Materials Needed for Today: • Journal (1) • Fun-shaped pen (1) • “Camera” activity page (1) • “Story Strip” activity page (1) • Crayons (1 pack) • Scissors (1) • Bible (1) *home item • Scarf or tissues (1) *home item • Preschool Music *home item

PRESCHOOL DAY 3

D A Y

F O C U S V B S

THREE P R E S C H O O L S M A L L G R O U P

B I B L E S T O R Y

Look at what Jesus did for us.Salvation

The Gospels

M E M O R Y V E R S E

“Let us keep looking to Jesus.”Hebrews 12:2, NIrV

B O T T O M L I N E

Jesus wants to be my friend forever.

©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 2©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 2©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 2©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 2©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 2

1. KEEP YOUR EYES ON IT! W H AT Y O U N E E D : Play scarves (tissues can be substituted) and fun preschool music

W H AT Y O U D O : Give everyone a play scarf. Show them how to gently toss their scarf in the air and catch it as it floats back down. Next, encourage them to try and toss their scarf in the air, spin around once, and then catch it. End your time with a few moments of scarf dancing as you play your favorite preschool songs.

(Note: Play songs with slow, medium, and fast tempos. Encourage the children to move with the sound.)

W H AT Y O U S AY: “I have a super fun game for us to play! Everyone gets a scarf. (Distribute scarves.) Does everyone have a scarf? Wave it in the air so I can see. Great! This is how you play the game. It’s very important that you keep your eyes on your scarf. That way when you toss your scarf in the air . . . (demonstrate) . . . you can catch it! Or when you toss it and spin . . . (demonstrate) . . . you can catch it. Ta-da! You try it! And remember to keep your eyes on the scarf.”

(While they toss and spin with their scarves, encourage them and say, “Keep your eyes on your scarf.”)

“We kept our eyes on our scarves to play the game, but our memory verse (Hebrews 12:2 NIrV) reminds us to keep looking to Jesus. We keep our eyes on Jesus because He loves us AND He wants to be our friend forever! Who wants to be your friend forever? Jesus wants to be my friend forever!”

D A Y

F O C U S V B S

THREE P R E S C H O O L S M A L L G R O U P

B I B L E S T O R Y

Look at what Jesus did for us.Salvation

The Gospels

M E M O R Y V E R S E

“Let us keep looking to Jesus.”Hebrews 12:2, NIrV

B O T T O M L I N E

Jesus wants to be my friend forever.

©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 3©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 3©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 3©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 3

JOURNAL AND PRAYERW H AT Y O U N E E D : Bible, journal, fun-shaped pen

W H AT Y O U S AY: (Open the Bible and lay it where the children can see it.)

“Today’s story was the best story EVER! Jesus came to live in the world. He did things only He can do. He died and then He came back, just like He said He would. Lots of people saw Jesus and talked with Jesus and ate food with Jesus after He came back. Some of those people wanted everyone to know that Jesus is alive, so they wrote it down and now we can read what they wrote in the Bible. All we have to do is look!

“Do you remember why Jesus died and came back? (Pause.)

“Jesus died and came back because He wants to be your friend forever. Who wants to be your friend forever? Jesus wants to be my friend forever!

“Let’s say it louder! Who wants to be your friend forever? Jesus wants to be my friend forever! Yes! Jesus is the best friend we will ever have.

“Today we are going to do something very special in our prayer journal. Get ready!”

(Hold journal and fun-shaped pen.)

“Let’s write down our names. Then, I want you to draw a heart by your name and say, ‘Jesus loves me!’ Do you know why we are going to do that? Because Jesus loves you (point to each person) so much, He died and came back and wants to be your friend forever.”

(Write each person’s name and help them draw a heart next to it.)

“Yay! Jesus loves (say each person’s name), and He wants to be your friend forever! Let’s pray and thank God for Jesus.”

PRAYER“Dear God, thank You, thank You, thank You for Jesus! Thank You for the people who saw Him and talked with Him and ate food with Him after He came back. Thank You that they wrote down what they saw so we can know Jesus is alive and wants to be our friend forever, too. We love You, God. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah

Bible Story: Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah • Matthew 16:13-20 Bottom Line: You can TALK with others about what you believe. Memory Verse: “Let us keep looking to Jesus. He is the one who started this journey of faith. And he is the one who completes the journey of faith.” Hebrews 12:2a (NIrV)

GUESS WHAT! What You Need: No supplies, just think of something about yourself your children will have to guess. This could be a favorite item or memory, the best thing you’ve ever done, the thing you like most about them, etc. What You Do:

• Tell your kids they have to guess something special about you and tell them what category they’re trying to guess.

• If a kid guesses correctly on the first try, simply choose another favorite and start again. • There are lots of things you could have the kids guess. Besides the suggestions above, you can

also let the kids guess your favorite ice cream, candy, or superhero. What You Say: “Great job guessing all those things. Now you know some fun things about me. Do you think you should tell other people about those things? It might be good for someone else to know my favorite color or favorite ice cream. It might be really special for you to share my favorite memory with someone else who was there. But the best good news we can tell other people is that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who loves and came to save us. When we share that news, we’re doing what Peter did!” [Bottom Line] “You can TALK with others about what you believe. That may be hard to do at times, but God has given us His Holy Spirit to give us courage as well as the words to say. [Make It Personal] (Talk about a time when you spoke about what you believe with others.) When we talk about what we believe, our friends can hear all about how God loves them, too.” Cool Down Questions: As you finish the game, use the following questions to keep the conversation going and to keep kids thinking about what they’re learning:

• Who is someone you can talk to about what you believe? • Who do you talk to about what you believe? • If you have questions, who can you talk to about what you believe?

©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 1

HOME ACTIVITY | DAY 3

Bible Story: Look at what Jesus did for us | Salvation • The GospelsBottom Line: Jesus wants to be my friend forever.Memory Verse: “Let us keep looking to Jesus.” Hebrews 12:2, NIrV

1. TAKE A LOOK

What You Need: “Camera” and “Story Strip” activity pages, colored pencils or crayons, scissors

What You Do: • Cut slits on the dotted lines of the lens are of the camera to allow a strip to fit through. • Encourage children to color their story strip and camera. • Help insert the story strip into the camera and show the kids how to slide it side to side to see the story.

What You Say: “Today we are going to make something special to help us remember the most amazing thing Jesus did for me and you. Look at the story strip. Tell me what you see in the first square. It’s the stone! What’s the next square? Numbers? What numbers do you see? One, Two, Three. Jesus went away for three days. On the last square, what do you see? It’s Jesus! Jesus is standing in front of the empty tomb. He went away and came back! This camera shows us our Bible story for today! Jesus came back just like He said He would. He came back so He could be our friend forever. Who wants to be your friend forever? Jesus wants to be my friend forever.”

Camera • Take a Look • Crafts • Focus Day 3Copy on cardstock and cut on dotted lines. One per child.

CURRICULUM FOR 3- to 5- YEAR OLDS • ©2019 The reThink Group. All rights reserved. • www.OrangeVBS.com

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Story Strip • Take a Look • Crafts • Focus Day 3Copy on cardstock and cut on dotted lines. One strip per child.

CURRICULUM FOR 3- to 5- YEAR OLDS • ©2019 The reThink Group. All rights reserved. • www.OrangeVBS.com

©2019 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.OrangeVBS.com 7

S N AC K S | DAY 3

Bible Story: Peter Says That Jesus Is the Messiah • Matthew 16:13-20

Bottom Line: You can TALK with others about what you believe.

1. QUESTION MARK CRACKERSWhat You Need: Graham crackers; icing or cream cheese; Twizzlers® Pull ’n’ Peel candy or gummy worms; small

gummies or licorice squares; small plates; plastic knives

What You Do:• Give each child a plate with a graham cracker; a small glob of icing or cream cheese; a Pull ’n’ Peel candy

or a gummy worm; a licorice square or small gummy; and a plastic knife.

• Encourage the kids to use the knife to spread the icing or cream cheese over the surface of the cracker.

• Then instruct kids form a question mark out of the Pull ’n’ Peel candy or gummy worm. They may need to bite

off part of it to make it fit on the graham cracker.

• Tell kids to add the licorice square or small gummy to the bottom as the point of the question mark.

What You Say:“Jesus asked his followers a very important question. Do you remember what Jesus asked? (Pause for responses.) Yes! Jesus asked them: Who do you say I am? (Matthew 16:15 NIrV) Peter answered and said: You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16 NIrV). It’s important for us to ask questions and to talk about our

faith with our friends. Talking about God with our friends at church or with adults who follow God is one big way

our faith can grow. Remember, [Bottom Line] you can TALK with others about what you believe.”

2. POPCORN PEP TALKSWhat You Need: Popcorn; cups or brown lunch sacks; chocolate or butterscotch chips (optional)

What You Do:• Pour popcorn into individual cups or brown lunch sacks. Optional: Add a few chocolate or butterscotch chips

to the popcorn.

• While kids eat, encourage them to “pop up” randomly and share something they’ve learned so far this week.

What You Say:“This week, we’ve been learning about the things we can focus on when it comes to our faith. You can focus on

what we see that God has made, you can hear from God through His Word, the Bible, AND [Bottom Line] you can TALK with others about what you believe. Maybe something you’ve learned can help someone else. Or maybe

a question someone asks is one you’ve been wondering about yourself. Talking about your faith is one important

way to help you grow.”

Conversation Guidefor Parents of Prechoolers

Faith. How we talk about faith at each phase of a person’s life matters in how they’ll think about faith in the phases to come. Preschoolers use their five senses to experience the world around them. In this phase, you can help them develop authentic faith by inciting wonder. You will give them the foundations for their faith in the way you respond with concrete examples and by letting them explore God’s creation. As they grow and mature into adolescents you’ll be able to unpack abstract concepts more deeply. For now, be as simple as possible, and remember that your role in the preschool phase is to . . .

This guide is designed to help you connect with your child in the phase they are in, by giving you some words to say to introduce them to faith. As the conversation progresses through the phases, always keep this end goal in mind for your kid:

Trusting Jesus in a way that transforms how I love God, myself, and the rest of the world.

In the new baby phase, say things like . . .

“God, thank You for this healthy baby.” (Pray aloud while you are with your baby.) “Jesus loves me.” (Sing songs while you hold your baby.) “We are going to church.” (Connect with a faith community.)

In the following preschool years, say things like . . .

“God made you. God loves you. Jesus wants to be your friend forever.”“God, thank you for . . .” “God, please help us . . .”“Let’s read about how God made the world.” “Are you scared? Let’s talk to God about it.” “How did the Samaritan take care of his neighbor?” (Talk about what your preschooler learns at church.)“Can you let your friend have a turn?” (Prompt them to share.) “Isn’t that wonderful? Let’s thank God for it.” “Do not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you.” Joshua 1:9 (Repeat simple Bible verses.)

Incite Wonder So they will KNOW GOD’S LOVE AND MEET GOD’S FAMILY.

Just Remember . . . Every phase is a timeframe in a kid’s life when you can leverage distinctive opportunities to influence their future. The preschool years are the wonder years. You can incite their wonder by exploring the world side-by-side with your child. Your child listens to your words, so this phase is the perfect time to begin talking, singing, and reading out loud with your toddler about faith. And as they get older—three, four, five—and have questions about so many things, including faith questions, answer as simply as possible.

For more information onThe Phase Project and othergreat parent resources, visit theParentCue.org©2018 The Phase Project.All rights reserved.

This guide is based on research from The Phase Project, a collaborative, ongoing e!ort, assembling classic and innovative research with practical application.To discover more ways to understand your child’s phase, check out the Parenting Your . . . book series at parentcuestore.org.

To enhance the conversation,here are a few activities your family can try:

Print photos of family members and friends and place them in an inexpensive album. Let your preschooler flip through the book while you lead them in praying for the people they see in the pictures.

Create a playlist of your child’s favorite praise and worship songs. Demonstrate connecting with God through song by dancing and singing with your preschooler on a regular basis. Don’t know where to find great, kid-friendly music? Check out ParentCueStore.org or Orange Kids Music in iTunes.

Pray consistently with your preschooler. Demonstrate that prayer is having a conversation with God by using a pretend telephone during your prayer time. Take turns “dialing” (starting the prayer) and “hanging up” (ending the prayer). Let your preschooler use their own words and language, but feel free to prompt them if they get distracted or stall out.

Tell your child simple Bible stories and repeat favorite memory verses. (Use the Parent Cue App for help!) Explain simply that stories from the Bible are true, and show us how to live.