The Kid Week 1
Middle & High School Students
Wednesday, December 11th
6:30 – 8:30

PREPARING FOR iGROUPS

BOTTOM LINE: The Kid from nowhere changes how you see your situation.

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:1-7 & John 1:46

GOAL OF SMALL GROUP: To point students toward seeing that Jesus’ birth was God’s answer to our broken world and to encourage them to see Jesus as the answer to their broken situations or circumstances this season.  
 
THINK ABOUT THIS: It’s easy to focus on the fun that is Christmas. The time off school, the holiday treats, the festive traditions, the gifts and décor—while all these things are great, if we’re not careful, we’ll inadvertently give students the impression that if they aren’t loving Christmas, something must be wrong. It’s a fine line to walk between talking about the very real joy that we celebrate this season and the very real reality that not everyone’s circumstances feel joyful right now. As you give students space to share about their situations this holiday season, be sure to make room for both perspectives: the ones who are feeling all the good holiday feels and the ones who are struggling through challenging situations this Christmas. Either way, the Good News remains the same: Jesus’ birth means we can have hope in any situation, and that’s a great place to start the conversation in this series.  

TRY THIS: Send a little Christmas cheer to your students the old-fashioned way: the mail! Drop a Christmas card in the mail to your iGroup students this week to give them a little holiday season encouragement and remind them that you’re thinking of them this Christmas.

Just for fun… Ask the group to share about their favorite Christmas tradition. 

Ask the group to answer and discuss…
1 What’s one thing most middle & high schoolers look forward to about the Christmas season? 
2 What might make a middle or high schooler feel like something about their Christmas season is “broken”?
3 How do you typically respond when things are disappointing or not what you thought they’d be?
4 Let’s talk about the Christmas story. Before today, what would you say you knew about the backstory of that first Christmas? 
5 Did what you learned about Jesus’ birth today change any of that?
6 How might knowing that Jesus is God’s answer to what’s broken in the world change how you feel about what’s broken in your life this Christmas?
7 This season, what’s one way you can invite Jesus to change the way you see your situation? Share with the group if you’re comfortable. 

Bottom Line… The Kid from nowhere changes how you see your situation 
Scripture... Luke 2:1-7, John 1:46

December Memory Verse… For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Memory Verse Challenge… Find this month’s Memory Verse in the GZ Magazine!
    ▪    Memorize Isaiah 9:6 
    ▪    Tear out the Memory Verse cards from the GZ magazine. Keep 1 where you can see it everyday and share the other 3!
    ▪    Quote the memory verse to a volunteer in Stage Left to earn 5 Llama Dollas!!