Kindergarten-2nd

May 9-10, 2015

Acts 2; Joshua 1:9 Adv. Bible for Early Readers (pp. 1271-1273, 249)

BRAVE Journey: BRAVE

Look back, look ahead.

Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 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.

This is our fifth week in the BRAVE Journey series. We’re talking about how to be BRAVE in following Jesus along the path he’s set for us. Peter did this by being brave even when people hurt him and put him in jail. We don’t want to scare kids, but we do want them to understand that even though it’s hard, Jesus will help us be brave.

Ask kids about why they made telescopes and what they’ll use them for.

We all get stumped sometimes during conversation. If you're unsure what to do next with a kid or the conversation is stalled, invite them to ask you something. You'd be surprised what a kid can come up with. (Just make sure you're willing to answer it!)

                                                                                                               

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. X MARKS THE SPOT *Break into small groups for this activity.

• Lay out a large sheet of tear-off paper in the middle of your group, along with markers.

• Tell everyone to think of a location. It could be any place—their home, their school, or a new place they really want to go!

• Now have everyone find a spot on the paper, and draw the place they thought of. Encourage kids to draw all over the paper (both the outside and inside).

• Once everyone has finished drawing, start at one of the locations and draw a line that connects every kid’s individual drawing. Make sure you make a stop at every kid’s location!

• Draw a big “X” at the end of the line. • Next, ask your group these two questions:

o What would you call this big paper now that there are lots of different places drawn on it with a path that connects them all? (A map! If they can’t figure that out, help them answer.)

o What were the best and worst parts of your week? Before you head into Large Group, remind them of your expectations for behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader’s instructions.

 

     

Goal: Kids will understand that (1) Peter showed bravery through many different ways (2) God made us to be brave and (3) We can be brave by following Jesus. Why: Even at a young age, kids can begin to understand that God has a plan for their life, and it will involve taking brave actions! Tip: Share a specific example with kids about a time when it was hard for you to be brave in following Jesus. Maybe you were brave, maybe you weren’t, but share how it affected you.

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REVIEW THE STORY *Pass around a bean bag to the person who’s speaking. Each group member should be prepared to hold the bean bag and answer questions. REVIEW THE STORY

1. What brave things did Peter do in today’s story? 2. Did Peter do brave things alone? Who was with him? 3. Was it always easy for Peter to do brave things? Why not? 4. Does Jesus want us to do brave things? Why? 5. What is a brave thing you could do THIS WEEK to follow Jesus?

MAKE IT PERSONAL

• Say: God wants us to look around us and find ways to follow him. Sometimes that’s not always easy to do. We’re going to make a telescope to remind us to always be looking ahead of us for ways to follow Jesus!

• Give each kid a cardboard tube. This will be their telescope! • Lay out glue sticks, tape, markers, construction paper, stickers, and foil to

decorate telescopes (let each kid use at most 5 stickers). • Encourage kids to cover their telescopes with the materials. They can also write

words or pictures on their telescopes, like the word “Brave” (kids may need help spelling)

• As kids work, ask them: o How can you be brave this week? o How can God talk to you?

*Pray together, asking God to show us ways we can be brave this week.

(Continue on the following page)

                                                                                                               

 

 

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MEMORIZE THE VERSE

• Read Joshua 1:9 together, saying it in sections and having kids repeat after you: o This is my command o Be strong and courageous! o Do not be afraid or discouraged. o For the Lord your God is with you o Wherever you go.

• Do it again, but this time, make up a funny voice to say each section in and tell kids they have to copy the voice you use as they repeat.

Give kids a coloring page of the man who got healed. Still have extra Time? Play I-spy with your telescopes! Let kids take turns picking an object in the room (I spy with my little eyes, something blue, etc.) and having the other kids try to guess what it is by looking through their telescopes around the room.

                                                                                                               

Here are the music videos we’ll be watching: Music Video: I’m Not Alone https://vimeo.com/49923964 Music Video: All Our Hope https://vimeo.com/99668247

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*Click to play intro slide Hey everybody! Welcome to Kids’ Club! We are so happy that you’re here with us. I hope you all are ready to have some fun today. Can someone tell me what you made in your small groups? (Let a kid respond.) That’s right, you all made giant maps! Maps are great because they can show us where to go. I’m going to ask you if you could find a few places with NO map. Ready? Could you find your way…outside this building with no map? (Let kids respond.) Okay, could you find your home with no map? (Let kids respond.) Could you find your way to Disney World with no map? (Let kids respond.) Could you find your way to Africa with no map? (Let kids respond.) How about the moon, could you get there without a map? (Let kids respond.) All right, good job! No way! That would be impossible! FOLLOWING A PATH Can I have 2 friends bring up a map that some of you drew? (Pick 2 kids to bring up a map from Connect Time and hold it up in the presentation area.) Thanks guys! So here we have all these different places that you guys drew. We’ve got (describe some of the different places you see on the map) and they’re all connected with a line, right? It’s like all these places are part of one path. Today we’re going to talk about how each one of us has a path that Jesus wants us to go on. And to take that path, we have to make a lot of different BRAVE choices! (Let the map holders return to their seats.) Let’s watch a video about some guys who are using a map to follow a path across the ocean. They’re going on an adventure, just like Jesus wants to take us on.

*Set aside one of the maps from Connect Time so that it can be brought up during Large Group.

                                                                                                               

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VIDEO: Muppet Treasure Island/Sailing for Adventure Wow, that was pretty funny! Those guys are REALLY excited to go on an adventure, aren’t they? Why do you think they’re so excited? (Let 1-2 kids respond.) I think you’re right. They want to do new things and go new places! If you think that Jesus wants us to do new things and go new places, give me a big thumbs up! (Let kids respond.) To go on an adventure with Jesus, we have to be BRAVE. Remember the map we just looked at, and how there was a path on it? Well, if we want to follow the path that Jesus has for us, bravery is one of the things we need for it. RECAP PETER There was a guy who wanted to follow Jesus, and he needed to be BRAVE to do it. His name was Peter! Peter was Jesus’ friend, and we’ve been talking about some of the brave choices Peter made. He knew that Jesus had a special path for him to take, and that path had a lot of stops along the way. It’s almost like Peter was following a map! But Peter’s map wasn’t like the ones we normally see. It was filled with some scary and hard things. Things like…

• Leaving his regular job and following Jesus (click to show slide) • Walking on water (click to show slide) • Following Jesus even after he made wrong choices (click to show slide) • Preaching out loud to people that he didn’t know or who didn’t understand him (click to

show slide) There’s something REALLY important I want you to know about all these brave things Peter did as he followed Jesus. He didn’t do it alone. He had help from Jesus. Do you think you can be brave all on your own? (Let kids respond.) No way! We can only be brave with Jesus’ help! PETER AND THE EARLY CHURCH Do you think it’s always easy to be brave? (Let kids respond.) You’re right. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it can even be scary. But that’s why Jesus is always with us to help us be brave and follow him. We’re going to watch another part of Peter’s story; this time, Peter is following Jesus by obeying what Jesus told him to do. Peter wasn’t alone, though. He had friends with him who also followed Jesus’ path! As you watch, pay attention to what Peter and his friends do to follow Jesus. VIDEO: God’s Story/Peter and The Early Church Wow! Peter and his friends all did things together to follow Jesus. They made up the very first church! Raise your hand if you remember some of the things they did. (Let 2-3 kids recall different parts of the story.) Great job guys. There’s something else that happened that was not very fun though. Some people didn’t like what Peter was doing. Some people didn’t believe Jesus, so they hurt Peter and his friends. If you think that’s a sad thing, give me a thumbs down. (Let kids respond.) I agree.

                                                                                                               

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I wonder how Peter was able to get through all those hard times. How do you think he was able to stay brave and follow Jesus? (Let a kid respond.) That’s right! He had Jesus’ power within him. When you have Jesus’ power inside you, it’s called the Holy Spirit! JESUS HAS A MAP FOR US Remember our maps we made earlier? Well Jesus has a map for your life too! He has a plan for us, a path that he wants us to take, and it’s not just any boring old path. And even though we can’t SEE it, all we have to do is LISTEN to him to help figure it out. Following Jesus is an adventure, and it means we need to do brave things. We’re going to look at some stops you might make along your path. Some of them will be brave, and some won’t. If I say something that you think is a brave choice, stand up and show me your strongest pose ever! If you think it’s not so brave, stay seated and give me a thumbs down. Ready?

• You become friends with someone who other people don’t like. (brave) • You love your brother or sister even when they are mean to you. (brave) • You see someone who is lonely at school, but you ignore them. (not brave) • You tell your friends about how much you love Jesus. (brave) • You listen to God and try to hear his voice. (brave) • You disobey your parents when they ask you to clean your room. (not brave) • You are kind to someone who is mean to you. (brave)

GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US You know, sometimes, people will want us to make wrong choices that are not brave, just like Peter. But guess what, Jesus is always with us, helping us to be BRAVE, so there’s no reason to be afraid! Let’s all read this verse together to help us understand: Joshua 1:9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Wow! So why can we be strong and courageous? (Let kids respond.) Yes! Because God is always with us wherever we go. If we were to look at a map again (click to show map), we would see all these different places that you and me might go someday. Will God be with us only at a couple of these places? (Let kids respond, “no.”) Okay, will he be with at most of these places? (Let kids respond, “No.”) Okay, will God be with us at ALL these places? (Let kids respond, “Yes.”) Yes! He will be with us wherever we go, so we can ALWAYS be brave. WORSHIP Something else that’s really brave is worshipping God! Sometimes we’re worried about looking silly, but God wants us to sing as loud as we can and dance as big as we can when we worship him, because we don’t need to be afraid. MUSIC VIDEO: I’m Not Alone MUSIC VIDEO: All Our Hope

                                                                                                               

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PRAYER Thank you, God, for always being with us. Thank you for giving us a path to follow, and helping us to be brave no matter where we go! Amen.

                                                                                                               

                                                   

Per group: 1 large piece of tear-off paper, markers

Per kid: 1 cardboard tube, 2 colored quarter sheets of construction paper, 5 stickers, coloring page: man who got healed Per group: beanbag, Adv. Bible for Early Readers (pp. 1271-1273, 249), markers, glue sticks, tape rolls, aluminum foil

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How was Peter brave? When is God with us?

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Daily Talk Starts – separate document

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Adv. Bible for Early Readers (pp. 1271-1273, 249)

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1. Song slide: for when kids enter the room (We are the Brave Ones; Mae will have file) 2. Video: Muppet Treasure Island/Sailing for Adventure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqVCLJF5ec 3. Slide: Peter (waiting for image to be available) 4. Slide: Peter on water (waiting for image to be available) 5. Slide: Peter denies Jesus (waiting for image to be available) 6. Slide: Peter preaches (waiting for image to be available) 7. Video: God’s Story/Peter and the Early Church (waiting for file from creative) 8. Slide: Joshua 1:9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD

your God is with you wherever you go. 9. Slide: Map 10. Music Video: I’m Not Alone https://vimeo.com/49923964 11. Music Video: All Our Hope https://vimeo.com/99668247