BIG IDEA: Love comes from God.
This free Bible lesson, God’s Amazing Love, will teach preschool and elementary students about the how love comes from God and how God shows His love to us.
FOCUS BIBLE PASSAGE: 1 John 4:7-21
All of the printable activities and digital slides needed for the lesson, as well as a full printable lesson plan for both elementary and preschool are available.
Below is the outline of the free elementary Bible lesson.
PREP & SUPPLIES
- printed and trimmed “Word Cards” (two sets per class)
- small blank strips of paper
- pencils
- Bibles for each small group of students (one per student if possible)
- printed & trimmed “God’s Love Match Up” papers for each student (NIrV & ESV included)
- printed & trimmed “Trinity Love Bookmarks” for each student
- coloring supplies
- stickers (optional)
MEMORY VERSE: “The LORD is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come.” Psalm 100:5 (NIrV)
THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY:
- Divide the students into two groups and ask them to form lines on one side of the room.
- On the opposite side of the room place a full set of printed & trimmed Psalm 100:5 WORD CARDS for EACH GROUP.
- Remind students that in a relay race, one person from each team is racing at a time. At the end, the entire team can work together to build the verse.
- After the race begins, one team member at a time will race to the other side and collect one slip of paper and bring it back to the group. They must tag the next person in line before that person can take off.
- The first team to have all of the words collected and laid out in the correct order is the winner.
LESSON HOOK ACTIVITY
Last week we talked about LOVE. We learned about how God spoke to the Apostle Paul and Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians. Can anyone share what you remember about the lesson last week? (allow responses and discussion)
Paul was an Apostle of Jesus, which means that he was called by Jesus to go out and spread the good news in the world about Jesus. Through Paul’s writings, God showed us how to love. He showed us how to use our gifts and talents in a way that is loving so that we can show others the love of Jesus.
This week we are going to talk some more about God’s love. First I want you to think about your answer to two questions.
(SLIDE 3) The first question I want you to think about is “WHAT IS LOVE”? I want everyone to silently think about how you want to answer this question. (allow silent wait time and then responses and discussion)
There are many different ways that we can describe and think about love. But here is a simple definition of LOVE.
(SLIDE 4) Love is having a strong feeling of care for someone or something, wanting the best for them, and showing it through actions of kindness.
Who are some people that you love? (allow responses)
What are some ways that you show love to those people? (allow responses)
I am going to give you a small piece of paper and a pencil. I want you to think and write the answer to the second question that is about to be on the screen. You don’t have to show anyone what you write. This is just for you. When you finish writing, you can fold it up and put it under your chair, or in your pocket. Pass out small strips of paper and pencils. *Instruct students to keep their pencils for the large group activity.*
(SLIDE 5) Here is the question I want you to think about and write your answer to on your piece of paper. “WHERE DOES LOVE COME FROM?” (allow silent writing time)
BIBLE LESSON
I hope that those questions got your brain thinking about love and where love comes from.
Do you know where the best place to look is when we have a question about anything? (the Bible!)
That is where we are going to look today to learn about love and where love comes from.
We are going to read from the New Testament book of 1 John. Who do you think wrote the book of 1 John? (allow responses)
The Apostle John wrote the book of 1 John. He is the same man who was a disciple of Jesus while Jesus lived on the earth as a human being. John wrote the Gospel book of John, the books of 1, 2, and 3 John, and the book of Revelation.
Written in 1 John 4:7 (chapter 4 verse 7), we are going to find the answer to our question about where love comes from.
(SLIDE 6) The Bible says:
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become a child of God and knows God. [1 John 4:7 NIrV]
So, where does love come from? (God!)
The Bible tells us right here in this verse. Love comes from God!
(SLIDE 7) That is our BIG IDEA this week. Love comes from God.
What do you think that means? (allow responses and discussion)
(SLIDE 8) The very next verse tells us that God IS love. It says:
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. [1 John 4:8 NIrV]
When we read more in the Bible, we can start to understand how love comes from God and how God shows His love to us.
This week’s “Bible Story” and “Large Group Activity” are combined.
Today, you are going to get to find some passages in your Bible and learn more about how love comes from God and how God shows His love to us.
You can choose to work with a partner or a small group of friends. Each person will get a paper, and each group should have at least one Bible. If everyone has a Bible that is even better.
There are 5 Bible passages to look up. You can use your table of contents to find the book of the Bible. And remember that the first number in the reference is the chapter, and the second number after the colon (two dots) is the verse.
Read each verse and then find the matching verse on your paper and write the letter of the matching verse on the line next to the Bible reference.
Don’t just glance at the verses and find the matches. Really read the verses and think about what God is saying to you as you read.
Pass out one “God’s Love Match Up” paper to each student.
Students should still have their pencil from the activity earlier.
Be sure each group has at least 1 Bible.
Allow time for students to work. Remember to have leaders circulate the room helping students find passages and helping younger students read.
Let’s think about what each of these Bible passages means to us. What is God teaching us?
Allow a student to read each passage aloud, or read it aloud to the group before asking students to share what they think each passage means. Below is some commentary to be sure that you go over for each of the five passages.
1 John 4:9-10
This verse begins by telling us this is “how God showed His love” to us. He sent Jesus into the world to live as a human being so that we could have life through Jesus. Jesus lived a sinless life, which is something that no other person could ever do. Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for the sin of the world, then He rose from the dead. God shows His love for us through the sacrifice of Jesus’s life. Jesus paid the ultimate price and showed the deepest kind of love for us when He died on the cross to save us.
Ephesians 2:4-5
God is full of mercy, meaning that He does not give us the punishment that we deserve. Instead, He loves us so much that He gave Jesus as a sacrifice to take the punishment that we deserve. Jesus didn’t deserve the punishment that was meant for us, but God loves us so much that Jesus died to remove our sin and death. Now we have God’s grace which is the reward that we don’t deserve. (Mercy = not getting the punishment we do deserve; Grace = getting the reward that we don’t deserve)
John 3:16
God loves everyone in the world so much that He gave Jesus to come and die for the sins of the world. When we believe in Jesus and accept Him as our Savior we will have eternal life (life that does not end).
Romans 5:8
Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. The punishment for sin is death and separation from God. Every person who is born into this world is a sinner, but Jesus came to earth as a sinless human. He chose to give His life as the punishment for our sins. This is how God has shown His love for us.
Romans 8:39
Sin separates us from God, but when we choose to accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation, nothing can separate us from God. We are His forever because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. But, to be His we must believe in Jesus and be saved by Him.
I have noticed a major theme from all 5 of these verses. Raise your hand if you have noticed some things that each of these verses have in common (that are the same).
(SLIDE 9) I want you to turn your paper over to the back side and write the first part of the sentence that is up on the screen. Then I want you to fill in the blank with your own thoughts.
Allow time for students to write.
You can also allow some students to share what they have written.
Each of the Bible verses that we have read and talked about teach us how God showed His love for us.
(SLIDE 10) God showed His love for us by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
If what you wrote means the same thing as what is underlined on the screen then you can leave it just like it is. If you need to add anything else to your blank, go ahead and take the time to do that.
It is a good idea to ask leaders to circulate and be sure that each student has this Truth written correctly on their paper. Allow time for additions and/or changes to be made.
If you have your Bible with you today, go ahead and place your paper inside your Bible. If not, you can take your paper home with you and place it in your Bible.
Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson from the Bible?
Dear God,
Thank you for the Bible and all of the lessons that you teach us when we read it. Please help us to continue to grow closer to you every day and please help us as we read our Bible to understand and learn what you want us to learn.
We love you and we pray all of these things in Jesus’ sweet name, Amen
SMALL GROUP ACTIVITY
We have talked about how God has shown His love to us by sending Jesus to die on the cross and take the punishment for our sins.
Can anyone tell me about the Trinity? (allow responses and discussion)
Our God exists as three in one. He is ONE GOD but He exists in THREE Persons. He is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father sent Jesus, God the Son, to the earth to live as a human being and to die on the cross for our sins. When we believe in Jesus and ask Him to save us, He sends God the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. The Holy Spirit lives inside of all the people who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our guide and our comfort and He never leaves us.
Sometimes the Trinity is confusing. It is hard to understand that our God is ONE, but THREE. Think about it like this. Each Person of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are completely 100% equal because They all exist as ONE. But, They each play a different role.
Since each Person of the Trinity is God, and we know that love comes from God, we can also know that love comes from all three Persons of the Trinity! Today, I have some bookmarks for you to decorate and use in your Bible that will help you to remember how God exists as THREE in ONE, and how love comes from God in all three Persons of the Trinity.
BREAK INTO SMALL GROUPS TO COMPLETE THE ACTIVITY.
Discussion Prompts for Leaders:
- Where does love come from? (God)
- How did God show His love for us? (He sent Jesus to the earth to live a sinless life and die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins.)
- How did sin enter the world? (Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden and sin entered the world; all humans are born sinners except Jesus)
- Who are the three Persons of the Trinity? (God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit)
- Who lives in the hearts of people who have believed in and accepted Jesus? (the Holy Spirit)
- Do you think that anyone can ever love you as much as God loves you?
- Do you think that you can ever love anyone as much as God loves us?
- Why did Jesus have to die to take the punishment for our sins? (the punishment for sins is death; Jesus died to take our place)
- What is this week’s Big Idea? (Love comes from God.)
- What is this week’s memory verse? (Psalm 100:5)
CLOSING REFLECTION
We learned love comes from God. God has shown His love to us by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Sin entered the world through Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. The punishment for sin is death and separation from God. Every person who is born into this world is a sinner, but Jesus came to earth as a sinless human. He chose to give His life as the punishment for our sins. This is how God has shown His love for us. Sin separates us from God, but when we choose to accept Jesus’s free gift of salvation, nothing can separate us from God.
Reflection Questions:
- Where does love come from? (God)
- How did God show His love for us? (He sent Jesus to the earth to live a sinless life and die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins.)
- Does anyone have any questions about today’s lesson?
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