s3.amazonaws.com€¦ · Web viewChristian scholars through the ages have meditated on how we are reflections of the character of God. God is wise, so we have the capacity for wisdom

11.1 Large Group Lesson | Elementary

Riddle RangersJesus is the True Vine

Scripture marked “NIV” is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of Biblica. Scripture marked “NIrV” is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version ™, Copyright ©1995, 1996, 1998 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. All scripture references are taken from NIrV unless otherwise stated.

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BIG IDEA: Jesus is the vine, so we can grow by staying connected to Him.

BIBLE BASIS: John 15:1–17

KEY VERSE: “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain joined to me, and I to you, you will bear a lot of fruit.” John 15:5 (NIrV)

15–25 minutes

7–15 minutes

30–40 minutes

7–15 minutes

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LEADER DEVOTIONALIn his book, The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer says, “The impulse to pursue God originates with

God, but the outworking of that impulse is our following hard after Him.” How we follow God matters. Jesus called this being a “disciple.” The way that we follow Him—the

decisions that we make, what we daydream about, what we say or don’t say to the guy in the cubicle next to us—matters. When we follow hard after God, His ways become our ways. We become a reflection of God. Maybe faintly at first, but then more and more clearly as we draw closer to Him.

Christian scholars through the ages have meditated on how we are reflections of the character of God. God is wise, so we have the capacity for wisdom. God is compassionate, so we have the ability to show compassion. God is forgiving, so we have the capability to forgive. But at the end of the day, we are more like God’s character when we become the most like Jesus. Dallas Willard says it best in his book, The Divine Conspiracy: “I need to be able to lead my life as he (Jesus) would lead it if he were I.”

Throughout this coming week, meditate on what it means for you to live your life as if Jesus were living it for you. How would your attitude change? What would you do differently? What would you say differently? I pray that in doing so, you become the clearest reflection of the One worthy of our discipleship—Jesus.

John GarrisonGO! Contributor


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LARGE GROUP SKILL BUILDING

Establishing Rules and Consequences for Large Group

“Houston…we have a problem!” If you’ve been teaching kids for any length of time, you’ve probably wanted to say something like this. Unfortunately, most of us are flying solo and don’t have a ground control to call. Kids are great and well-behaved most of the time, but problems still occur. Here are some things you can do to help prevent or address problems:

Establish rules. If you haven’t already, work with your leaders to come up with a short list of rules for the room. It might be something as simple as “Be Kind” (listen quietly and treat others with respect) and “Be Safe” (keep your hands to yourself and follow instructions carefully).

Communicate the rules to your kids. Kids can’t abide by your expectations if they don’t know what they are. For younger kids, you may want to go over the rules weekly. For older kids, you might visit them once a month.

Have consequences. What good are rules if there aren’t any consequences for breaking them? An example of consequences might be something like “3 strikes.” Strike 1 is a warning. Strike 2 is a time-out on the wall. Strike 3 involves calling the parents out of service to pick up their kid. Again, if you haven’t already, work with your leaders to establish the consequences that work best for your ministry.

Don’t be afraid to enforce the rules. Inevitably, there will be kids who test the boundaries. When you enforce the rules, most kids will see that you mean business and quickly comply.

Call out the best in kids. Whenever you apply consequences to a kid, it’s a good idea to have a follow-up conversation with him. Make sure he understands what behavior led to his consequences. Be sure to do it with grace, though. Always end by calling out the best in that kid. Tell him you know he can do better and that you look forward to seeing him again.


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UNIT DESCRIPTIONTo their friends and family, they’re known as Zack and Jada—two ordinary kids who love to do ordinary things. But when they put their heads together, they’re known as the “Riddle Rangers”—an extraordinary duo who travel the world, solving riddles with the guidance of their teacher, Professor Covington. Their most recent adventure has taken them to “Mystery Island” where an ancient pillar holds some cryptic riddles. During the “Riddle Rangers” series, kids will become a part of this riddle-filled adventure—an adventure that ultimately leads to a deeper discovery of who Jesus is.

SET-UP INSTRUCTIONS During the “Riddle Rangers” series, Zack and Jada “call in” periodically through a video feed.

(See Resource Folder for videos.) After loading the videos into your presentation software of choice, practice your timing on the start of the videos so that it feels spontaneous and natural during the lesson.

The “Riddle Rangers” will call in each week asking the kids to help them solve two riddles. Print out the appropriate riddles and make them available to the small group leaders during the large group lesson. Tell the leaders to keep the riddles out of sight until Zack and Jada send them in.

o Note: there are separate, age-appropriate versions of each riddle for both younger and older kids. Although the versions are different, the answers are the same. Be sure to give each group the appropriate version of the riddle.

Give each small group leader enough pens or pencils for everyone in their group. After the kids solve the riddle, the Large Group Leader will pretend to send the answer back to

the Riddle Rangers using a laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Place the desired device in the teaching area.

Place a bunch of grapes (real or fake) in the teaching area Print the 9 “Fruits of the Spirit” pictures on 8½ x 11 paper and tape the pictures around the room

so that they are at least partially visible from the audience. Choose which of the Reflect and Respond Stations you would like to make available. Set out the

appropriate materials for each of those stations.


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CG: “Riddle Rangers” title graphicSound: Play upbeat music as kids move to large group areaVideo: Play “Riddle Rangers Intro Video”

RIDDLE RANGERS INTROLarge Group Leader: Hello everybody and welcome to the beginning of an amazing adventure called “Riddle Rangers”! Do you love solving riddles? Are you pretty good at it? (Kids respond.) I hope so, because Zack and Jada need all the help they can get. Oh wait—you might not know who Zack and Jada are. Zack and Jada are the “Riddle Rangers”—a couple of kids who love solving riddles. Here’s the really cool part, though—they need our help! They’ll be calling us soon, but while we wait, let’s warm up with a riddle of my own.

CG: “Book of John riddle” graphic

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and meI searched for fish among the sea.But then one day, I won’t forgetHe called my name, I dropped my net.I followed Him, my old life goneAnd then I wrote the Book of…

(Some kids will most likely shout out the answer.) That’s right—it’s John! John was a fisherman before he met Jesus. But then one day, while John was fishing, Jesus called him to be one of His disciples. So John dropped his net and followed Jesus for the rest of his life. (Hold up Bible.) He also wrote one of the four Gospel books in the Bible—the Book of John. Have you heard of it? (Kids respond. Open to the Book of John and point to it.) It’s right here. There’s something really cool that happens in this book. There are 7 times that Jesus describes Himself by saying “I am.” CG: “I am” statements. (Refer to screen.) He said things like, “I am the Bread of Life” and “I am the Door for the Sheep.” This was Jesus’ way of showing people who He was—the Savior of the world.

RIDDLE RANGERS: RIDDLE #1VDO: PLAY “Riddle Rangers Video #1”

(Leaders Note: The following is the video script for the “Riddle Rangers” video.)

Zack: Riddle Rangers to base. Riddle Rangers to base. This is an emergency transmission from Mystery Island. We need your help. I repeat—the Riddle Rangers are in need of your help. Oh good—you’re there, and just in time. Let me explain. My name is Zack and I’m here with my friend Jada. Together we’re known as the “Riddle Rangers.” We’re a team of kid adventurers who travel the world in search of mysteries and riddles. And boy did we find a big one!

You see—last week we got a tip that something strange was happening in the Indian Ocean. A huge ship ran aground on a tropical island. That’s not even the weird part, though. What’s strange is that the ship had sailed this route a bazillion times and there had never been an island here before. None of the maps show an island here either. It’s almost like it popped up from the ocean overnight—except for one thing. Nothing about this island looks new. And when the crew went exploring, they found an ancient pillar at the


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center of the island with strange riddles carved on it. Long story short—the ship’s captain gave us the coordinates so that we could check it out for ourselves and it’s every bit as weird as they said it was.

This is where you come in. These riddles look tough—we’re going to need your help solving them. We’re sending you a copy of the first riddle with some instructions right now. When you get it, see if you can make sense of it. Upload the answer back to us as soon as you solve it. Okay, the riddle should be arriving right now. I’ll talk to you later. This is Zack, signing off.

Instruct the kids to turn to their small groups. Have the leaders give each kid a copy of Riddle #1 (See LG Resource Folder) along with a pen or pencil. Remind kids to refrain from shouting the answer out so that other kids can solve it on their own. When it appears like most of the kids have solved the riddle, draw their attention back to the teaching area and ask for the answer. Note: there are separate, age-appropriate versions of each riddle for both younger and older kids. Although the versions are different, the answers are the same.

You got it! I’ll upload the answer to the Riddle Rangers right now (pretend to be typing answer onto laptop or tablet.) The riddle says “I am the vine.” (Look perplexed.) That’s strange—I don’t feel like a vine. Maybe Zack and Jada will know what to make of it.

RIDDLE RANGERS: RIDDLE #2VDO: PLAY “Riddle Rangers Video #2”

Jada: Attention—this is Jada of the “Riddle Rangers” transmitting from Mystery Island. That’s it—you got it! The riddle says, “I am the vine.” Hey—I remember our teacher, Professor Covington, telling us about that. It’s one of the “I am” statements that Jesus made in the Book of John. In John 15:5, Jesus said, “I am the vine.” I don’t think He was saying that He was actually a vine. (Screen expands to show grape vine.) That would be weird if Jesus had grapes growing on him. It’s a metaphor—He was saying that He was like a vine because a vine is the source of life for a plant. Every good thing a plant needs comes from the vine. (Screen returns to Jada.) In the same way, Jesus is the source of spiritual life for us—He brings life to our heart and spirit. Every good thing we need in life comes from Jesus.

That was a seriously cool riddle! And you guys rocked it—I’m so proud of you! And so is Zack. You can’t see him right now, but he’s doing a happy dance—or something like that anyway. We’re not finished, though. There are still a ton of riddles left and we need more help. Zack and I are sending you the next one right now. See what you can do with it and shoot it back to us as soon as you solve it. Thanks! You guys are the jam! Jada out.

Instruct the kids to turn again to their small groups. Have the leaders give each kid a copy of Riddle #2. (See LG Resource Folder.) When it appears like most of the kids have solved the riddle, draw their attention back to the teaching area and ask them for the answer.

Nice work—you nailed it! (Pretend to be typing answer onto laptop or tablet.) It says, “You are the branches.” I’m not sure what that means either. It sounds as weird as the first riddle. Maybe Zack and Jada will know what to make of it.


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RIDDLE RANGERS: CONCLUSION VDO: PLAY “Riddle Rangers Video #3”

Zack: Riddle Rangers to base. This is Zack transmitting from Mystery Island. That was incredible—you solved another riddle. It’s the second part of John 15:5. After Jesus said “I am the vine,” He said, “You are the branches.” Umm—I’m going to assume that I’m not actually a branch. I mean—I like hanging out in trees and all, but that’s a little too much. I think it means that we’re like a branch. You know—because branches are connected to the vine and they grow fruit. It’s kind of like that with us. If we stay connected to Jesus, we grow fruit too. Not like apples and oranges—that would be crazy! The fruit that we grow is the fruit of the Holy Spirit. In other words, when we stick with Jesus, we grow in love, peace, patience, kindness, and all kinds of good things. (Stone crumbling sfx.)

Whoa! Hold on—something weird is happening. The back side of the pillar is crumbling away. Jada—send them a screenshot of the pillar. There seems to be something written underneath it, but I can only see part of it. I can’t tell what it says. Maybe if we keep solving the other riddles, the rest of the message will be revealed. Make sure you come back next week—we need your help solving the rest of the riddles. Until then—this is the Riddle Rangers, signing off!

CG: “Big Bible Story Questions” graphic

BIG BIBLE STORY QUESTIONSAt the end of the Riddle Rangers video, have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What do you think it means that Jesus is like a vine and we are like the branches? What are some ways that you can stick close to Jesus? For Older Kids: What does this story teach you about Jesus? What do you think it means to remain connected to Jesus? After a few minutes, draw their attention back to the teaching area. You may want to ask the kids for some of their answers.

CG: “Riddle Rangers” title graphic

THE VINE AND THE BRANCHESWow—that was kind of crazy! Have you ever thought of Jesus being like a vine? Have you ever thought of yourself being like a branch and growing fruit? Maybe not, but that’s what Jesus tells us in the Bible. In fact, let’s look at that verse together. It comes from John 15:5. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to John 15:5. Be prepared to give younger kids more time and assistance in finding the verse. When ready, choose a kid to read it aloud or read it aloud yourself while the kids follow along.)

CG: “I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain joined to me, and I to you, you will bear a lot of fruit.” John 15:5 (NIrV)

Who remembers why Jesus is like a vine? (Take answer.) Great thinking! Vines are the source of life for a plant. Every good thing that a plant needs comes from the vine. That’s just like Jesus. Jesus is the one who brings life to our heart and spirit.

And why do you think we’re like the branches? (Take answer.) That’s right! Branches have to stay connected to the vine in order to grow. If we stay connected to Jesus, we’ll grow fruit. Wait—what?! (Dangle a bunch of grapes from your armpit.) Do you think that means that grapes will start to grow from our armpits? (Kids respond.) No way! (And if they do, you should see a doctor!)


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SEARCH FOR THE FRUITLet me show you what I’m talking about. I need you to help me find the hidden fruit pictures in the room.

Ahead of time, tape the 9 “Fruits of the Spirit” pictures around the room so that they are at least partially visible from the audience. Each picture will have one fruit and one “Fruit of the Spirit” on it. Retrieve each sign when it is found.

When the Bible talks about growing fruit, it’s not talking about apples or oranges. It’s talking about this kind of fruit—(hold up the word “love”) love. When we stay connected to Jesus—in other words, when we spend time with Him—we grow in our love. But that’s not the only fruit that we grow in. (Continue to hold up fruit signs and read the word written on it.) When we stay connected to Jesus, we grow in our joy, in our peace, in our patience, in our kindness, in our goodness, in our faithfulness, in our gentleness, and in our self-control. If we try to get better at these things on our own, we’ll probably fail. Have you ever tried to be more patient with your brother or sister without spending time with Jesus or asking Him for help first? How long did it last until you blew your top again? It’s hard to be a better person without Jesus. But if we spend time with Jesus—if we read His Word, if we pray, if we think about Him, if we spend time with His followers at church—we’ll grow in love, peace, patience, and all of the other fruits.

Jesus loves you so much and wants you to stay connected to Him. When you stay connected to Jesus, not only will He bring life to your heart and spirit, He’ll help you live the best life possible!

Close the Large Group time by praying for the kids in whatever way the Holy Spirit prompts you. Following the prayer, explain to the kids which of the Reflect and Respond Stations will be available. Remind them to move about the stations very quietly. Tell them they are free to respond to God in whatever way the Holy Spirit leads them, but if they need suggestions, some of the stations will give them ideas for how to pray, write, or draw. Give each child one “GO! Home” sheet and instruct them to take it with them to the stations. Place small group leaders at the different stations to quietly help the kids. The stations listed below are just the ones that have prompts that are specific to today’s lesson. For more instructions on how the Reflect and Respond Stations work as well as a full list of possible stations, see the “GO! Guide.”

CG: “Riddle Rangers” title graphicMusic: (Optional) Play quiet instrumental music

Prayer Station prompt: One way we can stay connected to Jesus is through prayer. Write a prayer telling Jesus why you love Him so much.

Journal Station prompt: The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Write about which of these “fruits” you need to grow in the most. Ask God to help you.

Bible Station prompt: Read it for yourself: John 15:1–8. Draw a picture of the story or write to God what your favorite part of that story was. Tell Him why you liked it.

Art Station prompt: Draw a picture of your favorite way to stay connected to Jesus. Some ways might include praying, singing songs, going to church, or reading the Bible.


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s3.amazonaws.com€¦ · Web viewChristian scholars through the ages have meditated on how we are reflections of the character of God. God is wise, so we have the capacity for wisdom