252 Groups
December 2015, Week 4
Small Group, K-1
Shepherd Guys Are Comin’ to Town
Bible Story: Shepherd Guys Are Comin’ to Town (Shepherds visit Jesus) • Luke 2:8-20
Bottom Line: God gave us great news. Who will you tell?
Memory Verse: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who
believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.” John 3:16, NIrV
Life App: Compassion—caring enough to do something about someone else’s need.
Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.
GET READY
Prepare ahead of time for kindergarten–1st grade Small Groups this week:
Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Choose one or both of these activities.)
Early Arriver
 An offering container
Share the News
 No supplies needed
Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Choose as many of these activities as you like.)
* If you don’t have time to do all these activities, be sure to do activity #1.
* 1. Lights! Camera! Action! (application activity / review the Bible story)
 Pipe cleaners; about 3 for each Small Group
 Cotton balls; about 50-70 for each Small Group
 Feathers; about 6 for each Small Group
 Candy canes; about 7-10 for each Small Group. (Note: The candy canes have to be big enough
kids can use them as a shepherd’s staff. You can use pipe cleaners, but it will be harder for kids
to “herd” the sheep with pipe cleaners.)
 Create a spot in your environment that can be “Bethlehem,” with the following objects:
o Doll in a box
o Stuffed animals (place around the doll in the box)
o A sign with “Bethlehem” written on it
2. Good News Relay (application activity / a possible environment-wide activity)
 “Jesus Loves You” stickers; at least 2 for each kid and 2 for each Small Group Leader
Note: There are many online options for purchasing stickers, such as orientaltrading.com,
Christianbook.com, etc.
 Painter’s tape
3. Hopscotch Verse (memory verse activity)
 Print the “Pattern” Activity Page; 1 for each Small Group
 One set of “Hopscotch Verse Cards” Activity Pages; 1 for each Small Group
 8 pieces of cardstock or 8 carpet squares
 Painter’s tape (if using cardstock)
©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).
1
252 Groups
December 2015, Week 4
Small Group, K-1
Prayer
 “Megaphone” Activity Page; 1 for each Small Group
Optional: Instead of the “Megaphone” Activity Page, if Small Group Leaders have access to
mobile devices, instruct them to pull up an image of a megaphone for the kids.
 Paper; 1 sheet for each kid (construction paper or cardstock will work best)
 Tape
 “Jesus Loves You” stickers; at least 1 for each kid
Shepherd Guys Are Comin’ to Town
Bible Story: Shepherd Guys Are Comin’ to Town (Shepherds visit Jesus) • Luke 2:8-20
Bottom Line: God gave us great news. Who will you tell?
Memory Verse: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who
believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.” John 3:16, NIrV
Life App: Compassion—caring enough to do something about someone else’s need.
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. Ask God to show your few that the perfect response to Christmas is to go and tell
others about Jesus! Pray for opportunities for your kids to show their friends what Christ has done in
their lives and to share Him with others.
1. Early Arriver Idea
What You Need: Offering container
What You Do:
 Invite kids to put their offerings in the offering container as they arrive.
 Ask kids what they did to celebrate Christmas. Did they visit relatives? Did they give their candy
cane ornament to anyone?
 Ask kids if something good happened this week. Did they get some good news? Prompt them
with some questions and they can give you a thumbs up or thumbs down. For example: You get
to eat ice cream for dinner. You have to go to bed early. You get to go to a movie. You get to go
to Disneyland. You have to clean your room. Your friend is coming over to play.
2. Share the News
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
 Guide kids to sit in a circle.
 Whisper a sentence to the kid next to you, who will whisper it to the next kid and so on around
the circle. Sample sentences are below.
o God gave us the greatest gift.
©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


December 2015, Week 4
Small Group, K-1
o God loves you!
o I like to eat mashed potatoes.
The last kid says the sentence out loud.
See how close the final sentence is to the original sentence.
What You Say:
“You did a great job of sharing the news down the line. [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to
learn about some great news we will want to share with everyone.”
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. Lights! Camera! Action! (application activity / review the Bible story)
What You Need: Pipe cleaners, cotton balls, feathers, candy canes, doll, Bethlehem sign
What You Do:
 Lead kids to reenact the story of the shepherds visiting Jesus.
 Select kids to be the shepherds. Give the “shepherds” a candy cane for their “staff.”
 Select a couple of kids to be the angels. Make a halo out of pipe cleaners and place on the
“angels’” heads and give them a feather for each hand for their “wings.”
 Retell the story, encouraging kids to act out their roles in the story. Be prepared to prompt kids
or give them hints as to what happens next in the story or with what they say. Below is a sample
story review.
Shepherds Visiting Jesus – Take One!
- “Shepherds, where are you at the beginning of our story today? (In the field herding sheep)
That’s right! You are herding sheep. (Throw a bunch of cotton balls on the ground.) Here are all
your sheep. Use your staff to gather them together.”
- (While the shepherds are herding, say to the angels) “This is when you angels make an
appearance.” (Encourage the angels to “fly” around the shepherds, using their feathers as
wings.)
- “Shepherds, you see the angels and you are terrified. Show me your ‘I am scared’ look; you are
so afraid you are shaking.”
- “Angels, do you remember what you said to the terrified shepherds?” (Don’t be afraid. I bring
good news to you. Jesus is born and He is your Lord and Savior. Jesus is in a manger in
Bethlehem.)
- (Say to the shepherds) “The Angel of the Lord told you Jesus has just been born. I think you
need to look shocked and amazed because that is some really good news! Show me your best
surprised face.”
- “The angels are very happy; perhaps even joyous, you may say. They are singing glory to God
in the highest.” (Encourage the angels to dance, and sing and dance with them.)
- “Shepherds, you just heard good news. Jesus is born. What do you decide to do? (Go to
Bethlehem to visit Jesus.) Let’s head to Bethlehem to visit Jesus.” (Walk to “Bethlehem” to visit
the baby.)
- “Shepherds, after you meet Jesus, what do you do?” (Tell the good news to everyone they
meet. Encourage kids to put their hands to their mouth and say, “Jesus is born!”)
©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
December 2015, Week 4
Small Group, K-1
What You Say:
“You did an excellent job telling the story. The shepherds were so excited when they heard the good
news that they told everyone they saw. God wants us to be like the shepherds in the story. He wants us
to be excited about Jesus’ birth. He wants us to share the good news with others. [Bottom Line] God
gave us great news. Who will you tell? That’s our Compassion Challenge for today: to think about
who in our lives needs to hear the good news about God’s love, and how we can share it with them.”
2. Good News Relay (application activity / a possible environment-wide activity)
What You Need: “Jesus Loves You” stickers, painter’s tape
What You Do:
 Using tape make a start line.
 Divide the group into two teams and line the teams up at the starting line.
 About 15-20 feet from the starting line, put enough “Jesus Loves You” stickers for each kid in
your group, plus two extra ones.
 When you say, “GO,” a member of each team races to the stickers, grabs one, and returns to
their team.
 The “runner” places a sticker on a teammate and says, “Jesus Loves You.” Once a kid receives
a sticker, he becomes the next “runner” and races down to get a sticker for another teammate.
 The last kid to receive a sticker races down, gets a sticker, and puts it on you.
 The first team to put a sticker on every teammate and you is the winner.
What You Say:
“Jesus loves you! That is good news! And it is important to tell others Jesus loves them. What are some
ways you can share God’s good news with your friends or family? (Invite a friend to church, tell them
the Bible stories you learned in class, treat them the way you want to be treated, etc.) Our Compassion
Challenge for this week is to tell someone about Jesus! [Bottom Line] God gave us great news. Who
will you tell? Is there is someone you know who needs to hear about Jesus? One way you could tell
someone about the good news is to give them a sticker to let them know Jesus loves them. [Make It
Personal] (Tell the kids who you are going to give a sticker to this week and why. Or share
about a time when you told someone about God’s good news or a time someone shared the
Good News with you.) Here is an extra sticker for you to give to someone to share God’s good news.”
(Give kids an extra “Jesus Loves You” sticker.)
3. Hopscotch Verse (memory verse activity)
What You Need: “Pattern” Activity Page, “Hopscotch Verse Cards”, 8 pieces of paper or carpet
squares, painter’s tape
What You Do:
 Using the pattern in the “Pattern” Activity Page, create a hopscotch grid by taping the paper to
the floor and placing the “Verse Cards” on the correct square in the grid.
 Kids will hop onto each of the squares while the group recites the memory verse corresponding
to the squares.
 When kids land on the last square, the group will yell, “That’s good news!”
What You Say:
“This memory verse is all about the good news that God loves us and He gave us the greatest gift ever:
Jesus. And when we believe in Jesus, we get to live with Him now and forever. Now that is good news!
©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).
4
252 Groups
December 2015, Week 4
Small Group, K-1
One way to share God’s good news is to share this memory verse with someone. [Bottom Line] God
gave us great news. Who will you tell?”
Pray and Dismiss
What You Need: “Megaphone” Activity Page or mobile device, paper, tape, “Jesus Loves You” stickers
What You Do:
 Show kids a picture of a megaphone.
 Explain megaphones are used to make your voice really loud. Often megaphones are used to
speak to a large number of people to make sure everyone can hear you clearly.
 Help kids make megaphones by rolling a piece of paper into a cone shape, with one small
opening and one large opening.
 Help kids place tape on the outside edge of the paper to secure the cone.
 Give each kid a “Jesus Loves You” sticker to put on their megaphone.
 Pray with the kids using the megaphones.
What You Say:
[Bottom Line] “God gave us great news! Who will you tell? Who will you tell about Jesus? Maybe it
is a friend or a family member. When we tell others about how much Jesus loves them, we want to be
sure they can hear us; we don’t want anyone to miss out on God’s good news. Let’s use our
megaphones to tell the world, ‘Jesus loves me.’ (Wait while kids say, ‘Jesus loves me,’ into their
megaphones.) Good job! That news was loud and clear! Now let’s use our megaphones to say, ‘Jesus
loves YOU.’ (Wait while kids say, ‘Jesus loves you,’ into their megaphones.) Wow! I could hear you all!
[Bottom Line] God gave us great news! Who will you tell? Let’s pray and ask God for help in
sharing the good news with others! God, You are awesome! Thank You for loving us and sending us
Jesus. Help us to share Your good news and to share Your love with others. Amen.”
©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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