As kids leave, remind them to use the card they made to make someone feel special this week.

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.

*In small group, kids will be making cards. If you want, you can fold the cards in half ahead of time, or you can just help kids fold it in half during Small Group.

Today, we’re talking about how Jesus taught us to treat people. He told us that when we do something for even the “least important” person, it’s like we’re doing it for him!

June 17-18, 2017

Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 5:1-12Jesus treated the most “unimportant” people as if they were important.

Treat others better than ourselves

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.

AN UNFAIR CHALLENGE *You can split each color group into two groups if you have a lot of kids.

● Line kids up on the wall and give them each a colored dot sticker (red, blue, green, or yellow).

● Have kids stand in their color groups.● Their challenge is to work as a team for ONE minute and create a castle out of

geometric blocks. (Use the stopwatch or your cell phone.) Do this challenge twice, in two different ways:

○ First challenge:■ Before you hand out blocks, say, “I forgot to tell you something very

important… The red and blue teams are the best teams, so they get TWO sets of blocks. Green and yellow aren’t as important as red and blue. So they only get one set.”

■ Build for one minute, then admire their work.○ Second Challenge:

■ Say, “I’ve changed my mind. I actually like green and yellow a lot more than the colors red or blue. So this time, green and yellow get two sets of blocks.”

■ Have teams switch blocks or locations.■ Build for one minute, then admire their work.

● Tell the kids we will talk about this experiment in large group.

TALK ABOUT IT● Was it fun when one team got more blocks than the others? Why?● What was the best/worst part of your week?

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.

Goal: Kids will (1) understand that Jesus wants us to treat others as special and important and (2) identify specific people and actions we can take to obey Jesus.

Why? Jesus was pretty clear about how we should treat others. Our treatment of others is actually our treatment of Jesus!

Tip: During part of Small Group, ask kids if they gave away a Kids’ Club CD to a friend yet, and if they invited them to Kids’ Club! If they did, how did it go? If they didn’t, who do they plan on asking?

REVIEW THE STORY1. Who is it easy to treat nicely?2. Who is it hard to treat nicely? (direct kids to archetypes like bullies, annoying

siblings, etc.; not specific people) 3. How does it feel to be treated like we’re not important (refer to the Connect Time

game and the rusty cars)?4. What does Jesus say about how we should treat people?5. Why does Jesus want us to treat everybody as special and important?

MAKE IT PERSONAL● ASK: Who can we start showing more love to? (Help them come up with ideas like:

opposite team at the soccer game, a neighbor, a lonely kid at school, their teacher, a sibling, etc.)

● Using the verse card, read 1 John 4:7 as a group: “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become a child of God and knows God.”

● Next, kids should choose a person they want to make feel special or important. (It could be a friend, family member, teacher, classmate, Kids’ Club volunteer, or maybe even someone they don’t know that well yet!)

● Tell kids that one way to make someone feel special is to make a card for them, so we’re going to make a special card for the person you chose!

● Give each kid 1 card template and 3 stickers. Set out markers.○ Fold it in half. (The heart image should be on the inside. You can fold cards

beforehand, or let kids do it now.)○ Choose a person to give the card to (family member, friend, teacher, anyone!)

(Continued on next page.)

● (Continued)○ When the person opens their card, there will be a big heart that says

1 John 4:7: Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become a child of God and knows God.

○ Decorate the card with the stickers and markers.○ If kids can write, encourage them to write a note inside (if kids are old

enough.) They can also draw pictures, symbols and anything else that will that person how special they are.

● While kids draw, talk about other ways we can treat people special, like smiling and waving at a neighbor, telling somebody on the other team “good job,” inviting a lonely kid to play with us, etc.

● Have kids share their card with you or each other, and remind kids that when we treat others as special, or important, we’re obeying Jesus!

*If kids can’t think of someone, tell them to make one for themselves, and pretend it’s from Jesus. Because Jesus DEFINITELY thinks they are special and important!

*Pray together, asking Jesus to help us love others (refer to specific people kids shared).

Extra time? Give kids a coloring sheet.

Keep in mind some kids still may be brand new to your room. As they come in, tell them where to sit, and act really excited to see each of them!

We can’t provide previews of the Cars clips. Check the location of the clip on the last page of this lesson document to preview it using a DVD or on iTunes.

*Click to play intro music.● Say: Hi everybody! It’s great to see you! Did any of you get

a new Kids’ Club CD last week? (Let kids respond.) And how about the second CD you got, did anybody give it away yet? (Let kids respond.) Great job guys! Those CD’s are a really fun way to show friends what Kids’ Club is like, and to invite them to check it out!

● Say: Today, we’re going to be talking more about how Jesus taught us to treat others. Let’s think about how we treated others in Connect Time. During one round, you got extra blocks. How did that feel? (Let kids respond.) But how did it feel when the OTHER teams got extra blocks?

● Say: Yeah, not very good at all! It doesn’t feel good when we’re not treated special, and today, we’re going to see what Jesus said about it.

● Say: Let’s watch a video of a time some people didn’t get treated very nicely in the movie Cars. The main character, Lightning McQueen, wants to be the fastest, most famous race car. As soon as he starts to win some trophies, he doesn’t want to talk to boring old cars— he wants to only be with cool, new, fast cars like him!

● Say: As we watch, pretend YOU’RE one of the rusty cars in the movie. Think about how you’d feel if Lightning McQueen was treating you like you weren’t very important or special.

WELCOME AND INTRO

Main Goal: Review Connect Time and introduce the lesson.

Notes:

HOW IT FEELS TO BE TREATED AS “UNIMPORTANT”

Main Goal: Think about what it would feel like to be treated unkindly; use a Cars clip to illustrate.

JESUS CALLS US TO TREAT THE “LEAST IMPORTANT” PEOPLE WELL

Main Goal: Think about how we should treat everyone as special, no matter important they are, or are not.

PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND GOATS

Main Goal: Understand why Jesus told the parable about the sheep and the goats, and how it shows that when we treat people badly, we’re treating Jesus badly.

● Say: It might sort of feel like what happened in the Connect Time game, when the other team got more blocks. Let’s take a look:

● Video Clip: Cars 3● Ask: Wow, so you guys pretended you were the rusty cars

in the clip. How do you think those guys felt? (Let kids respond—or, if you have a young/quiet group, help them by summarizing it in your own words.)

● Say: Yep, they probably felt sad, maybe they started feeling like they didn’t really matter to McQueen. Even though he pretended to be nice to them, was he happy to be talking to those cars? (Let kids say: no!)

● Say: So those rusty cars probably didn’t feel very special. And sometimes we don’t treat people very well either. We might ignore a person we don’t like or a little brother or sister who gets in our way.

● Say: Close your eyes and think in your head about a time you treated somebody rudely, just because you didn’t like them or didn’t want to be with them. (Pause.)

● Ask: Now, open your eyes. Do you guys think JESUS wants us to treat some people nicely and some people rudely? (Let kids say: No!) Of course not! In fact, Jesus tells a story to teach us how to treat others.

● Ask: Does anybody know a special name for a story that teaches us a lesson? (Let kids respond.) Yes, a parable. And in one parable, Jesus compares himself to a shepherd who will one day separate all the nations in the world into sheep…and goats.

● (Image: Sheep/goats) Jesus will turn to the sheep (point to the screen/don’t indicate any kids in this) and welcome them into God’s perfect kingdom. He’ll say this to them:

● Slide: Matthew 25:35-36: I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. And you invited me in. I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.

● Say: Sounds pretty nice, huh? But Jesus said the sheep will say, (act shocked) “When did this happen?!” because they won’t remember seeing Jesus hungry or in prison…

PARABLE OF THE SHEEP AND GOATS (Continued)

JESUS WANTS US TO TREAT EVERYONE WITH LOVE

Main Goal: Understand that when we follow Jesus, we should love to those who we might normally treat unkindly.

● Say: So Jesus will tell them this: ● Slide: Matthew 25:40b: Anything you did for one of the

least important of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

● Say: Wow! Anything they did for the least important people, they were doing for Jesus. So when they were nice, it was like they were being nice to Jesus. But if they had decided to be mean…it was like they were being mean to….? (Let kids say: Jesus.) That’s right. Jesus wants us to treat others the way we would treat him!

● Say: So let’s think about that. Who does Jesus want us to treat with love? (Let kids say: Everyone.) Exactly! But this can be hard. So let’s test this idea.

● Say: I’m going to show you guys a picture on the screen. If we’re supposed to treat that person nicely, as if they are special or important, make a heart with your hands, like this (model). If you don’t have to be kind and loving toward that person, make an X with your hands, like this (model). Ready?

● Go through the following 5 pictures:○ (Image: A helpful person)○ (Image: A sick person)○ (Image: An angry person)○ (Image: A bully)○ (Image: A happy person)

● Say: Great job! This was a kind of a tricky game, because Jesus wants us to treat EVERYONE with love. Remember, we should treat everyone the way we would treat Jesus. It’s sometimes harder to treat certain people with love, but that’s what Jesus wants us to do!

● Say: The cool part of today’s story is that no matter what, God loves all of us. And he wants us to show love to everyone too…even people we don’t get along with.

● Say: Of course, it can be really hard to show love to someone who isn’t nice to us…who might be on a different team than us…or someone who might annoy us. But, Jesus says he wants us to treat everybody kindly, with love, as if they are important and special.

RESPONSE TIME

Main Goal: Give kids a physical way to show that sin and brokenness, while they may hurt, aren’t the end of God’s (or our) story

PRAYER AND WORSHIP

Main Goal: Pray as a group, and give God all our attention and energy!

● Say: Remember, whatever we do toward other people—no matter who they are—it’s as if we’re doing that to Jesus. So right now, close your eyes, and imagine someone who you’ve treated badly in the past. (Let kids respond.)

● Say: Now, keep your eyes closed, and imagine that person is Jesus. Would you treat him the same way? (Let kids respond.) No way! So as you interact with people you know, or don’t know, this week, remember that Jesus wants you to treat them the way you would HIM.

● Say: Let’s look at one more verse that pretty much sums up everything we’ve talked about today.

● Slide: 1 John 4:7: Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become a child of God and knows God.

● Say: So whether someone is really important, or maybe not so important in our eyes, God wants us to love each other no matter what. AND, don’t forget this….He loves YOU, because you are his child, and he wants you to be treated as special too.

● Pray: Lord, we know you want us to treat others as we would treat you, but sometimes it’s really, really hard to do that in real life. We ask you to be with us this week and help us show love to people, no matter who they are.

● Set up worship: Let’s worship God now, and sing to him about all the amazing things he’s already done in our lives, and the incredible things still to come!

● Music Video: Do Like You Do● Music Video: Before I Go

Tell me about Paul and Silas. How did they share Jesus?

Kindergarten-2ndJune 17-18, 2017

Connect TimeItem Usage Details Provided by

Colored dot sticker

1 sticker per kid (distribute evenly

between red, yellow, blue and green)

Avery Rainbow Pack Round Color Coding Labels; Sam’s Club; Item

#362098KC Central

Foam Building Blocks 1 block per kid, reused each service

Fantastic Blocks; Oriental Trading; Item #IN-60/4001 KC Central

Small GroupItem Usage Details Provided by

Coloring Page 1 per kid Black and white paper, Page 10 site

Markers 1 set per small group, reused In room site

Card template 1 per kid 8.5x11 cardstock, color, double sided, Page 11-12 site

Star Sticker 3 per kid Funky Star Roll of Stickers; Oriental Trading, Item #IN-12/1975 KC Central

Verse card 1 per small group, reused

8.5x11 cardstock, black and white, Page 13 site

Large GroupItem Usage Details Provided by

Adventure Bible for Early Readers 1 per room site

Card template

Card template side 2

1 John 4:7: Dear friends,

let us love one another, because love co

mes from

G

od. E

veryone who loves

has becom

e a child of Go

d

and knows G

od.

1. Song slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website)

2. Video: Cars Clip 3 (KC/SM media videos songs>videos>movie clips>cars clips)3. Image: Sheep/goats (put sheep image on right side of screen, and goat image on left

side of screen)4. Slide: Matthew 25:35-36: I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty.

And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. And you invited me in. I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.

5. Slide: Matthew 25:40b: Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did for me.

6. Image: A helpful person7. Image: A sick person8. Image: An angry person9. Image: A bully

10. Image: A happy person11. Slide: 1 John 4:7: Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God.

Everyone who loves has become a child of God and knows God.12. Music Video: Do Like You Do (https://vimeo.com/168067671) 13. Music Video: Before I Go (KC/SM media videos songs>videos>songs with slides)

Kindergarten-2nd