TODAY S SUGGESTED SCHEDULE

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T O D A Y ’ S B I B L E S T O R Y Over and Over

Training to Win the Prize 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (supporting: Matthew 22:36-40)

T O D A Y ’ S B O T T O M L I N E Keep practicing what matters most.

MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE Training the body has some value. But being godly has value in every way. It promises

help for the life you are now living and the life to come.

1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

M O N T H LY L I F E A P P Commitment—Making a plan

and putting it into practice

B A S I C T R U T H

I can trust God no matter what.

PRELUDE: Setting the tone for the experience

See the Getting Ready pages at the end of this document for a detailed description of what you’ll need for today.

In the Prelude folder of your curriculum, you’ll find a variety of other resources to help you prepare.

SMALL GROUP

SOCIAL: Providing time for fun interaction Early Arriver

Opening Activity

LARGE GROUP

STORY:Communicating God’s truth in engaging ways WORSHIP:Inviting people to respond to God

Welcome/Opener

Worship (“Ready Set Go” from Little Praise Party-Ready Set Go and “You Are Faithful” from This Love)

Bible Story Bottom Line Prayer Closer

SMALL GROUP

GROUPS:Creating a safe place to connect Bible Story Review: May I Run the Race? Application Activity: Swat the Answers Memory Verse Activity: Train the Body

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T O D A Y ’ S S U G G E S T E D S C H E D U L E

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1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION 15 MINUTES

PRELUDE SOCIAL STORY WORSHIP GROUPS HOME

Before kids arrive, take a few moments to pray for them. Thank God for His commitment to us, to being so committed to us that He made a way for us to have a relationship with Him forever. Ask God to give kids encouragement today, that they would be spurred on to practice and do the things that matter most. Ask Him to help kids process what they’ll learn today and to be listening for how His Spirit might be moving in their hearts.

1 . E A R LY A R R I V E R

W H AT Y O U N E E D : Offering container; dry erase board, paper easel, or piece

of butcher paper; and dry erase marker or marker

W H AT Y O U D O :

• Welcome kids by name to Small Group.

• Invite kids to put their offering in the container.

• Ask the kids to think of something that they have to practice in order to do it well.

ú If they get stuck thinking of something, you can give them ideas like these:

• Tying your shoes • Reading • Writing • Baseball • Singing • Dancing • Cheerleading • Making your bed

• As the kids share ideas, write each one on the board or paper.

• Once you have eight to ten ideas on the list, play charades with the kids’ ideas.

• Ask for a volunteer to go first.

• Let the volunteer choose something from the list and act it out without speaking, while the rest of the group tries to guess the action.

• Whoever guesses correctly gets to be the new actor.

• Cross each action off the list after it is acted out.

M A D E T O P L A Y

an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and/or

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1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION 15 MINUTES

2 . O P E N I N G A C T I V I T Y

W H AT Y O U N E E D : Small prizes and prepared obstacle course (chairs, red string, pool noodles, cones, agility ladders, etc.)

Note: If the obstacle course has not been set up before Small Group begins, enlist the kids to help you set it up and make it a fun part of the activity.

• Guide kids to line up and take turns going through the obstacle course.

• Help them space themselves out so no one trips or gets in someone else’s way.

• As each kid reaches the end of the course, give them a small prize.

• If time and interest allow, let kids go again, but this time going backwards. What You Say:

“That was so much fun! You guys did an awesome job going through our obstacle course. Was there any part of the obstacle course that was harder than other parts? (Allow kids to answer.) Sometimes doing something hard takes practice. [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group and hear a story about practicing the most important things.”

Lead your group to the Large Group area.

M A D E T O M O V E

an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy

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1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

M A D E T O P L A Y

an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and/or

working as a group

CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT 25 MINUTES

1 . M AY I R U N T H E R A C E ?

[ TA L K A B O U T G O D | B I B L E S T O R Y R E V I E W ]

W H AT Y O U N E E D : Floor tape and Bible W H AT Y O U D O :

• Tape a start line and a finish line on the floor. Place the lines as far apart as possible.

• Instruct kids to line up on the start line.

• Tell the kids you’ll read the verses from Large Group today and when they hear the key words, they can take a hop forward.

ú When you read 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, kids can take ONE jump forward when they hear the key words “race, run, runner, or prize.”

ú When you read Matthew 22:36-40, they take TWO jumps forward when they hear the key word “love.”

• Repeat at least three times.

ú During the first round, shout the key words to help them remember what they are.

ú During the second and third round, read the verses like normal and see who remembers the key words.

• If a kid jumps on a word that isn’t a key word, they go back to the start line.

W H AT Y O U S AY:

“Sometimes it was really hard to remember our key words to jump on. You really had to LISTEN and HEAR what I said. I also had to TALK in order for you to move. That reminds me of what we will learn about and practice all month long: Hear, Pray, Talk, and Live. That’s our plan to help us practice our faith in Jesus. I can’t wait to continue to learn alongside each of you as we keep practicing what matters most.”

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1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

M A D E T O I M A G I N E

an activity that promotes empathy and facilitates concrete application through

role-play and reenactment

* 2 . S WAT T H E A N S W E R S

[ L I V E F O R G O D | A P P L I C AT I O N A C T I V I T Y ]

W H AT Y O U N E E D : “Swat These” Activity Page, flyswatters

or paper plates, glue, craft sticks

• Guide kids to spread out around your small group space.

• Give each kid a “Swat These” page and a flyswatter.

• Review the four steps to our PLAN from Large Group: Hear, Pray, Talk, Live. Promp the kids to point to each one on their page.

• Explain that you will read a sentence, and they will use their flyswatter to hit the word or image that correctly fills in the blank of the sentence.

• Before reading the sentences below, do a fun round of calling out the words “Hear, Pray, Talk, and Live” in a quick and random order.

• Let kids swat their page as fast as they can, trying to keep up with you.

• Sentences:

ú “When my Small Group Leader reads the Bible out loud, I am practicing _____ing from God.” (Hear)

ú “When I am scared at night in my bedroom, I ____ to God to protect me and help me be brave.” (Pray)

ú “When I have a question about God, I can ____ to my Small Group leader about it.” (Talk)

ú “When I practice Hearing from God, Praying to God, and Talking about God, it helps me ____ for God.” (Live)

ú “Reading a devotional helps me _____ from God.” (Hear)

ú “I can ____ to God anytime, anywhere, and about anything.” (Pray)

ú “I can ______ to my friends and family about God.” (Talk)

ú “The way we _____ our lives can point others to Jesus.” (Live)

• After giving kids a chance to swat the word or image on their page, announce the correct answer.

• If a kid swats the wrong word, only they will know, but if they get upset about being wrong, encourage them to try again and do their best on the next one.

“Swatting our answers sure was fun. To Hear from God, Pray to God, Talk about God, and Live for God are all ways we can grow our faith. Just like a runner has a plan and train to get better at running, we have this plan to train and grow in

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1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

M A D E T O M O V E

an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy

in the body

3 . T R A I N T H E B O DY

[ H E A R F R O M G O D | M E M O R Y V E R S E A C T I V I T Y ]

W H AT Y O U N E E D : Bibles, “Train the Body” Activity Page,

cups

• Help kids look up and read the verse using the Bible navigation tips below:

Finding verses with kindergartners: Guide children to open the Bibles to the marked page. Point to the word 1 Timothy at the top of the page as you say, “First Timothy.” Then guide children to find the big number 4 on the page. Explain that this is the chapter number. Finally, guide them to look under the big 4 for the little 8. This is the verse number. Tell them to leave their finger on the verse as you read the verse aloud. Then lead everyone to say the verse together.

Finding verses with 1st graders: Guide them to open their Bibles to the front and find the table of contents. Hold up a Bible opened to the table of contents to show the kids what the page looks like. When the kids find the table of contents, lead them to find 1 Timothy in the list under “New Testament.” You can help by telling them that Timothy starts with the letters T-I with the number 1 in front of it. When the kids find 1 Timothy, lead them to look at the page number beside the word. Explain that the number tells them on what page they can find 1 Timothy. Help the kids find the page. When they find 1 Timothy, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help them find chapter 4. Explain that the small numbers are verse numbers. Help them find verse 8 in chapter 4.

• Reread the first sentence aloud: Training the body has some value.

ú Engage kids in a quick conversation about how a body gets “trained” through running, going to the gym, eating a healthy diet, sports practice, etc.

• Split kids into multiple teams based on how many kids you have in your group, no more than six kids on a team.

• Place the slips of paper with the words for the verse (six total for each team) under a cup.

• Place each team’s cups on the other side of the room.

• Guide each team to stand in a single file line across from their cups, about 15 feet away.

• When you say, “Go,” the first kid in line will run to their team’s cups and look under each cup until they find “Training.”

• Once they find “Training,” they run back and the next kid runs to a cup to find “The.”

• This continues until all the kids have gone to the cups to find their word and spell out the memory verse.

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( 3 . T R A I N T H E B O DY, C O N T I N U E D )

• The goal is to be the first team to find all the words and put them in order.

• When all the teams have finished, say the verse together as a group.

• For an added challenge (or if your group needs to run off some energy), make a rule that kids can only look under one cup each turn.

“Wow! You guys are so fast! Running to find all the words to part of our verse sure was fun. Just like running makes our bodies healthier, we get to learn the rest of our verse in the next few weeks. It’s all about how God wants us to keep practicing what matters most. God wants us to have a relationship with Him, and to do that we have to practice hearing from God, praying to God, talking about God, and living for God.”

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1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV

M A D E T O R E F L E C T

an activity that creates space for personal processing

and application

4 . P R AY A N D D I S M I S S

[ P R AY T O G O D | P R AY E R A C T I V I T Y ]

W H AT Y O U N E E D : Small prizes from “Opening Activity” W H AT Y O U D O :

• Ask kids to gather around you at a safe distance from you and each other.

• Ask: What are some ways you can keep practicing what matters most?

• Some examples to help them if they get stuck:

• Doing GodTime cards

• Praying

• Treating others the way Jesus would treat them

• Coming to church

• Participating in worship

• Listening during the Bible story

• Reading your Bible

• Talking to someone older who follows Jesus

• Pray for the kids and ask God to help them keep practicing what matters most.

“Those are some great ways we can keep practicing what matters most.

Remember, you can do all of these things, no matter where you are. You don’t have to be at church to practice what matters most. It’s actually super important for you to practice these things in other places and at other times, too. So let’s ask God to help us look for chances to practice the things that matter most. “God, we ask that You help us keep practicing what matters most, even when it’s hard. I can’t wait to see each of these kids grow in their relationship with You as they continue to practice hearing from You, praying to You, talking about You, and living for You. Help me do all these things every day, as well. Thank You for sending us Your Son, Jesus, and for loving us so much. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

As adults arrive to pick up, prompt kids to show off the prizes they got during the obstacle course and help them recite all the steps to the PLAN that they learned to help them practice what matters most.

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G E T T I N G R E A D Y

H E R E ’ S E V E R Y T H I N G Y O U N E E D T O K N O W T O G E T R E A D Y F O R T H I S W E E K

SOCIAL: PROVIDING TIME FOR FUN INTERACTION (15 MINUTES)

Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today’s story.

(Choose one or both of these activities.)

1 . E A R LY A R R I V E R

Made to Play: an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and/or working as a group

W H AT Y O U N E E D :

• Offering container

• Dry erase board, paper easel, or butcher paper

• Dry erase marker or marker

2 . O P E N I N G A C T I V I T Y

Made to Move: an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy in the body

• Small prizes

• Obstacle course made with chairs, red string, pool noodles, cones, agility ladders, etc. (Try to find objects that kids don’t necessarily have to touch to maneuver through.)

GROUPS: CREATING A SAFE PLACE TO CONNECT (25 MINUTES)

Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions.

(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 #2.

1 . M AY I R U N T H E R A C E ?

* 2 . S WAT T H E A N S W E R S

[ L I V E F O R G O D | A P P L I C AT I O N A C T I V I T Y ]

Made to Imagine: an activity that promotes empathy and facilitates concrete application through role-play and reenactment

• Print the “Swat These” Activity Page on cardstock; one for each kid

• Flyswatters, one for each kid OR small paper plates and craft sticks for each kid and glue.

ú Glue the plates to the sticks to use as flyswatters.

3 . T R A I N T H E B O DY

[ H E A R F R O M G O D | M E M O R Y V E R S E A C T I V I T Y ]

Made to Move: an activity that increases the oxygen in the brain and taps into the energy in the body

• Print the “Train the Body” Activity Page on cardstock and cut apart; one set for every six kids

• Bibles, marked at 1 Timothy 4:8 for kindergartners

• Cups; six for each team

4 . P R AY A N D D I S M I S S

[ P R AY T O G O D | P R AY E R A C T I V I T Y ]

Made to Reflect: an activity that creates space for personal processing and application

• Small prizes from “Opening Activity”

HOME: PROMPTING ACTION BEYOND THE EXPERIENCE • Print on cardstock or email this week’s GodTime

devotionals and Parent Cue cards.

• Tell parents about our additional family resources: Studio252.tv and the Parent Cue app.