Curriculum
The Power of God's Love
Memory Verse:
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” John 12:3
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Jesus died for our sins, and He was raised again. He wants a personal relationship with each of us so we can live in heaven forever.
Scripture Summary
More than likely, the Greeks in this passage had recently converted to the Jewish faith. It might have been more natural and comfortable for them to approach Philip. While Philip was a Jew, he had a Greek name.
Jesus used many word pictures during His teaching. Here, He compared Himself to a kernel of wheat. An isolated kernel of wheat can die and do nothing, or it can die on the ground and produce a crop of seeds. For Jesus to save the world, He needed to die, descend into hell, and rise again.
Many people thought Jesus, the Messiah, was there to save only the Jewish people. Though when He said, “Whoever serves Me must follow Me,” He meant all people—including the visiting Greeks.
Jesus wasn’t calling His followers to recklessly despise their own lives. But by comparison, their love and dedication to Jesus would be drastically different than how they valued and pursued their own life and their own will.
God’s plan was coming to fruition. And Jesus, being God and human, was honest in His dread of death. He knew it would be painful and horrific, yet His love drove Him to stick with God’s plan.
There were some misconceptions about the Messiah, and Jesus was explaining the way to be saved. Through Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection, He would defeat Satan. The ultimate ending is when Jesus returns to gather His faithful followers and set up His eternal kingdom.
Why Is This Important
Because of His great love for each of us, Jesus stuck with God’s plan. He suffered and died in order to save us from our sins. He offers a new life and will gather us to live with Him forever in heaven.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, ‘Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid! For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.’” (Zephaniah 3:16-17)
I read this passage recently with a study group. I cherish the statement, “With His love, He will calm all your fears.” There’s a powerful word included here: all. The God of the universe, who loves each of us deeply, will calm all our fears.
I have to admit, there are times I want my fears calmed with bold intervention, ample provision, and tangible encouragement. But that’s not God’s way. He does this with His love. Period.
Sometimes the weight of our troubles, fears, and unknowns weigh us down. Our fears can prevent us from receiving God’s love to the fullest. (Notice, though, that this doesn’t change how much and how deeply God loves us.)
What fears are you holding today? List them on a sheet of paper or a note on your phone.
Now, set down anything you’re holding. We’ll pray some short prayers by placing our hands palms down—and again with palms up. For each fear you listed: Turn your hands with the palms down and release your fear to God. This physical posture reminds us how hard it is to hold onto some- thing when our palms are facing down. Share with Him the details, your feelings, and how the fear is gripping you. Then, turn your hands with palms facing up. Intentionally receive God’s love. You can repeat phrases like, “I receive Your love,” or “I am a beloved child of God.”
Our God is faithful. “With His love, He will calm all your fears.” Let Him love you well today.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for loving me. I don’t want my fears to get in the way of receiving Your love. I want You to calm all my fears with Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Cardstock - one per child, Magnet strips - one per child, Markers, Scissors - one per child, Bibles - one per child
“But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” John 12:32
Lead kids in these steps:
Give each child a piece of cardstock and scissors to cut out a cross shape.
Invite them to color and decorate their cross with markers. Be sure to have them look up and write today’s memory verse on the crosses!
After they’re finished, help them attach a magnetic strip to the back of their crosses.
Have each child show their decorated cross and recite the entire verse.
Remind them to take the crosses home and use the magnet to put it on their refrigerators as a reminder of what they learned today.
SAY: Hold your cross high in the air and read the Bible verse aloud with me. (Read aloud the verse.) This verse tells us that the love of Jesus is so powerful that it can literally draw people to Him. Just like the magnet on the back will be drawn to your refrigerator at home, God’s love draws us to Himself.
Interactive Bible Experience
His Great Love
You’ll Need: “His Great Love” handouts - one per team, Writing utensil - one per child, Bibles - one per child
GET READY: Divide the class into smaller groups of two or three, and ensure that each child has a Bible. Give each group a “His Great Love” handout and instruct the children to use their Bibles to fill in the blanks and complete the following Bible verses.
1 John 4:9-11: “This is how ____ showed His ___ among us: He sent His one and only _____ into the world that we might live through Him. This is _____ : not that we _____ God, but that He _____ us and sent His _____ as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since _____ so _____ us, we also ought to __________ one another.”
Isaiah 54:10: “‘Though the __________ be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing __________ for you
will not be __________ nor my covenant of __________ be removed,’ says the __________, who has __________ on you.”
Ephesians 2:4-5: “But because of His great ____________________ for us, _____ , who is rich in _____, made us _____ with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by _____you have been _____.”
1 John 3:1: “See what great _____ the _____ has lavished on us, that we should be called _____ of _____! And that is what we are! The reason the _____ does not know us is that it did not know _____.”
Zephaniah 3:17: “The _____ your _____ is with you, the Mighty Warrior who __________. He will take great delight in you; in His _____ He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with __________.”
After each group is finished, have each group share one of their verses.
Discuss.
ASK:
What did these verses teach you about the love of God?
Which one was your favorite? Why?
How would you explain the love of God to a friend?
SAY: We can be certain that God loves us so big. These verses prove it, but we also see it beautifully displayed when He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus didn’t deserve the punishment, but we do. The love of God sent Jesus to rescue us and that is good news.
Snack
Cross Snacks
You’ll Need: Skewer sticks - two per child, Various fruits, Bowls, Paper plates, Napkins
GET READY: Cut up various fruits into smaller pieces and put each fruit in its own bowl.
Follow these steps to make the Cross Snacks:
- Give each child a paper plate, napkin, and two skewer sticks.
- Instruct kids to thread their favorite fruits onto their sticks.
- Once finished, invite kids to lay one stick horizontally across the vertical stick to form a cross.
- Let kids enjoy while you discuss today’s lesson.
SAY: God’s love isn’t like any other love we know. God’s love is powerful! His love is so powerful that it alone can defeat our punishment for sin and death. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins, but Jesus didn’t stay dead. He even defeated death. Three days after dying on the cross, Jesus rose from the dead. That is powerful love. I hope you know this love. Please let me know if you would ever like to talk more about this love.
Game
Gone Fishing
You’ll Need: “Gone Fishing” handouts - one per team, Various colors of printer paper, Dowel rods - one per team, Yarn or rope - about four feet per team, Magnet - one per team, Paper clips - 10 per team, Scissors
GET READY: Tie the yarn or rope to the end of each dowel rod. Attach magnets on the opposite ends of the yarn or rope. Print the “Gone Fishing” handouts on different colored paper and cut out the fish. Place a paperclip on each fish and scatter them in an area around the room.
Follow these steps to play “Gone Fishing”:
- Divide the children into teams.
- Give each team a fishing pole.
- The first player from each team will take the fishing pole and run to the fishing area.
- They will fish until they catch a fish.
- Once a fish is caught they will take their fish back to their team and give the pole to the next child in line.
- That child then goes fishing and does the same.
- The first team that has caught all 10 of their fish wins.
ASK:
- What made it easy or hard to catch a fish?
- What makes it easy or hard to believe that God loves you?
SAY: To be successful at catching a fish, you had to get the magnet close enough to the paper clip on the fish so that magnet could draw the clip to itself. Like that, Jesus’ love is so powerful that it pulls us in, especially when we try to get closer to Him. Just like when you go fishing in real life, it can be hard for the fish to resist the bait on your hook. Jesus’ love is so amazing that it can be hard to resist.
Craft
People Art Paintings
You’ll Need: Cardstock - one per child, Markers, Ink pads in at least three colors
To make the “People Art Paintings,” have kids follow these steps:
- Invite children to sit in a circle.
- Give each child a sheet of cardstock.
- Instruct kids to write ‘Jesus’ largely across the top of their sheet of cardstock.
- Make sure they put their name on the back of their cardstock.
- Invite kids to stamp their thumbs in the ink pad and make a thumbprint at the bottom of their papers.
- After they make the print, invite them to use markers to make arms, legs, a face, and hair on their thumb prints to look like themselves.
- After they have finished their thumb prints, instruct kids to pass their papers to the person on their right.
- With the new sheet of cardstock, they will stamp their thumbs and make thumb images of themselves again.
- Repeat until papers are back to their original owners.
- In the middle of the page between the word “Jesus” and the people prints, invite kids to draw a horseshoe magnet that is drawing the people to Jesus.
- Encourage kids to be creative.
SAY: I love how you each designed your thumbprints. Do you know that Jesus loves you? He loves all of you! Even though we are all so different, Jesus loves us and His love draws us to Himself. Take your art home as a reminder of how loved you are.
Prayer
Popcorn Prayers
SAY: Today we learned about how much Jesus loves us, but we have many reasons to love Him, too. Let’s say some prayers to tell Jesus why we love Him.
- Instruct kids to sit in a circle.
- Explain that today’s prayer time will be popcorn prayer. That means when they are ready to pray, they pop out of their seats and stand and then pray, “Jesus, I love You because…”
PRAY: Dear God, there are so many reasons we love You. You are so good to us. Your love is so powerful. Help us to feel Your love and share Your love with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.
