Christmas Eve

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ELEMENTARY LARGE GROUP

December 24, 2018, Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 25 minutes) GETTING READY 1. Opener/Closer What You Need: • • •

• • • • • • • •

Host Festive Christmas attire Lots of party supplies, such as: o Fun, festive food (be sensitive to food allergies) o Party hats o Streamers o Balloons o Festive plates, cups, napkins Cookie cake Lots of boxes Christmas wrapping paper Packing tape Phone timer Blanket or sheet Table Trash bag

2. Bible Truth What You Need: • •

Historyteller Christmas Story Video

3. Worship What You Need: • • •

“Hosanna Rocks” “Go Tell It” “Good, Good, Father”

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ELEMENTARY LARGE GROUP

December 24, 2018, Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Bible: Communicating God’s Truth in Engaging Ways (Large Group, 25 minutes) Engage kids’ hearts through a dynamic and interactive Bible Truth, worship, and prayer experience in a Large Group setting. CG: Theme Loop Video Leader enters with lots of excitement. CG: Countdown Video CG: Theme Video Opener LEADER: “Merrrrrrrry Christmas, everyone! The week is finally here! In just two days, we get to celebrate the best thing that ever happened—when God sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior. Talk about an act of compassion! CG: Life App Video “Compassion is caring enough to do something about someone else's need. God saw our need for a Savior, so He sent Jesus. Amazing! CG: Theme TransBack Video “At Christmas, one of the ways we celebrate is by giving each other gifts. I have a bunch of gifts for you to open today, but you’ll have to work for them. When you unwrap these gifts, you’ll see that they’re actually clues about how we’re going to celebrate Christmas together today. But in order for us to be able to celebrate, you’ve got to get all these presents unwrapped in less than two minutes. Do you think you can do it? I guess we’ll see! I’ll set a timer on my phone for two minutes. Set your phone timer for two minutes. Note: You’ll want to use a phone timer instead of a countdown clock on the screen in case you need to adjust the time a bit. “Three . . . two . . . one . . . GO! SFX: Upbeat Christmas music Keep an eye on the time. If it looks like the kids will need more time to get all the boxes unwrapped, then help them unwrap them and/or add more time to the timer. Ideally they’ll finish “just in time.”

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ELEMENTARY LARGE GROUP

December 24, 2018, Christmas Eve

“Woo-HOO! That was awesome! You can probably tell what’s in store later on today by all the stuff you unwrapped, but we’ll have to wait and see if you’re right. For now, let’s grab some trash bags and toss in the paper and boxes. Then carry your supplies over to the table. Get the kids to put the party supplies on the table. SFX: Upbeat Christmas music continues as you clean up “Great job getting everything cleared away, everyone. Let’s stay on our feet, because it’s time to get our worship on!”

Worship LEADER: “I love worshipping God all year, but there’s something extra-special about singing Christmas songs together. Almost everyone loves Christmas songs—or at least knows them really well—which reminds me that Jesus came for everyone. Our Memory Verse this month reminds us of that truth too. It’s John 3:16. CG: Blank Memory Verse Slide CG: Memory Verse Slide “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (NIrV). Christmas is for everyone—for the whole world. Let’s sing out loud so everyone will hear and know that our Savior has come! CG: “Hossana Rock” “I definitely felt the joy you guys were bringing! You can have a seat for now.” CG: Blank Bottom Line Slide SETTING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH LEADER: “Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve talked about everything that led up to the time when Jesus was born. We talked about what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph, and how Jesus came to be born in Bethlehem among the animals. Tonight, I want you to hear the same history of Christmas from some presenters much closer to your age. Check it out.: CG: Christmas Story WRAPPING UP THE BIBLE TRUTH HISTORYTELLER: “God chose shepherds to be the FIRST people to hear that His Son Jesus was born. God could have told anyone first, and instead of choosing people who had power or influence, He chose the shepherds, who were probably pretty dirty, completely unknown, and smelly. “God could have chosen priests, governors, even KINGS. But He didn’t. He chose the shepherds. He chose the shepherds to show the world that Jesus came for everyone—rich and poor, boy and girl, powerful and weak. The Truth of God is for everyone. That’s our Bottom Line today.

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ELEMENTARY LARGE GROUP

December 24, 2018, Christmas Eve

CG: Bottom Line Slide “God’s love and life is for everyone. “Before Jesus, we were in darkness. We were separated from God. But when God sent us His Son, He sent us LIGHT. The Bible says Jesus is ‘the Light of the world’ (Matthew 5:14), and that means the ENTIRE world. Jesus came for you (point), and you, and you, and you. We can have joy because God’s love and life is for everyone. Let’s pray together.” Pray HISTORYTELLER: “Dear heavenly Father, thank You SO much for sending Your only Son, Jesus. Thank You that we get to celebrate that today. Thank You that the Truth of your life is for everyone no matter who they are or where they come from. Help us share Your love and life with others. We love You, and we pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.” LEADER: “That’s such good news, we can’t keep it to ourselves. Let’s stand up and worship God with one more song today. The angels sang the good news that Jesus was born, and we can sing it too! SFX: “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” “Way to sing it out, everyone! Go ahead and have a seat just for a minute.” Closer LEADER: “Can you imagine being one of the shepherds—seeing the angels and then seeing Jesus, the Savior who had been born to rescue us? If it happened today, you know we’d be snapping pictures and posting it all over the Internet. Because this was the best news EVER! “Here’s the thing, everyone. It’s STILL the best news ever! Just because we’re not the first ones to hear it like the shepherds were, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s news that EVERYONE needs to hear. Everyone needs to know that Jesus was born to be our Savior. We can be a part of spreading the news! CG: Bottom Line Slide “God’s love and life is for everyone. Say that with me.” LEADER and KIDS: “God’s love and life is for everyone.” CG: Blank Bottom Line Slide LEADER: “That’s so important, because there are still people who don't know that God sent Jesus to rescue us. Not just people in a remote jungle somewhere, but maybe people in your own neighborhood, or even in your own family. When you share that good news with them, you’re living out compassion, because you’re showing them what God did for our greatest need. That’s a great way to [Basic Truth] treat others the way you want to be treated.

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ELEMENTARY LARGE GROUP

December 24, 2018, Christmas Eve

“The fact that Jesus came to be our Savior is, in fact, the best news ever. I think we should celebrate that good news together. Remember those supplies you unwrapped earlier? Who thinks they know what we’re going to do? (Pause to let them respond.) That’s right—we’re having a party! I need your help to get everything set up quickly, and then we’ll celebrate the good news. I’ve even got cup cakes! That’s right! Because it’s nothing but the best when it comes to the good news about Jesus. “Not only are we going to celebrate that good news together, but we’re also going to share it. We’ll take lots of pictures of our party so your parents can share them on social media. Oh, and you can wear your party hats wherever you go today so people will ask you what you’re celebrating. Remember, you can also just share the good news by wishing everyone a merry Christmas and showing them compassion EVERY day. Let’s get this party started!” Dismiss children to their Small Groups. CG: Small Group Slide

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