11 god wants us to be a friend - clover...

Hands-On Bible MAX 108

God Wants Us to Be a Friend11

BIBLE BASIS

Made in the image of

the triune God, we were

created for community.

From birth we yearn for

others to love us, help us,

understand us, and grow

with us. Friendship is one

aspect of God’s gift of

community. The children

in your class all know

that they want and need

friends (even if some may

not admit it). But to gain

a friend we need to be a

friend. Use this session to

help children understand

what makes someone a

good friend and decide to

be a good friend.

Bible Focus: Judges 16:4-21; Ruth 1:1-18

Discovery Point: God wants us to be a friend.

Worship Response: Children will learn how they can become loyal friends.

Key Verse: “A friend is always loyal” (Proverbs 17:17a).

A Look at the SessionMix and match to meet your needs. For more ideas, see “For-Extra-Time Activities” on page 116.

Session Sequence

What Kids Will Do Supplies

Welcome!(up to

15 minutes)

Play a game to begin to consider what’s important in a friend and how people choose friends.

Putting God First: Serving CD or DVD, CD player or TV/DVD player, 3x5 cards, pens

Let’s Explore!(up to

20 minutes)

Compare Delilah and Ruth as friends, defi ne the perfect friend, compliment others for their friendship qualities, and evaluate themselves as friends.

Hands-On Bibles, paper, pens, 3x5 cards from Welcome!

Let’s Praise!(up to

15 minutes)

Praise God for the gift of friendship.

Putting God First: Serving CD or DVD, CD player or TV/DVD player

Let’s Pray!(up to

10 minutes)

Create friendship bracelets as gifts for friends, thanking God for the gift of friendship as they tie each knot.

Hands-On Bibles, yarn or twine, scissors, clipboards, tape, Putting God First: Serving CD, CD player

Session 11 | God Wants Us to Be a Friend109

Before This Session

o Cut enough 4-foot strands of yarn or twine for each person to have two.

o Assemble Bible Exploration Kits (one per four kids): one Hands-On Bible, paper, pens, yarn or twine prepared above, one clipboard, and tape.

o Review the “Friend or Foe?” activity next to Judges 16 and the “Friendship Bracelet” activity next to Ruth 1 in the Hands-On Bible.

o CD/DVD Cue the Putting God First: Serving CD (1) or DVD (1).

o Huddle briefl y with volunteers before the session. Answer questions they have. Encourage them, and pray for the session, the volunteers, and the kids.

TEACHER TIPBible Exploration

Kits are an easy way

to give each group

supplies. The Jabber Mat

from Group Publishing

is a great tool that

can be used as a Bible

Exploration Kit and as a

space for a Bible Crew to

gather. Check it out at

group.com/jabbermat.


Welcome!

Supplies: 3x5 cards | pens | CD player or TV/DVD player

1. Play CD/DVD “Into the Bible” (1) as kids arrive.

2. As kids arrive, give each person a pen and a 3x5 card. SAY: I’m so glad you’re here today, because we’re going to talk about a topic I already know is very important to you: friendship! To begin, write or draw on one side of your card fi ve things that you think are important in a friend. You have 90 seconds. Write or draw small and go!

3. After a minute, SAY: Now mingle around the room, and compare your list with others. If you have all fi ve things in common, write your new friend’s name. Play upbeat music CD/DVD for 30 seconds as kids mingle.

4. After a minute,

ASK:

• How many new friends are listed on your card? What do you think about your list?

SAY: OK, try again. This time you can write a friend’s name if you have three items in common. Go! Again, play upbeat music CD/DVD as kids mingle, this time for 20 seconds.

DVDDVDCDCD

110

4. After a minute,

ASK:

• How many new friends are listed on your card? What do you think about your list?

SAY: OK, try again. This time you can write a friend’s name if you have three items in common. Go!play upbeat music kids mingle, this time for 20 seconds.


5. Instruct children to take a seat.

ASK:

• How do you think most people choose who will be their friends?

• What do you think are some really important characteristics in a friend?

• What do you think God thinks about friendship?

6. SAY: Friends are one of the most important things in life. GOD WANTS US TO BE A FRIEND, and we’re going to learn

more about what that looks like right now.

Have kids put the cards aside. They’ll use the cards again for Let’s Explore!

Let’s Explore!

Supplies: assembled Bible Exploration Kits (see page 109) | 3x5 cards from Welcome!

1. Have kids form Bible Crews of four, and give each crew a Bible Exploration Kit. SAY: We have two examples of friendship to look at today: a good example and a bad example.

Have crews take paper, pens, and the Hands-On Bibles out of their kits. Help kids fi nd Judges 16:4-21. SAY: Choose three people from your crew to read the parts of Samson, Delilah, and the narrator. The fourth person will be your crew recorder. Recorder, you’ll take the pen and paper and make two columns labeled “Samson” and “Delilah.”

As the readers read, think about how you would describe Samson and Delilah as friends. You may interrupt the readers to ask your recorder to write something in one or both columns. When crews have fi nished reading, ask them to take another minute to complete their lists with any “friend” descriptions that come to mind at the end of the passage.

TEACHER TIPBible Crews can be as

small as one person or

as large as fi ve. It’s best

if they include a range

of ages so older kids can

help younger ones.

Hands-On Bible MAX

2. ASK:

• Look at the lists you made describing Samson and Delilah. Would you want Samson and Delilah as friends? Explain.

• What do you think went wrong in their friendship?

• In your crew, share about a time you felt disappointed by a friend. Without sharing details, what have you learned about friendship?

3. SAY: Stand up, take a stretch, and say hello to a friend, new or old, whom you haven’t talked to yet today. Pause. That’s a good example of friendship. Now let’s look at a good example of friendship from the Bible.

Help Bible Crews fi nd Ruth 1:1-18 in their Hands-On Bibles. SAY: Choose a different person to serve as recorder. Turn over your Samson and Delilah list, and make two new columns: Naomi and Ruth. Now decide who will read the parts of Naomi, Ruth, and the narrator. As they read, try to imagine how you’d feel if you were Naomi. Interrupt the readers to ask the recorder to write down Naomi’s feelings or descriptions of Ruth.

4. When groups have fi nished reading,

ASK:

• Who in this passage would you want as a friend? Explain.

• Would you make the same decision Ruth did? Why or why not?

• How was Ruth different from Delilah?

SAY: In the midst of all this friendship fun, let’s take one quiet moment to think about ourselves as friends. Quietly, prayerfully, think about your own friendships. Are you more like Ruth or Delilah? Why? What can you do to be more like Ruth?

5. After a moment, have crews fi nd the “Friend or Foe?” activity in their Hands-On Bibles. SAY: Now that you’ve read two very different examples of friendship and considered yourself as a friend, work as a crew to read the activity and come up with a defi nition of a perfect friend. You don’t have to write it down, just be able to tell others.

112

Session 11 | God Wants Us to Be a Friend

6. Allow crews two to three minutes to work, and then ask kids to fi nd their 3x5 cards from the opening activity. SAY: GOD WANTS US TO BE A FRIEND, but friendship isn’t always easy. Ruth was a loyal friend to Naomi even though that meant leaving her country and everything she’d ever known. Jesus Christ is a good friend, too. He gave his life to save us from sin because he loves us so much. We can all use encouragement to be good friends.

Earlier you made a list of friends. Hop up, fi nd those people, and share with them your defi nition of a friend (ask for theirs, too!). Then thank them for being friends and be specifi c. For example, say, “Thank you, Tina, for being such a good listener!”

Allow a couple of minutes for kids to talk. Then SAY: GOD WANTS US TO BE A FRIEND, and from the energy in the room right now, it seems like you’re already well on your way to being great friends! Let’s take time now to praise God for the gift of friendship.

113

Hands-On Bible MAX

Let’s Praise!

Supplies: CD player or TV/DVD player

1. SAY: Friendship is one of the most important gifts God has given us. Think about it: Without friends life would be awfully lonely! As we sing, put your arms around the people next to you and praise God for friends.

2. PLAY: CD/DVD

• “Live in Harmony” (Romans 12:16) (2)

• “Fairest Lord Jesus” (5)

• “Servant of All” (Mark 9:35b) (7)

114

• “Fairest Lord Jesus” (5)

• “Servant of All” (Mark 9:35b) (7)

DVDDVDCDCD

Find some longtime

friends willing to share

about their friendship

over the years. It’d be

great to fi nd friends

of different ages.

College kids, adults,

and seniors will have

different examples of how

friendship changes as you

get older.

EXTRA IMPACT


Let’s Pray!

Supplies: assembled Bible Exploration Kits (see page 109) | CD player

1. Have crews take the yarn, clipboards, and tape from their kits, and help them fi nd the “Friendship Bracelet” activity in their Hands-On Bibles. SAY: Did you know you can pray with your eyes open? We’re going to pray with open eyes and busy hands right now. Read the instructions for the “Friendship Bracelet” activity, and help everyone on your crew get set to make a bracelet. Then take turns sharing one thing about friendship you’d like to thank God for. For example, you can thank God for the fun you had with your friend at the park yesterday. As each person shares, make a loop. Keep going, knotting and sharing and praying, until your bracelets are done. Be specifi c and creative in your prayers so you won’t run out of things to pray. When you’ve fi nished, you’ll have a bracelet that represents a lot of prayer for a special friend.

2. As Bible Crews create and pray together, play the instrumental version of CD “Live in Harmony” (Romans 12:16) (10).

High Fives

Supplies: Friendship Bracelets from Let’s Pray!

SAY: As you leave, ask three people if you can see their bracelets. Give each person a “high bracelet” by wrapping your hand around around the bracelet. Be sure to tell them why they’re such great friends!

CD CD


For-Extra-Time Activities

THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE Supplies: CD player

Ask kids to read the intro page for any book of the Bible and create a motion for that book. For example, kids could make a motion for rain for Genesis or do a beauty pageant wave for Esther. Play CD “The Books of the Bible Song” (8), and have kids do all the motions they have learned.

CREATE A BIBLE DICTIONARYSupplies: paper | markers | dictionary

Ask kids to create one or more new pages, each with a new word, for the Bible Dictionary. Ask for ideas of new words from today’s session—friend and loyal are two suggestions. Have them write the word on a sheet of paper in fun letters, add a defi nition, list Scripture references, and make illustrations. Add each page to a three-ring binder, and watch the dictionary grow!

WHAT A GIFT!Supplies: paper or blank cards |pens

Have kids write letters to their close friends, telling them what they learned today and thanking them for their friendship.

ALPHABET FRIENDSSupplies: none

Sit in a circle. Starting with the person whose birthday was most recent, come up with a good friend characteristic that starts with the same letter as your fi rst name. For example, Lily could be “Loyal Lily.”

HIDING IT IN YOUR HEARTSupplies: none

Have crews fi nd the Key Verse, Proverbs 17:17a, in their Hands-On Bibles and read it aloud. Instruct crews to create cheers using this verse that they can teach the class to help everyone remember to be a loyal friend.

FOCUS


Family Devotion

Bible Focus: Judges 16:4-21; Ruth 1:1-18

Discovery Point: God wants us to be a friend.

Key Verse: “A friend is always loyal”

(Proverbs 17:17a).

Make an “Acts of Family

Kindness” poster. List each

family member’s name and a

few things others could do to

be good friends. For example,

one way to be a good friend

to Mom might be to offer to

help make dinner. Put the

poster in a central location in

your home. At the end of the

week, check in to see if family

members were encouraged to

be better friends. If it worked,

keep it up and add to it.

FAMILY CHALLENGE

How do you think Naomi felt when Ruth was so loyal to her?

How do you feel when your friends are loyal to you?

How can we be loyal to each other and be friends, as well as

family members?

What is something we can do today to be friendlier to each

other?

God Wants Us to Be a Friend

Friendship Bracelet

Do you have a best friend? Someone you really like to hang out with? A friend you’d do anything for? The Bible tells about two friends like that. Read all about them in Ruth 1:1-18.

Now make something to give to your best friend!

Loop the left

yarn over and

under the right

yarn and pull it

snug.

3

Cut two 4-foot strands of yarn or twine, and tie

them together with a knot 3 inches from the top.

Clip or tape the top of the knotted yarn to a piece of cardboard or a clipboard. Also tape the right piece of yarn at the bottom so it’s straight and tight.

When you see the bracelet on the doorknob during the next week, remember that your family members are good friends, too!

4Continue until a bracelet length is completed. Knot at the end, and cut 3 inches beyond the knot.

Knots can remind us of bonds that can’t be broken, like the bond between Ruth and Naomi. Give your bracelet to your friend to say thank you for always being there for you.

Besides your good friends at school or church, there are other people who love you and want what’s best for you: your family! As a family, make another bracelet, and hang it on the doorknob of your front door. Then discuss:

Permission to photocopy this handout from Group’s Hands-On Bible MAX™ granted for local church use. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 481, Loveland, CO 80539. group.com/BibleMAX

11 god wants us to be a friend - clover...

Documents