GameLife 1-2-3 / Bible Overview 6 of 21
* Please Read Important Note:
Bold Print = Say Out loud
[Bracket Print] = Do not Say (Tips for Leader)
Normal Print = Do (Action)
Underline = New Material
* [Care: Welcome the children by name and ask the children their highlight of the week.]
* [Gather: Immediately, as children start to come out, play a simple game of Freeze-Tag. The tagged child must freeze, the frozen player is unfrozen by telling a leader his / her name.]
1 Game Experience: Boys and Girls, it’s time for a Game!!!
* [Experience the One Main Truth: The Commandments Tell us How to Obey God]
~ Players, when I shout “Onnnne” you look at me, when I put my two fingers up you shout “Twwoo” and when I put my hands to my sides everyone is quiet. Everyone must be quiet so we can hear.
~ Boys & girls if you are 10 years & over go with “Coach Jose,” and if you are 5 to 9 years go with “Coach Raquel,” if we have any 4 & under please go off to the side to play with “Coach Rebekah.”
* Let’s Play: The Perfect Circle!!!
1. Divide the children for this game. If you have more than ten children, break out into groups of ten.
2. Note: This will be a difficult game to play with the children. You need to be very patient telling them the instructions and helping them understand it correctly.
3. Tell the players that this will be a challenging game. Make sure they listen to the instructions very carefully so that they can complete the task. The game does work, they just need to pay very close attention.
4. Have all 10 players stand in a circle, facing inward.
5. Tell everyone to reach their right arm towards the center and grab someone else’s hand. Make sure no one grabs the hand of the person right next to them.
6. Next, have everyone reach their left arm in and grab someone else’s hand. Again, make sure it’s not the person right next to them.
7. Now, the fun begins! The kids need to work together to untangle the human knot without letting go of any hands. The goal is to end up in a perfect circle again. They can go over or under each other’s arms, or through legs if needed! Encourage them to do whatever they want, as long as they don’t break the chain in the process.
8. Note: You may need to guide the children to untangle. Encourage not to let go of the other person’s hand.
9. The following rounds divide the children into at least two teams. This time make it a contest to see which team can unknot the fastest.
10. The goal is to see which team can make the perfect circle the fastest.
2 Bible Discoveries: Boys and Girls, it’s time for Discovery!!!
* [Discover the One Main Truth: The Commandments Tell us How to Obey God]
~ Boys and girls, I will stretch out my arms to my sides left & right, please sit in front of me in a half-circle, no one can sit behind me, and please let the smaller children sit in the front, I want to see everyone’s eyes. Our helpers will spread out in our half-circle to help us all listen.
~ [Take one step back and start.]
1. Let’s Discover God’s Love for You for All Eternity!!!
* Gospel:
~ Boys and girls, this true story is from the Bible and this story is called the “Good News!” Listen close to see if you can discover a “problem” and listen to hear the “solution.”
~ [Share the Creation to Christ Hand Motions. Say together and inviting Players up to help share].
~ Boys and girls, raise your hand if you discovered the big problem? (SIN). That’s right, sin is anything in our attitudes or actions that are displeasing to God. God’s Holy Word says, “all have sinned.” That means you, me, yes, everyone!
~ What is the solution? (God loves us and gave His Son Jesus to pay for the penalty of our sin).
~ Would anyone like to ask God for forgiveness and ask Jesus to save you from your sin?
* Invitation to God’s Family:
~ Boys and Girls, you can repeat after me telling God what is stirring in your heart:
~ “God, thank you for loving me. / I have sinned against you. / I ask forgiveness for my sins. / Thank you for sending Jesus. / I believe Jesus died on a cross to pay for my sins. / I believe that You raised Jesus from the dead. / Jesus be my Savior/ Thank you for your gift of eternal life. / I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
*
Lord’s Prayer:
~ Boys and Girls, God welcomes you into His family and God wants you to talk with Him every day, when we talk with God we call that “prayer.” Here is how Jesus taught us to pray.
~ This is from Matthew 6:9-13.
~ [Read the Lord’s Prayer and explain the principles of this prayer].
* Accountability & Celebration: Share Your “Obey” & “Share” Stories:
~ [Model Accountability: Coaches first briefly tell your “obey” and “share” stories.]
~ Ask: Did anyone share the Creation to Christ Hand Motions with anyone?
~ Ask: Can anyone remember and retell the Bible history we heard last week?
~ Ask: Raise your hand if you obeyed or put into practice the truth learned and share how you obeyed.
2. Let’s Discover God’s Truth for You Today!!!
* “The Promised Holy Nation” – Exodus 19:1-9; 20:1-21.
~ Boys and girls, listen close to this true history from the Bible. Later we are going to ask you a few questions so it is important for you to listen well.
~ [Tell the passage in a story format.
~ Read the passage from the Bible (a Coach or a Player can read).
~ Then, Story Teach or have players act out the story emphasizing: Where? Who? And What Happened?]
~ [Emphasize the “Choice” and the “Result” of the choice from the passage. To help discover the One Main Truth of the passage ask what choices were made in the history and what was the result of the choice.
~ Choice: “God gave Moses the ten commandments for the people to follow.”
~ Result: “Now the Israelites knew how to obey God.”]
3 Life Connections: Boys and Girls, it’s time for Life!!!
* [Respond to the One Main Truth: The Commandments Tell us How to Obey God]
~ Boys and girls, let’s play a quick game. Everyone stand up. I will say “circle” and “a number,” you have to get into a circle with that number of players. Boys with boys and girls with girls & share your name in the circle. Ok, “Circle 3.” Now, “Circle 4.” Last one, “Circle 8.” In your circle hold hands, step back and sit.
~ [Have one leader read the questions below and then have each circle discuss the answers to the questions, after about 30 seconds ask the next question. Keep the discussion moving forward.]
1. Let’s Connect the Bible Truth to Your Mind to Grow Your Hope!!!
~ Boys and girls, just like we have to take food into our body and exercise to give us energy and make us strong, we need to take Bible truth and connect it to our lives to have a strong life.
*
Game Questions:
~ Can someone raise their hand and tell me about the game? [Today’s game described.]
~ [Ask some specific questions about the game. Prompt the children to respond.]
~ That sounds just like the Bible discovery…
* Bible Questions:
~ What choice did someone make in the Bible history? [Answer from the Bible Passage.] [Ask some specific questions about the Bible history. Prompt the children to respond.]
~ What was the result of that choice? [Answer from the Bible Passage.]
~ What about us? …
*
Life Questions:
~ Let’s discuss what will happen in your life if you make the same or similar choice. [Talk about practical things giving examples and specific questions from day to day life.]
*
Vision:
~ Boys and Girls, the goal of our training is to become “Champions for Eternity.” We become “Champions for Eternity” by obeying Jesus’ commands: Love God, Love People, and Make Disciples (Matthew 22:37-40; 28:18-20).
*
Let’s Practice Obeying Jesus Right Now:
~ How would someone your age obey or put into practice today’s truth?
~ Who are you going to share with what you learned today? [Coaches, this is the time to take notes and write down the goals of each child and yours.]
~ Practice right now – Have Players act out obeying this truth. [We call this, “Act Out the Truth.”]
~ [Be creative: Add other reinforcement activities like local crafts, or drawing, etc.]
2. Let’s Connect the Bible Truth to Your Heart to Strengthen Your Faith!!!
* Memory Verse / Power Words:
~ Exodus 19:5, 6a – Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
~ [Repeat multiple times until the children can repeat the verse on their own.]
* Prayer:
~ Pray out loud and repeat after me: “Jesus, please help me to obey God by following His commands. Please give me courage to obey and share this truth. Amen.”
3. Let’s Connect the Bible Truth to Your Spirit to Live Your Life as an Expression of Worship!!!
* Worship:
~ This is my favorite time!!! Worship!!! Worship in song is only one form of worship.
~ [Allow the Players to pick & sing their favorite songs that genuinely honor God. If you do not have a song to sing, simply read Psalm 23 as an expression of praise & worship.]
* Closing Celebration:
~ All hands into the middle: Boys and girls, let’s all become Champions for Eternity by yielding to Jesus. Hands go down as we say, “Jesus is,” we hold at the bottom for “my” then as our hands fly to the sky shout loudly, “Jesus is my Savior!!!”
~ [Remember to announce the next GameLife 123 Weekly: Day, Time, Location and Leaders.]
* [Note about the Bible Translation:
~ When reading the story from the Bible we recommend you pick a translation that will be easy for the children to understand. As they will also be memorizing Scripture and it is important they understand every word. For every Scripture reference, we use the English Standard Version (ESV). Feel free to explore other child-friendly translations.]