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TIMOTHY CLUB K1 TO P3 NOV/DEC HOLIDAY PROGRAMME CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN

Date: 5/6 December 2015 Programme: Christmas Kindness and Compassion CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN OVERVIEW Over these two weeks, we will be helping the children to prepare for Christmas in their hearts. Much preparation is done to prepare for parties, or buy presents, but as we remember the gift of God’s Son Jesus for each of us, we prepare ourselves spiritually to celebrate the true meaning of this season. 5/6 Dec: Showing kindness to others during this Christmas season

• Pray for others to come for Christmas • Nepal encouragement card • Advent Acts of Kindness and Advent Calendar craft

12/13 Dec: Nativity Scene Creation & Storytelling Lesson Objective: The children will know that Christmas is about others and showing compassion towards them. Bible Verse: Matthew 25:35-40 PROGRAMME OVERVIEW Time Programme Item Venue 10 mins Welcome game

TC 3rd Floor / ST Room 329 5 mins Offering 15 mins Publicity Announcement for The Wonder of Christmas

Small group 3x3 prayer 15 mins Platform teaching on Christmas Kindness & Compassion 30 mins Application 1: Decorate Christmas Card for Nepalese

children K1-2: TC 3rd Floor / ST Room 328 P1-3: TC 4th Floor / ST Room 329

45 mins Application 2: Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar

WELCOME GAME – SHOW ME YOUR TEETH! (10 mins)

• Get the children to pair up • One person will be Person A and the other will be Person B • Person A will try to make Person B laugh and show their teeth, without touching them.

Person B will try their best to not to laugh or reveal their teeth. Person B’s eyes must stay open.

• After 1 minute, switch roles between Person A and B • If time allows, find another partner and play again

OFFERING (5 mins)

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THE WONDER OF CHRISTMAS PUBLICITY ANNOUNCEMENT (15 mins) [TLs, please refer to the email for further details and instructions] PLATFORM TEACHING (15 mins) [Show slide] During Christmas it’s easy to get caught up with many things like buying presents and preparing yummy food, that we forget what Christmas is all about! The good news about Christmas is that Jesus came to earth as a baby to save us. Do you know that Jesus came because He had compassion for us. He saw that we needed someone to save us from our sin, and He came to save us and take away our sin! [click to reveal words] [slide] What is compassion? Compassion is seeing a need and doing something to help. Jesus had compassion towards us and He wants us to also have compassion towards others. He wants us to see the needs of people around us, and do something to help. Matthew 25:35-40 talks about how one day Jesus will tell the people who had compassion, “I was hungry. And you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty. And you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger. And you invited me in. 36 I needed clothes. And you gave them to me. I was sick. And you took care of me. I was in prison. And you came to visit me.’ 37 “Then the people who have done what is right will answer him. ‘Lord,’ they will ask, ‘when did we see you hungry and feed you? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in? When did we see you needing clothes and give them to you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ When we show compassion to others in need around us, we serve them, and we are also serving God. When we give to them, we are giving to God. There is one group of people that needs help in particular this year. [show slide on Nepal Quake] There was a very big earthquake in Nepal in April and May 2015 that killed over 9,000 and injured over 23,000 people. It also left many people without a home after the earthquake. [slide] Teams from Touch Community Services International have been going to Nepal after the earthquake to help the people there. They helped by building temporary shelters for the people. [slide] They are also going on another trip from 14-20 December, where they will:

• Visit a children home and a school • Give “back to school” cheer kits to the children • The team will have some interaction time with the children through activities like games,

dance and songs planned by the volunteers • Build shelters for the Nepalese to tide through the winter

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[Slide – what can we do?] Maybe you are wondering, how am I going to help the people in Nepal? They are so far away! Can anything I do really help them? [slide] Well what we can do is help to write encouragement cards to the children of Nepal, to be included in the “back to school” cheer kits. We want to let them know that we are praying for them, and we want to encourage them as they go back to school. Some of them may have stopped going to school for a few months because of the damage, let’s encourage them that they will be excited and eager to go back to school! Before we split into our small groups and have further instructions, let’s spend a short while praying for the children in Nepal. Can anyone think of some needs that the people there may have? [allow children to respond, then pray in line with the needs identified, getting a few children to volunteer to pray for one point each, then TL to close] SMALL GROUP TIME (75 mins) Activity 1 – Decorate Christmas Card for Nepalese Children (30 mins) Each child will receive 1-2 Christmas cards to bless the children from Nepal who were affected by the earthquakes in April and May 2015.

Instructions

• Distribute one card per child in your group • Tell the children to draw a nice picture, or write a Christmas blessing to the Nepalese

children to encourage them o How would you feel if you were in their shoes? o What words of encouragement would you want to hear in that situation? o What words of encouragement would help you to keep persevering in school?

• Small group leaders, please ensure that the words that the children write are sensitive and appropriate

• If the children have finished their first card, they may take a second one to decorate • TL: Please ensure that the service completes all the cards that were assigned to your

service. Transition: Besides showing compassion towards people in other countries, did you know that there are many ways that we can show kindness to the people around us here in Singapore?

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Activity 2 – Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar (40 mins) Introduction to the Advent Calendar

• An Advent calendar is a special calendar used to count or celebrate the days before Christmas arrives

• Each one of us is going to receive a special advent calendar, one that reminds us about the true meaning of Christmas and also reminds us to show kindness to others

• There will be a number paper flap for each day in December; on a particular day, like today is December 5/6 I would open the flap that says 5/6 and read the task that I am supposed to do.

Step 1: Fill in the Blank Activity

• There are 23 suggestions for how to remember what Christmas really is all about and show kindness towards others. For example, we can read the Christmas story in the Bible, or we can write a thank you card for someone.

• What are two other ways that you can show kindness towards others? Give one A3 calendar sheet to each child and ask them to write these two ways into the blank spaces.

Step 2: Decorate the flaps

• Give 5 strips of the coloured squares to each child • Paste a length of double sided tape on the top of the strip • Use a pen or a marker to write the numbers 1 to 25, one number for each square

Step 3: Separate and paste the flaps

• Use a craft scissors to cut the strip and separate the squares • Remove the double sided tape backing and paste the squares along the grey line,

covering each task instruction with the flap, but not pasting the double sided tape on the words

• The squares can be pasted in a random order around the sheet • Each instruction should be covered by a flap

Close in Prayer (5 mins) Ask the children if they or their family members have any needs that the small group can pray for. Pray for the children who indicate that prayer is needed for them or their family. Close in prayer by blessing the children to have a fun and faith-filled time as they do acts of kindness to the people around them.

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