prelude story worship home social 15 minutes 25...

S E P T E M B E R G R A D E S

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PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME

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Statement of Faith

ABOUT GODGod is the one and only true God, yet He exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator, so everything belongs to Him and is under His control. God is holy, so He is righteous, majestic, and loving. God is all knowing and purposeful, so He’s at work to bring about His will. No person, thing, or idea compares to God.

ABOUT THE SCRIPTURESGod reveals Himself to us through the Bible, and it is 100% accurate, reliable, and authoritative.

ABOUT PEOPLEPeople are made in God’s image and for His pleasure. But everybody falls short of God’s intention, or ideal, for people. In other words, everyone has sinned. As a result, we are all separated from Him, even though He wants an intimate relationship with each of us.

ABOUT SALVATIONThat’s why Jesus—God’s Son—came and lived on this earth, died, and rose again. God offers His free gift of salvation to all who believe in Jesus and accept Him as Savior—the only way to be forgiven and reconciled to God. Anyone who accepts this gift is adopted as a son or daughter into God’s family and will live with Him forever in heaven.

Chief Executive OfficerReggie Joiner

Creative TeamKristen IvyMike ClearMolly BoylanElloa DavisElizabeth HansenJessica McKeeBrandon O’DellGreg PaynePhil PierceDan ScottJon Williams

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Technical & Web Support Hadley Brandt

Orange SpecialistsAmy GrishamJoy BowenAbbey CarrAmy FentonLeslie GalemaMisty PhillipsStephanie PorterCourtney Templeton

SOCIAL15 MINUTES

GROUPS25 MINUTES

B I B L E S T O R Y

B O T T O M L I N E

M E M O R Y V E R S E

L I F E A P P

B A S I C T R U T H

PA G E 2©2015 The reThink Group. 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).

Some Assembly Required (The wall is rebuilt)

Nehemiah 2:19-20; 3; 4; 6:15-16; 8:1-3a, 17b

I can trust God no matter what.

Initiative—seeing what needs to be done and doing it.

“Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord.”Colossians 3:23a, NIrV

You can trust God to help you do what needs to be done.

PRELUDE: Setting the tone for the experienceFor Leaders OnlyCreate the Environment

SOCIAL: Providing time for fun interactionIdeas for Early ArriversPost It Note Wall

STORY: Communicating God’s truth in engaging waysOpenerWorshipBible StoryPrayerCloser

WORSHIP: Inviting people to respond to God“Forever Reign” from Living Inside Out“Every Move I Make” from Walk This Way

GROUPS: Creating a safe place to connectInitiative Shuffle Knock It Down Verse in Motion Part Two Prayer

HOME: Prompting action beyond the experienceGodTimeParent Cue


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PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOMESOCIAL15 MINUTES

GROUPS25 MINUTES

25 MINUTES

10 MINUTES

25 MINUTES

15 MINUTES



GETTING READY

SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (Choose one or both of these activities.)

Early Arriver• An offering container• Stick pretzels; half a bag for each Small Group• Small marshmallows; half a bag for each Small Group• Paper plates; 2 for each Small Group

Post It Note Wall• A stack of sticky notes• Pencils

GROUPS: CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT (Choose as many of these activities as you like.)

* If you don’t have time to do all these activities, be sure to do activity #1.

* 1. Initiative Shuffle (application activity / great for active learners)• Print the “Initiative Shuffle Cards” on cardstock; 1 set for each Small Group• Colored construction paper; 10 pieces for each Small Group• Markers• Painter’s tape

2. Knock It Down (review the Bible story)• LEGOs® or other building bricks (whatever you’ve been using all month)• Feathers or ping-pong balls; 2 for each Small Group

3. Verse in Motion Part Two (memory verse activity)• No supplies needed

Prayer• No supplies needed

Additional Resources:• Make copies on cardstock of this week’s GodTime and Parent Cue cards. • Tell parents about our additional family resources: Studio252.tv, CUE Box,

and the Parent Cue app. To find out more about these great resources, go to http://www.Studio252.tv/leaders.


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PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP HOME

B I B L E S T O R Y

B O T T O M L I N E

M E M O R Y V E R S E

L I F E A P P

B A S I C T R U T H

Some Assembly Required (The wall is rebuilt)

Nehemiah 2:19-20; 3; 4; 6:15-16; 8:1-3a, 17b

I can trust God no matter what.

Initiative—seeing what needs to be done and doing it.

“Work at everything you do with all your heart. Work as if you were working for the Lord.”Colossians 3:23a, NIrV

You can trust God to help you do what needs to be done.

SOCIAL15 MINUTES

GROUPS25 MINUTES



SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today’s story.

Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Some of your kids might be in situations where the solutions seem overwhelming and they feel too young to do anything themselves. Pray for these kids in particular. Ask that God would allow them to feel His presence and help them know, in their hearts, that they can trust Him to help them do what needs to be done.

1. EARLY ARRIVER IDEAWHAT YOU NEED: An offering container, pretzels, marshmallows, paper plates

WHAT YOU DO:• Greet kids as they arrive and encourage them to place their offerings in the container.• Pour the pretzels and marshmallows onto the paper plates and place them in the center of your Small Group area.• Show kids how to “build” with these items using the marshmallows as their connectors between the pretzels.• As they work, ask the following questions about their week: What was one awesome thing that happened? What was one

not so awesome thing that happened? Did they see a need and do something about it? What happened?

2. POST IT NOTE WALLWHAT YOU NEED: Sticky notes, pencils

WHAT YOU DO:• Ask the kids to name some things that need to be done either at home or school.• Then challenge them to think about a really BIG job to be done, like cleaning up a very messy room.• Ask the kids to help you break down this big job into smaller steps. For example: put dirty clothes in hamper, return toys

to their toy bins, put books back on the bookshelf, clean out under the bed, throw away trash, make your bed, etc.• As they share these smaller steps, take a sticky note and write one word to represent each step (or if you have any

drawing ability, draw a simple picture for each step). Place the notes on the wall in a brick pattern to “build” a wall.

WHAT YOU SAY:“Sometimes cleaning your room can seem like a really big job. But when you break it down into smaller steps, it doesn’t seem quite so hard to handle. [Transition] Today we’re going to find out how Nehemiah finally finished a very BIG job! Let’s go hear about how he got it done.”

Lead your group to the Large Group area.


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PRELUDE STORY WORSHIP GROUPS HOMESOCIAL15 MINUTES



GROUPS: CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions.

* 1. INITIATIVE SHUFFLE (application activity)WHAT YOU NEED: “Initiative Shuffle Cards,” colored construction paper, markers, painter’s tape

WHAT YOU DO:• Mark a starting line. On one of the pieces of construction paper, write the word “FINISH.” Place the other pieces of

construction paper on the floor to create a path or game board with your “FINISH” page at the end.• Tell the kids that they will draw an “Initiative Shuffle Card,” read it (you may need to help with this), and then decide if

the scenario is showing initiative or not.• If the scenario does show initiative, players may more FORWARD the number of steps listed on the card. If the scenario

does not show initiative, players must move BACKWARD the number of spaces on the card. • First one to reach the “FINISH” page, wins! (Note: In the deck of cards, there is ONE “TRUST GOD” card. If this card is

selected, that child automatically advances to the end and wins the game.)

WHAT YOU SAY:“The situations we read on these cards today could happen to any of us. Showing initiative can sometimes be hard to do when there’s a big job to be done. But whether the task is big, like rebuilding a wall, or small, like helping a brother or sister, you can always trust that God is with you and that He will help you. [Bottom Line] You can trust God to help you do what needs to be done.”

2. KNOCK IT DOWN (review the Bible story)WHAT YOU NEED: LEGOs® or other building bricks, feathers or ping-pong balls

WHAT YOU DO:• Select two kids and ask them to begin building a wall with the bricks.• As they work, select two more kids and hand them each a feather. Explain that they need to try to knock down the wall

using only the feather.• After 15-20 seconds, stop the “destroyers” and talk about what Nehemiah did when he saw that some people were trying

to destroy the work on the wall.• Now select two different kids as builders, two kids to protect the wall, two kids as “destroyers” with the feathers, and one

child to count to 52. Let them build again.• Repeat, giving all kids a chance to play different roles.

WHAT YOU SAY:“When Nehemiah saw what was happening, he made a plan. He selected half of the people to work on the wall and the other half to protect it. It took them 52 days to get the wall rebuilt. I’m so glad that even though this was a very BIG job, Nehemiah chose to trust God and get it done. [Bottom Line] You can trust God to help you do what needs to be done. Sometimes, the job in front of you might seem too big, or you might think that someone else older than you might do a


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PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP HOMEGROUPS25 MINUTES



better job. But the truth is that when you feel like the job is too big for you, that’s the perfect time to ask God for help! Just like Nehemiah, you can trust God to help you get the job done.”

3. VERSE IN MOTION PART TWO (memory verse activity)WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed

WHAT YOU DO:• Open your Bible to Colossians 3:23a and read it aloud to your group. Make sure to stop after the word “Lord.” Repeat

the verse together several times.• Ask the group if anyone remembers the motions they learned last week.• Be sure to review all of them, especially if you have kids who weren’t here last week. Say the verse with the motions

several times for review. o Work: Pretend to hammer a nail. o Everything: Bring your hands (palms up) from your waist and then outward. o You: Point to someone in the group. o Heart: Make a heart shape with your hands by placing your thumbs together and then curl your other fingers

downward, placing the outsides of your fingers together. o Lord: Point up toward God.

WHAT YOU SAY:“This verse is such a great one to have in your memory. Anytime there is a job to do, you can remember the words of this verse. Not only will it help you to remember that God is with you, hopefully it will also help you to remember that as you show initiative to get the job done, you can trust God to help you. [Bottom Line] You can trust God to help you do what needs to done.”

PRAY AND DISMISSWHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed

WHAT YOU DO: • Think about Nehemiah and all the ways he trusted God. As a group, talk about all the times he trusted God. o He trusted God when he had to ask the king for help. o He trusted God when he went out at night to inspect the walls. o He trusted God when he thought the job was too big to tackle. o He trusted God when other people thought he was crazy and tried to destroy the work of rebuilding.

WHAT YOU SAY:“I’m sure that God won’t ask you to rebuild a big wall. After all, our cities aren’t surrounded by them any more. But you might face a situation where you know you need to show initiative but you’re scared about how things will turn out. Remember, [Bottom Line] you can trust God to help you do what needs to be done.


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[Make It Personal] (Tell the group about a time when you saw something big that needed to be done and you trusted God to help you. Maybe you went back to school to finish a degree or maybe you took a new job where you had to learn a lot of new skills.)

“Let’s pray and ask God to help us trust Him as we show initiative this week.

“God, thanks for the awesome story of Nehemiah. Thank You that he showed us how to trust You, even when he wasn’t sure what was going to happen as he worked on this really BIG job. We know that initiative is super important to You. Help us to notice the things around us that need to get done and to trust You to help us follow through and DO them. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

Give each child a GodTime card. Pass out Parent Cue cards as adults arrive to pick up.


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