Triple Dog Dare

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December 20th 2015 .:. .:. Room 301

Pathways Kids Weekend Small Groups

This Curriculum is for 9, 10, 11 and 12 year olds.

This Weeks Scope

Bible Story: How the Lord Gave Christmas (Jesus is born) Luke 2:1-7
Bottom Line: God gave us the greatest gift. What will you give?
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: Compassioncaring enough to do something about someone elses need.
Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

Welcome Time
What You Need: Offering container
What You Do:
Collect kids offerings as they arrive.
With Christmas just a few days away, kids will be eager to share about their plans for the week.
Prompt them to tell less about what they hope to receive by way of Christmas gifts and more
about what they are giving. How did they decide what gifts to give people? Was there someone
who was hard to know what to give them? Why?
Please feel free to give kids candy canes at the end of small group

Activity #1
What You Need: Bible, stickers; 8 per kid, letter cards, Christmas Quiz Activity Page
What You Do:
Choose three kids to represent the letters A, B, and C, and then give them the appropriate letter
card to hold. (If you have kids whose names begin with those letters, thatd be perfect.)
Review the lesson using the Christmas Quiz Activity Page. Read the statements along with the
multiple-choice answers.
Let kids indicate their answer by each placing a sticker onto the kid who represents the letter
they believe is the best choice. Tell kids to avoid sticking the stickers on anyones hair!
When finished, thank the three kids with letters for being such good sports while getting covered
with stickers.
What You Say:
You guys aced that Christmas Quiz! Fantastic job. Even though you know every detail by heart, the
story of Christmas is always exciting to hear again and again. Thats because its the greatest story
ever told, about the greatest gift ever! [Bottom Line] God gave us the greatest gift. What will you
give?
If you lead mostly older kids, consider asking these discussion questions:
Why is Gods gift of Jesus the best gift ever? [Bottom Line] God gave us the greatest gift.
What will you give? Even if you dont have much money or a lot of material stuff, what can you
still give? Is there something youve received that wasnt a physical thing but it still blessed you
or made your life better?
Name some ways you can give TIME as a present to someone. Give an example of other really
great gifts that arent something expensive.
Who do you know that would be totally blown away if you gave them a Christmas gift? Maybe a
kid whos hard to like or someone you dont know very well. What could you give that person?
So many times we think about how we will be blessing others when we give them something.
And it usually does bless them. But in what way would you be blessed as the giver? How would
living a life of generosity change your life?

Activity #2
What You Need: Container, pieces of paper, pens
What You Do:
Ask the kids to write their name on the piece of paper, fold it, and place it in the container.
Let the kids draw a name from the stocking. If they draw their own name, have them switch with
one of the other kids.
Give the kids a few minutes to pray silently for the person whose name they drew. Signal the
beginning and ending time by reciting todays Bottom Line: [Bottom Line] God gave us the
greatest gift. What will you give?
Close by having kids say the name of the person on their piece of paper each time you pause in
the following prayer:
What You Say:
Dear God, John 3:16 tells us that you love every person in the world. That means you love (pause).
You gave us the greatest gift when you gave us Jesus. Help (pause) to find ways to share your love
with others this week as they celebrate your birth. In Jesus name, amen.

Activity #3
What You Need: Bible, 2 clipboards with paper, pens, dice
What You Do:
Ask a volunteer to look up and read John 3:16 by way of review; then have kids recite it
together.
Form two teams and have each sit in a circle.
Place a pen, clipboard, and die in the middle of each circle. Have each team pick a number on
the die.
Explain that you will choose a kid from each team to start the game by rolling his teams die. As
soon as he rolls the number his team chose, he should quickly grab the pen in the middle of the
circle and begin writing the words of John 3:16 as fast as he can.
As soon as the first kid on his team begins writing, the player to his left takes the die and tries to
get his teams number. When he does, the new player takes over writing. If the verse is
completed, kids can rewrite it until time is called.
Play as long as interest and time allows. The team with John 3:16 written the most is the winner.
After the game, ask kids to share what they think is the best part of John 3:16.
5-6 Challenge: Have kids do the Speed Writing activity using the hand that they do not usually write
with.
What You Say:
John 3:16 is all about the very best gift ever given. Every word you wrote in our Speed Writing game
is packed full of Gods compassion for us. Sometimes at Christmas, we get into the Santa mode and
feel like we deserve to receive a gift just because weve been good this year. Being good is great, but
God knew that none of us could be good enough for heaven without His help. Even though we dont
deserve it, [Bottom Line] God gave us the greatest gift. What will you give?

Activity #4 extra activity if you have time because of members meeting upstairs
What You Need: Cardstock, markers, scissors, glue, decorating items
What You Do:
Remind kids of the Bottom Line: [Bottom Line] God gave us the greatest gift. What will you
give?
Ask kids to each think of someone they can give something to this week. Explain that it should
be someone they arent already planning on giving a Christmas present tosomeone who wont
expect a gift from them. What will they give that person? It could be a physical gift, or it could be
something intangible, like giving their time to do something for the person or playing a silly game
with a younger sibling. Or is anyone planning to bring in some last-minute donations for the Bite
Back Project or your churchs specific service project?
[Make It Personal] (Tell kids about a time someone gave you a gift that you werent
expecting. What was it? Why did the person give it? How did it make you feel?)
Tell kids to use the supplies to make a gift tag for the person theyre giving a gift to.
While they work, ask kids to tell you what theyre planning to give and who theyll give it to.
Explain that theyll put the tag on a physical gift or they will hand it to a person theyre giving an
intangible gift to while they explain the gift.
What You Say:
Those are some great gift ideas! Youre really getting into the spirit of compassioncaring enough to
do something about someone elses need. Christmas time is a great time to give gifts, but my extra
challenge to you is to continue to give even after Christmaswhen people really arent expecting it.
[Bottom Line] God gave us the greatest gift. What will you give?