K-2nd March 3-4, 2018 Obsessed Journey: No worries! Matthew 6:25-34 We can choose to trust Jesus instead of worrying! 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. Expect kids to have different learning styles, and playing styles! Some kids might need downtime to adjust to their surroundings, or just a little quiet time. Some kids will want to tell you everything about their week, or play an active game. Be flexible, and do whatever helps a kid feel most comfortable! As kids leave, remind them to get their flowers and birds! Today s story is from Matthew 6:25-35, and it s about a time when Jesus told his disciples that there s no need to worry about who will take care of us or how we ll get by, because he has taken care of everything, and everything belongs to him!
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. SPOON PICK-UP Split kids into pairs and blindfold one player in each pair. Scatter plastic spoons across the floor (space them out, so it s not too easy to find them). The blindfolded players have to crawl around the floor and gather up spoons, while their non-blindfolded partner helps them by saying directions, like crawl forward, "warmer, colder," or left/right etc. Let the first round of blindfolded partners collect spoons for 1 minute. Then let kids take their blindfolds off and see how many spoons everyone has collected. Now let partners switch roles. Collect and scatter the spoons across the floor again, and let the second round of blindfolded kids collect spoons with their partner s help for 1 minute. Let kids take turns switching and play multiple rounds. You can make the rounds shorter or longer, depending on the needs of the group. Make sure to collect the spoons and save them for the next service. Before you go to Large Group, you can ask kids how their week went. You can also remind kids of the expectations for Large Group behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader s instructions.
K-2nd If we re worrying about whether God can take care of us, that means we don t trust him! Make sure kids understand that instead of worrying or being afraid, we can trust him instead. CONNECT TIME REVIEW Main Goal: Review Connect Time and actively worship. Here s a link to one of today s videos: Saddleback Kids / Don t Worry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg1 LjFO99dA Welcome: Hi everybody! Welcome to Kids Club. Did you have fun playing that blindfold game? When you were blindfolded, did you worry you might bump into someone or get hurt? (Let kids respond.) Say: Yep, even something as simple as being blindfolded can be scary, because you don t know what s coming toward you, or where you re going! Say: Sometimes we worry in real life, too. We worry that God won t take care of us, or we won t get everything we need. We might get sad, scared, lonely or mad. That s what it means to worry about something. Has anyone ever been worried before? Say: Sometimes we worry about things because we re not sure what s going to happen next, or how things are going to turn out. There will always be something that you could worry about. That s just part of living in an imperfect world! Say: Let s watch a movie clip about a character who s really worried and nervous about something, even though she doesn t need to worry at all! Video: Sing / Don t You Worry Bout a Thing Ask: So what was the elephant nervous about in the beginning? (Let kids respond.)
WE ALL HAVE WORRIES Main Goal: Watch a movie clip and define what it means to worry, and why we do it! JESUS TELLS US NOT TO WORRY Main Goal: Watch a video about Matthew 6:25-34, and hear what Jesus says about not worrying. Say: She was clearly nervous to be on stage, and probably worried that people wouldn t like her, or that her singing wasn t good. But by the end, she was really confident! Say: We ALL stress and worry about things, whether we re young or old. Sometimes we worry that we won t have enough toys to play with, or maybe that we won t have enough food to eat. Maybe we worry when someone in our family argues, or when we get sick. Say: Something I worry about is (talk about a kid-friendly example of something that you worry or stress about). Ask: Do you think Jesus wants us to worry about things? (Let kids respond.) No way! Jesus actually talks about this very thing in the Bible. He had a group of friends who we call the disciples, and they followed him and listened to him all the time. But even they worried about things! Say: Let s watch a video and see what Jesus said to do instead of worrying and being afraid. Video: Bible Theatre / Don t Worry Say: Let s break this story down into a few parts. First, he talked about birds. Kind of a funny thing to bring up, right? Let s check out what he said: Slide: Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air. They don t plant or gather crops. They don t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren t you worth much more than they are? Say: Jesus is saying that if the birds can survive without worrying about food, so can we! Because we are waaaay more important to God than birds are! Say: Right now, I want to see all of you stand and show me your best impression of a bird! You can pretend to be whatever bird you want: an eagle, a flamingo, a penguin, whatever! (Let kids respond for a minute.) Great job! Say: Now let s see what he said next: Slide: Matthew 6: 28-30 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don t work or make clothing. But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed like one of these flowers. If that is how God dresses the wild grass, won t he dress you even better?
JESUS TELLS US NOT TO WORRY Main Goal: Watch a video about Matthew 6:25-34, and hear what Jesus says about not worrying, and trusting him instead. RESPONSE TIME AND WORSHIP Main Goal: Let kids focus on Jesus by worshipping and praying. Say: This is kind of a funny thing to say too! That we re better dressed than the flowers are? But it s true! We don t need to worry about clothes, or toys, or all the stuff we own, or if we ll have enough of it. If the flowers can be happy just as they are, than so can we. Because we are worth more to him than all the beautiful flowers in the world. Say: God cares for the flowers and the birds and US. What ELSE do you think He cares for? Let kids say things that they think that God takes care of. Then have everyone act like that animal or thing. For example, if someone says that God takes care of cats, all the kids will act like cats for about 10 seconds, then move on to another suggestion. Say: God loves and cares for everything that he created. God loves everything that we just acted out, and God loves you. And instead of worrying about what we ll eat or wear, or who we ll play with, God wants us to trust him instead. That means we believe that he will take care of us, no matter what! Say: The next time you worry, or maybe when you re afraid of something...keep your thoughts on Jesus. Think about how much he loves you, and how he ll protect you no matter what happens. When your mind is all filled up with Jesus, there s no room for worrying! Pray: Jesus, we know you love us more than anything in the world. But sometimes, it s hard to trust you. So please remind us everyday that instead of worrying, we can trust in you instead. Say: Let s show some trust right now. We re going to worship Jesus, which means we re focusing ONLY on him. To do that, let s all stand up, and if you want, spread out or find a new spot. Music Video: This Little Light Music Video: Open My Eyes
Goal: Kids will (1) understand what Jesus tells us about worrying, (2) recognize how to replace worrying with trust and (3) identify how we can trust Jesus instead of worrying within our own lives. Why? Worrying and anxiety isn t just for adults kids experience it too, and we need to equip them with how to place their trust in Jesus instead of being afraid that Jesus won t give us what we need. Tip: There s two crafts in today s activity. Kids can do one, or both! REVIEW THE STORY 1. Jesus told today s story to his followers, the disciples. What things do you think the disciples worried about? What would you worry about if you were one of the disciples back in Jesus day? 2. What two things in nature did Jesus talk about? Why did Jesus talk about birds and flowers? 3. What are some things that you worry about? a. What do you worry about at school? b. What do you worry about at home? c. What do you worry about with friends? 4. How can we get rid of worrying? MAKE IT PERSONAL Say: Jesus said even the birds and flowers don t worry, because they know God will take care of them. Let s create some flowers and birds as a reminder that if God will take care of them, he ll take care of us too! (Kids can create one or both of these crafts depending on the time available. There s flexibility here for you to choose which craft to do first, or which to spend longer time on, depending on kids interest.) Set out markers, glue sticks, tape and scissors. Paper Plate Birds (supplies needed for each kid): 1 paper plate 1 set of googly eye stickers 1 orange beak 5 feathers 3 ribbon strips See instructions for each craft on next page.* (Continued on next page.)
PAPER PLATE BIRDS Let kids color their paper plate. Bend the plate in half, and put the eye stickers, beak and feathers on one side of the folded plate. The beak is an orange square which be folded to make a 3D beak. Tape three pieces of ribbon to the end of the plate like a tail (kids can use multiple colors) Let kids decorate further if they want! They can draw wings, patterns, shapes, etc. COFFEE FILTER FLOWERS Give each kid 2 coffee filters (kids can make 1 or 2 flowers, depending on time). Color the coffee filters. This will be the flower part, with petals, etc (If possible, demonstrate this for kids before they begin, or while they re coloring). Fold the coffee filter in half. Pinch the middle in your fingers and scrunch it together Fan out the un-scrunched part to make a flower. Tape around the pinched part (optional).
K-2nd March 3-4, 2018 What does Jesus say about worrying? How can we be more like the birds and flowers? Connect Time Item Usage Details Provided by Blindfold 1 per pair of kids, reused Amazon: Meta-U 50 Pcs Wholesale Eye Mask Plastic spoons 300 plastic spoons per room, reused Sam s Club, Member s Mark White Plastic Spoons, Item #988514 Item Usage Details Provided by Adventure Bible for Early Readers 1 per large group, reused Biblesbythe Case.com site Item Usage Details Provided by Coloring Page Birds and Flowers 1 per kid Page 9, 8.5x11 paper, black & white site Markers/Scissors/Glue sticks 1 set per small group, reused Scotch Tape 3 rolls per group, reused Staples, Item #483534 site Coffee filters 2 per kid Sam s Club, Item # Item #849189 Paper plate 1 per kid Sam s Club, Item #413169 Large Group Small Group Eye sticker site 1 set of eyes per kid Oriental Trading, Item #IN-57/6108 Orange beak 1 beak per kid Staples, Item #491617, *sites cut into 1 squares to provide paper, site to cut Feathers 5 per kid Oriental Trading, Item #48/3965 Curling Ribbon- Red 1 roll per room Party City Curling Ribbon (350 yards) Curling Ribbon- Yellow 1 roll per room Party City Curling Ribbon (350 yards) Curling Ribbon- Purple 1 roll per room Party City Curling Ribbon (350 yards)
What does Jesus say about worrying? How can we be more like the birds and flowers? Read more about this week s story in Matthew 6:25-34.
K-2nd 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website) Video: Sing / Don t You Worry Bout a Thing (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skq4iqmt58o) Video: Bible Theatre / Don t Worry (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgavwkqcymu) Slide: Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air. They don t plant or gather crops. They don t put away crops in storerooms. But your Father who is in heaven feeds them. Aren t you worth much more than they are? Slide: Matthew 6: 28-30 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the wild flowers grow. They don t work or make clothing. But here is what I tell you. Not even Solomon in all his royal robes was dressed like one of these flowers. If that is how God dresses the wild grass, won t he dress you even better? Music Video: This Little Light (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wil2qgjiaqy&list=rdn1bgj2wxbo0&index=10) Music Video: Open My Eyes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jah0avxdgj0)