Let them know that you, Jan. 20, 2019 God Is the Lord of Life whose name is the Lord—that DATE PONDER POINT you alone are the Most High over all the earth. 2 Kings 5 Elisha and Naaman Psalm 83:18 THE BIG GOD STORY REMEMBER VERSE Welcome and Worship (15 minutes) • The large group room will be divided into three sections. Please help kids find which section Begins class creating an inviting atmosphere for kids to feel welcome and engage kids in worship they should sit in according to their grade: 1st- through singing and communion. 2nd, 3rd-4th & 5th-6th. The Big God Story (18 minutes) • Toward the end of small group time, A/V Tech Creates space for children to hear God’s word and will play the 2 minute warning sound followed prepare respond to the Holy Spirit in small groups by a song. During or immediately following the song please regroup in the large group meeting Small Groups (20 minutes) space (not before). Kids will build relationships with each other and their leaders, and respond to what they learned in • 5th & 6th graders can go directly to Snack the Big God Story as well as how to apply it to their Shack after small group time, rather than lives regrouping in the large group space. Bless & Dismiss (4 minutes) Bless kids to send them out with a sense of peace so they can be a blessing to others. Host Administrative To Do’s: • Make sure no group is too large • Make sure each group has enough supplies • Close curtains and divider wall for small groups at 9:00 and 10:15 (and re-open after 9:00) • Cue the tech when to play the 2 minute warning with song. • Call names for dismissal after blessing SCHEDULE Large Small 2 Min Regroup/ Group Group Warn. Dismiss 5th-6th 1st Service (9:00) 9:00 9:33 9:53 10:00 2nd Service (10:15) 10:15 10:48 11:08 11:15 3rd Service (11:30) 11:30 12:03 12:23 12:30 1 GOAL: Worship & welcome is all about engaging kids and helping them enter into worship, letting them know that class has begun preparing their minds for what they are going to hear. WELCOME (Host): Stage Lights On VIDEO LOOPS: Welcome Loop, 5 Min Countdown, Welcome Image We are so glad you are here today. Welcome the kids in your own words then say the following to the kids: Let’s all stand and hear God’s word and sing our praise to Him… OPENING WORSHIP SONG (Worship Leader): Turn out main overhead lights REMEMBER VERSE VIDEO WORSHIP VIDEO 1: Glory to God WORSHIP VIDEO 2: Million Reasons (Direct kids to get with their groups and circle up with their small group leader before sitting down) SMALL GROUP CONNECT IMAGE CONNECT QUESTIONS (Host): 4 MINUTE COUNTDOWN VIDEO • If you were invisible for a day, what would you do? • Would you rather go back in time or into the future? • What do you like better: going to bed, or waking up? TIMELINE VIDEO (Storyteller) The Big God Story: Point out that what kids are about to hear is true and is recorded in the Bible. Open your Bible to the passage and leave it open and visible throughout The Big God Story. Invite kids to open their Bibles and follow along as you storytell. Children respond to what the Holy Spirit is teaching them as they reflect on the day’s portion of The Big God Story. The Prayer of Release: This allows children and leaders to pause, be still, and ask God to quiet their hearts and minds. Before you pray, you might ask the kids to hold out their hands, palms up, in a spirit of releasing their worries and distractions in order to better receive what the Holy Spirit might have for them today. Then encourage the kids to quiet their voices, take a seat, and pray with you. 2 The Big God Story: Storyteller Script In The Big God Story, the prophet Elijah had two unique encounters with God. In one encounter, God made a fire blaze from heaven. In the second, He spoke gently to Elijah through the whispering wind. Through these two encounters, God showed He is Yahweh, the Most High God. Today, we are going to hear about the prophet who came after Elijah and how God used him to show that He is the Lord of Life. But first, let’s pray. Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. Elijah had a disciple named Elisha who served Elijah in the same way that Joshua served Moses. For fun, every time you say, “Elijah” and “Elisha,” have the kids say the names with you— emphasizing the “juh” and “shuh” at the end of their names. Amazingly, when Elijah finished his ministry on earth, God took him up into heaven in a whirlwind! (2 Kings 2). Tech: Cue Elijah Going up to Heaven image. Can you imagine watching your friend going up to heaven like that? Amazing! When Elijah went up to heaven, he left his job of being a prophet to Elisha. Elisha’s job as prophet was to continue the work of Elijah: to warn the nation of Israel against worshipping false gods. Because Israel wasn’t being faithful to the Lord, God called Elisha to remind them He is God—the Lord of Life. During the time when Elisha lived, Israel was at constant war with the nation of Aram, a Gentile nation. Tech: Cue Map of Israel and Aram image. What’s a Gentile? Interact with answers. A Gentile was someone who wasn’t part of God’s original chosen people, the Israelites. The commander of the army of Aram was a man named Naaman. Tech: Cue Naaman image. He was a well-respected man who’d won many victories for his country. Unfortunately, he also had leprosy. Who knows what leprosy is? Encourage responses. Leprosy is a skin disease that can cover and eat away at the body! And back in Bible times, people didn’t know how to cure it. Because Naaman had leprosy, he probably wanted healing pretty badly! Naaman’s wife had a servant girl who’d come from Israel. She believed in the Lord and talked to Naaman’s wife. Have children open their Bibles. Read 2 Kings 5:3 aloud. 3 She spoke to the woman she was serving. She said, “I wish my master would go and see the prophet who is in Samaria. He would heal my master of his skin disease.” Because of what the servant girl said, Naaman went to the king of Aram and asked if he might go to Israel. Read 2 Kings 5:4–5 for the group. 4 Naaman went to see his own master. He told him what the girl from Israel had said. “I think you should go,” the king of Aram replied. “I’ll give you a letter to take to the king of Israel.” So Namaan left. He took 750 pounds of silver with him. He also took 150 pounds of gold. And he took ten sets of clothes. 3 The king of Aram was desperate for his great commander to be cured and even willing to ask his enemy for help to make this happen! When the king of Israel received the letter from Aram, he got so upset that he tore his robes! That’s because the king of Israel knew he didn’t have the power to cure Naaman. Only God, the Lord of Life, could cure him. The king may have also been afraid that if he wasn’t able to cure Naaman, Israel and Aram might go to war again. Elisha had much more faith that God would be able to heal Naaman. So Elisha said to the king (Tech: Cue 2 Kings 5:8 image), “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” After Naaman left the king of Israel, he went straight to Elisha’s home. There, Elisha did not greet Naaman, but instead sent a messenger to tell him (Tech: Cue 2 Kings 5:10 image) “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan (Tech: Cue Jordan River image) and you will be cleansed.” Naaman was furious! He had traveled a long way to meet Elisha, and he’d expected that Elisha himself would come and heal him. Naaman said, “Are not … the rivers of Damascus … better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” (2 Kings 5:12). Tech: Cue River of Damascus image. Naaman expected a big show from Elisha in order for him to be healed. Since Elisha didn’t do that, Naaman left in a rage. But, because one of Naaman’s servants convinced him to “wash and be cleansed” (v. 13), Naaman agreed to dip seven times in the Jordan River. Tech: Cue Naaman in Jordan River image. The leprosy covered and damaged Naaman’s skin. But, as he dipped in the Jordan river, his diseased flesh, which had likely been covered in sores, was completely restored and made new—just like the skin of a child (v. 14). You know how a baby’s skin is really perfect and soft? Well, that’s what Naaman’s skin was like after he was healed! God’s healing of Naaman’s leprous skin wasn’t a trick because God Is the Healer, the Lord of Life.