Baby, What a Big Surprise

252 Groups December 2013, Week 2 Small Group, K-1 Baby, What a Big Surprise

Bible Story: Baby, What a Big Surprise (Zechariah and Elizabeth) • Luke 1:5-25; 57-79 Bottom Line: I can have joy because anything is possible with God. Memory Verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4, NIV Life App: Joy—finding a way to be happy, even when things don’t go your way. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

GET READY Prepare ahead of time for kindergarten–1st grade Small Group this week:

Plug In: Focus the Energy (Choose one or both of these activities.) Early Arriver  An offering container  A picture Bible  (Optional) Use the “Gingerbread Modeling Dough Recipe” (Activity Pages) and let kids help you make gingerbread-scented modeling dough instead of the activity described.

Gingerbread Miracles  A large amount of Play-Doh®  Paper plates  Baby wipes  Gingerbread man shaped cookie cutters  (Optional) Use the “Gingerbread Modeling Dough Recipe” (Activity Page) to make gingerbread- scented modeling dough ahead of time.

Catch On: Make the Connection (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. Activity #3 is particularly good for children who need to move in order to stay engaged.

Gingerbread Scenes (application activity)  Print “Gingerbread Scenes” (Activity Page) for each student  Crayons

Joyful Letters (memory verse activity)  Gingerbread modeling dough (or Play-Doh®) from Plug In  Paper plates

Zechariah in the Temple! (application activity / Bible story review / great for active learners)  No supplies needed

Prayer (application activity)  “Gingerbread Scenes” (Activity Page) from Activity #1  Print one set of “Impossible/Possible Cards” (Activity Pages) on colored cardstock

Additional Resources:  Make copies on cardstock of this week’s GodTime and Parent CUE cards.

©2013 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com 1 If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date). 252 Groups December 2013, Week 2 Small Group, K-1

 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.

FOR LEADERS ONLY GOD VIEW: the connection between JOY and God’s character, as shown through God’s big story

This month, let’s think about how: (1) Choosing joy is not always easy. (2) The Bible challenges us to respond to life’s challenges with joy. (3) Showing joy in all circumstances proves that God is at work within us.

This week, we’re discovering: In this week’s Bible story, Zechariah and Elizabeth were unable to have children (Luke 1:5-25; 57-79). They were older and it seemed impossible that they’d ever have a child of their own. Yet an angel came to Zechariah and told him that he would indeed have a son, and that son would prepare the way for the Promised One, Jesus. Zechariah and Elizabeth learned that God can do anything.

Our Bottom Line is: I can have joy because anything is possible with God. So many times we lose our joy because we feel like there are no ways out of a situation we’re in. Knowing that God can do the impossible can actually fuel our joy. Although He may not always choose to do the impossible—He may allow us to walk through hard times to help us grow—we can remember that He can rescue us from anything.

The monthly memory verse is: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4 NIV Our God has the power to do things we can only imagine. God can provide a solution even when we can’t see one. Therefore, our joy can always be in God, who can do anything.

©2013 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com 3 If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date). 252 Groups December 2013, Week 2 Small Group, K-1 Baby, What a Big Surprise

Bible Story: Baby, What a Big Surprise (Zechariah and Elizabeth) • Luke 1:5-25; 57-79 Bottom Line: I can have joy because anything is possible with God. Memory Verse: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4, NIV Life App: Joy—finding a way to be happy, even when things don’t go your way. Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.

Plug In: Focus the Energy (Small Groups, 10-15 minutes) Focus the energy on today’s Bible story in a Small Group setting with an engaging discussion question and an interactive opening activity.

Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for the first time. Pray specifically for the kids that you know are in impossible situations (divorce, illness, family finances). Ask God to show the kids that He is with them in each of those situations. Ask God to do the impossible in each situation. Pray that these kids will feel support and encouragement from the people around them.

1. Early Arriver Idea What You Need: An offering container, a picture Bible

What You Do: Invite kids to put their offering in the container, and then ask them if they have ever heard of God doing something impossible. Let them flip through the picture Bible for ideas, and talk about God parting the Red Sea, crashing the walls of Jericho, and the times when Jesus healed the sick and even raised the dead. Emphasize that God can do anything!

Optional: You can gather the materials needed for gingerbread modeling dough (recipe can be found in the Activity Pages on the website) and let kids help you make the dough during Early Arriver time.

2. Gingerbread Miracles What You Need: Modeling dough, paper plates, cookie cutters, wet wipes

What You Do: Give each child a lump of dough and a paper plate to keep it on. Set out the cookie cutters and encourage kids to make a gingerbread person. Talk about stories of gingerbread men coming to life (as in The Gingerbread Man, The Gingerbread Baby, Shrek, etc.). Set aside any unused dough for use during Catch On.

What You Say: “What great gingerbread people! You all were really creative making those guys. Can we bring gingerbread men to life? No! That is impossible for us. These are just clay. (Guide children to squish their gingerbread person and add them to the pile of dough to be used later.) Only God can make a person, because anything is possible with God. [Transition] Let’s go to Large Group and hear about how God made the impossible possible when He created a very special person!”

Lead your group to the Large Group area.

Catch On: Make the Connection (Small Groups, 25-30 minutes) Make the connection of how today’s Bible story applies to real life experiences through interactive activities and discussion questions.

* 1. Gingerbread Scenes (application activity) What You Need: “Gingerbread Scenes” (Activity Pages), crayons

What You Do: Hand out the “Gingerbread Scenes.” Talk about each scene and the kinds of things that happen there. Ask if anyone has ever been in a situation where it seemed impossible to have joy. Maybe a sibling was having a tantrum, or they were squashed in the backseat of a car on a very long drive and couldn’t stretch their legs, or they were at the playground and a bigger kid demanded their swing. Guide children to write or draw an “impossible” situation for each scene, helping them as needed.

Home Scene Ideas: Didn’t get what they want for Christmas. The neighbor kids aren’t nice. Their bike got stolen. They have a very messy room to clean. Their siblings are fighting. School Scene Ideas: Teachers are yelling. They have a hard time with a test. They get hurt on the playground. Recess is cancelled. Car Scene Ideas: They got stuck in the “worst” seat. They leave somewhere fun too soon. Music they don’t like is playing really loud. They’re going somewhere they don’t want to go.

What You Say: “Yes, all of these difficult things happen to us sometimes, and it seems impossible to keep having joy. But we know that joy isn’t about having things just the way we want them, which would be impossible. We are never going to have everything go exactly our way. [Apply] But even when things are difficult, like in these scenes, and happiness seems impossible, you and [Impress] I can have joy because anything is possible with God. When you remember that [Recycle] you can trust God no matter what, joy becomes a little easier, even in difficult times.”

2. Joyful Letters (memory verse activity) What You Need: Modeling dough, paper plates

What You Do: Say the verse together with the kids and hand out the dough on paper plates, making sure every kid has a fist-sized piece. Instruct kids to roll their dough into a long snake. Assign letters to each child from the key word of the memory verse, either “rejoice” or “joyful,” depending on the translation your church uses. Then help them make those letters from their dough. If you have more kids than letters, let some make exclamation points, smiley faces, or the letters and numbers from the reference. When all the kids are finished, line up the letters on their plates to spell the word. Say the verse again together, pointing to the dough word as you say it.

What You Say: It was tricky to make the letters from dough, wasn’t it? Sometimes you’d have to start over! [Apply] Sometimes it gets frustrating when things don’t go our way. We want to get mad or quit. But God wants us to keep going, because He can help us do anything He wants! Even when things seem hard or even impossible, we know that you and [Impress] I can have joy because anything is possible with God!” 3. Zechariah in the Temple (application activity / Bible story review / great for active learners) What You Need: No supplies needed

What You Do: Gather the kids in a circle, standing up, and instruct them to hold hands. Make sure that everyone knows the song “The Farmer in the Dell.” Then sing that song while walking in a circle, with the following new words/actions:

Zechariah in the Temple, Zechariah in the Temple, with God anything’s possible, Zechariah in the Temple. (Choose one child to stand still at the center of the circle as Zechariah.)

Zechariah sees an angel, Zechariah sees an angel, with God anything’s possible, Zechariah sees an angel. (Zechariah chooses another to join him as the angel.)

The angel mentions his wife, the angel mentions his wife, with God anything’s possible, the angel mentions his wife. (The angel chooses another child to be the wife.)

The wife has a son, the wife has a son, with God anything’s possible, the wife has a son. (The wife chooses another child to be the son.)

All the people cheer, all the people cheer, with God anything’s possible, all the people cheer. (All the children walking in the circle take two steps towards the center and raise their joined hands high and then they step back again. Repeat twice.)

Repeat this song, with different children in the middle, until each child has a turn in the center.

What You Say: “It sure seemed like Zechariah was in an impossible situation in our Bible story today. He might have felt sad or tired or worried when he went into the Temple, but when he came out it was a whole different story! Even though he couldn’t talk, he still trusted that God could make the impossible possible. He must have sounded really happy when he announced the baby’s name when his son was born. When we remember how the story ends, it really reminds us that [Impress] I can have joy because anything is possible with God! [Apply] Whenever something seems impossible in your own life, remember the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. If God can do what He did for them, He can do anything!”

Pray and Dismiss (application activity) What You Need: “Gingerbread Scene” Activity Pages from earlier, “Impossible/Possible Cards” (Activity Pages)

What You Do: Gather the group in a circle and join them at the top of the circle. Set the “Impossible” card in front of you to your left, and the “Possible” card to your right. Hold all the Gingerbread Scenes in your lap. Get everyone’s attention, and put the Gingerbread Scenes by the “Impossible” card. Talk a little about what kinds of things the kids wrote or drew on their scenes and how they seem impossible.

What You Say: “Some of these things do seem to make it impossible to have joy. [Personalize] (Share an age- appropriate story where you found it difficult to have joy, but you relied on God to help you be joyful.) But we know that you and [Impress] I can have joy because anything is possible with God. We are going to pray now and ask God to do the impossible, and give us joy even in these situations. (Say a simple prayer asking for God to give us impossible joy because He can do anything. As you

©2013 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com 6 If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date). 252 Groups December 2013, Week 2 Small Group, K-1 pray for joy in sad times, scared times, stressful times, mad times, etc., move the Gingerbread Scenes one-by-one from the Impossible to Possible pile. After your prayer is finished, draw kids’ attention to the fact that the Gingerbread Scenes have switched piles, showing that they can have joy in all of those times because anything is possible with God!) [Apply] When you find yourself feeling fearful, mad, stressed, sad, or just plain un-joyful because something seems impossible, remember that God can do the impossible. Pray to Him and He will help you have joy!”

Give each child a GodTime card. Pass out Parent CUE cards as adults arrive for pick-up.