4. Praise and Worship (10 Minutes) End with CG:Transition Slide

Transcription

1 That s All Right Bible Story: That s All Right (Paul in Prison) Philippians 4:11b-13 Bottom Line: God can help you be okay no matter what. Memory Verse: Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has. Luke 12:15 (NIrV) Life App: Contentment Deciding to be okay with what you have Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. 1. Countdown 2. Announcements 3. CG:Transition Slide then Host Opener (5 minutes) Host Four kid contestants Table Two chairs Two medium-sized banker s boxes with lids Two ridiculous objects that will be funny for someone to describe (see What You Do ) Two different mystery prizes (see What You Do ) Two full-size packs of Starburst (or similar fruity candy not chocolate) Two small consolation prizes, like fun-size candy (optional) For the ridiculous objects, let your creativity shine through! Objects are most hilarious when combining two unrelated things in a funny or gross way. Examples: o a whoopie cushion glued to a Barbie doll o a Kylo Ren action figure with a donut around its waist o a string necklace made out of Froot Loops o an autographed preteen picture of your Worship Leader o a set of Mr. Potato Head eyes, nose, and mouth stuck into a banana o a box of life cereal with the L taped over with a Kn, making it Knife cereal o two troll doll heads duct-taped to the armpits of a teddy bear Put the two ridiculous objects inside the two banker s boxes. Put the two mystery prizes in wrapped boxes or gift bags (with tissue so no one can peek). Each prize should be something small and inexpensive, but something kids would want: a cool keychain or backpack pin, a $5 itunes gift card, a yo-yo or Slinky, or something similar. Set up the table in the middle of the stage (or right in front of it), with the chairs facing each other. Pre-set the first banker s box on the table. Media Upbeat music to use as kids enter and exit the room Botanic Panic by Kristofer Maddigan Theme Slide Contentment Slide Bottom Line Slide Blank Bottom Line Slide 4. Praise and Worship (10 Minutes) End with CG:Transition Slide 5. CG: Word Video and CG:Transition Slide 6. Bible Story (15 Minutes) Storyteller Worship Leaders Bible 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

2 CONTENT and NOT CONTENT banners, made with poster board or butcher paper Sheets of paper one for everyone in Large Group, plus extras Several pre-made paper airplanes Hang the CONTENT banner on the right side of the room. Hang the NOT CONTENT banner on the left side of the room. Organize the paper in stacks of 10 (or whatever number makes sense for the size of your groups). Explain to your Worship Leaders that you ll need them to pass out the stacks of paper and pre-made airplanes during the story. Provide a stack of extra sheets, too, for groups that need them. Fold a number of paper airplanes beforehand, in case there are some kids in the room who can t make one. Media Bottom Line Slide Blank Bottom Line Slide 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

3 Bible Story Outline Week 1 That s All Right (Be Content: Paul in Prison) Philippians 4:11b-13 SETTING UP THE STORY Philippians: a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a church in Philippi Read Philippians 4:11b-13 Paul wrote those words while he was under arrest He hadn t done anything wrong, but the people in charge didn t like how he was telling everyone about Jesus HATERS GONNA HATE Paul s main purpose was to tell others about Jesus Some people probably called him names, told him to get out of town Have you ever been made fun of? How do you FEEL like reacting? (content/not content) Paul was able to be content because he trusted God NOT MY FAULT Remember, Paul was under arrest for no reason Have you ever been blamed for something you didn t do? Have you ever been treated unfairly? If you defend yourself and the situation doesn t change, how do you react? (content/not content) Paul said he had found a way to be content even in THOSE situations WRAPPING UP THE STORY Any of these situations could happen to you Sometimes it s super hard to be content BL: God can help you be okay no matter what. He is always with you The secret to being content is Jesus; He ll give you strength Choose contentment like Paul did 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

4 That s All Right Bible Story: That s All Right (Paul in Prison) Philippians 4:11b-13 Bottom Line: God can help you be okay no matter what. Memory Verse: Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has. Luke 12:15 (NIrV) Life App: Contentment Deciding to be okay with what you have Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. 1. Countdown 2. Announcements 3. CG:Transition Slide then Host Opener (5 minutes) SFX: Play high-energy music as kids enter. CG: Theme Slide HOST: Hey, everybody! I m so glad you re here in the izone. Whether you re here for the very first time or your 101st time, you re in the right place! Each month we take a close look at something we call a Life App something that God does IN us to change the world AROUND us. This month is all about contentment. CG: Contentment Slide Contentment is deciding to be okay with what you have. That s not easy, is it? It seems like we re always wanting MORE. There s always something else that you think might be better, newer, or shinier than what you have. But being content means that you choose to be okay with what God has given you. It s deciding that your stuff is good enough. Let s put that to the test, shall we? This whole month we ll be playing a game show called More or Less? Today we have two mystery prizes. (Hold up one of the mystery prize bags/boxes.) In order to win one of these mystery prizes, you ll need to play More or Less: Box of LIES! SFX: Botanic Panic by Kristofer Maddigan Let me get two contestants who don t have any food allergies. (To the two kids, as you pick them) You ll join me up here and sit facing each other at this table. Bring the two contestants to the table, which is set up with two chairs facing each other. The first banker s box is already set up on the table. (To first contestant) [First contestant s name], here s a box for you. [Second contestant s name] won t be able to see inside it, but you can lift up the lid and take a look. Once you look at the item inside, it s your job to describe it to [second contestant s name]. You can either describe what the item actually is, or you can make something up. It s [second contestant s] job to decide if you re telling the truth or not. Once she decides, we ll reveal what s actually in the box. If you successfully fake out [second contestant s name] and she guesses wrong, you get to pick out a mystery prize. If she guesses right, though, SHE gets to pick one! Got it? Let s go! Lead the two contestants through the game. Let the winner choose a mystery prize, but tell her not to open it yet. Tell her to stay on stage. Cheer for the kid who didn t win and dismiss him to his seat. (Optional: Give him a small consolation prize.) 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

5 That was fun, right? Let s play another round. I need two new contestants! Quickly choose two more contestants and put a new box on the table. Assign one of them to describe the item and one to guess. Lead the two contestants through the game. Let the winner choose a mystery prize, but tell him not to open it yet. Tell him to stay on stage. Cheer for the kid who didn t win and dismiss him to his seat. (Optional: Give him a small consolation prize.) So fun! (To the two winning contestants still on stage) Now, for the two of you up here, let me ask you one last thing before you crack open your mystery prizes. I have in my hand two packs of delicious Starbursts. Do either of you want to trade your mystery prize for one of these? Or will you be content with what you have? All right, let s see what your mystery prizes are. Open them up! Allow the two kids to think it over for a moment. Trade out the prizes for Starbursts if kids choose to do so. Let them open their prizes. (To audience) Amazing! Let s give all of our contestants a big hand. Dismiss contestants to their seats. (If either of the kids traded for the Starbursts) We re not even going to look at what was in your mystery prize that s part of being content with what you have! Remember, your stuff is good enough. Now it s time for us to stand up and sing to our God. Let s do it! Worship Leaders enter as Host exits. 4. Praise and Worship (10 Minutes) End with CG:Transition Slide 5. CG: Word Video and CG:Transition Slide 6. Bible Story (15 Minutes) CG: Blank Bottom Line Slide Storyteller enters as Worship Leaders exit The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

6 SETTING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: Hey, everyone. It s time for one of my favorite things to do checking out God s Word (hold up Bible) and sharing what it means with all of you! This month is all about contentment, and there is plenty in the Bible about that. Today we re looking at Philippians, chapter 4. The book of Philippians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a church in Philippi. Here is some of what Paul wrote. Open the Bible to Philippians 4:11b-13 (NIrV) and read. I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. I know what it s like not to have what I need. I also know what it s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength. Wow. Pretty straightforward. Paul said that he had learned to be content no matter what. But did you know that he wrote these very words while he was under arrest? It s true! He hadn t done anything wrong, but the people in charge arrested him because they didn t like how he was telling everyone about Jesus. They made him stay in a house like a prisoner. Actually, Paul s life was pretty hard, period. Even when he wrote these verses about being content no matter what, he was going through some pretty tough times. Here s where I need a little help from all of you. Each point I talk about is going to require you to make a choice or pick a side. The cool thing is how you re going to vote which way to go! Normally you d just raise your hand, but we like to kick it up a notch here in the izone. You re going to vote with paper airplanes. Leaders, here are some pieces of paper that you can pass out to everyone in your group. Worship Leaders enter and pass out stacks of paper to each Small Group Leader. Everyone, as soon as you get your piece of paper, go ahead and fold a simple paper airplane. If you need some help, ask your Leader. We ve also got some pre-made airplanes, so just raise your hand if you want one of those. I ll give you 30 seconds to make your airplane. Ready? GO! CG: Countdown Video Give the kids 30 seconds to make their airplanes. You can do this with a countdown on the screen, or you can use a timer on your phone. Just make sure the kids feel the urgency to work fast. Worship Leaders pass out the pre-made airplanes to any kids that need one. Then they exit. Got your flying votes? Great! Hold onto them for just a minute. Don t let them fly yet! Let s dig in to what Paul s was talking about in his letter. (Hold up Bible.) HATERS GONNA HATE STORYTELLER: Paul s main purpose in life was to tell others about Jesus anyone and everyone. He went where God sent him, and he said what God told him to say. The problem was, not everyone was thrilled about what he was doing. Some of the people probably called him names and told him to get out of town. What about you? Have you ever been made fun of? Have you ever been in a place where people weren t exactly nice to you? Yeah, I think we ve all experienced that before. Here s your first choice. Let me tell you both options before you throw your airplane. When people are mean to you, how do you FEEL like reacting honestly? 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

7 Choice one the NOT CONTENT side of the room over here (point to the banner on the left side of the room) is if you feel bad, you feel hurt, and you think about ways to get them back and to make them feel as bad as you do. Choice two the CONTENT side of the room (point to the banner on the right side of the room) is if you want to give the mean people hugs, pray for them, and bake them cookies. Which one? Remember, this is how you FEEL like reacting when someone treats you badly, not the way you SHOULD feel. Left, you want to get back at them. Right, it s prayers and cookies. Ready? Vote! Encourage the kids to throw their airplanes toward one side of the room or the other. (Point to the airplanes on the left side.) Wow. Looks like most of you are like me! When someone is mean to you if you re honest your first instinct is probably to want to be mean back to them. And wow... (point to the airplanes on the right side) if you threw your airplane over on this side, I want to be more like you! Paul was able to tell people about Jesus even though some people were really mean to him. He was able to be content no matter what happened, because he trusted God along the way. All right, time for round two. I ll give you 30 seconds to grab an airplane and make your way back to your seats. You probably won t get the airplane you made, but that s okay! This is your chance to be content with whichever airplane you get. Ready? Go! CG: Countdown Video Give the kids 30 seconds to grab an airplane and head back to their seats. NOT MY FAULT STORYTELLER: Okay. In his letter, Paul said he had learned to be okay no matter what. Remind me: Where was he when he wrote that? Yep. Stuck in a house like a prisoner. He was chained to a guard so he couldn t escape. Remember, Paul was under arrest for, really, no reason. It wasn t like he was a criminal. He was just telling people about Jesus! Here s a big question for you. Have you ever been blamed for something you didn t do? Pause for effect here, because this may hit home for a lot of kids. YOU weren t the one talking. It s not YOUR mess. Your friend made the noise. YOU weren t the one who broke the picture frame. But somehow, some way, you got blamed for it. And not only that, your parents or your teachers or your coach won t even listen to your side! It s like they don t even care! Has that ever happened to you? That s kind of like what Paul was dealing with, except on a much bigger level. Talk about being treated unfairly he was under arrest just for talking about Jesus! He wasn t even hurting anyone just talking and helping people and praying. So here s your last choice. Just like before, be honest. Let s say you get blamed for something or you re treated unfairly. Of course that doesn t mean you should just take it without defending yourself. But if you do that and the situation doesn t change, how do you react? Let me explain both sides. If you want to get back at the people who treated you badly... if you think other people should have to be miserable because things were unfair for you... then that s to the left. (Point to the NOT CONTENT banner.) If you decide to somehow be content even in an unfair situation that s to the right. (Point to the CONTENT banner.) 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church

8 Ready? Votes away! Again, encourage kids to vote honestly by throwing their paper airplanes. Listen. I ll be honest. This is hard. It s hard to stay content when you re blamed for something you didn t do. It s hard when you re treated unfairly. That doesn t mean you shouldn t stand up for yourself. But Paul said he had found a way to be content even in THOSE situations. The question is: Can you and I do that too? WRAPPING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: The truth is, any of these situations could happen to you. People might treat you in a mean way. Someone might treat you unfairly without fully understanding your side of the story. We ve ALL been through those things myself included. And sometimes it s super hard to be content. But Paul learned a great truth that we can remember, too. CG: Bottom Line Slide [Bottom Line] God can help you be okay no matter what. God is ALWAYS with you. He s always available. He s always ready to give you the strength you need to face anything! Listen again to the words Paul wrote. Open the Bible to Philippians 4:11b-13 (NIrV) and read. I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. I know what it s like not to have what I need. I also know what it s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength. The secret to being content? It s Jesus. You can choose to be okay no matter what, because He ll give you the strength to do it! Being content isn t something that comes easily or naturally. If we re honest, we re naturally pretty selfish. We just kind of want things the way we want them. But think about Paul. Somehow he was able to learn the secret of being content even after all the hard things he went through. Notice that he didn t say he was BORN content. It wasn t something that just magically appeared one day. Paul had to learn how to be content no matter what. He was able to choose contentment even in the tough times because of the strength that comes from knowing Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit. God can help you be okay no matter what. You can choose to be content, just like Paul did. When you believe and put your trust in Jesus, then you have His strength to help you. You have the power of His Holy Spirit living inside you. Walk over to the NOT CONTENT side of the room and pick up one of the paper airplanes. So maybe the next time things don t go your way, and you FEEL like your airplane is headed this direction (point to the NOT CONTENT banner), you can change course. You can choose to [Basic Truth] trust God no matter what. With His help, you can head this direction instead. Toss the airplane over toward the CONTENT side of the room. With His help, you be okay no matter what. You ll get to talk about that some more in Small Group. Let s go! At the end the Storyteller should pray for the group and dismiss kids to Small Group 7. Small Group (20-30 Minutes) SFX: Play high-energy music as the kids exit. CG: Theme Slide 2018 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Adapted by Ginghamsburg Church