Belong

December 16-22, 2012

Welcome Have Christmas music playing in the background & give each person a candy cane when they arrive. You might sing a carol or two before you pray for Gods blessing on your HG tonight. Opening Prayer Thank God for being the promise-giver & promise-keeper. Ask Him to grow faith in the heart of each person here tonight.

Become
Family Time A) Place an electronic device on the table & talk about how cool this thing is. Talk about all the cool functions it can do & how it makes your life better. Sell it!!! The problem, though, is you cant get it to work. Ask the group to help you by deeply believing & hoping that it will work. (Stare at the device with a concentrating look. Encourage your group to do the same.) When it doesnt come on, ask them to have more faith. (Try again & repeat the staring.) Act very disappointed, but then ask a child or a teen if they can help. (Be sure to prep them beforehand to simply turn on the device. When comes on, cheer in amazement!) Say, This person got it to work because they had more faith, right? (NO) Is that how it works with God too? If we have more faith, we can get God to do what we want Him to do? Or maybe theres a button we can push to get God to give us what we want. What do you think? B) Read Matthew 19:26 together. Break into small groups & memorize the last line of this verseBut with God all things are possible. Make a list of prayer requests that your HG has. After the list is made, say Matthew 19:26 together. Kids Time A) Get a whiteboard or chalkboard & play Hangman. Use these verses for the game. Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 11:1; Hebrews 11:6; Acts 16:31. B) Use the letters of the word FAITH, to think of words that describe God. Example: Father, Almighty, Invisible, Truth, Healer. See how many words you can come up with under each letter. Thank God for being WHO He is! Adult Time A) When you flip the light switch, you believe the light will turn on, right? Did your faith make it work? Did faith have anything to do with the light coming on or not? There are times when you flip the switch, but the light doesnt come on. Why? The problem could be simple (ex. A bad bulb) or more complicated (ex. re-wiring the house), but there is usually a fix. When you pray to God, & your prayers go unanswered, how does your faith factor in? Does faith influence the outcome of your prayer? What could be the simple fix? What could be the more complicated solution? Any verses come to mind? B) If I promised to give you a billion dollars, would you be excited? My promise only matters if #1 I can actually deliver on my promises & #2 I have demonstrated a faithfulness to always fulfill my promises. Read these verses out loud, one at a time, & ask the group to identify the promise & the promise-giver. Matthew 4:19; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 6:38; Luke 23:39-43; John 14:1-4; Acts 1:8. Do you believe that Jesus CAN keep these promises? Do you believe He WILL keep these promises? If you say Yes then how does that affect the way you face trials & trouble? How does that affect the way you pray? Prayer Time God, help us to know what You have promised & help us to believe that You will keep Your promises even when we dont see it or feel it. God, let our faith in You show up in the way we speak & live!

Beyond
Community Calendar Dont forget that we will have limited programming (NO CG, Youth or Childrens Ministry for Kindergarten & up) on December 23 & December 30! Happy Holidays!!! Church Calendar The Family-Friendly Christmas Eve Services will be at 3:00pm & the traditional Candlelight Service will be at 6:00pm. What a great opportunity to invite your family or neighbors to celebrate Jesus birth with your church family!