Curriculum
Rules to Live By
Memory Verse:
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
God gave us commandments to follow. These commandments aren’t intended to take away our fun or make us feel left out. God’s law, the greatest commandment, helps us know how to love God well, love others, and have the best life God’s way.
Scripture Summary
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, religious leaders would question Him as He taught. While the Pharisees believed in the supernatural (heaven, hell, angels, and demons), the Sadducees were aristocratic. The Pharisees and Sadducees both wanted to trap Jesus in breaking the Jewish law or in finding some inconsistency within His teachings. They were threatened by Jesus, His following, and His ministry.
Historians estimate that the Jewish people had collected more than 600 laws by the time of Jesus’ ministry. Many religious leaders attempted to distinguish between vital laws and lesser laws. Still other leaders argued that all laws were equally important and instilled fear of breaking any of the hundreds of laws.
God’s laws can be summarized by two simple statements: Love God, and love others. These are not new laws as they were first introduced in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. The Ten Commandments can all be covered by loving God and loving others. Of the Ten Commandments, the first four focus on loving God. The next six commandments are examples of how we can love others well.
The teacher who was questioning Jesus understood the intent of God’s law. True obedience comes from the heart—and not from a drive to check off items on a list of dos and don’ts.
Why Is This Important
Following God and His laws is all about the heart. He desires that we love Him with everything within our being. God also wants us to love others well.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the LORD will be joyful. The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant words are persuasive.” (Proverbs 16:20-21)
Our family loves board games. It might be just a couple of us playing a card game or a group of us playing a strategic game when we’re gathered for a holiday. My husband serves as the board game rules police officer. As we sit down to play, he explains the game, what we can do on each turn, and how to win.
We have questions throughout the game—whether we can make this move or take that action. To which my husband consistently responds, “Let me check the rules.”
There’s a reason for checking the rules, a reason we learned firsthand a few years ago. We were playing an involved and strategic board game. The game was long, and the competition was fierce. As we were scoring the victory points at the end of the game to see who won, we found out we’d overlooked one of the rules.
The missed rule changed everything and created quite an upset. Those who expected to win landed at the bottom of the pack, and vice versa. But the missed rule made so much more sense than the way we had been playing the game. If only we had known from the beginning.
I’m so thankful God’s rules are simple. Gone are the days of the hundreds of Jewish laws. God simply wants us to love Him and to love others. I can remember both of those rules easily. And God freely gives wisdom and strength to follow His rules. They’re intended for our best—not to harm us in any way.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for giving us rules. I know they come out of Your love for me and are for my best. I want to love You and others well. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Bibles - one per child, “Bible Verse Shapes” handout - one per child, Pencils
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Mark 12:30-31
Lead kids in these steps to learn today’s Bible memory verse:
- Invite kids to open their Bibles to Mark 12:30-31.
- Invite volunteers to read the verse aloud multiple times so that it becomes familiar to all the kids.
- Instruct kids to close their Bibles.
- Hand each child a “Bible Verse Shapes” handout and a pencil.
- Instruct kids to put the Bible verses in order by connecting the shapes (containing phrases from the verses) with a line in the correct sequence.
- Invite kids to reopen their Bibles to Mark 12:30-31 to check their work.
- Read Mark 12:30-31 aloud one more time.
SAY: Today, we are learning about rules to live by and the greatest commandment Jesus shared. Let’s look at how we can live by His standard of loving God and others well.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bibles - one per child, Butcher paper - one large piece per child, Chalk, Tape
- Invite kids to open their Bibles to Mark 12:28-34.
- Give each child space of their own, a large piece of butcher pa- per, and some chalk.
- Explain that you are going to read the Bible message aloud sev- eral times, and they are to illustrate the story using chalk.
- Remind kids that they can also look in their Bibles for details on the passage.
- Once they have completed their drawings, allow kids to share them with the class.
- Invite kids to take home their illustrations or hang them in the halls.
ASK:
- Is Jesus’ command to love God and others a hard rule for you to follow? Why or why not?
- How might you get Jesus’ help with following His commands?
SAY: God knew we would need help to follow His rules, and that is why He sent Jesus. The Bible tells us we are all sinners and sin separates us from God. God sent Jesus to pay the price for our sin and rescue us. Through the power of Jesus in our lives, we can live according to the greatest commandment.
Snack
Heart Cookie Snack
You’ll Need: Heart-shaped cookies - one or two per child, Icing, Toppings such as sprinkles, mini chocolate chips or mini M&Ms, Plastic knives - one per child, Paper plates - one per child, Napkins - one per child
Follow these steps for the “Heart Cookie” snack:
- Give each child a paper plate, a napkin, a plastic knife, and a heart cookie (or two).
- Invite kids to ice and decorate their heart cookies in their own special way.
- Explain that these cookies are an awesome reminder of how we are to love God and others with all our hearts. Tell kids that
- God made us each uniquely, so the way we love others with our hearts is unique, too.
- Invite children to enjoy their special heart creations.
ASK:
- What do you think it means to love God with all your heart?
- What is one way you can show God you love Him today?
SAY: In today’s lesson, someone asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. Jesus answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Let’s learn more about how we can follow God’s good rules and live by love!
Game
Rule Change Game
To play the “Rule Change” game, have kids follow these steps:
- Explain to the kids that you are going to play a simple game like Duck, Duck, Goose, Hide and Seek, or Steal the Bacon. Make sure they are familiar with the rules of whatever common game you choose.
- Play the first round according to the rules.
- On each round, allow a child to make up a new rule to replace one of the traditional rules.
- Play as many rounds as time allows.
ASK:
- What was it like for you when new rules were added to the game?
- How can you explain Jesus’ rule to love God and others to a friend?
- What are a few ways you can show love to your neighbors?
SAY: Jesus said that there is no command more important than loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving your neighbor as yourself. Though the Bible may have many good rules, following the greatest commandment helps us to follow all of the others. That’s great news!
Craft
Love God Headbands
You’ll Need: 3-inch construction paper strips - two per child, Construction paper in various colors, A stapler, Chenille wire - three per child, Markers, Scissors - one pair per three children
Get Ready: Staple two strips of construction paper together for each child.
Have kids follow these steps to make the “Love God Headbands” craft:
- Give each child two paper strips stapled together, and cut them according to their head sizes.
- Invite kids to write “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” on their headband and decorate it with markers.
- Give children construction paper to cut out four heart shapes.
- Give each child two chenille wires, and have them cut them in half.
- Have kids bend their chenille wires in fun shapes, and then tape their construction paper hearts to the ends of them.
- Staple the other end of the chenille wires to the headbands so they stand up.
- Lastly, invite children to tape the ends of their headband together.
- Invite kids to put the headband on their head, and repeat “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” in unison several times.
Prayer
Motion Prayers
- Invite children to stand in a circle.
- Together, make up motions for Jesus’ commands in Mark 12:30- 31 to recite in a prayer. For example:
”Lord, help me to love You with all my heart.” (Kids put hands on their heart.)
“Lord, help me to love You with all my mind.” (Kids point to their head.) - Once all the motions are decided on, pray the prayer together as a group.
PRAY: Dear God, we thank You that You give us rules to live by that will give us a joyful life. Please guide us each day to act in ways that show our love for You and our neighbors. In Jesus’ name, amen.
