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Large Group Series at a Glance for Elevate About this Series: This series is all about re-thinking the way we feel. From shame to sadness, and from joy to peace, our emotions are an important part of who we are. Over and over in the Bible, people who are hurt, angry, and afraid discover that with God s help, they don t have to stay that way. Explore how God can help us turn sadness to joy, anger to peace, bitterness to forgiveness, and so much more, in this series. Key Verse: Ecclesiastes 3:4 - There is a time to weep. And there s a time to laugh. There is a time to be sad. And there s a time to dance. Weekly Overview: Lesson: Topic: Big Idea: Lesson 1: September 8/9 Lesson 2: September 15/16 Re-Start Jesus understands- Hebrews 4:15; Luke 19:41; Matthew 21:12-17; Matthew 26:30; Re-Think (Shame to Belonging) Jesus heals a blind man- John 9 I can live like Jesus did. God accepts me for who I am. Lesson 3: September 22/23 Re-Do (Sadness to Joy) David at Ziklag- 1 Samuel 29-30; Psalm 56 I can follow God, even when things go wrong. : Re-Act (Anger to Peace) Isaac s wells- Genesis 26:12-33 I can choose how I respond to what happens. Lesson 5: October 6/7 Re-Make (Bitterness to Forgiveness) Joseph forgives- Genesis 45 I can choose to forgive. Lesson 6: October 13/14 Re-New (Hurt to Loved) Mary Magdalene- Luke 8:1-3; John 19:25; 20:1-18 (Decision) I can follow the God who loves me. 2
Series at a Glance for Elevate (continued) Lesson 1: Re-Start Does it ever seem like other people just don t understand how you re feeling? They don t know how sad or angry you are, or don t get why you re so excited. This week, we ll find out why Jesus understands what we re going through, no matter how we feel. Find out as we kick off a new year in Elevate! Lesson 2: Re-Think (Shame to Belonging) Is there a place where you just feel great? It could be when you re tucked into your warm bed, in your own secret place, or hanging out with your best friends. Feeling like you belong is awesome, but feeling left out can be awful. Fortunately, there is never a moment where God leaves you out of his plan. With Him, you will always belong. Lesson 3: Re-Do (Sadness to Joy) When we feel sad, it s easy to wonder Why did this happen to me? Why would God do this? A person we read about in the Bible named David asked those same questions. He is known for writing music about how wonderful God is, but also wrote about times when he felt incredibly sad. With God s help, David kept going, even when it seemed like everything was going wrong. : Re-Act (Anger to Peace) Every day, things happen to us that we can t control, but there is one thing you can always control: yourself. This week, we ll see the power of choosing peace over anger, and see how Isaac made wise choices, even when bad things happened to him. Lesson 5: Re-Make (Bitterness to Forgiveness) Is there something that happened a long time ago that you re still mad about? Other people hurt us sometimes, but staying mad about something for a long time can hurt us, our friendships, families, and every part of our lives. How can we choose to forgive instead of holding a grudge? Lesson 6: Re-New (Hurt to Loved) When Jesus met a woman named Mary, she wasn t doing well. She was sick, and couldn t even think straight. Jesus healed her and changed her life, but her story doesn t end there. Mary was always there for Jesus and his followers. When all of the disciples ran away, Mary was still there for Jesus. She followed Jesus with her whole life, because he had shown her God s love. 3
Lesson Outline for Elevate Lesson Segment : Re-Act Total Running Time Opening Song and Welcome (1:00) Team Time (14:00) 0:00 15:00 Media Part 1 (Video) (6:00) Group Time (15:00) Media Part 2 (Video) (9:00) 15:00 45:00 Application (6:00) Worship (8:00) Wrap Up (1:00) 45:00-60:00 Video Cue Slide Cue Audio Cue Tech Notes 4
Opening Song and Welcome 1:00 (Roll when directed) Elevate Opener Welcome everybody! It s time to get started! Come on down to the front, find a place to sit, and throw away your popcorn on the way. Do This: If you want to shake things up, challenge the first couple kids to the front to a bottle flipping contest. Whoever can flip a water bottle in the air and have it land upright first is the winner. Encourage other kids to cheer for who they think will win. (Auto advance) Elevate Slide and Underscore We have a ton of fun stuff to do today, like a black light game, hearing a story, and some great music, too. The first thing we get to do, is have some team time! Team Time 14:00 Series Title Slide: When I talk about your teams, I mean everyone in here that is in your grade. You ll be doing group time together, answering questions, and playing games together. Your group will meet by your team s flag, that s the flag with your grade written on it. This series we re in is called and it s all about our emotions, the way we feel. Today, we re going to meet someone who made an interesting choice when others were really mean to him. We might even discover some things we can do when others are rude or mean to us. We re going to be hearing stories, talking about big questions, singing, and playing games over the next hour. In fact, you re about to head over to your flags for a team activity. I ll tell you what it s all about first. 5
Every week this series, we re going to be using black lights. Those are the lights that make everything glow. We re about to do an activity with them now! In two weeks, though, we re going to have a glowlympics, with a ton of black light games going on before and after the hour. Today, you re going to be competing against your team in black light tic-tac-toe. It s got a twist, though. It s going to be like a relay race. Your group leaders will split you into two teams, and you ll stand in a line. Each team will have a different color of glow stick. Your goal is to get three in a row of your color. The person in the front of the line has to run to the board, put their stick down, and run back. When they tag the next person in line, they can go! The first team to get three in a row wins! Do This: As you talk, it may help to demonstrate the game with the help of a couple leaders or kids. Know This: Make sure tic-tac-toe boards are taped on the ground ahead of time, and that groups know where to go. Be sure to run over how to play this game with the group leaders ahead of time. Groups can play this game several times over eight minutes! Make sure black lights are on for this activity. 8:00 Countdown and fun background music! (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: Alright, you can come back to the front, but be sure to sit by your teammates because next you ll get to talk with them about our question of the day! Question of the Day Video (Auto Advance) QOTD Slide: What s the latest you ve ever stayed up? What s the latest you ve ever stayed up? Find out the answers of a few people around you! Do This: Emcee as the kids are sharing their answers. Encourage them to share with the people around them, and encourage any kid whose story you hear. 6
Know This: Allow kids time to interact with one another. Feel free to ask a few of them what their answer is, but you don t have to make them share with the whole group. Make sure this time only takes a minute or two. Has anyone stayed up all night before? Wow! That takes dedication. I know that staying up late really makes me tired the next day. The choices we make cause other things to happen, even if it s just feeling tired. Media: Part 1 6:00 The Source Team members have some tough choices to make today. Let s find out what they are! The Source: Part 1 (6:00) (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: What can we do when other people are just mean? How should we react to that? Is it ok to be mean to someone if they are mean to you first? You ll get to talk about all of that in group time. You can look for your leaders by your team flag! Just look for the big flag with your grade written on it, and I ll see you after group time! Group Time 15:00 15:00 Group Time Countdown (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: Do This: Make sure each kid finds their group. Help group leaders if there is a need. Encourage kids as they work to answer the question. Know This: This is a time for kids to see how they can use the Bible to investigate and better understand life. This time is designed for kids to interact and deepen their understanding. They won t get all the answers, but allow them to question and discover as much as possible. Be ready to support group leaders in any way needed. 7
Do This: Give the groups a warning about one minute before this time is up. Media: Part 2 9:00 Hey everyone! You can come back to the front. While you re coming up here, what answers did you come up with? What do you think Gabby and the others should do? Do This: Allow one or two kids to answer. Great ideas, I think we should find out what happens to them. The Source: Part 2 (9:00) (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: The way we react to things really makes a difference. Isaac made a really amazing choice. How did he do it? Application 6:00 When people are unkind or mean to us, we might feel angry, and try to fight, yell, or get even. Isaac didn t do any of those things, though. Instead, he chose to be peaceful. Can you imagine what would have happened if Isaac had tried to fight those people? They would have hurt each other more, and made the whole situation worse. Maybe he would have won, and maybe he would have lost, but they definitely wouldn t have had peace. How can we have that kind of peace? Well, there s something Rue said about this that is super important. Big Idea Slide: I can choose how I respond to what happens. 8
We can t always choose what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond to what happens. It s not wrong to feel angry. All of us feel upset sometimes. The important thing is what you do when you feel angry. When we choose to forgive and be peaceful, we will share that peace with everyone around us. What does that look like? I think we can all work together to find out. We re going to hear several stories. For each one, I want you to tell me one thing you could do that would make the situation worse, and one thing you could do to make it more peaceful. Do This: Bring out the notepad and easel, and make sure anger is written on one side, and peace is written on the other. Lunch line picture It s pizza day at school lunch. You re almost to the front of the line, when another kid cuts in front of you. What s one thing you could do that might make this worse? Do This: Allow a kid to answer. Write his or her answer on the anger side of the notepad. Ok, what s one way you could choose to be peaceful? Do This: Allow a kid to answer. Write his or her answer on the peace side of the notepad. Nice. Being peaceful doesn t mean you have to let everyone do what they want, so you could still ask them to move, without getting angry and making things worse. Let s try again. Kid at home picture Your friend just told you that they weren t going to hang out with you anymore. You re upset, but what can you do? What s something you could do, that might make things worse? Do This: Allow a kid to answer. Write his or her answer on the anger side of the notepad. Ok, what s one way you could choose to practice peace? Do This: Allow a kid to answer. Write his or her answer on the peace side of the notepad. Good! You don t have to fix everything to have peace. You may not be friends with them again, but you can still feel peaceful about it. This might be a great time to talk to your parent or another adult you trust, and it s definitely a great time to talk to God. Ok, we have one more story to think about. 9
Parents and kids Your parents have a rule that you really don t like. You ve argued about it before, and they just don t understand. What s something you could do that might make things worse? Do This: Allow a kid to answer. Write his or her answer on the anger side of the notepad. Ok, what s one way you could choose to be peaceful? Do This: Allow a kid to answer. Write his or her answer on the peace side of the notepad. It s tough sometimes, but our parents are usually thinking of what s best for us. I can tell you, though, if you talk to someone angrily, they will probably just get angry, too. Your parents are way more likely to listen to you if you talk to them peacefully and respectfully. Big Idea Slide: I can choose how I respond to what happens. You can t choose what happens, but you can choose how you respond to it. In every one of these stories, you have a choice. Every time you want to get angry, you have a choice. This week, when you feel angry, try stopping, and thinking about the choice you want to make. Worship Slide Worship 8:00 God is the one who gives us peace, and that s one reason we worship him! Let s get up, and sing about how incredible our God is! Song #1: Brighter (Auto-Advance) Worship Slide God is amazing. Let s keep on worshipping him with another song! 10
Song #2: Who I Wanna Be (Auto advance) Series Title Slide: Wrap-Up 2:00 We re just about done, but remember, in two weeks we have our Glowlympics! There will be all kinds of black light games going on, and everyone who is there will get some great stuff, like this awesome Elevate hat! Do This: Show kids the Elevate flat-brimmed hat. Also, this is an extra awesome time to invite a friend to try out Elevate. In fact, if you bring a friend who hasn t been to Elevate before, you ll both be entered in a drawing to win ride wristbands for Nickelodeon Universe! Let s finish up today by praying. To help us stay focused on God, let s close our eyes and bow our heads while we talk to him. God, we love you. Help us to choose to be peaceful every day. Thank you for leading and loving us. In Jesus name, amen. I ve had a lot of fun hanging out with you all today, I hope to see you next week! Elevate Slide Start hangtime music videos 11