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ELEMENTARY CURRICULUM

A four-week series

BOTTOM LINE Jesus is in control.

BIBLE VERSE “Come to me, all

who are tired from carrying

heavy loads, and I will give you

rest,” Matthew 11:28.

Through panicky stage games and video teaching, this four-week series

looks at Bible stories about times when people panicked, and Jesus brought peace. Kids will see that when we’re worried, we can go to

Jesus because he is in control; he is God! He created the universe! What sort of problem couldn’t he solve?

________________________

SERIES OUTLINE

Jesus Saves a Wedding Celebration, John 2:1-11

Jesus Feeds 5,000 Hungry Families, John 6:1-14

Jesus Calms a Storm at Sea, Mark 4:35-41

Jesus Heals a Man’s Hurt Son, Mark 9:17-29

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PANIC BUTTON

Elementary Week 1

SERIES CONCEPT Through panicky stage games and video teaching, this four-week series looks at Bible stories about times when people panicked, and Jesus brought peace. Kids will see that when we’re worried, we can go to Jesus because he is in control; he is God! He created the universe! What sort of problem couldn’t he solve? BIBLE TRUTH Jesus Saves a Wedding Celebration, John 2:1-11 BOTTOM LINE Jesus is in control. BIBLE VERSE “Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. SUPPLIES

• Bible • panic button (a loud buzzer on a stand/table) and a sheet to cover it • game setup: two large sponges, two empty clear buckets marked with red fill line, two

buckets of water, optional: team uniforms (3 shirts of one color, 3 shirts of another color)

NOTES

• All yellow highlighted text are cues for visual and audio slides. • The times in blue are to guide you. The program led from stage should be around 20-25

minutes. • To set up the game, put the two empty buckets with the red fill line on chairs in the back

of the room, and put the sponges with the two buckets filled with water on the stage. Kids will run the wet sponge through the crowd for added “panic!”

SMALL GROUP Kids will remember Jesus saving the wedding through a fun memorization game.

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TEACHER DEVOTIONAL Read: John 2:1-11 For the couple who’d just gotten married, running out of wine at their wedding would’ve been an enormous embarrassment. Maybe this was why Jesus’ mom was so panicked. At first glance, Jesus seemed reluctant to listen to her, and yet, he intentionally chose to make this family wedding the backdrop for his first miracle. Jesus cared about the honor and dignity of the newlyweds, and this miracle proves that. But on a much bigger scale, this first miracle of Jesus announces who he is. Often in the Bible, wine is a symbol of God’s blessing, joy, and life in his kingdom. Any kind of cheap wine would’ve been satisfying and exactly what the wedding guests were accustomed to at the end of a long celebration. And yet Jesus chose instead to turn the water into fine wine – the best wine. Jesus was declaring himself to be the ultimate symbol of God’s blessing, joy, and life; and he came to bring the blessing found in the kingdom of God to everyone, starting tangibly with the guests at this small-town wedding feast. We spend a lot of our lives panicking, striving, and settling for our own version of cheap wine. But all the while, Jesus is right here with us offering us a life lived with him—the finest wine of abundant life. We just have to choose to drink it. In what ways might you be panicking, striving, or settling for “cheap wine”? What are some tangible ways you drink in the “fine wine” Jesus offers you?

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WELCOME 1-2 minutes Hey everyone! I’m so glad you’re all here today. (Welcome kids.) FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD (Share with kids how God asks us to love all his children through giving and praying. Talk about a global or local outreach program and encourage kids to give by collecting an offering.) INTRO 4-5 minutes Show Series Graphic: Panic Button What do you do when you worry, stress out, or panic?! Our new series is called “Panic Button.” And we’re going to talk about what we can do when we panic. I thought it would be great to have an actual panic button that we can pretend will stop time and make everything stressful go away. Here it is: (Uncover panic button.) Raise your hand if you’ve ever panicked before. Like did you ever leave your lunch on the bus? (Hit the panic button.) PANIC! Or have you ever forgotten your homework? PANIC! (Hit the panic button.) Or has your mom ever forgotten, or was just super late, to pick you up at school?! PANIC! (Hit the panic button.) Let’s play a round of a game called Panic Button. We’re going to hear an incredible story today about a time when Jesus needed a lot of water, so this round of Panic Button will also require some big buckets of water. Leaders can you set up the game? I need two teams of three people each. (Pick two teams of three kids each and call them up on stage. Optional: give them team uniforms.) Our leaders have set up two buckets on chairs at the back of the room. (Hand first contestant on each team a dry sponge.) One at a time, a member of your team will take a sponge and dip it into the bucket of water. Then carry the sponge quickly through the crowd to the empty bucket and wring it out. Then, run the sponge back to the next person on the team and keep taking turns dipping the sponge, running it through the crowd, and wringing it out until the bucket is filled to the red line. When it is filled you will run and hit the panic button. The first team to hit the panic button wins! Make sense? It sounds a little panicky because, well, it is! When I hit the panic button you can begin. This half of the room will cheer for this team, and the other half of the room will cheer for this team. Is everyone ready to play Panic Button? (Hit the panic button and let kids play.) Show Video: Game Music Panic Button

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(When the winner hits the button, celebrate and congratulate all contestants, then dismiss the kids.) Great job playing Panic Button today! Maybe we’ll play again next week, but right now let’s all stand up and do some singing and dancing. (Teams can dry off during worship and leaders can take down water game.) WORSHIP 6-7 minutes Let’s stand up and worship God! (Encourage kids to worship God through song and dance. Play worship songs.) BIBLE TRUTH 1 minute + 9-minute video That water game earlier was pretty panicky, but it was also pretty fun. And real panic isn’t so fun, is it? Let’s see what we can do when we’re panicked. Check this out. Show Video: Wk. 1 Wedding Panic Button Show Series Graphic: Panic Button APPLICATION 2-3 minutes Wow. The situation really changed when that girl remembered that Jesus is in control, huh? Bottom Line That’s our bottom line, and really helpful to remember in times of panic. Say that with me. Show Bottom Line: Jesus is in control. Jesus is in control. Good. That’s why Jesus is the best person to go to for help! We can trust that he will help, and in just the perfect way. “Going” to him might look like praying, or talking with him, reading our Bibles, or maybe just taking a deep breath and remembering all that he has done to help in panicky situations. Going to him is the best thing we can do. Bible Verse And Jesus wants us to come to him. Let’s look at that Bible verse again. Show Bible Verse: “Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest,” Matthew 11:28. What an incredible promise from Jesus. All we need to do is go to him and he will give us rest—you know like stress-free, worry-free peace. Let’s try and memorize that verse so we can remember to go to him in all situations. One of my favorite ways of memorizing God’s Word is to add some motions. Let’s all stand up and try it. Follow my lead and let’s say this a couple of times.

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“Come to me, (Motion with both hands to “come here”.) all who are tired (Put both hands up like a pillow by your face to sleep.) from carrying heavy loads, (Hunch over and act out miserably holding a heavy sack over your shoulder.) and I will give you (Hold your hands out like you’re offering a big tray of something.) rest,” (Keep your palms open, and smile looking up in relief.) Matthew 11:28. (Hold your hands out in front of you as if you have an open Bible in them and you’re reading.) Great job. Let’s pray right now and thank God for offering us rest. PRAYER Dear God, thank you for giving us rest. When I get panicked, worried, and stressed out, help me to remember to come to you. Thank you that I can give you my panic. I believe that Jesus is in control and can help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen. SMALL GROUPS Okay, let’s go to our small groups now. (Have kids sit down in circles, in small groups, with volunteer leaders.)

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PANIC BUTTON

Elementary Small Group Week 1: Save The Party Game

SUPPLIES: none PURPOSE: Kids will remember Jesus saving the wedding through a fun memorization game. Sit down. Have kids say names, and whether or not they’ve been to a wedding. 2 minutes DISCUSSION 5 minutes 1. What bad thing happened at the wedding that made people panic? (They ran out of wine.) 2. What did Jesus do to help? (Jesus turned water to wine.) 3. Why can we go to Jesus when we’re panicked, worried, or stressed out? (Jesus is in control.

He tells us that when we come to him with our worries he will give us rest.) 4. What are some things you have worried about, or are currently worried about? (Discuss.) Let’s pray and thank Jesus for helping us with our worries. PRAYER 2 minutes Dear God, thank you for loving us and for taking care of us. We are thankful you help us when we panic about our problems and that you give us peace and rest instead. We love you so much and pray in Jesus’ name, amen. ACTIVITY 6 minutes Say Let’s pretend we’re going to a party, like Jesus was going to the wedding. The first person will say, “I’m going to a party, and I’m bringing _____” then make up what he or she is bringing to the party. The next person will say what the person before said, and then add something new. We’ll keep going around the circle, so each person will have to remember more and more things until someone forgets or messes up. Then the party is over and we’ll all say, “Party over.” BUT the person who went out can save the party by dancing for five seconds! Ready? Do 1. Facilitate the game, and lead by example with dancing!