252 Groups
January 2016, Week 4
Small Group 4th & 5th
January 24th, 2016
Bible Story: Just Hit Stop (Too much of a good thing) • Proverbs 25:16
Bottom Line: Know when to STOP.
Memory Verse: “A person without self-control is like a city whose walls are broken through.” Proverbs 25:28, NIrV
Life App: Self-control—choosing to do what you should do, not what you want to do.
Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 20-25 minutes)
Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and
discussion questions.
1. Captain Enuff! (application activity / review the Bible story)
What You Need: “Comic Book Page” Activity Page; 1 for each kid, colored pencils, “Comic Duo” Activity Page, popsicle
sticks
What You Do:
• Give each child a copy of the Comic Book activity page and set out the colored pencils.
• Help them brainstorm what the villain, 2Much, does or makes too much of and how the Captain knows when
to stop.
• Kids can be over-the-top and funny, but encourage them to keep some of the story details grounded in reality.
• Allow plenty of time to illustrate their stories.
• Kids can then color and cut out the “Comic Duo” and attach them to a popsicle stick.
What You Say:
“Those are some great comics! It’s easy to see how 2Much got carried away with all that stuff. We can get carried away
too, whether it’s by watching too much TV or eating too many potato chips. You can even do too much good stuff, like
eating so much broccoli that you get a stomach ache, or playing a sport so much you hurt your knee, or studying so
much you miss spending time with your family, or cleaning your room so much you don’t enjoy your stuff. These are all
good things, but like Captain Enuff says, you have to [Bottom Line] know when to STOP.”
2. Too Many! (memory verse activity)
What You Need: Bibles, giant marshmallows; 10 for each Small Group, ice cream cone
What You Do:
 Lead kids to look up the verse using the navigation tips from week 1. Invite kids to point to the verse as you say
it aloud together.
 Next, lead the kids to sit in a tight circle. Give one child the ice cream cone. Guide him to place a marshmallow
inside, say the first part of the verse, and pass the cone around the circle.
 As each child receives and passes the cone, she says the first phrase as well.
 When the cone reaches the last child, he places a second marshmallow on top of the first, says the first two
phrases of the verse, and passes the cone to the child who began the game.
 As you go along, the stack/tower of marshmallows will get higher and harder to keep balanced. Play continues
until all the marshmallows fall off!
 Review the verse a final time, leading kids to say it with you.
What You Say:
“Self-control is choosing to do what you should do, not what you want to do. Sometimes having self-control means that
you [Bottom Line] know when to STOP. You can’t really have too much of a Bible verse, unless you kept saying verses
252 Groups
January 2016, Week 4
Small Group 4th & 5th
so much that you didn’t have time for regular words! But you CAN have too much of other things. Maybe we should
have stopped stacking marshmallows before they fell over!
[Make It Personal] (Share a kid-appropriate story about a time when you made the wise choice to stop before you
had too much of a good thing.)
“Too much of even the best things can cause problems. What can happen if you eat too much food? (You might get a
stomachache; you might throw up.) What can happen if you watch too much TV or play too many video games? (You
could forget to spend time with your family and friends; you won’t get enough exercise; you won’t have time to do your
homework.)
“So, no matter what you’re doing, remember that you need to make the wise choice and [Bottom Line] know when to
STOP.”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: Balloon
What You Do:
Inflate the balloon as you have the conversation below.
What You Say:
“There’s nothing wrong with good things. It’s just how you handle them. It doesn’t matter what the good thing is—
whether it’s honey (blow) or pizza (blow) or brownies (blow) or candy (blow) or TV (blow) or video games (blow). A little
bit is good, but too much isn’t good (blow until the balloon is really full—so full that kids are nervous that it might pop).
That’s why it’s important to [Bottom Line] know when to STOP. (Let some of the air out of the balloon and, if you’re
able, make a balloon animal.) Let’s pray.
“Dear God, thank You for giving us good things. Help us have the wisdom to know when we’ve had enough, and help us
have the self-control to [Bottom Line] know when to STOP. Thank You, Lord. We love You so much. Amen.”