Live It Out VBS: Small Group, Day 1

Today’s Bible Story: “Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet” - John 13:1-17

Today’s Bottom Line: Love one another.

Today’s Key Question: When has someone put you first?

Memory Verse:
“I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you.” - John 13:34, NIrV

Take a Snapshot
(Live for God | Application activity)

What you need: “Camp Life” Activity Page, Paper, Markers.

  1. Invite kids to gather and sit facing the dry erase board.
  2. Explain that kids will take turns drawing a card from the “Camp Life” Activity Page, then illustrating the scenario on their card while the others try to guess what it is.
  3. Choose a volunteer to go first and give them a marker.
  4. Invite that kid to choose a card, read it silently (or whisper to younger kids), and draw what it says.
  5. Remind the group to raise their hands to guess what’s being drawn.
  6. Whoever guesses correctly shares how they could show love in that scenario by putting someone else first, then they draw next.
  7. Repeat until all cards are used or time runs out.

Ask: What opportunities do you think you’ll have this week to put others first?

Remind kids that when we put others first, we are living out the love Jesus showed when He washed His disciples’ feet.

[Make it Personal] Share a story of when you put someone first or someone did that for you. Use a camp story if you can.

Optional Questions for Older Kids:

Discussion Questions
(Talk about God | Bible Story Review)

Memory Verse:
Encourage kids to start memorizing this week’s verse as the discussion time ends.

Close in Prayer

“Dear God, thank You for loving us! Help us to think of ways we can show love to others every day like Jesus did. Help us use our feet and hands to do kind things for those around us. Help us use our words to say nice things that will make someone’s day better. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Live It Out VBS: Small Group, Day 2

Today’s Bible Story: “Little Children Are Brought to Jesus” - Mark 10:13-16

Today’s Bottom Line: Be kind to one another.

Today’s Key Question: When has someone been kind to you?

Memory Verse:
“I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you.” - John 13:34, NIrV

Musical Bunks
(Hear from God | Memory Verse Activity)

What You Need: “Verse Bunks” Activity Page, device for playing music, paper

  1. Gather the group in a circle.
  2. Give each kid a Bible. Show them how to find John 13:34.
  3. Read the verse aloud to the group several times.
  4. Invite kids to read, recite, or repeat the verse if they’d like.
  5. Lay out the “Verse Bunks” pages in a circle randomly.
  6. Have each kid stand on a piece of paper. If more than 10 kids, add blank sheets so everyone has one.
  7. Explain the rules:
    • When music plays, walk around the circle.
    • When music stops, find and stand on a paper (no running or sliding).
  8. Start the music and let the kids begin walking.
  9. Remove one piece of paper (remove blank ones first if using extras).
  10. Stop the music and let kids find a paper.
    • If there’s a conflict, resolve it with Rock, Paper, Scissors.
    • Kid left without a paper steps to the side.
  11. Repeat, removing a paper each round.
  12. When five kids are out, give them the removed verse papers to begin assembling the memory verse in order.
  13. Continue until one kid remains and the verse is assembled.
  14. Review the memory verse a few more times together.

Discussion Questions
(Talk about God | Bible Story Review)

Memory Verse:
Encourage kids to continue working on memorizing this week’s verse.

Close in Prayer

“Dear God, thank You for showing us that Jesus showed kindness to children. We know that You love everyone. Help us to be like Jesus and show kindness to our family, friends, and everyone we meet. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Live It Out VBS: Small Group, Day 3

Today’s Bible Story: “God’s Love for Us” - 1 John 4:9-12; John 18–20

Today’s Bottom Line: Forgive one another.

Today’s Key Question: How does it feel to be forgiven?

Memory Verse:
“I give you a new command. Love one another. You must love one another, just as I have loved you.” - John 13:34, NIrV

Bible Story Extension
(Talk about God | Bible Story Review)

What You Need: “Forgive Friendship Bracelet” and “Preteen Response Card” Activity Pages, dry erase board, dry erase marker, highlighters, pens or pencils

  1. Invite kids to gather and sit where they can see the dry erase board.
  2. Choose a kid to write the letters F-O-R-G-I-V-E spaced out across the board.
  3. Choose another kid to draw circles (like beads) around each letter.
  4. Choose another to connect the beads like a string/bracelet.
  5. Hand out the “Forgive Friendship Bracelet” Activity Pages to 7 kids (or fewer if kids take multiple).
  6. Have kids fold their page on the dotted line, showing the letter to the group and hiding the story content.
  7. As each kid reads their card aloud (in FORGIVE order), ask the group to guess how that letter ties to the story.

Discuss:

Then give each kid a “Response Card” and a highlighter:

  1. Have kids read through each statement (or read aloud for non-readers).
  2. As you reread the statements, let kids highlight any that reflect how they feel. No pressure.
  3. They can also highlight artwork if preferred.

Discussion Questions
(Talk about God | Bible Story Review)

Memory Verse:
Encourage kids to keep working on memorizing this week’s verse.

Close in Prayer

“Dear God, it can be hard to forgive others, but we know that You set a perfect example for us. Thank You for sending Jesus and for showing us how to forgive one another. Help us remember Your kindness and how You always forgave so we can do the same for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Day Three (God’s Love for Us: 1 John 4:9-12)

Snack: Start with snacks. The kids can have popcorn and/or snowcones. Try to take about 5-10 minutes with the snacks.

Activity 1: Sensory Bins (2 total)
- Explain how the baby Jesus’ and hearts represent how God loves us. Play games by asking them to find all of one thing. Example: “Let’s see if we can find all of the baby Jesus’.”

Activity 2: Butcher Paper and Markers
- Ask the kids to draw hearts. See if they can draw something that they remember from the bible study.

Discussion:
“In today's bible story we talked about how Jesus died and rose again, just like he promised he would. He rose again because he wants to be our friend forever. What are some ways that we can love just like Jesus did?”

Note: In small groups the kids eat their snack, do a few activities, then discuss the bible story. This station should take up the whole 23 minutes, but if you run out of things to do there are a few activities that you can reuse inside the Kidsworld auditorium alongside the ramp that is next to the stage.

Resources

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