Letting someone know you see how valuable they really are.
Honor others by keeping your promises.
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10 (NIV)
David and Mephibosheth
1 Samuel 20:12-17, 2 Samuel 9
ENGAGE is a time to welcome kids to your eGroup with a fun activity to help them feel comfortable and get to know each other.
NEED: Spot It! game (2)
• Start by introducing yourself and welcoming kids to your eGroup. Ask them about their week and interests. Use the following questions to generate discussion:
- What’s something cool that happened this week?
- What was the favorite part of your week?
- Have you ________ (seen/eaten/listened to/read) any good_________ (movies/TV shows/food/music/books) lately?
- What are you looking forward to next week?
Once you have five to six kids begin playing “Spot It!”
- Seat kids in a circle. If you have more than six kids, split theminto two groups.
- Explain the object of the game in Spot It! is always to be thefirst to spot the matching symbol between two cards and call it out. Between any two cards in the whole deck, there will always be exactly one pair of matching symbols.
- Deal one card face-down to each player. Place the remaining cards face-up in the middle of the group to form the draw pile.
- At the same time, players flip over their cards and try to spot the symbol that appears on the center card and their own card.
- The first player to call out the matching symbol and grab the card places it on top of their flipped card, building a personal pile. Now they use the new top card on their personal pile to find a match with the center card.
- Repeat until no cards remain in the draw pile. The person who collects the most cards wins.
- Variations to try as time allows:
– Place one card face-up in the middle and deal the rest of the cards face-down to all players. Players will compete to be the first to get rid of all their cards by identifying the matching symbol between their card and the center card. The first player to identify the match calls it out and places their card on top of the center card.
– Deal one card face-down to each player and place the remaining cards face-up in the middle of the table to form the draw pile. At the same time, players flip over their cards and look for a match between the center card and any other player’s cards. The first to spot a match and call it out takes the center card and places it on top of that other player’s card. Continue until the draw pile is gone. The player with the least number of cards wins the game.
MEMORY VERSE is a time to introduce the series virtue and memory verse. Choose one of the memory verse activity options to help your kids practice the verse. After this activity, GO TO LARGE GROUP.
WHAT YOU NEED
Bibles, Bible highlighters, memory verse cards, “Human Words” game cards
SAY: “Welcome to eGroup! My name is _______ and I’m your eGroup leader! As an eGroup we will hang out together during Motion, hear stories from the Bible, learn what it means to live for Jesus, and play games!
We’re continuing our series called Spotlight, where we’re learning about treating people with honor by intentionally showing them how valuable they are. Our Bible verse, Romans 12:10, tells us we should love others and honor them above ourselves. Let’s memorize this verse so we can remember to communicate honor with our words and actions.”
- Read the verse out loud: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.” Romans 12:10
- Help kids look up the memory verse in their Bibles. Encourage children to use the Bible highlighters to underline the verse in their Bible. Give a memory verse card to kids without a Bible.
- Choose one of the memory verse activities: “Human Words” or “Verse Practice.”
• Split kids into two teams. Explain kids will work with their teams to form symbols representing the words or phrases in Romans 12:10.
• Use the “Human Words” game cards to discuss what symbol kids will create with their bodies to represent each word or phrase.
• Shuffle the game cards and choose one card. Read the word on the card and remind kids what symbol to form for that word if needed.
• Encourage teams to work together to form that symbol with their bodies. If group size allows, at least three kids from each team should be involved in forming the symbol.
• Choose the team with the best representation of the symbol and give them the game card for that word. The team with the most game cards at the end wins!
Use the following methods to help kids practice the memory verse:
- REPEAT AFTER ME: Have kids repeat each phrase of the verse after you
- PAIR UP: After practicing the verse together, have kids pair up to practice the verse.
- MOTIONS: Come up with motions to represent each phrase in the verse. Practice it together.
In the BIBLE STORY activity, kids will act out the Bible story in decreasing amounts of time and learn about how God called Moses to do something he didn’t feel ready for.
Bible, Bible story card, Word Spotlight cards
- Have kids sit in a circle with their Bibles and instruct kids to turn to 1 Samuel 20. NOTE: This may take time, but it helps kids learn skills for reading the Bible on their own. If needed, encourage kids to use the table of contents in their Bible and then decide if the book is in the Old or New Testament.
- Tell kids we will “spotlight” important words in the Bible story by acting them out as they’re read.
- Spread out the Word Spotlight cards. Lead kids in choosing an action to perform for each word. (Examples: point up for “the Lord” or pretend to bow for “servant”.)
- Depending on group size, assign one to three children to each word. Explain kids will perform the action for their assigned word every time they hear it in the Bible story.
- Read 1 Samuel 20:12-17 and 2 Samuel 9:1-13 aloud and encourage kids to perform the designated action for each spotlighted word as it’s read.
“Why was David so kind to Mephibosheth? (He had promised Jonathan to always be kind to his family.) How did David follow through on his promise? (He gave Mephibosheth land, a place to live, and promised he would always eat at his table.) David knew that the best way he could honor his friend was by keeping his promise to never stop being kind to either Jonathan or his family. So this week, remember to honor others by keeping your promises.”
- “What is an example of a promise you might make this week to a friend or parent?”
- “Have you ever broken a promise to someone? What happened after you broke your promise?”
- “Is there ever a time when it’s okay to break a promise? Give examples.”
- “How should you respond when someone breaks a promise to you? How can you show honor to the other person in that situation?”
MIXED UP PROMISES
In the APPLICATION activity, kids will think about how they can take the next step even when they aren’t completely ready.
silly promise strips (11 red, 11 blue, and 11 green), serious promise strips (11 orange, 11 purple, and 11 pink)
WHAT YOU DO:
- Ask one child to choose a promise strip from the red set, another child to choose one strip from the blue set, and another child to choose one strip from the green set.
- Put the strips in order (red, then blue, then green) and read the silly promise statement to the group.
- Repeat by allowing different children to choose one strip at a time from each set to create silly promises. Continue until all strips have been used.
SAY: “Those promises were pretty silly, but in real life a promise is actually a very serious thing. When we make a promise to someone, they count on us to do what we said we would do, and it honors them when we keep the promise. When we break it, we dishonor them. Let’s try this again but with some real, serious promises this time.”
- Ask one child to choose a promise strip from the orange set, another child to choose one strip from the purple set, and another child to choose one strip from the pink set.
- Put the strips in order (orange, then purple, then pink) and read the promise statement to the group.
- Repeat by allowing different children to choose one strip at a time from each set to create promises. Continue until all strips have been used.
SAY: “From now on, before you make a promise, really think about what you’re promising to do and whether you will be able to be true to your word. If you don’t think you can, that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t make the promise. But if you do make the promise, you need to determine that you will keep it. Honor others by keeping your promises.”
Spend time in PRAYER with your eGroup before beginning the GAME ACTIVITY.
PRAYER AND GAME ACTIVITY
eKidz Prayer Journal, pens, stopwatch
“Today we learned we can honor others by keeping your promises. When you show honor to someone by keeping your promises, you can see God do great things through you! Think for a minute about someone you will make a promise to this week. I’m going to write their names and what you’ll promise them in our eKidz Prayer Journal so we can pray for you to keep your promise. I will continue praying this week for God to help you remember to honor them by keeping your promise.”
Write down what kids share in your eKidz Prayer Journal. Take your eKidz Prayer Journal home with you and pray for your kids to intentionally show honor throughout the week.
“Dear God, thank You for recording the story of David and Mephibosheth in the Bible—Your book of promises to us. Lord, help us be like David and honor others by doing what we say we’re going to do. Help us keep our promises to (read the names children shared from the Prayer Journal) no matter what. We love You. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
“Everyone deserves to have a moment in the spotlight! We’re going to do a talent show so you can show off some of your special skills. We’ll also try out some creative ways to show each other honor!”
- Ask for volunteers to share a special talent or skill. Use the stopwatch to give kids up to 30 seconds each.
- If kids seem unsure what to do, offer suggestions such as singing a song, touching their tongue to their nose or chin, say the alphabet backwards, speak in a unique voice, etc.
- After each kid performs, encourage the rest of the group to honor them by offering different types of applause or encouragement. They could snap instead of clapping, give a “round” of applause (clap their hands in a big circle), or chant something. Encourage kids to think of other ways they could honor each other after each act.
BRING IT! CHALLENGE
The BRING IT! CHALLENGE is completed during Large Group.
SHINE A LIGHT
Bring It! Challenge tracking sheet, Bring It! Challenge stickers
“In Motion we want you to Bring It! to church each weekend! The Bring It! Challenge encourages you to bring yourself, your Bible, your friends, and scripture you’ve learned to Motion. Not only can you be rewarded for bringing it, but the Bring It! Challenge is a fun way to grow and learn more about God and how He wants us to live.
During Spotlight, you can earn fun prizes each week that will remind you to honor others by shining the spotlight on them! All you have to do is show me Romans 12:10 in your Bible AND recite it from memory!”
- Encourage kids to show you Romans 12:10 in the Bible AND recite the verse from memory. Kids must do both to earn a prize. Note: Very few kids should be able to do this the first week of the series.
- Give any children who complete the challenge a Bring It! Challenge sticker and tell them the sticker will allow them to choose a prize as they are dismissed at the end of the experience.
- On the Bring It! Challenge tracking sheet, record the number of kids who recited the memory verse and/or brought a Bible. Give this sheet to your eTeam Leader at the end of the worship experience.