(Elementary) - June 2016 - Small Groups

GOD VIEW: the connection between faith and God’s character, as shown through God’s big story

Summer is one of those times of the year when you hope to escape your normal day-to-day and head off on a family vacation. Perhaps you have a passport and hope to fill it with stamps and visas from around the world or maybe you keep albums filled with photos from the places you’ve seen and the people you’ve met along the way.

But when you think about it, these aren’t just passport stamps and travel photos, they are stories capturing moments we lived. As we travel the world and experience the different landscapes and cultures, often we can’t help but notice that no matter where in the world we are, God is already there and up to something amazing.

The prophet Isaiah writes, “The whole earth is filled with God’s glory.” And that glory was made real when 2000-some years ago a REAL human was born, lived a perfect life, died, and rose again. Of course, that man is Jesus. And throughout the past 2,000 years since, His story—His LIFE—has been changing the world.

This summer we’re excited for kids to experiencing that life-changing story of Jesus first hand and put their faith in Him.

We’ll talk about faith like this:

Believing that what Jesus did can change me.

Our hope is that kids discover that no matter where they are in the world, the story of Jesus can change them, too.

This summer, we get to view the story of Jesus through a man whose life was radically changed when he encountered the story of Jesus. He went from a person who did whatever it took to stop the message of Jesus from spreading to one who ended up writing most of the New Testament of the Bible and dying for his faith in Jesus. This man, as you may have already guessed, is Paul. He went all over the known world preaching the Story of Jesus. We’ll explore where in the world Paul was and how we fit into his story, too.

Week 1-  06/05/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page - (no activity page this week)
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page - 
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4-5 Small Groups

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4-5 Activity Page (no activity page this week)
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Week 2- 06/12/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page 
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page - 
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4-5 Small Groups
4-5 Activity Page 
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 3- 06/19/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page 
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page 
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4-5 Small Groups -

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4-5 Activity Page (will email everyone this activity page)
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Week 4- 06/26/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page - 
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 2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page (will email everyone this activity page)
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups
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4-5 Activity Page
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{Elementary} - May 2016 - Small Groups

252 Preview: Supersize-Me (May 2016) from Orange on Vimeo.



This month we want to explain something to kids about contentment. It is deciding to be happy with what you’ve got. In other words, you can choose to be happy because of what God has actually given you.
You can choose to shift your focus away from what you don’t have and toward what God desires to do with the life you have.
When you trust Him with your life, you become more focused on being grateful for everything He’s already given to you.
The Bible has a lot to say about contentment. This month, we’re going to unpack several of those moments where people learned something about contentment as well as some key principles about how we can live our lives focused on trusting God no matter what.

See, when it comes right down to it, contentment is a heart issue. It can’t be solved by getting the thing that’s off-limits, the thing that someone else has, or even more of a good thing you already have. In other words, contentment happens when we place our trust in the One who is able to meet our needs each day.

When you teach kids to see their life as a gift from God it sets them up for a life of contentment and fulfillment. There will be no reason to be distracted by what others have, or what’s off limits, or what we had in the past.

And when all of us really trust God, we will be content with exactly what He has put in our box for today and won’t worry about the future.



Week 1-  05/01/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

(Click link above to download Word doc)

1st Grade Activity Page -
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page -
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4-5 Small Groups

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4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 2- 05/08/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page -
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4-5 Small Groups
4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 3- 05/15/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page
 (Click link above to download PDF doc)

2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page
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4-5 Small Groups -

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4-5 Activity Page
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Week 4- 05/22/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page -
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 2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page
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4-5 Small Groups
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4-5 Activity Page
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Week 5- 05/29/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page -
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 2-3 Small Groups - Dave will email

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2-3 Activity Page
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4-5 Small Groups
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4-5 Activity Page
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{Elementary} - April 2016 - Small Groups

252 Preview: Hangin' Tough (April 2016) from Orange on Vimeo.




This month, we’ll spend most of our time in the book of Hebrews where we’ll discover more about what the Bible says about perseverance.

We define perseverance as refusing to give up when life gets hard. We have the chance to lean in to them and say: “Don’t give up. Persevere in your faith. Trust God no matter what.”

Throughout Scripture, the writers continually point people of faith to continue their journey relying not on their own strength, but God’s supernatural power.

Take our memory verse for example. Isaiah 40:31 (NIrV), “But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow week.”

Isaiah offers hope to those who persevere and trust in God. They will find strength even when they feel like giving up. Going through those tough times will teach us that God is always there.

When it comes down to it, we all have experienced things that we would have never experienced if we didn’t push through the difficult times. When you get to the other side, you’ll see something that you would have never seen before—if you just believe in what God can do and what God can do in you.





Week 1-  04/03/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page -
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page -
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4-5 Small Groups

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4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 2- 04/10/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page
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2-3 Small Groups -

(Click link above to download Word doc)

2-3 Activity Page -
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups
4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 3- 04/17/2016

1st Grade Small Groups -

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1st Grade Activity Page
 (Click link above to download PDF doc)

2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups -

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4-5 Activity Page
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Week 4- 04/24/2016

1st Grade Small Groups -
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1st Grade Activity Page
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2-3 Small Groups
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2-3 Activity Page
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4-5 Small Groups -

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4-5 Activity Page
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{Elementary} - March 2016 - Small Groups

252 Preview: Night Light (March 2016) from Orange on Vimeo.



Hope is believing that something good can come out of something bad. It’s important to help kids know what to do when life throws them a curveball—when their picture doesn’t pan out the way they think it will—to let them know that life will get messy at some point. But no matter how confusing, God still has a plan. He is powerful enough to make something good come out of something bad.

That’s why a great verse to get your kids to memorize is John 16:33b: “In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world,” (NIrV)

Those are actually the words of Jesus. And if you want a demonstration of how God can use pain and suffering and do something powerful, just think about Jesus. More specifically, think about the message of the Gospel. The life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is enough to give us all the hope we will ever need, which becomes especially important this month as we get to celebrate and discovery more about Easter.


Week 1-  03/06/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page -
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page -
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4-5 Small Groups

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4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 2- 03/13/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page
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2-3 Small Groups -

(Click link above to download Word doc)

2-3 Activity Page -
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups
4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 3- 03/20/2016

1st Grade Small Groups -

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1st Grade Activity Page
 (Click link above to download PDF doc)

2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups -

(Click link above to download Word doc)
4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

Week 4- 03/27/2016

Easter  - Dave will advise

 

{Elementary} - February 2016 - Small Groups

252 Preview: High Gear (February 2016) from Orange on Vimeo.


When you have a job to get done, you need the right tool. Hammers and screwdrivers work great for doing the job they were designed for, but sometimes you need something a little more complex. You need a tool that has the right attachment for the job, one that cooperates with that tool to get the job done.

Like a drill.  Without the right drill bit to do the work, it’s just a noisy paperweight.
Or a ratchet. Without the right socket, well, I guess you’ve got a shiny little … hammer maybe?  It’s just not useful unless you have both parts working together.

There are even some tools that don’t need another piece.  They need another person, like those lumberjack crosscut saws. The saw won’t work at all unless two people are working together.  That’s cooperation—working together to do more than you could do alone.

When you think about it, cooperation is huge. When you cooperate, you can build more. You learn more. You can do more.

As kids are growing they become more aware of the people around them. They have friends on the playground or in their neighborhood. They have to work in teams to finish projects in school. If they don’t learn God’s plan for cooperation, they’ll have a difficult time getting along with people. That’s why it’s important that we take some time out to discover more about what the Bible says about cooperation.

Cooperation is actually a spiritual concept that originates with God. God designed us as human beings not only to need each other, but also to need Him. Now, it’s not like God was up in heaven desperate for some help, so He made us. No, God is all-sufficient. But, He created us so we could have a relationship with Him, and so that we could participate in His work together. In other words, God put all of us together on this planet to do more together than we could ever do alone, and in some cases—with His help—to do things that might even seem “un-doable.”

So, we want every leader, every parent and every child to memorize this verse of Scripture: “Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do,” (Ecclesiastes 4:9 NIrV).

Just think about the difference you could make in your church if every parent, leader and child really bought into this spiritual concept of cooperation. The Bible is full of stories of people who came together in faith to do something they never could have done alone. We can’t wait to hear about what happens when kids start understanding God’s design for cooperation.


Week 1-  02/07/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page -
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2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page -
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4-5 Small Groups

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4-5 Activity Page
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Week 2- 02/14/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page
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2-3 Small Groups -

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2-3 Activity Page -
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups
4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc) 

Week 3- 02/21/2016

1st Grade Small Groups -

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1st Grade Activity Page
 (Click link above to download PDF doc)

2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page
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4-5 Small Groups -

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4-5 Activity Page
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Week 4- 02/28/2016

1st Grade Small Groups

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1st Grade Activity Page -
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 2-3 Small Groups

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2-3 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF doc)

4-5 Small Groups
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4-5 Activity Page
(Click link above to download PDF)