Get Their Attention! (3 minutes) Materials: Magnifying Glass, Detective Notes

INTRODUCE yourself and the kids by SAYING:

PASS the magnifying glass to each kid, and after everyone has had a turn, SAY:

___________________________________________________________

Bible Story (7 minutes) Materials: Detective Notes, Drawing Utensils, My First Message

GIVE each child their own sheet of Detective Notes and complete the top section.

READ “Creation of Heaven and Earth” on pp. 11-16 of the My First Message. After the story, ASK:

ASK kids to close their eyes & bow their heads. Pray for the group by SAYING:

Hey! My name is ________, and I’m so glad all of you are here today for our new series, “Mystery Manor”! We’re going to be like detectives, searching for clues that will help us understand the answers to questions we have about God. Let’s pass this magnifying glass around. When it comes to you, tell us your name and take a look at your fingerprint through the magnifying glass. Let us know us what you see.

Did you realize God made you and there is no one else who has the same fingerprint as you? Knowing that God made you can help you answer today’s mystery question:

Is God Real?

If we are going to discover the answer to this question, we’ve got to work like detectives and take some Detective Notes (show). These notes lead us to the Bible, the best book for finding truth!

1. What did God create? (Everything that you see & all that you don’t see)

2. True or False: God made everything out of Play-Doh. (False: God SPOKE and everything appeared)

3. On what day did God make light and dark? (Day One) Can anyone you know make light just appear without touching anything? (No!)

4. On what day did God make the oceans? (Day Five) Do you know anybody who can make oceans? (No!)

5. How can we know God is real from this story? (We see the things He made and know that they are impossible for people to make.)

So here’s the answer to our mystery question & what we Need to Know today:

God is Real! (thumbs up) He Made Things(pound fists) That Are Impossible (cross arms back and forth) For People to Make! (thumbs to chest)

Heavenly Father, sometimes it’s hard to believe in you because we can’t see you. Thank you for showing us that you are real by all the things you have made! Help us to grow in our faith. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Question: Is God Real? Need to Know:

God is Real! (thumbs up)

He Made Things (pound fists)

That Are Impossible (cross arms back and forth)

For People to Make! (thumbs to chest)

Bible Story:

Creation of Heaven and Earth

Genesis 1-2 Materials: / Magnifying Glass

/ Detective Notes

/ Drawing Utensils

/ My First Message

/ Stamp Pad

/ Hand Sanitizer

/ Candy

/ Filler Guide

K-3 Small Group Week 1

Application Activity (6 minutes) Materials: Drawing Utensils, Detective Notes, Stamp Pad

1. Collect evidence for today’s mystery question by having the group name things that are impossible to make and allow them to draw those things in the “Evidence” section on their Detective Notes. (Ex: trees, flowers, sun, animals)

2. Since God made people, allow each child to stamp their fingerprint and add it to the “Evidence” section. Then, SAY:

___________________________________________________________

Wrap It Up (4 minutes) Materials: Hand Sanitizer, Candy, Filler Guide

INTRODUCE the series Memory Verse by saying it and doing the motions a couple of times. Afterwards, SAY:

Once everyone’s eyes are closed, PLACE a piece of candy in each child’s hand and instruct them to keep their eyes closed and eat the candy. After they eat their candy, instruct kids to open their eyes. Afterwards, SAY:

ASK the Review Questions below.

USE Filler Guide to keep kids engaged in small group.

All the evidence needed to answer the question, “Is God Real?” is really all around us.

And that’s what we need to know today! Say it with me!

God is Real! (thumbs up) He Made Things(pound fists) That Are Impossible (cross arms back and forth) For People to Make! (thumbs to chest)

When we believe that God is real, even though we can’t see him, we have faith and God rewards us! I’ve got a reward for you today if you will have faith and trust me!

First, let’s sanitize our hands. (Pass hand sanitizer to each child.)

Everyone close your eyes and open one hand. When you feel an object in your hand, have faith that it is good and put it in your mouth. I’ll let you know when you can open your eyes.

I’m so proud of you for having faith and trusting me. You did a great job today as detectives. You answered the question, “Is God Real?” and now you can have faith that He is real, because He makes things that are impossible for people to make!

1. In Large Group, how did Parker and Stevie discover that God is real? (He made things that are all around us; He made things that are impossible for people to make)

2. Can we know that God is real, even though we can’t see Him? (Yes)

Application Activity Summary:

Kids will name things impossible for people to make & draw them on their Detective Notes.

Need to Know: God is Real!

(thumbs up)

He Made Things (pound fists)

That Are Impossible (cross arms back and forth)

For People to Make! (thumbs to chest)

Memory Verse:

But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (point up) Hebrews 11:6

K-3 Small Group Week 1

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Memory Verse

Hebrews 1 1 :6

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“ IS GOD REAL?”

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DETECTIVE NOTES

MYSTERY

Wk 1 - K-3

Mystery Manor Filler Guide (ES)

Week 1: / K-3: Allow kids to “investigate” things using the magnifying glass. / 2-5: Play a game similar to the Application Activity.

o Allow kids to pair up and use their finger to draw one letter of a word at a time on their partner’s back.

o The partner will try to figure out what word is being spelled!

Week 2: / Play “Pictionary” using the white board and dry erase marker.

o Draw a picture (tree, dog, car, flower, etc.) and allow kids to guess what it is. o Allow kids to have a turn drawing.

/ Play “Hangman” using the white board and dry erase marker.

Week 3: / Play “Add ‘Em Up!”

o Say a number larger than six.

o Allow kids to take turns rolling the die, adding the number rolled each time. (Ex: if the first child rolls a two and the second child rolls a five, the total is seven.)

o The first child to reach the number you said wins!

/ Talk with the group about different things they can read in their Bibles this week!

Week 4: / See if kids can come up with other popular quotes from their favorite TV shows, movies,

and songs. Allow the rest of the group to guess who said that quote! / Play “I Spy” with items around the room.

Week 5: / Play “Bingo” again, allowing kids to get bingo in different ways.

o Four corners

o The letter “X”

o Fully covered

/ Play the Memory Verse Game again, trying to go as fast as you can!

Week 6: / Play the Application Activity again, making the targets harder to hit. / Play “Hot Potato” with the beanbag

Week 7: / Review each bead on the Faith Bead Necklace, allowing kids to tell you what each

bead stands for. / Review the Memory Verse (on back) with the group, so they can win a prize next week!

Week 8: / Play “Secret Detective”.

o Have all kids close their eyes. o Choose one child by tapping him/her on the shoulder. o Allow kids to open their eyes. Give one child three guesses of who you picked!

/ Play “Use the Clues”. o Give three kids a “character description.” (Teacher, firefighter, movie star, etc.) o They will give “clues” to the rest of the group (“You would see me at school,”

“You would call me in an emergency,” “You might want my autograph,” etc.). o See if the group can guess who each person is!

Detective Notes: Kids can draw and color a picture on the back of their detective notes each week!

Quick Games: If you have time at the end of the Small Group Lesson, here are some quick games you can play to keep kids engaged in small group through check out. / Mystery Memory Game

o Place several items from your small group bin in front of the kids. o Give them 45 seconds to look at the supplies, then take them all away. o See if kids can remember all the supplies!

/ Secret Mission o Whisper a different secret mission to each child. (Ex: make an animal noise,

use the word “Barney” in a sentence, use only words that start with “D”, etc.) o See if each child can complete their secret mission while continuing a

conversation with the group. (Use “Get to Know You Questions” below.) / Telephone / Ninja

o Kids stand in a circle with hands together. On the count of three, kids will get into their “ninja pose.”

o Start with one child. He can swipe his arm toward another player, and then freeze. The other player may dodge the attack, but then must freeze.

o If the attacker’s hand touches the defender, the defender must take one hand out.

o Continue going around the circle. Once a player has both hands out, he/she is out. The winner is the last one standing!

/ Follow the Leader o Use small motions (facial expressions, arm movements, etc.) to conserve

space!

Get to Know You Questions: Ask these questions to get to know your kids during any free time you may have. / If you were a detective, would you use fancy gadgets to solve your mysteries? What

is one gadget you could invent that would help you? / What is your favorite story to read in the Bible? / If you were solving a mystery, who is one person you would want to help you? / What kind of games do you like to play with your friends? / If you could have one meal with all your favorite foods, what would you eat? / What is something that you would like to learn how to do?

Two Questions: At the end of each day, we want kids to be able to answer the following questions—feel free to ask your group these at any time: / Did you have fun? (Yes) / What did you learn? (Today’s Need to Know)

Series Memory Verse (Motions are optional for 4-5):

“But without faith (cover eyes) No one (shake head)

Can please God. (point up) We must believe (hand over heart)

That God is real (nod head) And that He rewards everyone (hands out in front)

Who searches for Him.” (point up) Hebrews 11:6