May 3rd

Bible
Story:
Peter and John Are Taken to the Sanhedrin • Acts
3–4:22

Bottom
Line:
Keep going because of what God has done.

Monthly
Memory Verse:
Let us not become tired of doing good. At
the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t give up. • Galatians 6:9 NIrV

SLIDE: Theme

Optional Video: Countdown

WORSHIP

LEADER: “Now let’s worship God through song.”

Play worship videos and engage the students in 2 worship songs!

GATHER TIME

(Things to have ready: Floor tape set for
start line. 12 pool rings in three piles on the other side of the room directly
across from the start line. Game slide. Bottom Line slide.)

HOST:
“Hey, everyone! I’m so glad you’re here today. Let me hear you make some noise
if you’re ready to get moving!

(Pause while kids
cheer.)

“Nice! Today, we’re kicking
off a brand-new series called ‘TREK’! The full name of the series is ‘TREK:
Don’t Stop, Don’t Give Up—God’s with You!’

“Everybody say it with
me, ‘TREK’!

“Awesome! A trek is a
long journey. It’s not a quick walk, and it’s definitely not a shortcut. A trek
means you keep moving, even when things get hard. And that’s exactly what we’re
going to be talking about all month long—don’t stop, don’t give up because God’s
with you. But before we jump into our true story from the Bible today, we’re
starting with a game, because every good trek starts with some movement.

“This game is called ‘Mountain Climber
Relay!’

SLIDE: Mountain Climber Relay! Title

“And yes, you’re going to climb a mountain
today! At least … kind of.

“Okay, I need 12 volunteers! Who’d like to
play?

(Pick 12 volunteers from the kids who have
their hands raised and invite them to the game area. Split them into three
teams of four and have each team line up single file behind the start line.)

“Let’s hear it for our climbers!

“Here’s
how this works. We have three teams: Team One, Team Two, and Team Three. The
start line is your base camp, and those pool rings are your goal. Think of them
like the top of the mountain. One person from each team will climb across the
room, grab a pool ring, mountain climb back down the mountain, and bring the
pool ring to their team. Then you tag the next person, and they go.

“But here’s
the catch: you’re not running or walking. You have to mountain climb the entire
time! That means crawling on the floor doing mountain climbers, like this!

(Demonstrate
mountain climbers—hands and feet stay on the ground while crawling.)

“The first
team to bring all four pool rings back to their base camp wins!

“Okay, teams, get ready!
Audience, your job is to cheer. When I say, ‘TREK,’ you say, ‘KEEP GOING!’
Let’s practice. TREK!”

KIDS:
“KEEP GOING!”

HOST:
“That was perfect! Okay, teams ready? Audience ready?

“On your mark … get set
… GO!

AUDIO: Upbeat music

“Nice climbing! Don’t
stop now! You’re almost there, keep going! TREK!”

KIDS:
“KEEP GOING!”

HOST:
“TREK!”

KIDS:
“KEEP GOING!”

(Play the game.
Encourage all the teams and involve the audience. Make sure each kid is doing
mountain climbers during the relay. Play until one of the teams brings all four
pool rings back to the start line.)

HOST:
“Woohoo! It looks like [Team Name] is the winner! Let’s give it up for ALL our
climbers! Great job, everyone.

(Continue with more
rounds as time allows. Ask for 12 new volunteers at the start of each round.)

“Let me ask you guys something.
Did anyone’s legs start to feel tired? Did it get harder the longer you went?
Yeah, that’s what happens on a trek.

“And sometimes,
following God can feel like that too. There are moments when it would be easier
to stop, easier to quit, or easier to give up. But today, we’re going to hear
about two guys, Peter and John, who didn’t stop; they kept going! And our
Bottom Line today tells us what helped them keep going.

“Let’s check
it out!

SLIDE: Bottom Line

[Bottom
Line]
“Keep going because of what God has done. Can you say that with me?”

KIDS AND
HOST: [Bottom
Line] “Keep going because of what God has done.”

HOST: “Awesome job today,
everyone! Let’s go learn more about what that means!”

BIBLE STORY

Play Bible
Story Video

SLIDE: Theme
Background

STORYTELLER:
“Let’s
take a moment and look back at this story.

“God did
something amazing. He worked through Peter and John to heal a man who had never
been able to walk. When Peter and John talked about Jesus, things got hard.
They were arrested and warned to stop sharing about Jesus with others. But they
didn’t stop! They remembered what God had done. They remembered that Jesus was
with them through the Holy Spirit. And that gave them the courage to keep
going.

“This true
story from the Bible shows us something important: following Jesus isn’t always
easy, but remembering what God has done changes how we respond.

“Jesus has
done great things for you too! God made a way for us to be close friends with
Him again! And then He moved in closer than close through His Holy Spirit. We
can be bold and brave and strong because of all of the awesome things that God
has done!

“And that
brings us back to today’s Bottom Line.

SLIDE:
Bottom Line

[Bottom
Line] “Keep going because of
what God has done. Can you say that with me?”

(Host enters and joins in.)

KIDS AND HOST: [Bottom Line] “Keep going because of
what God has done.”

God’s Big story closer

HOST:
“Let’s take a look at the progress we made in God’s Big Story this week!

“This week, we’re right
up here on the path of God’s Big Story after this picture of ‘Pentecost!’
Today’s true story from the Bible shows us that even though Jesus went back to
heaven, He was with His followers through the Holy Spirit, and through Him they
could do amazing things! (Gesture to timeline.)

“This week, we looked
at the story of two men, Peter and John, when they encountered a paralyzed man.
Peter and John looked at the paralyzed man and thought, ‘This is broken. Jesus
would fix it.’ So in Jesus’ name, and through the power of the Holy Spirit,
they healed the man. And that’s part of the reason why God moved into all of
His followers through His Spirit. He is closer than close, and as we go around
in the world, we can see, ‘Hey, that’s broken. That’s not the way God would
want it,’ and we can ask Him to fix it or ask Him to give us strength to fix
it! Since God made people, He has always wanted us to be able to be close to
Him. And now we are closer than close through His Spirit. And with the Holy
Spirit inside of us, we can go through the world, listening to Him, and making
the world more like God’s Kingdom!

SLIDE: Week 1 Timeline Image

“This week, we looked at
the story of Peter and John, and how they were bold and did big things because
the Holy Spirit was in them!”

GENEROSITY TIME

LEADER: “We follow Jesus by
living generously! We give our resources (could be toys, money, our time, or
our effort) to help other people.” God asks us to give, it’s wise to save, and
God wants us to enjoy the world he made for us and all the good things in it! (Show Generosity Slide)

*Give   *Save  
*Enjoy

“Let’s take a
moment to talk to the God who loves us so much He has done so many things for
us!

PRAYER

HOST: “God, thank You for what
You’ve done through Jesus. Thank You that You’re always with us. When hard things
happen in our lives, help us remember Your love and all You’ve done for us
because You love us so much. Give us courage to keep going, not because we’re
strong, but because You are. We love You, and we pray these things in Jesus’
name. Amen.”

GROUP TIME

LEADER: “Let’s head to Small
Group and talk some more about that!”

Dismiss
kids to their small groups.

SLIDE: Theme

Thank you for
showing up consistently for our kids! God sees you. We see you. We appreciate
you! ~Your Kidzlink Family

May 3rd 

Bible Story: Peter and John Are Taken to the Sanhedrin •
Acts 3–4:22

Bottom Line: Keep going because of what God
has done.

Monthly Memory Verse: Let
us not become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if
we don’t give up. • Galatians 6:9
NIrV

Group Time

1. Don’t Stop Posters

Hear
from God | Memory Verse Activity

Made to Create

What You Need:

£ 
Bibles

£  Large piece of
butcher paper or posterboard

£  Coloring supplies

£  Painter’s tape

What You Do:

Before the Activity:

·       
Tear
the edges of the butcher paper or posterboard so it looks like a rugged
mountain.

During the Activity:

·       
Give
each kid a Bible and invite them to look up Galatians 6:9.

·       
Demonstrate
how to look up the verse using the Bible Navigation Tips below:

Finding verses for 2nd-3rd
graders: Guide them to open their Bibles to the front and find the table of
contents. (Hold up a Bible opened to the table of contents to show the kids
what the page looks like.) When the kids find the table of contents, lead them
to find the name of the book in the list. When they find the book, lead them to
look at the page number beside it. Explain that the number tells them on what
page they can find that book. Help the kids find the page. When they find the
book, explain that the big numbers on the page are the chapter numbers. Help
them find the correct chapter. Then explain that the small numbers are verse
numbers. Help them find the correct verse in that chapter.

·       
Invite
the kids to set their Bibles aside.

·       
Lay the “mountain” on the floor and
invite the kids to gather around it.

·       
Write the Memory Verse and reference on
the “mountain.”

·       
Let the kids work together to decorate
the “mountain” with the coloring supplies. Invite them to draw pictures of
people doing good things, like sharing or helping.

·       
When the kids are done decorating, tape the
poster on a wall in your room as a reminder for the whole month.

What You Say:

“Great job decorating, friends! This poster looks awesome! It will help
us remember our Memory Verse all month long. Sometimes it can feel hard to keep
doing the right thing, but our Memory Verse tells us not to give up! In our
Bible Story today, we saw how Peter and John didn’t give up even when the
religious leaders tried to stop them. They were bold and kept sharing the good
news about Jesus because they knew God was with them. And God is with us, so we
can be bold too!

“Let’s say our Memory Verse together one more time: ‘Let us not
become tired of doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don’t
give up. Galatians 6:9.’ One more time! ‘Let us not become tired of
doing good. At the right time we will gather a crop if we don't give up. Galatians
6:9.’Remember, don’t give up, and [Bottom Line] keep
going because of what God has done.”

2. God Time

Pray
to God | Prayer Activity

Made to Reflect

What You Need:

£  Balloon

£  Small tissue paper
squares

£  Markers

What You Do:

Before the
Activity:

During the Activity:

·       
Give each kid a tissue paper square and a marker.

·       
Ask them to think of one person they want to pray for, then
invite them to write the person’s initial on their tissue paper square.

·       
Rub the balloon on your hair or shirt to create static
electricity.

·       
One at a time, invite each kid to bring their tissue paper
prayer close to the balloon and watch it “stick” to the balloon.

·       
Leave all the tissue paper prayers stuck to the balloon.

What You Say:

“Look at our sticky tissue paper prayers! All the people you wrote down
on your tissue paper squares are stuck to the balloon. God loves every one of
us so much that He created a rescue plan spanning all of history. God worked
years and years and years for the right time in history for Jesus to come!
Through Jesus’ life and death, God rescued everyone who follows Jesus. Now, we can be friends with God forever! Let's pray that
the people you wrote down will know how much God loves them this week. Let’s
take a quiet moment to talk to God together.”

Prayer:

“Dear God, thank You for all the amazing things You’ve done for us.
Thank You for sending Jesus to rescue us so we can be friends with You forever.
Please be with the people we prayed for today. Help us to be brave and keep
telling people about You, just like Peter and John. Help us to always [Bottom
Line] keep going because of what God has done. We love You, and
we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Thank
you for showing up consistently for our kids! God sees you. We see you. We
appreciate you! ~Your Kidzlink Family

May 3rd 

Bible
Story: Villages, Towns,
Countryside • Mark 6:53-56

Jesus cares about everyone.

Key
Question: Who does Jesus care about?

Bottom
Line: Jesus cares about everyone.

Memory
Verse: How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. •
Ephesians 3:18 NIV

WORSHIP

LEADER: “Now let’s worship God
through song.”

Play worship videos and engage
the students in 2 worship songs!

BIBLE STORY

Play Bible
story video.

LEADER:
“It’s like our memory verse!

“How wide (hold arms out wide)
and long (hold arms up and down) and high (jump high) and deep (crouch
low) is the love of Christ (cross arms over chest). Ephesians 3:18 (Open
hands like a book.)

“Let’s
say that together.”

CHILDREN
and LEADER: “How wide (hold arms out wide) and long (hold arms up and
down) and high (jump high) and deep (crouch low) is the love
of Christ (cross arms over chest). Ephesians 3:18.” (Open hands like
a book.)

LEADER: (Cross arms over chest.) “Jesus’
love is (hold arms out wide) wide enough for people who live in big
towns and little villages. It’s (hold arms up and down) long enough for
people who are sick and hurting. Jesus’ love is (jump/reach high) high enough for those who love Him. And it’s
(crouch/reach low) deep enough even for those who don’t love
Him back. [Bottom Line]Jesus
cares about everyone. Tell me: Who does
Jesus care about?”

CHILDREN
and LEADER: [Bottom Line] “Jesus
cares about everyone.”

LEADER: “Yes, [Bottom Line] Jesus
cares about everyone.

GATHER TIME

LEADER:
“Hi,
friends! My name is [your name]. I am SO happy to
see you today!

“We have some important people that help our community. They
care about people EVERY DAY!

“There are farmers who grow lots of yummy food for us to
eat. Let’s pretend to eat a piece of corn and say ‘Yummy!’”

(Pretend to eat an ear of corn.)

CHILDREN and LEADER: “Yummy!”

LEADER: “There are construction workers who build
houses and roads. Let’s pretend to hammer like a construction worker and say
‘Hammer, hammer, hammer.’”

(Pretend to hammer.)

CHILDREN and LEADER: “Hammer, hammer, hammer!”

LEADER: “There are mail carriers and delivery people
who bring us letters and packages. Let’s pretend to (pretend to give a package)
give someone a package and say: ‘Here you go!’”

(Pretend to give a package.)

CHILDREN and LEADER: “Here you go!”

LEADER: “All of these people work hard and care for
the people our community, but I can think of someone who cares about EVERYONE!
It’s Jesus!

“Jesus cares about you and me and everyone in the whole wide
world, and Jesus wants you to be your friend forever! Let’s all say: (ASL
for thank you) ‘Thank you, Jesus!’”

(Note: The ASL sign for ‘thank you’ is done by moving a
flat hand forward from your chin.)

CHILDREN and LEADER: (ASL for thank you) “Thank
you, Jesus!”

LEADER: “It’s time to stand up and celebrate
because Jesus cares about you!

Now let’s learn some of God’s words from the Bible. (Open hands like a book.) Are you ready?
Watch me say the words from the Bible and do the motions, and then you can do
them with me! Play memory
verse video.

“How wide (hold
arms out wide) and long (hold arms up and down) and high (jump
high) and deep (crouch low) is the love of Christ (cross arms
over chest). Ephesians 3:18 (open hands like a book).

“Can you do that with me?

(Lead children to say the Memory Verse with Hand
Motions once or twice.)

“Great job, friends! ‘Christ’ is a special name for Jesus,
because Jesus is God’s Son! And Jesus cares about everyone.

“Thanks for celebrating Jesus with me!

ACTIVITY

Everyone,
Everywhere Corners

Live for God | Application
Activity

Made to Move

What You Need:

□       “Everyone,
Everywhere Corners” Activity Page, Painter’s tape

What You Do:

Before the Activity: Tape the pictures around the
room on the walls at child’s height.

During the Activity: Encourage children to hop, skip,
jump, etc. to the corner you call out. When everyone gets to the corner, ask
children to say the Bottom Line. Continue with each of the corners.

What You Say:

Before the Activity: “Friends! Meet me in the middle
of the room. (Pause.) There are different pictures around the room, do
you see them? (Point to the four pictures.) Let’s play a game with those
pictures.”

During the Activity: “Do you see the picture of the
playground? (Point to the playground picture.) When I say go, I want you
to run to the picture. Ready, set, GO! (Pause.) Hooray! You made it!
Tell me friends, who cares about everyone at the playground? (Pause.) That’s
right [Bottom Line] Jesus cares about everyone at the
playground! Who does Jesus care about? [Bottom Line] Jesus
cares about everyone. Great job! Come back to the middle with me.
(Pause.) Now look for the picture of grocery store. You can run to it when
I say go. Ready, set, GO! (Pause.) Hooray! You made it! Tell me friends,
who cares about everyone at the grocery store? (Pause.) That’s right [Bottom
Line] Jesus cares about everyone at the grocery store! Who does
Jesus care about? [Bottom Line] Jesus cares about everyone. (Continue
with each picture and repeat. Then allow children to run to whichever picture
they want and say the Bottom Line.) Great job, friends! Come back to
the middle and sit with me.”

After the Activity: “All the places we went to today; the playground, the
grocery store, the doctor’s office, the school, even when we ran right back
here, to the middle, Jesus cares about everyone everywhere we go! In our Bible
Story, everywhere Jesus went, small towns, big towns, or out into the
countryside,He did amazing things to help people, because Jesus loves
and cares about everyone! People ran and carried their sick friends on mats to
Jesus. And others simply touched Jesus’ robe and were healed.

Jesus’ love is wide, and long,
and high, and deep enough for everyone because Jesus loves and cares about
everyone. Who does Jesus care about? [Bottom Line] Jesus cares about
everyone.

PRAYER

LEADER: “Dear
God, thank you so much for Jesus. Jesus loves and cares about everyone. Help us
to care for everyone too. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

GROUP TIME

LEADER: “Let’s head to Small Group and talk some more about that!”

Dismiss kids to their small groups.

The love Jesus has
for YOU is wide, long, high, and deep. Ephesians 3:18 ~Your Kidzlink Family

May 3rd

Monthly Bible Story: Villages,
Towns, Countryside • Mark 6:53-57

Bible Words:How wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. (Ephesians 3:18 NIV)

Bottom Line: Jesus cares about everyone.

Craft
Time

What You Need:

o 
“Steering Wheel” Activity Page

o 
Dot markers

What You Do:

Before the Activity:
Print “Steering Wheel” on cardstock and cut, one per child. Write each child’s
name on their paper.

During the Activity:
Encourage children to decorate their paper with dot markers. Clean hands as
needed.

What You Say:

During the Activity: “Look! It’s a
steering wheel! Decorate your steering wheel with markers. (Pause.) Gret
job! Hold your steering wheel and pretend to drive. (Demonstrate.) Jesus
went everywhere and helped all the people He met because [Bottom Line] Jesus
cares about everyone.”

The love Jesus has
for YOU is wide, long, high, and deep. Ephesians 3:18 ~Your Kidzlink Family

May

Sing and do the finger motions  for “Where is Thumbkin?” as  you rock or change the baby.  

“Where is [child’s name]? (Hold up right  thumb and wiggle it.)  

Where is [child’s name]? (Keep right thumb  out and hold up left thumb and wiggle it.)  

There he/she is, (wiggle left thumb.)  There he/she is! (Wiggle left thumb.)  

Jesus cares about him/her. (Point to child.)  Jesus cares about him/her. (Point to child.)  

Yes, He does! (Nod your head up and down.)  Yes, He does! (Nod your head up and down.)  

Words for Baby:  “Baby, Jesus cares about everyone! 

That  means Jesus cares about you and wants to  be your friend forever!”  

Basic Truth: Jesus wants to  be my friend  forever.  

Bottom Line:  Jesus cares  about everyone.  

Bible Words:  How wide and  long and high  and deep is the  love of Christ.  Ephesians 3:18  NIV