I'll Be There For

252 Groups February 2015, Week 2 Large Group, K-3

I’ll Be There for You

Bible Story: I’ll Be There for You (Ruth and Boaz) • Ruth 1–2 Bottom Line: Be kind to your family and friends. Memory Verse: “Do to others as you want them to do to you.” Luke 6:31, NIrV Life App: Kindness—showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

Power Up: Engage the Heart (Large Group, 20-25 minutes) Engage children’s hearts in a Large Group setting through interactive worship, prayer and an innovative telling of today’s Bible story.

SETTING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: “Our story today is found in the Old Testament in the book of Ruth.

“Along with Ruth, there was a woman in our story named Naomi. Naomi was married to Elimelech and they had two sons. Because of a famine in Bethlehem, where they lived, Naomi’s family had to leave their home. They went to a foreign country, and while they were there, Naomi’s sons got married. One son married a girl named Orpah. The other married a girl named Ruth. Sadly, Naomi’s husband died, and then her two sons died, too. It was terrible. So the three women were left alone and without husbands: Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth.

RUTH STAYS WITH NAOMI STORYTELLER: “Soon Naomi heard that the famine in her homeland had lifted. Food was growing there again! So she decided to go back to Bethlehem. Ruth and Orpah started to follow her, since she was their mother-in-law. But Naomi knew the girls’ lives would be much better if they stayed in their own home country. They could be accepted back into their families and maybe even find new husbands. So Naomi told Ruth and Orpah to go home. Orpah listened and stayed in her home country. But Ruth refused. She stayed by Naomi’s side. The Bible says that Ruth told Naomi (read from Bible), ‘Where you go I’ll go. Where you stay I’ll stay. Your people will be my people … I won’t let anything except death separate you from me.’ (Ruth 1:16-17, NIrV) Talk about showing kindness!

“Finally, Ruth and Naomi arrived in Bethlehem—just as the barley fields were golden and ready for harvest. Now, I believe you guys made some barley before Large Group, right? Can everyone hold up their barley for me? Great! I am going to need you guys to be my barley field. Think you can do that? (Pause for response.) Thanks! Now, I’m going to need a few Small Group Leader volunteers.

Choose four Small Group Leaders. One or more should be a female.

“Okay, let’s see. (To a female) You can be our Ruth. And the three of you will be field workers.

Hand each volunteer a basket.

©2014 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 (Cheryl Bishop/FUMCR/Feb2015). 252 Groups February 2015, Week 2 Large Group, K-3

RUTH GATHERS FOOD - (One of the opening activities for small groups was to color strips of barley and bring it with them. I took that out so you’ll need to create a barley field in some other way) STORYTELLER: “So Naomi and Ruth were in Bethlehem and the barley was ready to be picked! Let’s see your barley field!

Send the field workers out to pick the barley, instructing them to drop one or two pieces on the floor.

“In those times, workers would pick the barley from the fields and they were told to leave some leftovers behind for women whose husbands had died and for kids who didn’t have families. Because she was now one of those women, Ruth could head out to a nearby barley field owned by a man named Boaz. She followed behind the workers, picking up what they dropped.

Send Ruth out to pick up after the workers. Call workers back to the stage.

BOAZ IS KIND STORYTELLER: “Now, the man who owned the field, Boaz, was a distant relative of Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law. When he saw how hard Ruth was working gathering food for her and Naomi, Boaz told Ruth she could drink from his water supply and invited her to eat lunch with him and his workers. Boaz also told the workers to leave extra barley on the ground for her.

Call Ruth back up to the stage and send the field workers out once more.

“So the workers went out in the fields once again, this time leaving much more on the ground for Ruth. When Ruth went out after them, she was able to fill her baskets with the leftover barley. Boaz had seen how Ruth was kind to Naomi, following her to a new place and keeping her company. So Boaz was kind to Ruth by leaving extra barley for her in the fields.

Call the volunteers all back up on stage.

“That was some great barley field working! Can I get a round of applause for our Ruth and field workers? (Lead applause.) And can you guys (to SGL volunteers) help me give a round of applause to our great barley field?

Applaud and dismiss the volunteers.

WRAPPING UP THE STORY STORYTELLER: “Ruth continued feeding Naomi and herself from the leftover barley in Boaz’s fields. Boaz allowed her to work there for the entire barley harvest. And he continued being kind to Ruth and Naomi. In fact, he eventually married Ruth, giving her and Naomi a place in his home forever.

“I just love that story because there is so much kindness in it. Naomi showed kindness when she told the girls to go back to their homes where life would be better. Ruth showed kindness when she stayed with Naomi to help her and keep her company. Boaz showed kindness to Ruth and Naomi by giving them extra food and accepting them into his family when they were in need. They each thought about

©2014 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com 2 If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (Cheryl Bishop/FUMCR/Feb2015). 252 Groups February 2015, Week 2 Large Group, K-3

others and what they would want someone to do for them, which is exactly what our memory verse is about this month. It is found in Luke 6:31, and it says …

CG: Memory Verse Slide

“‘Do to others as you want them to do to you.’

“Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz all treated each other they way they would have wanted to be treated. They were kind to one another, and it’s important for you and me to remember how important it is to …

CG: Bottom Line Slide [Impress] “Be kind to your family and friends. Can you guys say that with me? One, two, three …”

STORYTELLER AND KIDS: [Impress] “Be kind to your family and friends.”

STORYTELLER, HOST, and KIDS: [Impress] “Be kind to your family and friends.”

STORYTELLER: “Great job! Let’s pray and thank God for this awesome story of kindness.”

Pray STORYTELLER: “Dear God, thank You for Ruth’s story. Thank You for this great example of kindness found right in Your Word. Help us to think of ways to show our family and friends how valuable they are to us. Help us to always choose kindness. We love You. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.”

[Impress] “Be kind to your family and friends. They need kindness just as much as everyone else.”

Dismiss children to their Small Groups.