252 Groupsfebruary 2018, Week 4 Large Group, K-3

252 GroupsFebruary 2018, Week 4 Large Group, K-3

Mercy, Mercy Me - Feb 25 K-2 Supplies

GETTING READY

1. Opener/Closer

What You Need:

• Host

What You Do:

• How to play: When each clue for the “enemy” is revealed, allow the audience the chance to guess which movie they’re from.

1. Bible Story

What You Need:

• Storyteller
• Host
• White T-shirt for Host that says N A ME (see “What You Do” below)
• Kids’ plastic slide
• Classroom chair and desk
• Small table
• Sheets of paper that look like a test
• Pencil
• 2 chairs
• 2 plates
• 2 cups
• 2 sets of silverware

What You Do:

• Get a white T-shirt for your Host. Use iron-on letters or fabric markers to write “N A ME” on it.
• Place the slide stage left.
• Place the desk and chair center stage. Place the pencil and sheets of “test paper” on the desk.
• Place the table and two chairs stage right. Create two place settings on the table.

Mercy, Mercy Me - Feb 25 K-2 Script

Bible Story:Mercy, Mercy Me (Love Your Enemies)•Matthew 5:43-48

Bottom Line:Be kind to people who aren’t kind to you.

Memory Verse: “Do to others as you want them to do to you.” Luke 6:31, NIrV

Life App: Kindness—Showing others they are valuable by how you treat them

Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

Story: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways(Large Group, 35 minutes)

Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible story, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting.

SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter.

CG: Rewind Theme Slide

Host enters with lots of energy and welcomes kids into the environment.

HOST:“Hey, everybody! It’s me, [Host’s name]! Welcome to [your environment’s name], the place where the coolest kids come to hang out, have fun, and learn. If you want to have fun, I want you to turn up the volume (point to your ear) here. Give your ear a gentle twist. Like this. (Twist ear.)Then say, ‘Turn it up!’”

HOSTand KIDS: (Twist ear.)“Turn it up!”

HOST: “There we go! That’s better, right? Now that you’ve got your volume all the way up, let’s take a couple of minutes to remind ourselves what we’re talking about this month: KINDNESS! Raise your hand if you think you remember the definition. (Pause for response.) Let’s see if you were right.

CG: Kindness Slide

“Yeah! Let’s read this together.”

HOST and KIDS: “Kindness is showing others they are valuable by how you treat them.”

HOST: “One more time!”

HOST and KIDS: “Kindnessisshowing others they are valuable by how you treat them.”

HOST: “You nailed it! We have talked about so many ways to be kind this month. We’ve talked about being kind at home, being kind at school, being kind to people in your family, being kind to people you know a little bit, and even being kind to people you might not know at all. I can’t wait to find out who we’re talking about today!

SFX: Upbeat game music

(Hold your hand to your ear.)“Looks like we’ll find out after our game today! OOOH, and this one’s a good one! Here’s how you play.

“I’ll describe a popular character who is known as a ‘bad guy’ or an ‘enemy’ in a movie you’ve probably seen. When you think you can name the movie, raise your hand. I’ll call on you, and you can answer. Everyone understand? Great! Let’s play!

Host leads the game and comments as kids respond. If it seems like the kids are having a hard time answering, you can ask Small Group Leaders to help them or give them hints or you can continue to give hints.

“Here’s our firstFAMOUSenemy.

“Any guesses? I’ll give you a hint. These bad guys were in bad moods until they devoured a certain happy, hugging, and always-singing creature. (Pause for response.) Yes! These are the Bergens from the Trolls movie!

“And here’s our next enemy.

“Here’s your hint. This bad guy is the captain of a ship. But he’s only got one good hand. (Pause for response.) Great job! That’s Captain Hook—Peter Pan’s arch nemesis.

“Let’s see our next enemy!

“Your hint for this one is . . . he caused quite a storm. He is the key rival to a leading racer, Lightning McQueen(Pause for response.)I loved that movie! Yes, this is Jackson Storm from Cars 3. Let’s keep going!

“This is an older movie. You may not have seen it, but I bet you’ve heard of it. There’s a princess involved. Her name may ring a BELLE. (Pause for response.) You sure know your movies! This wasn’t tricky for you. This is Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.

“This one is a little trickier. He started off as a bad guy, but in the end, he really GREW on people and minions alike!(Pause for response.)Yep! You guessed it! It’s Gru from Despicable Me.

“This one is from another classic princess movie. It’s about a princess who lived in a tower where things got a little HAIRY. (Pause for response.)You’ve got it! It’s Mother Gothel from Tangled, the story of Rapunzel.

“You guys did a great a job knowing your enemies. Maybe—just maybe—our game is a hint for what we’ll talk about later. Let’s listen close and see how our game relates to our Story today!”

Storyteller enters as Worship Leaders exit.

Setting up the story

STORYTELLER:“What’s going on, friends? My name is [Storyteller’s name], and I am so excited you came to hang out with us today. Raise your hand if you know what an enemyis. Who or what is an enemy?(Pause for responses.) These are all really, really good answers. We’re talking about kindness this month. Let’s see if we can think of a definition of enemy that has to do with kindness. (Pause.)

“How about this? An enemy can be anyone it’s hard to show kindness to. An enemy can be your older brother who picks on you sometimes. An enemy can be a kid on the playground who thinks he knows everything about everything. An enemy could be a football coach who never lets you play the position you want to play.

“An enemy doesn’t have to be an evil ‘bad guy’ like we see in the movies. An enemy can be anyone it’s hard to be kind to. When it’s hard to do something, we need to find help, right? A great place to find some help when it comes to how to show kindness is God’s Word—the Bible!

Hold up the Bible.

“You might not know it, but the Bible has lots to sayabout how we can respond to our enemies. It does. In fact, this was something Jesus told His followers in a teaching we call the Sermon on the Mount. Let’s check it out together.

Open Bible and turn to Matthew 5:43-44. Read directly from the Bible.

CG: Matthew 5:43-44 Slide

“You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor. Hate your enemy.”But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you” (NIrV).

“Wow. I mean, WOW, WOW, WOW. Jesus just told us to loveour enemies.That sounds a bit crazy, right? I mean, why would we be nice to someone who isn’t nice to us? Why would God ask us to do that?

“Instead of telling you, I thought it would be more fun to show you. I need someone who can play a really, really convincing enemy. (Call out) Oh, [Host’s name], I could use your help!”

Host comes out wearing the “N A ME” shirt.

slide scenario

HOST: (Point to shirt.)“Did someone order an ‘N A ME?’(Pronounce as: IN-A-ME.)

STORYTELLER:(Look at shirt, confused)“Um, close enough. Come with me.”

Host and Storyteller walk to the slide. Storyteller stands behind the slide. Host stands behind him.

“Let’s say you’re at the playground or the park and you’re next in line. Maybe you’re at the monkey bars. Maybe you’re waiting by the swings. Or maybe you’re at the—”

Host jumps in front of Storyteller and slides.

HOST: “Sliiiiiiide!”

STORYTELLER: “And someone cuts in front of you in line. What do you do?”

HOST: (Oblivious)“I would go tell my mom or teacher.Or yell at the kid. Or never be their friend again. It’s not fair to cut in line. You were there first!”

STORYTELLER: (Rolleyes.) “OR you can say (to Host) ‘Hey, you cut in front of me. It’s okay this time, but it’d be awesome if we could all wait for our turn.’”

HOST: “Oh. Cool. Totally. (Motion to the slide.)You can go ahead.”

STORYTELLER: (Slide.) “See? You don’t always have to tell, you don’t have to yell, you don’t have to get angry. You just talk politely and kindly and keep playing together.”

SCHOOL SCENARIO

Host and Storyteller go to the school scene. Host starts furiously filling out the test.

STORYTELLER: “Now, let’s say you’re at school. You’re sitting at your desk taking a really, really hard test. You’re trying your best to focus and finish this test.”

Storytellerpicks up the paper and scratches head. Host stands up, holding histest in the air.

HOST: “Finished!”

STORYTELLER: “What?! How?I haven’t even written my name yet.”

HOST: “Why? That test was SUPEReasy. I knew every answer!”

STORYTELLER: “Ugh. That doesn’t feel good, does it? It’s hard being in class with a know-it-all who knows all the answers and makes sure that everyone knows it. You may be tempted to be mean to that person, call them a name, or to say something bad about them to make yourself feel better.”

Host sits back down.

HOST: “It’s not my fault that I’m smarter than you.”

STORYTELLER:(Agitatedly) “But no matter HOW MUCH you want to tell them to just BE QUIET ALREADY, you can choose to be kind. You can be kind even though it’s really hard. (To Host) It’s cool you’re so smart. Maybe you can come over this weekend and help me with my homework.”

HOST: “Thanks. Let’s talk to our moms about doing that.”

HOMESCENARIO

Storyteller and Host walk to the table and sit down. They pretend to eat and drink.

STORYTELLER: “One of the hardest places to be kind is in our own home. Take your sister or brother, for example. It’s their night to do the dishes, and they . . .”

Host stands up and wipes his mouth.

HOST: “Can’t do the dishes tonight, guys. I’ve got a homework assignment that I really need to get to work on.”

STORYTELLER: “But you said that the last time it was your night to do dishes.”

HOST: “No, I didn’t. Last time I said I had a test to study for. (Pat Storyteller on head.) Good luck with pots and pans. Spaghetti night is the WORST.”

Host exits.Storytellergathers dishes into a pile.

wrapping up THE STORY

STORYTELLER: “It’s really, really hard to be kind sometimes. It can be hard to be kind to the rude kid at the park, the smart kid at school, or even our own family members. It can start to feel like these people are our enemies.

“But when moments like this happen we need to remember what Jesus said. Let’s take a look at those verses again.

CG: Matthew 5:43-44 Slide

“You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor. Hate your enemy.”But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you” (NIrV).

“It’s easy for us to be kind to people who are kind to us. In fact, Jesus says later in this passage that even the worst of the worst people do that. But Jesus calls us to something different, something greater, something that, if we can get it right, can point people to Him! Let’s look at our Bottom Line together.

CG: Bottom Line Slide

[Bottom Line]“Be kind to people who aren’t kind to you. This doesn’t mean you have to be best friends with the bully, but try being kind to them and be a friend. You never know what might happen if you choose to treat them like you’d want to be treated. This isn’t easy, though, so how about we talk to God about it? Let’s pray together.”

Pray

STORYTELLER: “God, sometimes it feels like we’re kind over and over again without anyone being kind back to us. Help us not to look at kindness that way. Help us look at kindness like You do. You love us and treat us with kindness no matter what. Help us to be kind to everyone—even to our enemies. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.”

Host enters as Storyteller exits.

Closer

HOST: “Whoa. This whole ‘love your enemies’ thing is a game changer. It’s super easy for most of us to be kind to most people. But that doesn’t make us any different from anyone else. If we want to be more like Jesus, we’ll figure out how we can show kindness to the people it’s hard to be kind to.Let’s take another look at our Bottom Line for today.

CG: Bottom Line Slide

[Bottom Line]“Be kind to people who aren’t kind to you.Say it with me.”

KIDS andHOST: [Bottom Line]“Be kind to people who aren’t kind to you.”

HOST: “We can use kind words even when it’s hard. We can celebrate others even when it’s hard. We can help out at home even when it’s hard.

“When we do that—when we are kind to people even when it’s hard—we are just like Jesus. And think about it. Even people who are hard to love need to feel loved, too. Sometimes our kindness can be just what they need the most. Jesus died on a cross to show us He loves us no matter what—no matter what mistakes we’ve made or what bad things we’ve done. We don’t have to do anything to earn that love. And now we have the opportunity to show others that same kind of love.

“You’ll talk more about how you can be kind to people who aren’t kind to you in Small Group. I hope you guys have fun together. I’ve had such a great time talking about what God says about kindness this month. I can’t wait until next week when we start something brand new. See you then!”

Dismiss children to their small groups.

SFX: Play high-energy music as the kids exit.

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