Skip to main content

God Loves Me


This week's lesson focuses on God's love for us, and how we should show love to others. Even kids can wrestle with self worth and feelings of instability. It's close to my heart to let them know that no matter one, this one thing is true. God loves you. Explore the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, the concept of serving others, and the love God has lavished upon them.

Circle Time: 
Bible Verse - Discuss 1 John 3:1. "See what great love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" Talk about how families love each other unconditionally, and how God is a Father who cares for us every day. Be careful not to limit the discussion to how our earthly fathers love us, since not every child's family situation is the same and the parents may not be present in their lives.

 Songs - Choose a few songs to sing about God's love for us. This could be as simple as Jesus Loves Me, but I've started singing It's You I Like from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood in our music time. I love using this as an opportunity to talk with the kids about how God loves them no matter what, and that I love them too. For older kids, the song Hello My Name Is by Matthew West is based on the Bible verse for this week. 

 Stretch - Discuss how God's love is so great, that it covers all our sins, all our mistakes, and the whole wide world. Place your hands about a foot apart, and ask "Is this how big God loves me?" Stretch out your arms as wide as you can and ask again. Line everyone up and have the whole class stretch into one long line and ask again. The answer is still no! God loves us so much, we could never even see how big it is. 

 Bible Story: 
This story can be found in John 13. Here a version I condensed and adapted from the ICB version. 
It was almost time for the Passover Feast, and almost time for Jesus to leave this world and go back to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own in the world, and he loved them all the way to the end. Even his close friend Judas, who would betray him. Jesus and his followers were at the evening meal.

During the meal Jesus stood up and took off his outer clothing. Taking a towel, he wrapped it around his waist. Then he poured water into a bowl and began to wash the followers’ feet. He dried them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
Jesus came to Simon Peter. But Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered, “You don’t understand what I am doing now. But you will understand later.”
Peter said, “No! You will never wash my feet.” 
Jesus answered, “If I don’t wash your feet, then you are not one of my people.” 
Simon Peter answered, “Lord, after you wash my feet, wash my hands and my head, too!” 
Jesus said, “After a person has had a bath, his whole body is clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And you men are clean, but not all of you.” Jesus knew that Judas would turn against him. That is why Jesus said, “Not all of you are clean.” But even knowing what Judas would do, he cleaned his feet and showed him kindness anyway. 
 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and sat down again. Jesus asked, “Do you understand what I have just done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ And this is right, because that is what I am.  I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet. So you also should wash each other’s feet. I did this as an example for you. So you should do as I have done for you. 
For younger children: Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
For older children: Jesus Washes Feet // Message

 Object Lesson: 
Bring a shallow plastic tub and several towels. Invite the children to sit and let you wash their feet just like Jesus did. For some groups it may be easier to bring baby wipes and clean their feet that way. Or if you're concerned about hygiene, bring plastic dolls and let the children wash the doll's feet. 

 Craft: 
Trace each child's foot onto cardstock and let them color it in. You may want to wait to do this after you've washed and dried their feet. You could even try letting everyone try to hold the crayon between their toes and color with their feet! 

 Additional Resource: 
Today and Always, This Is True, God Loves You by Holley Gerth
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

Bible Verse:  And my God will meet all your needs  according to the riches of his glory  in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 Object Lesson: Adapted from here.  "How many corners does this piece of paper have?  Four.  But what if I want to give someone a corner? Cut off a corner of the paper, and hand it to a child.  N ow that I’ve given a corner away, how many corners do I have?   I have five.   You see, the more times Jesus divided the bread and fish, the more he had to give away."  Have the children count the corners on the cut-off piece they each have.   Not only that, the people had more than enough.   Encourage the kids to each cut off more corners, each time counting the multiplying corners. Bible Lesson:  Adapted from  here.  I brought Swedish Fish candies and crackers to represent the loaves and fish for the kids to enjoy while they listen.  People followed Jesus and his disciples ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Gideon - The Lord Is With You

Circle Time:  Our memory verse this week is Deuteronomy 31:8, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged." Discuss scenarios that might be scary, and how you would feel better if someone went first. Talk with you children about how the Lord is always with them, even in overwhelming situations.  Prayer:  Dear God, thank you for your promises to go before me, and always be with me. I know you'll never leave me, and I don't have to be afraid. Help me to always trust in you. Amen.  Object Lesson:  Pass around a few acorns and encourage your kids to share their observations. Acorns may be small, but they can grow up tall into a tree. They may not look like much, but God created them to do something amazing. God can do a lot with a little.  Bible Story:  Video:  VeggieTales - Gideon Tuba Warrior When Israel planted its crops, Midian would inv...
Post a Comment
Read more

God is Faithful

Object Lesson:  God Is Our Rock! I did this lesson around back to school season, where a lot of things may be changing or scary for a kid. This lesson is a good reminder that no matter how much things are changing, God is always constant. Give each child a river rock or pebble. You can find these in your hardware store's lawn care department. Ask them to describe it: How does it feel? Is it soft or hard? Is it crumbly or solid? Do you think you could break it if you tried? If you built a house out of rocks like this, would it last a long time or be easy to break? If a storm came, would it blow them away? Let the children play with a container of sand. I used kinetic beach sand which you can find in toy stores or online, but regular old sand works too. Ask them similar questions about the sand, and explain that God is like the rock. No matter what happens, storms or calm weather, good times or bad, Jesus loves us and cares for us. He will always be with us, even when we are...
Post a Comment
Read more