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252 Groups May 2020, Week 4 K–5 Starter

©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).

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252® Groups Group Experiences for K-5th Grades

Keep Holding On

Bible Story: Keep Holding On (Stephen) • Acts 6:1–7:60 Bottom Line: Keep going because God knows the end of the story. Memory Verse: Let us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:9 (NIrV) Life App: Determination—Deciding it’s worth it to finish what you started Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

K–5th Grade Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes) 2. Pass Along Pictures Made to Create: an activity that explores spiritual ideas through the process of drawing, building, and designing What You Need: Paper; markers or crayons What You Do:

• Gather kids in a circle and pass out a piece of paper to each kid. • Instruct them to place their paper in portrait orientation and fold the paper in thirds horizontally. • Tell kids to draw a head in the top third of their paper. The head should be somehow inspired by

their favorite food. (Anything goes, as long as it somewhat resembles a head!) • When they are finished, instruct them to position their papers so only the middle third can be

seen. • Instruct everyone to pass their papers to the left. • On their “new” paper, tell kids to draw a torso inspired by an animal. • When they’re finished, they should position their papers so that only the bottom third can now be

seen. • Everyone passes their papers to the left again. • On the bottom third of the paper, invite kids to draw legs and feet or a “bottom half” inspired by a

mode of transportation. • Once these are finished, pass them to the left again. • Kids can unfold the papers and then give their creations a name. • Let everyone see how the pictures turned out.

What You Say: “None of these creations ended up with a bottom that matched their tops! When you designed the head of your picture, you had no idea what would happen by the end, but look how cool these are. [Transition] In our lives, we might not know what happens next, or the end of every situation,

http://www.whatisorange.org/



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but we can keep going while we’re “in the middle.” Let’s go hear more about that in Large Group.” Lead your student(s) in Large Group. Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. 1. Speedy Stories [Talk about God | Bible Story Review] Made to Play: an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and working as a group What You Need: “Speedy Story Pictures” Activity Pages (Pages 6-15), masking tape, timer app or stopwatch What You Do:

• Tape a “Speedy Story Picture” to each child’s back. • Tell them to work together to get into the order of the Bible story. Time them as they do this. • Once they’re in the correct order, stop the clock and announce how long it took them. • Invite older kids to lead the group to retell the story, using the pictures on their backs.

o Having the pictures taped to their backs will cause kids to have to work together and consult with each other.

o Encourage kids to add details they remember about the story from Large Group. • Then instruct kids to close their eyes while you change up the pictures on their backs. • Challenge them to play again and beat their time. • Play as many rounds as time allows and see how quickly they can get the story together.

What You Say: “This was a fast story! But it reminds me of what Stephen did in our Bible story. When he was asked about Jesus, he started at the beginning and told everyone what God had done in the past to prepare for Jesus’ coming. “Stephen told the group the story they already knew, but then he gave them a new ending: that God had sent Jesus to rescue people from sin—even them. They were not expecting this ending, and that’s why they got so angry with him. Stephen even told them about the ending to this current story—that he would soon be with Jesus in heaven. “Stephen kept going, kept sharing the story of Jesus, and kept inviting people to follow Jesus, even though he knew that his part of the story would end soon. He showed us how to [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story. Stephen trusted that God would make sure everyone knew about Jesus and that God would welcome him into heaven to live forever with Jesus.”




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* 2. Story Circle [Live for God | Application Activity] Made to Create: an activity that explores spiritual ideas through the process of drawing, building, and designing What You Need: “Story Circle Beginnings” and “Story Circle Endings” (Activity Pages)(Pages 16-17) What You Do:

• Gather the group in a circle, and choose one person to begin. • The first kid draws a Story Circle Beginnings card and reads it out loud. (Help younger readers,

if necessary.) • The person to the left then adds one or two sentences to the story that’s been started. • Pass the story around this way, with each person adding a sentence or two. • When you reach the person to the right of the original story starter, they draw a Story Circle

Endings card and read it aloud, summing up the story. • Choose a new person to begin a story and play again. • You might need to add some ground rules: no stories about violence, kissing, or flatulence. • Play as long as interest holds.

What You Say: “Some of these stories didn’t make a lot of sense! And their endings definitely didn’t match their beginnings! “Have you ever felt like you were in the middle of a story that doesn’t quite make sense? Maybe your best friend—your loyal buddy—suddenly decides they don’t want to play with you anymore. Maybe grownups in the house are fighting even though they’re supposed to love each other. (Allow kids to share a quick story, if they want to. Thank them for sharing and offer encouragement that God knows what’s going to happen, even in the middle of scary or confusing times.) “There are a lot of confusing things in our lives—in the middle of the story—but I want you to know that you can [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story. Remember that God loves you and is on your side. He wants you to follow Jesus and live forever with Him. Nothing that happens to you ‘in the middle’ can ever, ever change that.” Optional Discussion Questions for Older Kids If you lead 4th, 5th, or 6th graders, consider asking these discussion questions:

• When was a time you were scared but you kept doing what you were supposed to anyway? • How does knowing who God is and that He’s always with us help us keep going in the middle of

something hard, scary, or confusing? • Is there a verse or a Bible story that can help you [Bottom Line] keep going because God

knows the end of the story?




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3. Story Search [Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity] Made to Explore: an activity that extends learning through hands on experimentation and discovery What You Need: Bibles, several books with “Memory Verse Cards” (Activity Pages) (Pages 18-19) hidden in them What You Do:

• Divide kids into two teams and line them up at opposite sides of your area. • Tell them that the Memory Verse Cards are hidden in the books around the room. • Kids will take turns going to a book and looking for a card in it. • As soon as the first person returns to the team, it’s the next person’s turn. • If a kid brings back a card that the team already has, that kid must hide it in a different book than

the one they found it in, and return to their team empty handed. • The first team to find all the verse cards and put them in order wins.

What You Say: “There were a lot of stories to check out here! I’m glad you found what you needed in them. But when life doesn’t make sense, you probably can’t find the answer in here (hold up a book from the game). The story of God and God’s people in the Bible reminds us that we can [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story.” [Make It Personal] (Share your favorite Bible story with the group and the way it encourages you to keep going because God will care for you in the end just like He did in the story. Invite kids to share as well.) Pray and Dismiss [Pray to God | Prayer Activity] Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding What You Need: Bible What You Do:

• Gather the group in a circle, and place the Bible on your lap. • Remind them that the Bible is the true story of God and His people, and it tells us that God loves

us forever. That’s the end of the most important story. • Pass the Bible to the kid on your left and say, “[Kid’s name], I know you can [Bottom Line]

keep going because God knows the end of the story.” • Encourage the kid on your left to pass the Bible to the next kid and repeat, “[Kid’s name], I know

you can [Bottom Line] keep going because God knows the end of the story. “ • Continue all the way around the circle, ending with the Bible on your lap. Close in prayer.

What You Say: “Dear God, we trust You and we trust that at the end of all our stories, Your love will be with us forever. We believe we can have determination through hard times because You are the end of our story; You will never leave us. Thank You for your faithfulness. Amen.”




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What to Do:Print one set for each small group.

©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.May 2020, Week 4, K-5 Starter

Speedy Story Pictures 1/10



Story Circle Beginnings

Once upon a time, a princess lived in a castle

made of cheese. She had a lot of feelings about this!

On Christmas Eve,a mysterious present was

left under the tree at a children’s hospital.

Sometime in the future, a robot discovers a mysterious

plant covered in bright orange flowers. It smells like

something familiar.

Long ago and far away, a ship sailed across an ocean

filled with dragons. The sailors didn’t know if the

dragons were friendly or not.

It would have been the perfect beach day if it weren’t

for those pesky seagulls. No one knew where they

came from or why they were covered with toothpaste.

On an ordinary Tuesday I checked the laundry

basket, and you won’t believe what I found in there!

What to Do:Print and cut apart one set for each small group.


Story Circle Endings

And they all lived happily ever after on the strange planet

with banana flavored air.

They all ate cookies and milk and spaghetti and cantaloupe

and took a long nap.

No one knows how they disappeared but

sometimes you can hear them chatting if you listen to an

empty Cheez-It® box.

And that’s why we have National Doughnut

Day every year.

So now you know how shoelaces are made!

I forgot the ending to this story but I know it had the words “xylophone” and

“monkey” in it.

What to Do:Print two copies on cardstock for each small group. These will be used for two weeks.

©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.May 2020, Weeks 4 and 5, K-5 Starter

Memory Verse Cards, NIrV

“Let us

tired of

At the

we will

a crop

give up.”

not become

doing good.

right time

gather

if we don’t

Galatians 6:9, NIrV

What to Do:Print two copies on cardstock for each small group. These will be used for two weeks.

©2020 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.May 2020, Weeks 4 and 5, K-5 Starter

Memory Verse Cards, NIV

“Let us

weary

for at the

we will

if we

give up.”

not become

in doing good,

proper time

reap a harvest

do not

Galatians 6:9, NIV

grades keep holding onlifechange.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/k5-activity-week-4.pdflet’s go...

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