Get Their Attention! (3 minutes) Materials: Detective Notes

INTRODUCE yourself and the kids by SAYING:

After everyone has had a turn to share, SAY:

___________________________________________________________

Bible Story (7 minutes) Materials: Detective Notes, Drawing Utensils, My First Message

GIVE each child their own sheet of Detective Notes and complete the top section.

ASK kids to close their eyes & bow their heads. Pray for the group by SAYING:

Hey! My name is ________, and I’m so glad all of you are here today for our series, “Mystery Manor”! We’re going to be like detectives, searching for clues that will help us understand the answers to questions we have about God.

Tell me your name and which bad thing would be the worst for you? Walking into a giant spider web OR realizing you ate a piece of old, moldy cheese pizza?

Those are really bad things that could happen to you one day. When bad things happen, it can be very upsetting and even confusing. So today we are going to learn the answer to this question:

Is God Really in Control When Bad Things Happen?

If we are going to discover the answer to this question, we’ve got to work like detectives and take some Detective Notes (show). These notes lead us to the Bible, the best book for finding truth!

1. What did God tell Jonah to do? (Go to Nineveh & preach to the bad people there)

2. God let something bad happen to Jonah while he was out at sea. What happened? (God sent a huge storm which almost made the ship break into pieces; the sailors threw him overboard & a fish swallowed him)

3. Was God in control of sending the storm and the fish that swallowed Jonah? (Yes)

4. What good came out of the bad things that happened to Jonah? (Jonah realized he needed to obey God & do what he promised he would do)

5. Has something bad ever happened to you? (Allow responses) Who is control, even when bad things happen? (God)

So when we’re wondering “Is God really in control when bad things happen?” we can have faith and believe what we Need to Know today:

No Matter What Happens, God is in Control!

Heavenly Father, sometimes it’s hard to understand why bad things happen. Help me to always trust that you are in control. Thank you for making everything right! In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Question:

Is God Really in Control When Bad Things Happen?

Need to Know:

No Matter What Happens, God is in Control!

Bible Story:

Jonah & the Huge Fish

Jonah 1-3

Materials:

/ Detective Notes

/ Drawing Utensils

/ Character Cards

/ Hand Sanitizer

/ Bingo Cards

/ Smarties

/ Paper Bag with Memory Verse Strips inside

/ Filler Guide

4-5-6 Small Group Week 5

ASK for volunteers to READ “Jonah and the Huge Fish. After the story, ASK:

Application Activity (6 minutes) Materials: Character Cards, Hand Sanitizer, Bingo Cards, Smarties, Detective Notes, Drawing Utensils

1. Hold up Character Cards and explain that there are many examples of bad things happening to people in the Bible, but God was in control.

2. Have everyone SANITIZE their hands.

3. Give each child one Bingo Card and two packs of Smarties.

4. Play Bingo by reading an entire Character Card, front & back, and have kids mark ONE of that person on their Bingo Card with a Smartie.

x There are more than one of each character on the Bingo Cards.

x Continue with the other Character Cards until someone has FIVE in a row on their Bingo Card.

5. Have everyone in the group high-five or fist bump the first person to say, “Bingo”!

6. Play again as time allows, and allow kids to eat Smarties when finished.

7. Complete the “evidence” section on the Detective Notes by matching the names of the given Bible characters with their descriptions.

8. Afterwards, SAY the following:

___________________________________________________________

Wrap It Up (4 minutes) Materials: Paper Bag with Memory Verse Strips inside, Filler Guide

REVIEW the series Memory Verse by saying it with the motions several times. (Motions are optional.) Then play “Hot Potato”:

1. Make sure the Paper Bag with Memory Verse Strips inside is closed tightly.

2. PASS the paper bag quickly around the group, like “Hot Potato” as you count to ten, then stop

3. Have the person holding the paper bag pull out one Memory Verse Strip and place it on the floor.

4. CONTINUE passing the paper bag until all the Memory Verse Strips have been removed and placed together on the floor.

5. Work together to put the memory verse in order, then read it aloud together. Afterwards, SAY:

ASK the Review Questions on the left. USE Filler Guide to keep kids engaged in small group.

You’ve collected all of the evidence needed to answer the question, “Is God Really in Control When Bad Things Happen?”

And the answer is what we need to know today! Say it with me!

No Matter What Happens, God is in Control!

I’m so proud of you for remembering that verse, & you did a great job today as detectives. You answered the question, “Is God Really in Control When Bad Things Happen?” & now you know that He is in control no matter what!

Application Activity

Summary: Kids will play Bingo to identify characters from the Bible who learned that no matter what happens, God is in control.

Bible Characters:

Eve Noah Moses Joseph David Daniel Ruth Jesus Jonah Mary

Need to Know:

No Matter What Happens, God is in Control!

Memory Verse:

But without faith (cover eyes)

No one (shake head)

Can please God. (point up)

We must believe (hand over heart)

That God is real (nod head)

And that He rewards everyone

(hands out in front) Who searches for Him.

(point up) Hebrews 11:6

Review Questions:

1. In Large Group, what happened to the lights? (They went out)

2. Is God only in control when good things happen? (No; No Matter What Happens, God is in Control!)

4-5-6 Small Group Week 5

DETECTIVE NOTES

No Matter WhatHappens , God is

in Control !

EVIDENCE:

⸏Jesus

⸏Mary

⸏Noah

⸏Eve

⸏Daniel

⸏Moses

⸏Ruth

⸏Joseph

⸏David

⸏Jonah

toNEEDknow

Memory Verse

Hebrews 1 1 :6“But without fa i th no one

can please God . We must bel ievethat God is real and that he rewards

everyone who searches for him.”

?????QUESTION“ IS GOD REALLY IN CONTROLWHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN?”

Match the name to the le t ter .

a. Hid in a basket in a river

b. Became a powerful man in Egypt

c. Wanted to fight Goliath

d. Ate the fruit she was forbidden to eat

e. Paid the price for the wrong things we do

f. Was thrown overboard the ship

g. Took care of her mother-in-law

h. Built a boat

i. Prayed 3 times a day

j. Visited by an angel

toclue SOLVECross out every other le t ter , s tart ing with E , to f ind out howwe can answer the mystery quest ion using God’s Word !

EJKOLNWAMH B1O3P⸏⸏⸏⸏⸏ ⸏-⸏

MYSTERY

Wk 5- 2 -5

DAVID MOSES

EVE JOSEPH

Moses

Moses’ mother had to protect him from a new king who wanted all of the Hebrew

boys killed. So she hid him in a basket in a river.

But God was in control the whole time! The king’s daughter found Moses and

adopted him as her own son. Moses grew up in a palace and became the leader

of the Israelites, God’s people.

David

A giant named Goliath was yelling mean things at God’s people and threatening to

hurt them. Even though Goliath was a nine foot tall giant, God was in control!

God gave a boy named David the faith

to take on Goliath with just a sling and five stones. God helped David defeat Goliath,

and eventually David became king! He was known as a man after God’s own

heart.

Joseph

Joseph’s brothers were jealous because they thought their dad loved Joseph more than them. So they sold Joseph as a slave

to get rid of him.

Even though things looked bad for Joseph, God was in control! Joseph

worked hard to do the right thing, and he eventually became a powerful leader in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh, the king!

Eve

Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s instructions to not eat from the tree of

Knowledge of Good and Evil.

When they ate the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world. It is because of sin

that bad things happen.

Because God is in control of all things, He will make the bad things that happen

right one day.

\

NOAH

RUTH

JESUS

JONAH

Jesus

Jesus died to pay the price for ALL of the wrong things we do.

God is always in control, and it was His plan for Jesus to die. After Jesus was

dead for three days, God raised Jesus back to life, and Jesus is alive right now!

Noah

Noah had to build a huge boat that was three stories high and the length of one

and a half football fields. He had to build the boat because God was going to

flood the earth with water.

The Bible shows us how God was in control when Noah was getting ready for

the flood!

God gave Noah the exact directions for the boat. And God even told two of every animal to come and get on

Noah’s boat! Then God kept Noah, his family and all the animals safe on the

boat until the flood was over.

Jonah

Jonah disobeyed God when he would not go to Ninevah to tell the people

about God’s love. So Jonah was thrown overboard the ship and swallowed by a

huge fish!

But God was in control the whole time--even in the belly of a fish! God allowed that huge fish to swallow Jonah to keep him from drowning. And when God told

the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry ground, Jonah went straight to Ninevah

to tell people about God’s love.

Ruth

Ruth’s husband died and she was left to take care of her mother-in-law whose

husband had also died.

They were both very sad because they didn’t know what they were going to do without the people they loved, but God

was in control and had a plan.

A farmer named Boaz let Ruth gather grain from his field. They fell in love and

were married. So we can have faith that even when people die, God is in

control!

MARY DANIEL

Mary

An angel visited Mary and told her she was going to have a baby, God’s son!

Mary did not understand how that could be possible because she wasn’t even married. But Mary put her faith in God.

Soon Mary gave birth to God’s son,

Jesus, and Jesus was the Savior of the world. Even when things didn’t make sense, Mary trusted that God was in

control!

Daniel

Daniel loved God and prayed to Him three times a day. When the king passed

a law that said people could only worship the king, Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den because he would only pray

to God.

God showed that He is always in control by keeping the lions from hurting Daniel

in the lion’s den! The king could not believe how powerful Daniel’s God was. He then made a new law that everyone

would worship Daniel’s God, the one true God.

2

1 FREE

SPACE

FREE SPACE

4

3 FREE

SPACE

FREE SPACE

But without

one can

We must

faith no

please God.

believe that

God is

that He

who searches

real and

rewards everyone

for Him. Hebrews 11:6

Mystery Manor Filler Guide (ES)

Week 1: / K-3: Allow kids to “investigate” things using the magnifying glass. / 2-5: Play a game similar to the Application Activity.

o Allow kids to pair up and use their finger to draw one letter of a word at a time on their partner’s back.

o The partner will try to figure out what word is being spelled!

Week 2: / Play “Pictionary” using the white board and dry erase marker.

o Draw a picture (tree, dog, car, flower, etc.) and allow kids to guess what it is. o Allow kids to have a turn drawing.

/ Play “Hangman” using the white board and dry erase marker.

Week 3: / Play “Add ‘Em Up!”

o Say a number larger than six.

o Allow kids to take turns rolling the die, adding the number rolled each time. (Ex: if the first child rolls a two and the second child rolls a five, the total is seven.)

o The first child to reach the number you said wins!

/ Talk with the group about different things they can read in their Bibles this week!

Week 4: / See if kids can come up with other popular quotes from their favorite TV shows, movies,

and songs. Allow the rest of the group to guess who said that quote! / Play “I Spy” with items around the room.

Week 5: / Play “Bingo” again, allowing kids to get bingo in different ways.

o Four corners

o The letter “X”

o Fully covered

/ Play the Memory Verse Game again, trying to go as fast as you can!

Week 6: / Play the Application Activity again, making the targets harder to hit. / Play “Hot Potato” with the beanbag

Week 7: / Review each bead on the Faith Bead Necklace, allowing kids to tell you what each

bead stands for. / Review the Memory Verse (on back) with the group, so they can win a prize next week!

Week 8: / Play “Secret Detective”.

o Have all kids close their eyes. o Choose one child by tapping him/her on the shoulder. o Allow kids to open their eyes. Give one child three guesses of who you picked!

/ Play “Use the Clues”. o Give three kids a “character description.” (Teacher, firefighter, movie star, etc.) o They will give “clues” to the rest of the group (“You would see me at school,”

“You would call me in an emergency,” “You might want my autograph,” etc.). o See if the group can guess who each person is!

Detective Notes: Kids can draw and color a picture on the back of their detective notes each week!

Quick Games: If you have time at the end of the Small Group Lesson, here are some quick games you can play to keep kids engaged in small group through check out. / Mystery Memory Game

o Place several items from your small group bin in front of the kids. o Give them 45 seconds to look at the supplies, then take them all away. o See if kids can remember all the supplies!

/ Secret Mission o Whisper a different secret mission to each child. (Ex: make an animal noise,

use the word “Barney” in a sentence, use only words that start with “D”, etc.) o See if each child can complete their secret mission while continuing a

conversation with the group. (Use “Get to Know You Questions” below.) / Telephone / Ninja

o Kids stand in a circle with hands together. On the count of three, kids will get into their “ninja pose.”

o Start with one child. He can swipe his arm toward another player, and then freeze. The other player may dodge the attack, but then must freeze.

o If the attacker’s hand touches the defender, the defender must take one hand out.

o Continue going around the circle. Once a player has both hands out, he/she is out. The winner is the last one standing!

/ Follow the Leader o Use small motions (facial expressions, arm movements, etc.) to conserve

space!

Get to Know You Questions: Ask these questions to get to know your kids during any free time you may have. / If you were a detective, would you use fancy gadgets to solve your mysteries? What

is one gadget you could invent that would help you? / What is your favorite story to read in the Bible? / If you were solving a mystery, who is one person you would want to help you? / What kind of games do you like to play with your friends? / If you could have one meal with all your favorite foods, what would you eat? / What is something that you would like to learn how to do?

Two Questions: At the end of each day, we want kids to be able to answer the following questions—feel free to ask your group these at any time: / Did you have fun? (Yes) / What did you learn? (Today’s Need to Know)

Series Memory Verse (Motions are optional for 4-5):

“But without faith (cover eyes) No one (shake head)

Can please God. (point up) We must believe (hand over heart)

That God is real (nod head) And that He rewards everyone (hands out in front)

Who searches for Him.” (point up) Hebrews 11:6