SpringLife Children’s Lessons 2013
1. March 3 -- The Invitation to Love (Matthew 22:37-40)
2. March 10 -- The Invitation to Love Your Neighbor (Matthew 7:12)
3. March 17 -- The Invitation to Extend Hospitality (Matthew 25:35)
4. March 24 -- The Invitation to Share Salvation (Matthew 4:17)
5. March 31 – Easter Sunday
6. April 7 -- The Invitation to Seek (Matthew 7:7-12)
7. April 14 -- The Invitation to Learn (Matthew 11:25-29)
8. April 21 -- The Invitation to Transform (Romans 12:1-2)
9. April 28 -- The Invitation to Belong (John 15)
Children’s Lesson – Week 1
The Invitation to Love God
Title: The Greatest Command of All
Scripture: Matthew 22:37-40
Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 6:5 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Lesson goals: Children will learn what the greatest commandment is and that they must love God first and then others.
LARGE GROUP PORTION
Preparation: You will need one regular size candy bar for the “Opening” and one mini candy bar per child. (Be sure your children are allowed to have candy.)
Welcome children
Pray
Opening:
Invite a child to come up front with you. Show him/her the candy bar and tell him that this candy bar is for him. Open it and take a big bite from it. Then try to hand him the rest. (Prompt the child ahead of time to refuse it) Take another big bite and try to hand it to another child (Again, prompt this child ahead of time to refuse the candy bar). They should complain. Say: “Oh, you wanted all candy bar, not just a part of it?
That is how God is with us. He wants all of us, not just a part.”
Read: Matthew 22:37-40
Bible Point:
What do you think is the greatest commandment? Why did you choose that one?
Matthew 22:37-38 refers to Deuteronomy 6:5.
The greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.”
Another way of saying it is to love God with all you have!!!!
What are some ways we can show our love to God?
When we love someone, we want to spend time with them, we want to get to know them better and we want to talk with them. When we love God we want to spend time getting to know Him and who He is. We want to spend time talking to Him.
Ask: “How can we know God better?”
Ask: “How can we talk to God?”
By knowing Him and talking to Him, we can love Him more. By spending time in prayer, reading the Bible, and going to church, we can love God more because we know Him.
Let’s read verses 39-40.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
Ask: “Who are our neighbors?”
Ask: “How do you like to be treated?”
That is how we should treat others, even the ones who are difficult to love.
How we talk and treat others says a lot about our relationship with God.
1 John 4:20: “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”
God wants all of us all the time. He wants our love and to be involved in our lives.
When we love God with all we have, and when we love others, we are obeying God’s greatest command.
Activity:
Pass out small candy bars to children as a reminder that God wants all our love.
Application: Love God and treat others the way you want to be treated.
Memory Verse: Deuteronomy 6:5: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
SMALL GROUP PORTION
Preparation:
One sheet of 8x11 paper per child, pencils, markers or crayons (optional).
Discussion Questions:
• How can we show God that we love Him this week?
• How can I show my family that I love them?
• How can I show God’s love to others around me?
Personal Response:
Take an 8x11 size paper and fold it in quarters. Fold in half, then in half again. Unfold your paper. Across the top of your paper, write: “Show God’s Love.” You should have four sections on your paper. In each section, write a place you may go or something you are a part of, and then draw a picture or write how you can show God’s love in each section. (Examples: school, church, sports, clubs, family, or friends.)
On the back of your paper, in each section, write or draw how you can show God you love Him this week.
Children’s Lesson – Week 2
The Invitation to Love Your Neighbor
Title: Others First!
Scripture: Matthew 7:12 and John 13:34-35
Memory Verse: John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Lesson Goals:
Children will learn to treat others as they would like to be treated. God commands us to love everyone. Yes, everyone!
LARGE GROUP PORTION
Preparation: Bible for each child, pencils, one small heart cut from paper for each child and a heart shaped sticker for each child.
Welcome children.
Pray.
Opening:
I am going to read you some situations. I want you to stand and shout, “Jesus commands us to love” if you don’t think the children are showing love in each situation. Okay? Ready…
• Heather comes home from school and her mother has made her some yummy chocolate
chip cookies. Heather thanks her mother.
• Shawn gets the lowest grade in class on his test and the other kids in his class are teasing
him. He feels sad.
• Madison spills her drink all over her lunch and everything is wet. Lucy just looks at
Madison and says, “Be careful next time,” and walks away.
• Madison spills her drink all over her lunch and everything is wet. Nathan gets some paper
towels to help clean up the mess and offers Madison some of his lunch.
Bible Point:
Matthew 7:12: “In everything, do to others what you would have them to do to you, for this sums up the Law and in the Prophets.” Picture Jesus sitting before a crowd of people; they are everywhere and the disciples are with them. There are older people as well as children. Did you hear what He told them? “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (italics added). In other words, treat others as you would like to be treated. Do you like to be treated fairly and respectfully? Then we should treat others that same way. Sometimes it takes time and courage, but Jesus says “in everything” not just sometimes or when you feel like it. Jesus loves us even when we are unlovable. Therefore, we should love others and put others before ourselves.
Ask: “What are some examples of putting others before ourselves?” Jesus was our perfect of example of serving others and loving them.
It actually comes down to loving everyone all the time.
Let’s look at John 13:34-35: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (NLT).
If you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and you are a Christian, Jesus gives us a very important command. Ask: “What is the command?” To love one another. He doesn’t recommend it; He doesn’t suggest it; He commands it. Ask: “What is a command?” It’s an order from someone with authority. Jesus commands us to love one another. Is that always an easy thing to do? What about the bully at school or that older brother or sister that picks on you? What if you are in a bad mood? How about when your mother tells you to clean your room before going over your friend’s house? Must you love then too?
Who was our perfect example of love? John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal.” Jesus dying on the cross was the greatest love act there ever was. He did it out of love for you and for me.
Let’s look at verse 35 again. “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
By showing others love, you are showing Jesus’ love to them by your actions and words. You are known by and sometimes labeled by the things you do. The bully at school is known for his unkind actions. The funny child becomes the silly one that people laugh at. The disobedient child gets in trouble sometimes for things he/she did not do because he/she has a history of being disobedient. Ask: “How do you want others to see you?” Jesus says that if you show love to others, people will know that you are different and that you are a follower of Jesus.
Sometimes people know how we feel and think about things by watching our body language. Say: “I need three volunteers to come up and help me.” Whisper in first volunteer’s ear to act angry. Have other children guess how this volunteer is feeling. Then whisper to the second volunteer to act happy and have the children guess how that volunteer if feeling.
Whisper in the third volunteer’s ear to act as if they are feeling sad. Again, have the children guess how the volunteer is feeling.
When we are angry, not only do our faces show it, but our actions show it too. You may throw something, hit something, or bad things just come out of your mouth. When you are happy, your body language will express it with a smile, or you may be more playful. When you are sad, your shoulders are usually down, your eyes are looking down, and you walk carelessly.
When we show love to others, people will see us as being different. They will know we are followers of Jesus if we show love. They will see it in our body language and in our actions and know that we love Jesus.
It can be difficult to serve and help others before ourselves. Many times we feel like we should help ourselves first. God understands when we feel that way. We need to pray and ask God to guide us in ways to help and love others.
The more the love of Jesus fills our lives, the more we will be able to love others with the same kind of love that He shows to us.
Give each child a heart sticker to remind them to love everyone all the time!!!
Activity: Have a small heart cut out for each child. Have the children write down the name of someone that they are going to show love to or to look for opportunities to put that person’s needs before their own. Lead them in prayer over these hearts and for God to help the children to treat others as they want to be treated.
Application: The more the love of Jesus fills our lives, the more we will be able to love others with the same kind of love that He shows to us.
SMALL GROUP PORTION
Review:
John 13:34-35: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (NLT).
Preparation: 1 sugar cookie for each child, white frosting, sprinkles, or cookie decorating items, baggie, plastic knife
Discussion Questions:
• How can we show love in our homes this week?
• How can we show love at school this week?
• How can we put other’s needs before my own?
Personal Response:
Explain to each child that they will be decorating a cookie for someone they love. This special cookie is not be eaten by the child, but made in love to give to someone they love. This is a lesson in putting others before themselves. Give each child a cookie, icing, candy decorating items and a plastic knife. Have them spread the icing and then decorate the cookie. When completed, put them in a baggie. Remind the children that Jesus commands us to love others and to treat others as we want to be treated.
Memory Verse: John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Children’s Lesson – Week 3
The Invitation to Extend Hospitality
Title: I Am Hospitable and That’s a Big Word!
Scripture: Matthew 25:35 & Luke 14:12-14
Memory Verse: Hebrew 13:2: “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Lesson Goals:
Children will learn the importance of showing hospitality to others.
LARGE GROUP PORTION
Preparation: Children will form teams by pairing up in two’s. For each team you will need: one large trash bag with a hole cut in it the size of a child’s head, one spoon, one jar of baby food, one baby bottle filled with juice, and a napkin. (Go to your local Dollar Store for these items)
Welcome children.
Pray.
Opening:
Say: Everyone find a partner so that each team has two people. I will place this trash bag with the hole cut in it over child one. Child two stands behind child one and reaches his/her arms around them. Child’s two arms have now become the arms of child one.