● As kids arrive, give each kid a different colored dot sticker. This will determine which team they’re on. Each small group needs a different color.

● Keep kids in small groups until their parents pick them up. You can use coloring pages, mazes and word searches as an extra time activity!

Part 1 (15 minutes)● Large Group (5-10 minutes after

service starts)Part 2 (10-15 minutes)

● Game Time Part 3 (10 minutes)

● Cool Down TimePart 4 (10-15 minutes)

● Large GroupPart 5 (10-15 minutes or until the end of service)

● Small Groups

Take a look at today’s verse:

Deuteronomy 31:8 The Lord himself will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will never leave you. He’ll never desert you. So don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope.

This week’s big idea: Following God isn’t always comfortable, but he’ll help us do it.

The goal of today’s lesson: To help kids explore and understand that God might ask us to do uncomfortable things–but with his help–we can do it.

Following God isn’t always comfortable, but he’ll help us do it.Book of Jonah, Deuteronomy 31:8

STORY Anna and Simeon

SCHEDULE

Free Time Connect with kids as they arrive and have free play (10 minutes)

Large Group Introduce today’s big idea and story (15 minutes)

Game Time Reinforce the big idea through an active game (10 minutes)

Cool Down Time Transition and cool down from game time (10 minutes)

Large Group Wrap up today’s big idea and respond through worship (10 minutes)

Small Groups Personally connect with kids and apply the story to their lives (15 minutes)

BIG IDEA We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer!

NEXT STEP

Decide on one specific way you’ll celebrate and worship Jesus this Christmas.

NEED TO KNOW

Today’s lesson looks a little different. As we fine tune the new format, you may see new visuals to help you get the most out of the lesson plan.

MAIN VERSE

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

DATE December 1-2, 2018

LARGE GROUP

Time: 15 minutes

Big Idea: We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer!

Supplies: None

Video:

● Buddy the Elf / Santa’s Coming! (https://youtu.be/M2hrveTBP04)

● God’s Story / Anna and Simeon (https://youtu.be/hpwQqmE_0eA)

Notes:

SET UP EXPECTATIONS

● Say: Welcome to Kids’ Club, we’re so glad to have you here! We want this to be a safe and fun place for you. To do that, let’s all commit to doing a few things:

○ Show respect to each other○ Listen when someone else is speaking○ Have fun!

INTRODUCE THE BIG IDEA

● Say: It’s December, and this whole month we’ll be hearing about different parts of the Christmas story–but first, can anyone tell me WHY we celebrate Christmas? (Let kids respond.) Yep, it’s when Jesus was born! Let’s take a look at today’s BIG IDEA: We can worship Jesus as our long-awaited Rescuer.

● Say: God had been preparing people for Jesus for a long LONG time. So when Jesus finally arrived, people were soooo excited! Let’s watch a movie clip about a character who’s also really excited about something!

● Video: Buddy / Santa’s Coming! (2 minutes)● Say: So how did Buddy the Elf act when he realized Santa

was coming to the store? (Let kids respond.) Yep, he screamed and told people around him about it!

ANNA AND SIMEON

● Say: Today we’ll hear about some people who were really excited about Jesus coming. Their names were Simeon and Anna, and they lived right around the time that Jesus was born.

● Say: Let’s watch a video and see what happened when they finally got to meet the Rescuer. As you watch, pay attention to the special way that God speaks to Simeon and Anna.

● Video: God’s Story / Simeon and Anna (4 minutes)● Ask: After Simeon and Anna got to meet Jesus, what did

they do? I’ll give you a hint: It’s the same thing the shepherds did after they found out about Jesus! (Let kids respond.)

● Say: Yep, Simeon and Anna both worshipped God, and praised him for sending the Rescuer. They were so full of joy and excitement, they could barely contain it!

● (Loop: Confetti.) Imagine being at a birthday party, and you’re celebrating someone. How do you show your excitement? (Let kids respond.) You might sing, throw confetti, give them presents, and just ACT really excited for them! We can do the same with God.

LARGE GROUP

Game time

Time: 10 minutes

Big Idea: We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer!

Supplies: ● Roll of green streamers

(1/group)● Roll of tape (1/group)● Each group gets a

Ziploc bag with the following materials:

○ 30 ornament sticker

○ 10 pieces of ribbon

○ 1 star

Video: 10-Minute Countdown

PREPARE

● Start the 10-Minute Countdown Timer● Split kids into small groups

INTRODUCE THE GAME

● Say: Let’s show our excitement for Christmas by playing a crazy game–we’re going to decorate each other as Christmas trees!

HOW TO PLAY

● Give each group a roll of green streamers, a roll of tape, and a Ziploc bag full of the following materials:

○ 30 ornament stickers○ 5 pieces of ribbon○ 1 star

● Each group must choose one person to be the “tree” and the rest of the kids will be the tree decorators.

● When the leader says “Go!”, each group gets to start wrapping/taping/hanging the materials on the tree in any way they want! Encourage kids to get creative as they try and figure out how to make a person look like a tree!

● Tips:○ Younger kids may need an adult to hold the tape and

help them hang the ornaments. You could also just give them green streamers to make someone look like a “pine tree”!

○ Leaders should help make sure all the kids get turns to help decorate.

○ Collect and discard the materials when you’re done.

DEBRIEF THE GAME

● What ways do you show your excitement about Christmas?

PREPARE

● Start the 10-Minute Countdown Timer.● Break into small groups.

RESPOND TO THE STORY

● What’s your most favorite gift you’ve ever gotten for Christmas?

● How did Anna and Simeon know Jesus was coming?● How did they react when he was finally born?● How do you act when you get a surprise or a really great

gift?

COOL DOWN TIME

Time: 10 minutes

Big Idea: We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer!

Supplies: None

Video: 10-Minute Countdown

GAME TIME AND COOL DOWN

LARGE GROUP

Time: 10 minutes

Big Idea: We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer!

Supplies: None

Video:

● 10-Second Countdown Timer

● Born is the King (https://youtu.be/Qf6OoAZbAQg?list=RDvWaQFcvrDQA)

● Feeling Like Christmas (https://youtu.be/K-A6tz0IiYo)

Notes:

TRANSITION STRETCH

● Say: Freeze in a funny position, and then very slowly (as if you’re swimming in peanut butter) curl into a little ball on the floor. Then sit cross-legged style.

● Play the 10-Second Countdown Timer

WORSHIP THE RESCUER

● Say: Anna and Simeon worshipped Jesus as their long awaited Rescuer. But we don’t have to wait! It’s already happened. Jesus was born, and he came to rescue the entire world.

● Say: Let’s check out a verse that we’ll be hearing all month long. It’s from a guy named Isaiah, and God told him that Jesus was coming hundreds and hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born!

● Slide: Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

RESPONSE TIME

● Ask: What is worship? (Let kids respond.) Yep, it’s basically when you give all your time and energy and attention to something. So when we worship Jesus, that’s what we’re doing! We’re celebrating him!

● Say: We can sing to him, tell him how much we love him, and express it out loud. We can also focus on him, and spend time with him, just like we would focus on someone at their birthday!

● Say: Let’s watch a worship video right now–you can stay seated for this one, and listen and watch as people sing about how joyful Jesus’ birth is. Or if you want to, get up and dance along!

● Music Video: Born Is the King

WORSHIP AND PRAYER

● Say: Let’s worship some more with an active song that we can do motions to–stand up and get ready to sing as loud as you can!

● Music Video: Feelin Like Christmas (Motions)● Pray: Jesus, we worship you as our rescuer. Thank you for

coming to the world and saving us. Help us to be closer to you, and worship you always. Amen!

LARGE GROUP

SMALL GROUPS

Time: 15 minutes (or until parent pick up)

Big Idea: We can worship Jesus as the long-awaited Rescuer!

Next Step: Celebrate and worship Jesus.

Supplies: ● Deck of Christmas

challenge cards (20 cards total)

EXTRA TIME?

● Give kids maze and word-search activity sheets to work on until their parents pick them up.

ICEBREAKER QUESTION

● Break into small groups let each kid answer this question: What’s your favorite thing to do before Christmas?

RESPOND TO THE STORY

● Why were Anna and Simeon excited?● What’s something you’re really excited about this Christmas?● What does it mean to worship Jesus? (Focus on him/spend

time with him, tell him how wonderful he is, give him thanks and praise, celebrate him.)

● Next step: We can worship Jesus as our long awaited Rescuer. What is one specific way you’ll celebrate and worship Jesus this Christmas? (Here are some hints to help kids think of things: spend time with just him, pray, sing, dance, give gifts, bow, tell Jesus why we love him, read the Bible, obey/follow him, help others, thank him, etc.)

MAKE IT PERSONAL

● Prepare the deck of Christmas challenge cards and give two cards to each kid.

● Tell kids that we’re going to play a card game! Each card has a different question or challenge on it. Some of them are worship related, and some of them are just for fun (some of them are repeated).

● Here are the rules. Play each round as time allows:○ Round 1: Let each kid answer the question or do the

challenge on one of their cards (they get to pick which one). Keep your cards after this round.

○ Round 2: Let each kid randomly pick a card from another person in the group (but they can’t look at it beforehand) and answer the question/do the challenge.

○ Round 3: Shuffle the cards up, then deal two new cards to each kid. Let each kid choose one of their cards to give someone else–and that person has to do what’s on the card they were given. (Make sure to pay attention to who has been picked to receive a card, to make sure it evens out.)

● *Return ALL the cards to the bin when you’re done.

PRAY

● Ask kids if there’s anything they want you to pray for, and then pray as a group.

SMALL GROUPS

Tell me about Anna and Simeon. How can we worship Jesus?

3rd-5thDecember 1/2, 2018

Small GroupItem Usage Details Provided by

Colored dot stickers 1 per kidProvide enough colors for each group at a

service to use a separate color.Staples: Avery 5472 or Avery 5795 or Avery

5473

site

Maze sheet - Anna and Simeon Quantity determined by site.

8.5x11 paper, black&white, Page 7 site

Word search sheet - Anna and Simeon

Quantity determined by site.

8.5x11 paper, black&white, Page 8 site

Markers 1 set per group, reused site

Roll of green streamers 1 per small group Oriental Trading KC National

Roll of tape

Each small group will need one roll, sites can reuse depending on #

of services

Painter’s or scotch site

Gallon Ziploc* 1 per small group See special note for prep instructions KC National

Ornament Stickers 30 per small group ornament stickers KC National

Ribbon Pieces 10 per small group Gold Ribbon. Cut into 2ft piecesKC National to provide ribbon,

sites to cut

Star 1 per group Oriental Trading KC National

Deck of Christmas challenge cards1 deck of 20 cards per

small group, reused8.5x11 cardstock, black&white, cut into

fourths, Pages 9-13site

Large GroupItem Usage Details Provided by

Adventure Bible1 per large group,

reusedBiblesbythe Case.com site

Special Note* Weekday prep teams to make sets for each small group containing the following: Gallon Ziplock containing- ornament stickers, ribbon pieces, & star.

1. KC Logo Slide: for when kids enter the room (All that You Need instrumental; mp3 only; can be downloaded on website)

2. Video: Buddy the Elf / Santa’s Coming! (0:04-end, https://youtu.be/M2hrveTBP04) 3. Video: God’s Story / Anna and Simeon (https://youtu.be/hpwQqmE_0eA) 4. Loop: Confetti (https://vimeo.com/85659332; make repeating)5. Video: 10-Minute Timer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn31KFenBIo) 6. Video: 10-Minute Timer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn31KFenBIo) 7. Video: 120218_Raccoon and Dog8. Slide: Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will

be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

9. Music Video: Born is the King (https://youtu.be/Qf6OoAZbAQg?list=RDvWaQFcvrDQA) 10. Music Video: Feeling Like Christmas (https://youtu.be/K-A6tz0IiYo)

3rd-5th