252 Groups
February 2016, Week 2
Small Group, K-1
The Biggest Losers
Bible Story: The Biggest Losers (People help Moses) • Exodus 17:8-13
Bottom Line: We can work together to help someone else succeed.
Memory Verse: “Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they
do.” Ecclesiastes 4:9, NIrV
Life App: Cooperation—working together to do more than you can do alone.
Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes)
Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience
today’s story.
Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group for
the first time. Kids are often competing with each other, so today’s Bottom Line might be a bit
counterintuitive for some. Pray that God would break through these barriers and soften kids’ hearts to
see that He wants us to cooperate with our peers to contribute to the success of someone else.
1. Early Arriver Idea
What You Need: An offering container
What You Do:
 Collect kids’ offerings as they arrive.
 Talk about what the word “succeed” means. To succeed means to do what you were trying to do.
 Ask kids about a time when they helped someone else succeed—when they helped someone do
what they were trying to do.
 Start by giving the kids a personal example or telling them a famous story to help them
understand what it means to succeed.
2. Easier with a Friend
What You Need: Stopwatch or timer
What You Do:
 Time kids to see how long they can hold their arms straight out to the side without dropping their
arms. Then time them again with their arms straight out in front while holding hands with a friend.
What You Say:
“You guys could hold your arms up for a much longer time when a friend helped you! [Transition]
Today in Large Group, we are going to hear about some friends who helped each other do this
same thing—with pretty crazy results!”
Lead your group to the Large Group area.
©2015 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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252 Groups
February 2016, Week 2
Small Group, K-1
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 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. Watch Out for That Balloon! (application activity / review the Bible story)
What You Need: Inflated balloons; 10 to 15 for each Small Group
What You Do:
 Choose one boisterous, non-shy kid to be Moses and two kids to be Aaron and Hur. (“Moses”
should be a kid who won’t be sensitive to having balloons thrown at him.)
 Have Moses stand in the middle of the room with his hands folded across his chest with Aaron
and Hur standing around him.
 Scatter the balloons around the room.
 When you say, “Go,” kids should scramble to grab the balloons and try to throw them at Moses.
Aaron and Hur will try to knock the balloons away as fast as they can so none hit Moses. If
Moses does get hit with a balloon, he puts his arms in the air and counts to 30 while everyone
else freezes. Then, the three kids in the middle are replaced with new kids and the game
resumes for as long as time and interest allow.
What You Say:
“Our Bible story today talked about how there was a battle between the Israelites and the Amalekites.
God told Moses to raise his staff in the air and the Israelites would start winning, so he did and they did!
But Moses couldn’t hold his staff in the air forever, so his arms started to drop and the Israelites started
to lose. Luckily, Aaron and Hur stepped in and cooperated with one another help hold Moses’ arms in
the air. They were able to keep the staff in the air long enough for the Israelites to win the battle! When
we see someone in need, we should try to work together to help that person. [Make It Personal] (Share
about a time when someone helped you with something you couldn’t have done alone.) If we
keep our eyes open for ways we can help, [Bottom Line] we can work together to help someone
else succeed.”
2. Help a Friend Out (application activity)
What You Need: Inflated balloons; 10 to 15 for each Small Group, bin or box large enough to hold the
balloons
What You Do:
 Scatter the balloons around the room and place the bin in the center of the room. (Note: If you
have a smaller or shared space, place the balloons down in front of the kids instead of having
them all over the room. Then place the bin a few feet away so the kids can walk over to the bin.)
 Pair kids up and have them stand side-by-side and link their arms.
 Tell kids to use their outside (free) arms to pick up a balloon off the ground and carry it over their
heads to put in the bin or box placed in the center of the room. (They cannot hold the tie of the
balloon; they have to work together to hold the balloon with both of their free arms.)
 For an added challenge, have them hold the balloon over their heads using one finger each or
have them bunny hop to get the balloon to the bin or box instead of walking.
©2015 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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252 Groups
February 2016, Week 2
Small Group, K-1
What You Say:
“You guys did great with that challenge! What if I had told you to hold the balloon over your head by
yourself, without holding the tie? That would have been a lot harder, huh? You needed each other to
complete the task. Sometimes there are things we just can’t do by ourselves. We need each other to be
able to do what we’ve been asked to do. When things come up that seem like too much to do alone,
[Bottom Line] we can work together to help someone else succeed.”
3. In Motion (memory verse activity)
What You Need: Bibles
What You Do:
 Look up the verse as a group and say it together.
 Work together to come up with motions for the verse. Kids are free to think of motions on their
own, with your help. But here are a few to help get started:
o “Two are”: hold up two fingers
o “Better than”: give thumbs up
o “One”: hold up 1 finger
o “They can help each other”: put your arm around someone else’s shoulder
o “In everything they do”: move hands (palms up) in circle motion from center of body to
outside of body
 Say the verse again with the motions.
 Guide the kids to say it faster and faster while doing the motions. See how fast they can go!
What You Say:
“Whew! Those were some fast motions! This is an important verse because it reminds us that we need
each other, even when we think we can do everything ourselves. No matter what, we need to work with
others because [Bottom Line] we can work together to help someone else succeed.”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
 Have kids sit in a circle.
 Pray, thanking God for all the people in our lives who work together to help us & take care of us.
 Instruct kids to think of one person in their lives who helps them, such as a teacher, parent,
coach, etc.
 Ask one kid to stand up and name someone who helps him. Ask that kid to then reach out his
hand and help up the person next to him in the circle, who will then stand up and say his person,
and so on.
What You Say:
“Dear God, thank You for giving us people in our lives to help us. Thank You that we don’t have to do
everything by ourselves and thank You that we can help each other. We pray that You will show us how
to help one another every day. Amen.”
Give each child a GodTime card. Pass out Parent Cue cards as adults arrive to pick up. Tell kids to challenge
a parent to a friendly competition to see who can hold their arms straight out to the side the longest.
©2015 The reThink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. • www.ThinkOrange.com
If you change the content of this document, please add to the copyright: Adapted by (your name/organization name/date).
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