God shows his love through Jesus
key words
biblical reference
Mark 10:13-16
lesson objective
To help the children understand that God shows his love to us through Jesus.
memory verse
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15:12, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
In Israel, it was customary to take children to the rabbi or priest to bless them. Scripture tells us of one occasion when children were at the feet of Jesus, and his reaction reveals how important children are to him.
Jesus loves children and recognizes their importance. He said that the kingdom of God was for those whose faith was like that of a child, since they readily trust and love others unconditionally.
When the disciples rebuked the children for coming to Jesus, he showed concern and care for the little ones, and blessed them.
Reflect on the importance of the children you are teaching. Do you show genuine interest and love when ministering to children? Are you really showing the little ones the importance and love that Jesus has for them? How can God show his love through you?
Your children come from different homes. Some are likely to attend Sunday School regularly and others come from time to time. For some, class and church are new experiences.
Are there children in your group who have known each other for a long time? How do you react when you receive a new child? It is important to show them that Jesus loves every child in the class equally.
Remember that each child needs to know the love of Jesus. That is why your words and attitude will be decisive in their spiritual formation during this lesson. Help the children to convey the love of Jesus to others. Talk about Jesus and God the Father.
Tell them: God loves us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus to be our Friend.
introduce the lesson
My family
You will need blank sheets of paper, crayons, and the board you used in the previous lessons.
Add the word “Jesus” on the board, and let the children draw pictures on it. As they draw, tell them to say some things about Jesus: who he is, what he did in the Bible, what he does in your life, etc.
teach the lesson
Use these activities to show and review the Bible lesson.
Teach your children how to do the symbol for “love” in sign language: put your arms crossed on your chest. (If the sign language for “love” varies in your context, but sure to adjust the sign.) Tell them that every time they hear the word “Jesus” during the Bible story they are to make that sign.
Tell the story
Jesus was walking in the midst of a great multitude. Many people tried to be close to him. Everyone wanted to see, hear, and touch him. They wanted to learn about the kingdom of God.
Some people brought their children for Jesus to touch and pray for them. The disciples of the Lord did not understand why Jesus should spend time with the children. They did not understand that children were very important to him. Then they began to get annoyed and tell people to step aside: “Back away! The Master is busy!” As they said this, they pushed the people with the children away from Jesus.
When Jesus saw this, he was irritated and said to his disciples, “Let the children come to me and do not keep them away, for the kingdom of God is theirs” (Mark 10:14).
Then Jesus embraced the children and blessed them.
This shows us the love of God is for all, great and small. God loves us and so he sent his Son Jesus into this world as a gift of love for us.
A secret message
Ask the children to stand side by side. Whisper into the ear of the first child in the line: “Jesus loves you.” Tell him/ her to repeat those words quietly to the next person, and so on until everyone has received the secret message. The last person in the line has to say the message aloud: “Jesus loves you.”
Invite your children to pass this message to their friends and family during the week.
connect the lesson
Jesus and the children
Give each child Student Activity Sheet #12. They should trace the Word of Faith and write their name. As they color the pictures, talk about how God shows us his love through Jesus.
When they have finished coloring, help your children stick the sheets on construction paper or cardboard. Help the children as they cut the pieces of the sheet to form a puzzle.
Then give them time to make the puzzle and review today’s story. Place each puzzle in an envelope, and write the name of the child, so you can take it home and refer to what you learned in class
Necklaces of love
Prepare a cardboard heart for each child in your class, and give it to them along with the colors. Give some time for those who know how to write down the Memory verse:
“This is my commandment: Love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12).
In the meantime, help those who still cannot read and write ably.
Then let the children color their hearts and decorate them as they wish. When finished, with the help of a needle, make a hole in the upper part of the heart and make a necklace.
Encourage children to wear their necklaces while saying the memory verse.
Ask the children to take home today’s activities to share them with their families.
practice the memory verse
Have your children say the Bible verse by heart. Help those who do not know it yet. If it is possible, give a little reward to those who have learned it, or have tried hard to recite it.
wrap-up
Pray
Ask the children to present their prayer requests. As you pray, also praise the Lord for showing us his love in different ways.
Encourage
Let the children express the ways in which God shows them love. Make a brief summary of the unit as you they get ready to go home. Talk to the children about how God shows us his love through parents, grandparents, church members, and Jesus.
Sing a song that talks about God’s love
Invite
Tell the children that they will begin a new unit in the session, and invite them to attend with their friends.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™