Preteen Porch Growth Group Questions
Check-In and Hangout (6:30-6:45)
Countdown (6:40-6:45)
Welcome/Tickets/ Opening Activity (6:45-6:55)
Worship/ Video (6:55- 7:05)-
Activity (7:05- 7:15)- Application Activity
Small Group (7:15- 7:30)-Talk about God, Bible Story Review, and Discussion Questions
Sermon Summary (7:40-7:50)
Application and Prayer (7:50- 7:55)
Today’s Suggested Schedule—May 2022, Week 2
Today’s Bible Story: Go the Distance (Peter and John Are Taken to the Sanhedrin) • Acts 3:1-4:21
Today’s Key Question: When have you decided to keep going?
Today’s Bottom Line: Keep going even when it gets tough
Monthly Memory Verse: But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak. Isaiah 40:31 (NIrV)
Monthly Life App: Resilience—Getting back up when something gets you down
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Theme Loop
Opening Activity
Made to Play: an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and/or working as a group
What You Need: Masking tape, assorted balls, timer or mobile device
Note: This activity works best with a large number of kids, so, if possible, combine Small Groups to play the game all together.
What You Do:
What You Say:
“Even when it seemed impossible to get rid of all the balls on your side of the room, you all kept bouncing away! [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to hear about a couple of guys who bounced back no matter what was thrown at them.”
Theme
WELCOME
"WAHOO! I AM SOOO GLAD YOU ARE HERE! EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. Can you tell I’m excited? I mean, you could be other places today, but you’re not! You’re at PTP where we take lemons and make them into . . . a game!”
Host holds up a couple of lemons for the audience to see.
“That’s right, sometimes it will feel as though the world is hurling lemons at you. But we in PTP want to turn them into the greatest relay OF ALL TIME called LEMONS WITH NO AID!”
SLIDE: “Lemons with No Aid” Title (We are going to do 2 teams, and have a couple people from each team through dodgeballs.)
To play this game, the two teams will start on opposite sides of the stage. One person from each team will use their team’s balance beam to approach the center stage. Once you make it to the center stage, you’ll grab ONE lemon, return to your group on the balance beam, drop the lemon in your team’s bucket, and go to the end of the line. The next person in line goes across the balance beam once the first person has dropped their lemon in the team bucket.
“Sounds easy, right? NOT SO FAST! The audience will have two beach balls. The audience will try to hit the people on the balance beam with the beach ball! If you are hit with a beach ball while on the balance beam, you will be e-LEMON-ated with no aid! If you fall off the balance beam before you reach the end, you will be e-LEMON-ated with no aid! If you are e-LEMON-ated, you must return to your seat in the audience! Dramatic, I know! So don’t fall off the beam and avoid the beach balls at all costs!
“The team with the most lemons in their bucket after 60 seconds will be the LEMONS WITH NO AID CHAMPION! And you all in the audience, be sure to cheer for the kids in your grade! Make sense? Any questions? (Pause for response.) Great! Let’s play!”
AUDIO: Upbeat Game Music
“WOW, WOW, WOW! That was incredible. One team came up short but isn’t SOUR. They likely found this game to be FRUITLESS. However, there was one team that was simply the ZEST! Let’s go crazy for our LEMONS WITH NO AID CHAMPION! (Pause for response.) With that, let’s also give a rowdy welcome to everyone’s favorite Worship Leader, [Name of Worship Leader]. Let’s stand together and worship our amazing God.”
WORSHIP
INTRODUCTION
“Hey, everybody. Wow, I’m so glad each of you have made it to PTP today. Some of you just experienced an incredible week. Maybe you won the baseball tournament yesterday, or you nailed your first piano recital solo. If I just described your week, good for you! It would be so awesome if everyone’s week has been perfect. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Chances are some of you might have had a more difficult week. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you thought you would math test. Maybe you learned a friend is moving away this summer. Maybe you just felt down and not motivated to do anything. These can be hard weeks for sure.”
APPLICATION
COMMUNICATOR: “What an example of resilience! Peter and John, through the power of the Holy Spirit, helped a man at the temple gate and healed the man’s legs! A large crowd saw this man stand up dancing and praising God! Peter took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus! And when the religious leaders tried to punish Peter and John for teaching about Jesus, instead giving up or throwing in the towel, they continued to rely on God’s Spirit to speak boldly about Jesus. They kept going! Even when they were verbally told to stop talking about Jesus, they refused!
“And you know what’s crazy? We are part of Peter and John’s legacy! The reason you and I know about Jesus is because people like Peter and John continued to tell Jesus’ story even when they faced hardship! They may have been knocked down, BUT they continued to get back up and do what’s right!”
Communicator pushes bounce back punching bag toy over to the ground. Toy should bounce back up.
“Life will get hard for all of us from time to time. When things get tough—like when you’re struggling to get along with someone at school or when a close family member gets really sick—you might be tempted to give up. I completely understand! I’ve been there, too! But giving up in every situation that’s difficult could be a huge mistake. When we keep going, it gives us the chance to depend on God and trust Him through the difficulty. In the process, you may learn something you never knew or make a new friend or impact the world for Jesus in unexpected ways!”
LANDING
COMMUNICATOR: “As you reflect on your life, I imagine you’ve had some really great moments full of fun and laughter. But you’ve also had moments of sadness and difficulty. I’d guess many of you decided to keep going during the hardship, even if you wanted to give up. As we head to our small groups, we want you to think about this one question:
SLIDE: Key Question
“When have you decided to keep going? Maybe it was a long time ago, or maybe it was last week. When did you decide to get back up after life knocked you down? I’m really excited about the conversations you are about to have with your Small Groups! Let’s pray and ask God for the strength to show resilience when we’re feeling knocked down. Let’s pray.”
Communicator leads group in a prayer related to what they just heard. After prayer, Communicator dismisses kids to Small Group.
Theme Loop
Allow kids to share specific challenges they are facing. The goal of this discussion is not to provide solutions for the situations kids are facing. This is an opportunity to discuss the importance of knowing God’s truths, of knowing Scripture, and then turning to those truths to help us keep going.
Discussion Questions
[Talk about God | Bible Story Review]
Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share and collaborate with others while growing their understanding
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
Ask:
Bible Reading:
John 2:13-17 What was happening in the Temple area?
How did Jesus respond to these things?
What was the motivation behind Jesus' actions? (Hint: v17)
Tell about a time you were very passionate about something or someone that others were disrespecting?
Tell about a time when you witnessed God or the things of God being disrespected. How did you respond?
Does your response to these things reveal your passion for Him?
If passion for the things of God consume you, what are some ways you can show that this week?
Sermon Discussion (7:30-7:55)
(It's not fair to take things farther!)
Is there anything from the sermon that stood out to you?
What stood out to your from this week’s sermon?
Have you ever heard someone take this verse out of context? How so?
What was your response to being punched in the arm?
Why do you think most people want to hit back?
Teaser: If someone kills someone, should they be killed? Why or why not?
Why do you think people want to get revenge AND take things farther?
Tell about a time someone hurt your feelings.
Were you tempted to hurt them back? How so?
Tell about a time your were able to bless someone who did you wrong.
Life Change – Application (7:55-8:05)
What is one thing that you can do this week? (TRY TO HOLD OUT ON GIVING OPTIONS!!!!!
H- Be fair! I- Be forgiving! J- Be friendly!
Prayer
Countdown (6:40-6:45)
Welcome/Tickets/ Opening Activity (6:45-6:55)
Worship/ Video (6:55- 7:05)-
Activity (7:05- 7:15)- Application Activity
Small Group (7:15- 7:30)-Talk about God, Bible Story Review, and Discussion Questions
Sermon Summary (7:40-7:50)
Application and Prayer (7:50- 7:55)
Today’s Suggested Schedule—May 2022, Week 2
Today’s Bible Story: Go the Distance (Peter and John Are Taken to the Sanhedrin) • Acts 3:1-4:21
Today’s Key Question: When have you decided to keep going?
Today’s Bottom Line: Keep going even when it gets tough
Monthly Memory Verse: But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow weak. Isaiah 40:31 (NIrV)
Monthly Life App: Resilience—Getting back up when something gets you down
Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what.
Theme Loop
Opening Activity
Made to Play: an activity that encourages learning through following guidelines and/or working as a group
What You Need: Masking tape, assorted balls, timer or mobile device
Note: This activity works best with a large number of kids, so, if possible, combine Small Groups to play the game all together.
What You Do:
- Using masking tape, divide the room in half.
- Divide the group into two teams and assign a side of the room to each team.
- Instruct teams to stand on their side of the room.
- Give each team an equal number of balls. Balls can be any size and don’t have to be identical.
- When you say, “BOUNCE AWAY,” teams start bouncing the balls to their opponents’ side of the room.
- Explain that the goal is to be the first team to get all the balls to the other side of the room.
- Set a timer, and the team with the least number of balls on their side of the room when time runs out is the winner.
- Use a random timer and encourage kids to just keep going, even though they don’t know for sure when time is up.
What You Say:
“Even when it seemed impossible to get rid of all the balls on your side of the room, you all kept bouncing away! [Transition] Let’s head to Large Group to hear about a couple of guys who bounced back no matter what was thrown at them.”
Theme
WELCOME
"WAHOO! I AM SOOO GLAD YOU ARE HERE! EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. Can you tell I’m excited? I mean, you could be other places today, but you’re not! You’re at PTP where we take lemons and make them into . . . a game!”
Host holds up a couple of lemons for the audience to see.
“That’s right, sometimes it will feel as though the world is hurling lemons at you. But we in PTP want to turn them into the greatest relay OF ALL TIME called LEMONS WITH NO AID!”
SLIDE: “Lemons with No Aid” Title (We are going to do 2 teams, and have a couple people from each team through dodgeballs.)
To play this game, the two teams will start on opposite sides of the stage. One person from each team will use their team’s balance beam to approach the center stage. Once you make it to the center stage, you’ll grab ONE lemon, return to your group on the balance beam, drop the lemon in your team’s bucket, and go to the end of the line. The next person in line goes across the balance beam once the first person has dropped their lemon in the team bucket.
“Sounds easy, right? NOT SO FAST! The audience will have two beach balls. The audience will try to hit the people on the balance beam with the beach ball! If you are hit with a beach ball while on the balance beam, you will be e-LEMON-ated with no aid! If you fall off the balance beam before you reach the end, you will be e-LEMON-ated with no aid! If you are e-LEMON-ated, you must return to your seat in the audience! Dramatic, I know! So don’t fall off the beam and avoid the beach balls at all costs!
“The team with the most lemons in their bucket after 60 seconds will be the LEMONS WITH NO AID CHAMPION! And you all in the audience, be sure to cheer for the kids in your grade! Make sense? Any questions? (Pause for response.) Great! Let’s play!”
AUDIO: Upbeat Game Music
“WOW, WOW, WOW! That was incredible. One team came up short but isn’t SOUR. They likely found this game to be FRUITLESS. However, there was one team that was simply the ZEST! Let’s go crazy for our LEMONS WITH NO AID CHAMPION! (Pause for response.) With that, let’s also give a rowdy welcome to everyone’s favorite Worship Leader, [Name of Worship Leader]. Let’s stand together and worship our amazing God.”
WORSHIP
INTRODUCTION
“Hey, everybody. Wow, I’m so glad each of you have made it to PTP today. Some of you just experienced an incredible week. Maybe you won the baseball tournament yesterday, or you nailed your first piano recital solo. If I just described your week, good for you! It would be so awesome if everyone’s week has been perfect. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Chances are some of you might have had a more difficult week. Maybe you didn’t do as well as you thought you would math test. Maybe you learned a friend is moving away this summer. Maybe you just felt down and not motivated to do anything. These can be hard weeks for sure.”
APPLICATION
COMMUNICATOR: “What an example of resilience! Peter and John, through the power of the Holy Spirit, helped a man at the temple gate and healed the man’s legs! A large crowd saw this man stand up dancing and praising God! Peter took the opportunity to tell them about Jesus! And when the religious leaders tried to punish Peter and John for teaching about Jesus, instead giving up or throwing in the towel, they continued to rely on God’s Spirit to speak boldly about Jesus. They kept going! Even when they were verbally told to stop talking about Jesus, they refused!
“And you know what’s crazy? We are part of Peter and John’s legacy! The reason you and I know about Jesus is because people like Peter and John continued to tell Jesus’ story even when they faced hardship! They may have been knocked down, BUT they continued to get back up and do what’s right!”
Communicator pushes bounce back punching bag toy over to the ground. Toy should bounce back up.
“Life will get hard for all of us from time to time. When things get tough—like when you’re struggling to get along with someone at school or when a close family member gets really sick—you might be tempted to give up. I completely understand! I’ve been there, too! But giving up in every situation that’s difficult could be a huge mistake. When we keep going, it gives us the chance to depend on God and trust Him through the difficulty. In the process, you may learn something you never knew or make a new friend or impact the world for Jesus in unexpected ways!”
LANDING
COMMUNICATOR: “As you reflect on your life, I imagine you’ve had some really great moments full of fun and laughter. But you’ve also had moments of sadness and difficulty. I’d guess many of you decided to keep going during the hardship, even if you wanted to give up. As we head to our small groups, we want you to think about this one question:
SLIDE: Key Question
“When have you decided to keep going? Maybe it was a long time ago, or maybe it was last week. When did you decide to get back up after life knocked you down? I’m really excited about the conversations you are about to have with your Small Groups! Let’s pray and ask God for the strength to show resilience when we’re feeling knocked down. Let’s pray.”
Communicator leads group in a prayer related to what they just heard. After prayer, Communicator dismisses kids to Small Group.
Theme Loop
- Divide the group into two teams.
- Give each team a ball.
- Line up teams at one end of the obstacle course.
- Teams take turns going through the obstacle course. To travel through the course:
- Teams must bounce their ball through the course.
- Teammates must take turns bouncing the ball. A kid can only bounce the ball once before a teammate must bounce it.
- If the ball hits any of the obstacles, the team goes back to the starting line.
- (Optional) To make it a competition, set a timer. Declare the team with the fastest time to complete the course or the team to get the farthest through the course the winner.
- Wrap-up the activity by reminding kids that even though the obstacle course was a fun challenge, not all challenges we experience are fun. Often, there isn’t an easy fix when things get tough, or situations happen out of our control. While we cannot control situations around us, we can turn to God’s truths, and the power of the Holy Spirit, to guide our actions and attitudes.
- Ask:
- Like Peter and John, what some are ways we can train ourselves to be bounce back and push through when things get tough?
- What can we learn from Peter and John to help us show resilience when (fill in with an example from one of the sticky notes from the Take a Snapshot Activity)?
Allow kids to share specific challenges they are facing. The goal of this discussion is not to provide solutions for the situations kids are facing. This is an opportunity to discuss the importance of knowing God’s truths, of knowing Scripture, and then turning to those truths to help us keep going.
Discussion Questions
[Talk about God | Bible Story Review]
Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share and collaborate with others while growing their understanding
What You Need: No supplies needed
What You Do:
Ask:
- What does it look like to be resilient when a friend isn’t treating you kindly? What about when you’re not getting along with a parent? Or when you’re struggling with learning something at school?
- What can you do if you aren’t sure what it means to be resilient in a certain situation?
- Do you think when you decide to keep going when it is tough, it helps you bounce back when something gets you down again? Why or why not?
Bible Reading:
John 2:13-17 What was happening in the Temple area?
How did Jesus respond to these things?
What was the motivation behind Jesus' actions? (Hint: v17)
Tell about a time you were very passionate about something or someone that others were disrespecting?
Tell about a time when you witnessed God or the things of God being disrespected. How did you respond?
Does your response to these things reveal your passion for Him?
If passion for the things of God consume you, what are some ways you can show that this week?
Sermon Discussion (7:30-7:55)
(It's not fair to take things farther!)
Is there anything from the sermon that stood out to you?
What stood out to your from this week’s sermon?
Have you ever heard someone take this verse out of context? How so?
What was your response to being punched in the arm?
Why do you think most people want to hit back?
Teaser: If someone kills someone, should they be killed? Why or why not?
Why do you think people want to get revenge AND take things farther?
Tell about a time someone hurt your feelings.
Were you tempted to hurt them back? How so?
Tell about a time your were able to bless someone who did you wrong.
Life Change – Application (7:55-8:05)
What is one thing that you can do this week? (TRY TO HOLD OUT ON GIVING OPTIONS!!!!!
H- Be fair! I- Be forgiving! J- Be friendly!
Prayer