January 31st, 2015
Story
Large Group // Power Up!- Self-Control Week 5
Bible Story: Check the Guide (What you think about) • Proverbs 4:23 (Supporting: Philippians 4:8)
Bottom Line: Use God’s words to GUIDE your thoughts.
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.
Story: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways
(Large Group, 20-25 minutes)
Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible story, worship, and prayer experience in a Large
Group setting.
INTRO VIDEO
SETTING UP THE STORY
STORYTELLER: “For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about a really cool book of the Bible called
Proverbs. (Hold up Bible.) Proverbs is full of incredible wisdom. It’s basically like God saying, ‘Here’s how you
should live.’ And when we read God’s Word, we get a clear picture of how He wants us to guide our thoughts.
“Check out Proverbs 4:23.
Open the Bible to Proverbs 4:23 and read.
CG: Proverbs 4:23 Slide
“‘Above everything else, guard your heart. Everything you do comes from it.’ (NIrV)
“Wow. ‘Guard your heart.’ Have you heard that phrase before? What do you think it means to guard your
heart? Well, it doesn't mean your ribcage or body armor. And really, it’s more than just your heart. It’s your
thoughts, your hopes, your dreams for your future. Guarding your heart means that you’re really careful about
the things you let inside you. And you’ve got to have the self-control to know which things you should keep
close to your heart and on your mind all the time, as well as which things to keep out.”
PROVERBS REVIEW
STORYTELLER: “So where can you go to know how to guard your heart? Yep, God’s Word. (Hold up Bible.)
Think about all the verses from Proverbs that we’ve been learning this month.”
“You’ve got our Memory Verse, Proverbs 25:28.”
CG: Proverbs 25:28 Slide
“‘A person without self-control is like a city whose walls are broken through.’ (NIrV)
“Then there’s Proverbs 16:32, about guarding your temper. Who wants to read it for us?” (Choose a kid to
read.)
CG: Proverbs 16:32 Slide
KID: “‘It is better to be patient than to fight. It is better to control your temper than to take a city.’” (NIrV)
STORYTELLER: “Who’s got Proverbs 21:23? This one’s about choosing your words.” (Choose a kid.)
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January 31st, 2015
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CG: Proverbs 21:23 Slide
KID: “‘Those who are careful about what they say keep themselves out of trouble.’” (NIrV)
STORYTELLER: “And everyone’s favorite, Proverbs 25:16—the honey one. Who wants it?” (Choose a kid.)
CG: Proverbs 25:16 Slide
KID: “‘If you find honey, eat just enough. If you eat too much of it, you will throw up.’” (NIrV)
STORYTELLER: “Yeah! You've got to have the self-control to know when to stop.
(Hold up Bible.) “The Bible is full of incredible wisdom that’s straight from God to you. There’s so much here
about how you can guard your heart and mind, and guide the way you think.”
OUT WITH THE BAD
STORYTELLER: “Let me explain it this way. What if THIS was your brain?
Set out a large, clear bin with a picture of a brain on the side.
“And you know that your brain is going to be full of SOMEthing. So what if it was full of this?
Dump the negative-message balls (or balloons) into the bin. Then,
one by one, take them out, read them, and set them aside.
“What if the movies you watch or the games you play or the music you listen to affect you way more than you
think?
“The only way you can avoid all of this is if you pay attention to what’s in your heart and in your mind—if you
have the self-control to take out the bad and fill it with something better.”
IN WITH THE GOOD
STORYTELLER: (Reference the empty bin) “So what are we supposed to put in here? If we aren’t supposed
to think about THESE things (reference the negative messages), then what ARE we supposed to think about?”
“Well, there’s a truth that God taught the apostle Paul. It’s in the New Testament and it tells us the kinds of
things we SHOULD be letting in. It’s Philippians 4:8. Check it out.
Open the Bible to Philippians 4:8 and read.
“‘Always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and
worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.’ (NIrV)
“So what if your brain was full of THOSE things?”
Get the bag of positive-message play balls (or balloons) and read
them out loud as you drop them into the bin.
“That’s what God’s Word does for us! (Hold up Bible.) We really do need the Bible to steer us toward the way
we should go. When we start to see how huge God’s Big Story really is, when we read books like Proverbs and
we see that God has a good plan for how He wants us to live, and when we really start to dive into how much
He loves us, THEN we’re filling our hearts and minds with the things that matter most.”
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January 31st, 2015
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WRAPPING UP THE STORY
STORYTELLER: (Reference the bin) “Here’s the thing, though. This doesn’t just happen on its own. We don’t
just automatically get filled up with things that are good and true and right. We have to make a choice. We
have to have the self-control to decide what we want to fill us up on the inside. And that means taking out
selfishness—taking out what WE want to do—and replacing it with what we SHOULD do—what GOD wants us
to do.
“Think of it like this. The way you spend your time will directly impact the kind of person you become. So the
choice is really up to you. You can decide to live without any limits, and pretty soon your heart and mind are
going to focus on one thing: YOU. Or you can decide to have self-control. You can make your choices based
on God’s Word. (Hold up Bible.) And you can set your focus on being, at the core, the kind of person HE wants
you to be.
CG: Bottom Line
“So here’s what you and I need to do. [Bottom Line] Use God’s words to GUIDE your thoughts.
“Let’s pray.”
Pray
STORYTELLER: “God, thank You for the Bible! Thank You for reminding us how important it is to read Your
Word, and discover again and again how amazing You really are. We don’t want to be filled up with
selfishness. We don’t want our lives to be out of control. Please help us to take out the bad and fill up our
hearts and minds with the good. Please guide our thoughts with what YOU want to say to us each day. We
love You and we ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.”
OUTRO VIDEO
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