Kindergarten-2nd

April 19-20, 2014

Mark 14-16; John 13-21

Easter

Jesus rescued us so that we can be close to him.

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.

You may have a lot of new kids, some of whom only attend church on Easter. Make an effort to welcome and get to know every single kid. Invite kids to join you or other kids in an activity/game the moment they step into the room.

As kids leave, remind them to retell today’s story using their story puppet.

Read the story of Easter ahead of time. You can find it in Mark 14-16 or John 13-21. You can also watch the video kids will see during large group. It’s called “God’s Story: Easter” and you can find it at crossroadskidsclub.net.

                                                                                                               

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. HOT LAVA HELPING GAME

• Give each kid a sheet of paper • Have them spread out on the floor and stand on the paper • Paper is safe; the floor is hot lava • Their job is to stay in the safe zone, out of the hot lava while the countdown clicks

and freeze “safely” on paper when the music stops (have someone start and stop the countdown video, which is the first slide of today’s Keynote presentation)

• The twist? They must help each other! If one person “steps” into the lava or freezes and falls off the paper, they all are out.

• Then gather together and discuss: o Did anyone help you? How did they rescue you from the lava? What did it

feel like? What would it have felt like if it was real lava? o Tell me about the best/worst part of your week.

Before you head into Large Group, remind them about your expectations for their behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader’s instructions.

   

Goal: Kids will (1) retell the story of Jesus’ rescue and (2) recognize that Jesus’ rescue overcame death, which separated us from God. His rescue allows us to be close to God again! Why? We talk a lot about Jesus’ rescue. Today, we want to get really specific about what that means. Tip: Kids could ask hard questions today. Encourage them to ask God, read their Bibles (give them one if they don’t own one) or ask their parents. It’s OK to say you don’t know.

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Mason and West Side, please fill a pitcher of water before small groups begin. Use the pitcher to fill the bowls for each individual group. Discard all water before you leave. REVIEW THE STORY Create a story puppet to help kids review the story and retell it at home.

• Give each kid a glove. • Distribute the following stickers one by one and have them stick one to each finger.

Before you tell kids what they mean, ask kids if they remember (they are all scenes from the video):

o 1. Pinky: We deserve punishment (the boy gets punished sticker) o 2. Ring: God sent Jesus the Rescuer! (picture of Jesus) o 3. Middle: Jesus died to take our punishment (Jesus on the cross) o 4. Pointer: Three days later, Jesus came back to life! (open tomb) o 5. Thumb: We can tell Jesus that we know we did wrong things but we believe

he rescued us. When we believe that, we are part of God’s family! (family sticker)

DIG DEEPER

1. What does it mean to be rescued? 2. Why do WE need to be rescued? 3. HOW did Jesus rescue us? 4. WHY did Jesus rescue us?

REPENTANCE ACTIVITY

• Give each kid one piece of dissolving paper • Have kids write/draw one (or more) wrong things they've done on the paper • One by one, have kids drop their paper into the water.

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o As they watch the paper dissolve, say “_____ (kids’ name), Jesus rescued you! He took your punishment and got rid of it by coming back to life! Because of what Jesus did, you can be free from the wrong things you’ve done and can be part of God’s family.”*

*Be careful not to use language that makes assumptions about what’s going on in kids’ hearts. This activity is designed to help them understand Jesus’ sacrifice and what it can mean for them, as well as give them an experiential way to make the choice to believe Jesus’ overcame the wrong things they’ve done—IF that is a choice/belief they are ready for. **Then pray together and thank Jesus for his rescue. Then ask kids to practice retelling the story to each other and to you! Extra time? Practice retelling the story using your story puppets. The more practice kids get, the better. You can also play the hot lava game again!

                                                                                                               

One goal of today is to help kids really understand what it means when we say “Jesus rescued us.” So we’re talking a lot about the idea of a “rescue.” Preview the support video (Bolt Rescues Mittens) here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlzwYJHTB8g

Have kids really sit in the brokenness of the world by imagining all the wrong things that happen (and that we do!). Jesus’ rescue is so much more impactful when we realize we need a Rescuer!

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Hi everybody, welcome to Kids’ Club! It’s great to see you here today. Today is Easter, which is a celebration for us. It’s when we celebrate Jesus’ Rescue! Does anybody know what it means to rescue someone? (Let kids respond.) Yes, it means to save them! To start thinking about that, we played a game where your friends had to save you from hot lava. Did anybody get help from a friend when they were about to fall into the hot lava? (Let 1-2 kids respond. Ask: How did it feel? What if it was real hot lava?) Has anybody else been rescued or saved another time? WHAT IS A RESCUE? Let’s think about people who rescue others all the time. What if we accidentally jump into the deep end of a pool and we can’t swim? Who might rescue us? (Let kids say: lifeguard.) Yes, a lifeguard. And what if we’re stuck in a smoke-filled room and there’s a fire outside the door? Who might rescue us? (Let kids say: firefighter.) That’s right! And if we need a rescuer in a pool, the lifeguard jumps into the water to save us. If we’re stuck in a smoke-filled room, a firefighter will come into the burning building to save us. The rescuer often goes into a scary situation, just to save somebody. In the movie Bolt, we see this happen. A cat named Mittens gets caught by Animal Control, who put her into a cage! Even though Bolt could get caught himself, he goes into Animal Control to rescue her. We’re going to watch a clip of the rescue. As you watch, see if you can figure out WHY Bolt would go in to rescue Mittens: Video: Bolt Rescues Mittens (about 3 minutes) Woah, Bolt sure got lucky he didn’t get caught! He was able to knock out the security guard and get away. But why do you think he risked his safety to get Mittens? (Let kids respond.) Yes, he

                                                                                                               

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must have liked Mittens. And if you watch the movie, you’ll see, he wants her to come along on a journey with him. He wants to be with her. WE NEED A RESCUE (IMAGINE PART I) So you know who else needs to be rescued? You and me. Close your eyes for a second. (Let kids respond.) We live in a world full of wrong things. Like sickness. We’ve all been sick. We’ve all felt sad or gotten hurt. We’ve all had someone treat us badly. And you know what? We’ve all been mean to somebody else or done something wrong, like lie or take the best for ourselves. Every single one of us. Including me. Open your eyes. (Pause.) So our world can get pretty scary, right? And all those wrong things deserve punishment and keep us separated from God. But God loves us WAY to much to leave us stuck in a broken world, just like Bolt loved Mittens too much to leave her stuck in Animal Control. God obviously loves us more than that though! Remember how much he loves us from our verse in Zephaniah 3:17: SLIDE: Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you. He is mighty enough to save you. He will take great delight in you. The quietness of his love will calm you down. He will sing with joy because of you.” God is mighty enough to save us. He sent his very own son, Jesus, to save us—to rescue us. Jesus left his perfect home in Heaven to come live in this awful broken world. Then he took our punishment, even though he had never done anything wrong. JESUS RESCUED US Jesus took the punishment for all the meanness and death and wrong choices in the world, so that we can be close to him. Let’s watch a video about Jesus’ rescue. As you watch, try to figure out WHY Jesus would be willing to take a punishment that should have been ours. Video: God’s Story / Easter (about 4 minutes) Wow, Jesus was arrested, made fun of, and killed…just to rescue us. WHY would he do that? (Let kids respond.) Yes, because he loves us! And wants to be close to us. Re-summarize the Gospel for kids: Because of the wrong things we’ve done, punishment (death) separated us from God. BUT when Jesus came back to life, he got rid of death! Kind of like how Bolt knocked out the guard. Since Jesus is alive, we can tell him, “I know I’ve done wrong things, but I believe you took MY punishment! I want to follow you and be close to God.” When we choose to believe that, we instantly become a part of God’s family!

                                                                                                               

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THE BEST PART (IMAGINE PART II) Even though for now, we have to live in this imperfect, messed up, wrong world, there’s good news! One day, God will re-create a new perfect world for his entire family…and there won’t be any wrong things. Close your eyes and imagine THAT for a second: (let kids respond). People always treat us well, we’re never tired, never sick, never hungry, never scared. We’re always happy and laughing and having fun. Even the weather is always perfect. And better yet, we’ll get to live with Jesus! WORSHIP Open your eyes and let’s sing about how much Jesus loves us—and how he wants us to be close to him always by following him! Music Video: Jesus Loves Me (no hand motions; music video version) Song: Come With Me (hand motions) PRAY Let’s talk to Jesus now and thank him for rescuing us and letting us be close to him and God again!

                                                                                                               

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1 piece of paper per kid

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Bible Markers/Pens 5 stickers per kid (template provided; please print on Avery 8293 labels; 1 sheet will need to be printed per 4 kids) 1 “Glovie” per kid: glovies available at

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http://mymomknowsbest.com/, but may be found cheaper on Amazon 1 piece of dissolving paper per kid (whatever size) water in a bowl (Mason and West Side need pitchers) a few paper towels (just in case any water spills) Coloring Page: Flower

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Tell me about Easter. Why did Jesus rescue us?

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SEPARATE PARENT PAGES FOR APRIL

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Bible

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1. Video (FOR CONNECT TIME): Countdown (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ByipyWX5FM)

2. Video: Bolt Rescues Mittens (Videos>Misc) 3. SLIDE: Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God

is with you. He is mighty enough to save you. He will take great delight in you. The quietness of his love will calm you down. He will sing with joy because of you.”

4. Video: God’s Story / Easter

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5. Music Video: Jesus Loves Me (one shot

video with all the people; not the animated version)

6. Song: Come With Me (with hand motions)