The Golden Rule

 (Put on the royal costume and sit in the arm chair.) What do I look like to you? (Pause for kids to identify that you are a king or a queen.) That’s right. Pretend I’m the ruler. And what does a ruler do? (Pause for responses.) 

A ruler makes rules. Only, I think I need some help with the rules. So let me ask you…

• If you were ruler, what would your number one rule be, and why? (Have children take turns holding a royal object from your costume when they share. If time allows, invite them to take turns on the throne.)

Those were some interesting rules you all came up with. Today we’re reading in the Bible about something Jesus, our King, said was important to do. Many people call this “The Golden Rule.” (Invite kids to share if they know what it is.)

Jesus taught that loving one another, even people we don’t get along with is really important. And one way we do that is to treat others how we want to be treated. So if we want others to welcome us when we’re new to their school, then we do that for others. Or if we want others to be kind to us, we are kind to others. We’ll learn more about that today.

Dear God, we want to treat others with love as Jesus taught us to do. Help us to do that well. In Jesus’ name, amen.