Preteen Porch Growth Group Questions
1. Check in: (700:-7:10)
2. Game: (7:10-7:25)
3. Welcome & Memory Verses: (7:25-7:30)
4. Video Lesson: (7:30-7:45)
5. Small Groups: (7:45-8:00)
6. Bible Reading & Discussion: (8:00-8:10)
7. Sermon Summary Video: (8:00-8:15)
8. Sermon Discussion: (8:15-8:20)
9. Life Change - Application: 8:20-8:25)
10. Prayer: (8:25-8:30)
(Take a few minutes to ask for prayer request and/or praises and pray for each other.)
Today’s Suggested Schedule—November 2020, Week 3
LARGE GROUP: Story (25 minutes) • Worship (10 minutes)
Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible story, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting.
Today’s Bible Story: Say Something (Jesus Heals 10 Men) • Luke 17:11-19
Today’s Key Question: Why do people forget to say thank you?
Today’s Bottom Line: Say thank you.
Monthly Memory Verse: Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever. Psalm 136:1 (NIrV)
Monthly Life App: Gratitude—Letting others know you see how they’ve helped you Basic Truth: I need to make the wise choice.
AUDIO: Play high-energy music as students enter.
Theme Loop Countdown Theme
OPENER
HOST: “What’s going on, my people! Such a good day in store for you. And that day starts with . . . a challenge to get your small group thinking and moving. So this month is all about shouting out our gratitude. Hopefully you are learning to say thank you more and to BE thankful for more. But what if it is not as easy as just saying “thank you” in English? How many of you could say takk? Or Merci? It is a big wide world out there! And there are a lot of ways to say thank you! With that in mind, let’s play a game called, ‘Around the World Shout Out!’”
SLIDE: Around the World Shout Out
“In just a moment, I’ll give each of your small groups two stacks of cards. One deck of cards will have the phrase “Thank You” written in a different language. The other deck will have the name of the languages. These are totally shuffled and out of order. Your job is to work as a team to line them up next to each other. When you think you have them all correct, sit down as a group and raise your hands. Your leader will come over and check your answers. You’ll be looking for matches for these ways to say thank you! I’ll read them out, but if you know what country it’s from, just keep it to yourself. Here we go:
Hvala (HVAH-lah) [Croatian] Dank u [Dutch]
Kiitos (KEE-tohss) [Finnish] Merci [French]
Tualumba [Tonga
ευχαριστώ (ef-hah-rees-TOH) [Greek]
ahalo (ma-HA-lo) [Hawaiian]
odah (toh-DAH) [Hebrew]
razie (GRAHT-tsyeh) [Italian]
rigatô (ah-ree-GAH-toh) [Japanese]
пасибо (spuh-SEE-buh) [Russian]
racias (GRAH-syahs) [Spanish]
giyabonga [Zulu]
Takk (Tahk) [Norwegian]
Salamat (sa-LAH-mat) [Tagalog]
Asante [Swahili]
So great, right?! I love that our world is filled with such beautiful cultures! It’s your turn. Let’s see if you can match these phrases to the right language. On your mark, get set, go!
AUDIO: Upbeat game music
“(After the game) Thank you for playing . . . or should I say mahalo! Now let’s stand and worship our amazing God together!”
Worship- sing a song 2. Opening Activity
Made to Explore: an activity that extends learning through hands-on experimentation and discovery
What You Need: Tape, paper, retractable ballpoint pens, coins, paper clips
What You Do:
- Tell kids to hold their thumbs tightly to the side of their hands.
- Wrap tape around the palms of each kid’s left and right hands (separately, not both hands
together) so that their fingers can move, but not their thumbs. - Challenge the kids to do some simple tasks such as the ones suggested below.
o Writethealphabet
o Pickupacoin
o Shakesomeone’shand
o Putapaperclipontoasheetofpaper o Clickapenfivetimes
o Wadupasheetofpaper
o Foldasheetofpaperthreetimes
What You Say:
“No thumbs is NO FUN. I’m guessing it felt good to finally take the tape off and use your hands again. Imagine what it would be like if you didn’t have full use of your hands—ever—and then DID.
APPLICATION
COMMUNICATOR: “There is so much I love about this story. I love that Jesus finds Himself in a place that others would often avoid. I love that when healing the men, He didn’t do it instantly but required them to take some steps of faith to actually go first. But above all, I love that this story gives us a model for what it means to give thanks when something good happens in our lives.”
“One guy out of ten returned to say thanks. That tells us that maybe saying thanks isn’t as natural as we think it is. See, when we’re in the middle of a problem, that is all we can think about. It might not be as bad as something like leprosy, but maybe it is something really hard. All we want is a solution. All we want is for someone to swoop in and fix it. We would do anything! But then, when something in our situation does change, like when God does answer a prayer the way we hoped or when someone does help us out, what then? Do we just move on? Do we consider what was done for us? Do we go out of our way to say thank you?”
“Or think about it a little deeper. Maybe you have been praying for a family member because they’ve been sick for a while. Suddenly, their situation starts to improve. One day the doctor gives the good news that they are all clear and healthy again. Certainly, say thank you to the doctor who treated them, but do you return to God and thank God for working in and through the situation, too?”
“I don’t think this story has to just be about the way God helps us either, although that is really important. Maybe you have a friend who helped you study really hard for a test because you didn’t understand the subject AT ALL. They gave up a lot of their time, and you ended up getting a higher grade than you’ve ever scored! Do you return and say thank you to your friend for all their help?”
“Maybe you have a coach who works with you after practice because you are having trouble mastering a certain move or understanding the plays. Do you return to say thank you?”
“There are all sorts of times in our lives where we can learn to better express thankfulness when it is easier to just move on to the next thing. Consider the people around you this week, consider the way God is working and then think about who you are more like . . . the 9 . . . or the 1.”
LANDING
COMMUNICATOR: “Today as you go to groups, think about this question: SLIDE: Key Question
“Why do people forget to say thank you? What is it that causes us to forget? Is it intentional? Is there something else going on? It’s important for us to understand why we might forget in order to help us to remember.
Review the Bible story using the questions below. Let kids compete to see who can say the answer ten times in a row in the shortest amount of time.
o What book of the Bible is our story found? (Luke)
o What disease did the men in the story have? (skin disease, leprosy) o How many men in the story had a skin disease? (10)
o How many men did Jesus heal in this story? (10)
o How many men came back to thank Jesus? (1)
Ask kids to share why they think only one of the men who was healed came back to say thank you to Jesus.
o What are we most likely focusing on when we forget to say thank you?
o Give some reason why we should say thank you often.
o When are you most motivated to say thank you?
o Can you think of a time when you forgot to say thank you for something big? Did it cause
a problem with the other person, or did you remember to come back and thank them? o Who do you need to thank today? How will you do it?
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:
- If someone says thank you, but they don’t really mean it, is it truly gratitude? Why or why not?
- Is it enough to just feel grateful without actually say it or expressing it in any way? Explain.
- What are some ways we can thank someone other than just saying “thank you”?
Bible Reading-
James 1:2-9
Why should you have joy when life gets complicated?
What should you expect if from God if your loyalty is divided between the world and God? What is your reaction to things in life not going your way?
Have you honestly considered where your loyalty lies? How do you know?
How can you be sure that your loyalty is with God?
Prayer and Application