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

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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 Early Arriver

• Ball 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 The Greatest Gift

• “The Greatest Gift Gift Tags”; one set for each small group • The Greatest Gift Picture Cards”; one set for each small group • World map • Tape

10:15 I Spy

• Chenille stems in a variety of colors; two for each kid, plus a few extras Prayer (9:50, 11:05, 12:20)

• World Map • Heart shaped stickers or sticky notes

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.” Lead your group to the Large Group area.


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10:15 Early Arriver Idea What You Need: Ball What You Do:

• Guide kids to sit in a circle with you. • If you have a smaller group, encourage them to make the circle as large as possible by

standing, holding hands, stepping back until they’re a comfortable distance apart, dropping hands, and sitting down.

• Hold the ball and say, “I’m decorating a Christmas tree, and I might need [item].” • Roll the ball to a child, who then says, “I’m decorating a Christmas tree, and I might need [item

you named] and [item of their choice].” • The game continues, with each player stating the previous items and then naming a new item.

o The items can be practical (a star, colored lights, strings of popcorn, blinking lights, candy canes, hot chocolate, Christmas music) or as whimsical (a skiing Santa ornament, strings of jelly beans, a singing Snoopy ornament) as kids choose.

• End the game before interest (and creativity!) runs out. • Close by inviting kids to tell how their families decorate their Christmas trees. • NOTE: You may choose to omit the “memory” aspect of the game and simply ask each child to

name something you might need to decorate a Christmas tree if the game is proving difficult for your kids.

What You Say: “You guys are going to be doing a lot of decorating! It makes me want to go out and buy more decorations. But, truthfully, I don’t need anymore. There’s a big difference between needing and wanting. 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.” 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: Music and Sound Effects (SFX):

• “Better than the Best Thing” • “Look At Me” • “Sons and 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. 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! “Oooh, that gives me the great idea of starting with praise and worsthip.” 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 “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”


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“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.” “Singing songs like these and regular Christmas songs is a fun part of this month 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. “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.


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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 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, . . .


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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 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.”


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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?

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


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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.”

Historyteller exits as Host enters.

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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Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (10 minutes) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible Truth applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. 9:00 & 11:30 The Greatest Gift What You Need: “The Greatest Gift Gift Tags” and “The Greatest Gift Picture Cards”, world map, masking tape What You Do:

• Set the map in the middle of your circle on the floor, or tape it on a wall in your Small Group area.

• Let kids help you put the Gift Picture Cards on the map near the places where the various kids are from.

• Read each one out loud so all the kids can understand what that person needs and wants for Christmas.

• Then give each kid a Gift Tag, and let them decide where to place it. • Stay near the map for the prayer activity.

What You Say: “Why did you give your tag to the person you chose? (Allow for responses.) Which would you like for Christmas—something you want or something you need? Why? (Allow for responses.) When we have most of our needs met, like if we have a place to live and enough to eat and people who care for us, we can focus on what we want for Christmas. But for many people—even those we know—they would love a gift that provides for what they need. “You might not think you have any needs right now, but we know from our Bible Truth that all people have one big need in common. We all make mistakes and wrong choices. We all sin. God knew how to rescue us from sin and so [Bottom Line] God did something about our greatest need. God sent Jesus, and every year we celebrate that at Christmas.”


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10:15 I Spy What You Need: Pre-cut chenille stems, and completed sample craft What You Do:

• Make chenille stem “glasses” that can remind kids to “spy” for people who need compassion. • Invite each child to choose one small piece and four half pieces of chenille stems. • First, show kids how to bend two of the halves into circles, twisting the ends together to secure.

These are the glasses’ “rims.” • Next, guide kids to wrap one end of the short piece around one of the circles and the other end

around the second circle, creating the “bridge.” • Help them wrap one end of a remaining half around one “rim,” opposite the bridge. • Repeat on the other side. These are the “temples.” • Finally, show them how to curl the ends of the temples into ear hooks. • IMPORTANT: Do a safety inspection of each child’s creation. Bend or twist any exposed wire.

For comfort, bend the tips of the earpieces. What You Say: “God knew that we needed a Savior. We needed a Savior because we all do and say and think things that we know are wrong. Those things are called sin, and sin hurts our friendship with God. “So [Bottom Line] God did something about our greatest need. He had compassion on us and sent His only Son, Jesus, to be our Savior and to rescue us from our sin. “Since God had compassion for us, we can have compassion for others, too. We can help others when they need help. We can give hugs to people who are sad. What else can we do to have compassion and show others that we care for them? (Let my sister hold one of my stuffed animals when she’s sick, help my brother pick up his mess, let someone else go first, etc.) “So this week, let your glasses remind you to look for ways to show compassion to others. Because when you do, you’re showing them how much God loves them!”


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

9:00 & 11:30- World Map and heart shaped stickers 10:15- The map from “The Greatest Gift” activity; heart shaped stickers

What You Do: (All)

• Gather kids in a circle to pray. Place the map in the middle. • Give kids a heart sticker/note. • Guide them to pray: “Thank You, God, that You loved the world so much that you gave us

Jesus.” • As they pray the sentence prayer, they should stick their heart on the map. • Close in prayer.

What You Say: “Dear God, thank You for giving Jesus to the whole world and to each one of us. Thank You that we can celebrate Your gift all year long but especially at Christmas time. Amen. “I am so glad that [Bottom Line] God did something about our greatest need! I can’t wait to celebrate Him all month long with you all!” As adults arrive to pick up, show families their kids’ Nativity Murals and encourage them to attend all month long to complete it as a special Christmas keepsake.

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

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