and guide kids to remove the notes from any preceding days. • When kids finish, they can draw Christmas pictures on the notes.

What You Say: [Bottom Line] “God did something about our greatest need. He sent His Son, Jesus, to live on earth, to die on a cross, and to come back to life so that if we truly believe in Jesus, we can live with Him forever! “That’s why Christmas is so amazing! It’s the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Because: God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life, John 3:16 (NIrV). “So this month, share God’s love with others and show them compassion. You can use your advent calendars to help remind you. And never forget: [Bottom Line] God did something about our greatest need and gave us Jesus!


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10:15 God So Loved the World What You Need: Bibles, inflatable globe What You Do:

• Give each child a Bible. Help kids look up John 3:16 using the navigation tips below.

Finding verses: 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 John in the list under “New Testament.” You can help by telling them that John starts with the letters J-O. When the kids find John, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find John. Help the kids find the page. When they find John, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 3. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 16 in chapter 3. Tell them to leave their finger on the verse as you read the verse aloud. Then lead everyone to say the verse together.

• Briefly unpack the concept that “the world” means EVERYONE God made: people in your town,

your state or province, your country, and around the world—people everywhere! • Guide kids to sit in a circle. • Begin passing the ball. Guide each child to say a word of the verse when he holds the ball.

(Provide as much help as needed.) • When it’s a child’s turn to say, “world,” guide that child to hold the globe over her head as she

says the word. • Lead kids to quote the verse up to “only Son” and then begin again. (They’ll learn the rest of the

verse later this month.) • As kids become more comfortable saying the verse, encourage them to pass the globe more

quickly. • For variety, guide kids to pass the globe different ways: standing in a straight line, alternating

over their heads and between their legs; using only their elbows; sitting and using only their feet; etc.

What You Say: “God had compassion on us and did something about our greatest need. He gave His one and only Son to be our Savior. So if you truly believe that Jesus is God’s Son and that God sent Jesus to live on earth, die on the cross for your sins, and come back to life, then you’ll live FOREVER with God. [Make It Personal] (Briefly tell how you came to believe in Jesus and follow Him. Be sure to use words and phrases the kids can understand.) (Note: Depending on what you know about your kids, it might be a good idea to simply “plant the seeds” and have a conversation about salvation, without explicitly leading kids to take the step of faith. If a child’s parents are already believers, they will probably want to be present for the moment when their child accepts the gift of salvation. Use your judgment and your knowledge of your kids’ home lives when having this conversation.) “So always remember: [Bottom Line] God did something about our greatest need. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be our Savior!”


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All Service Times Pray and Dismiss (10 minutes) What You Need: Inflatable globe What You Do:

• Hold the globe and guide kids to gather around and point to a place on the globe. • Use the conversation below as a guide to lead kids in prayer.

What You Say: “God so loved the people in (name the places or continents the kids are pointing to) that He gave His one and only Son. Jesus was God’s gift to the world. (Point to where you live.) He was God’s gift to [your city’s name]. He was God’s gift to me and to YOU! Let’s pray. “Dear God, thank You so much for having compassion on us and doing something about our greatest need. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. We love You so much, God. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.” As adults arrive to pick up, encourage kids to finish the verse as you say, “God so loved the world that he gave ____________ (his one and only Son).”

What to Do:Print on cardstock and cut apart. Shuffle the circles. On the back of each, use a broad-tipped marker to boldly print the numbers 1 to 12, respectively. ©2018 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

December 2018, Week 1, Small Group K1Clock-centration

LUNCHROOMLUNCHROOM

Compassion Cue Stickers

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