Elementary Level, Block 9—Jesus
Week 85
Jesus—Loving Everyone
Point to Emphasize: We can be those who love others.
Reading Reference: Matthew 9:36; 14:14-21; Mark 8; Luke 9; 15
Memory Verse: Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God… (1 John 4:7)
Story Sample
God has placed each one of us around people. Let’s see… You have parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Then, at school, you have teachers and classmates, janitors, and a principal. If you play sports, you have teammates and a coach. Everywhere you go there are people around you! I have a question for you: How do you think we should feel about the people in our lives? [Let the children answer.] If your answer was “We should love them”, you were right!
What does it mean to love someone? To love someone is to care about that person. I would say that to love someone is to care for them with all your heart and in all your actions! For example, loving your mom goes beyond just saying, “Mom, I love you.” You love your mom when you help her by putting your toys away. So, love is not just something you feel, but also the way we can behave towards others showing we care for them!
The Bible says, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God” (1 John 4:7). That means to love everyone! Can we love everyone? Can we even love the naughty ones? Can we even love the ones who are not so nice to us? Let’s take a look at how the man Jesus loved. Jesus is the best man that lived on this earth. We want to learn from Him and love like Him! When Jesus lived on this earth, He met many different people. He was willing to help them all, because He loved them. Jesus even went out of His way to help people. One time, He fed thousands of hungry people. He fed them not because He had tons of food, but He fed them because He loved them. The New Testament is filled with stories of Jesus loving those who were sick and those who were healthy, some who were hungry or even well fed, sad or happy, poor or rich, with a good education, and even those who could not even read. Jesus loved everyone! Jesus even loved the ones who were naughty. In the book of Matthew, Jesus said, “Love your enemies” (5:44). Jesus wants us to love everyone! Jesus wants you to love your friends, and He also wants you to love the troublemakers and naughty ones!
I thought that to love the troublemakers was a difficult thing to do, but it is not that hard! I will tell you what I saw one day. When my boys were younger, they loved to go to the playground to go down the slides again and again! One day, there was a boy who decided to go up the slide and sit down right in the middle. My boys couldn’t go down the slide with him sitting in the middle of it! I was looking at him thinking, this is a naughty boy. What do you think I did to him? I went to him and with a warm welcoming voice, invited him to play with us. That boy was so happy! He immediately came down the slide and started taking turns with my boys going down the slides. We showed him we loved him! [Storyteller, include a story where you showed love to someone.]
You can show you love someone in many different ways. You can show your dad you love him by obeying him! You can show your mom you love her by giving her a big hug. You can show you love your uncle or your aunt by giving them a big smile! You can love your sister or your brother by sharing your favorite toy with them. You can show a classmate, whom you usually wouldn’t play with, you love them by including them when you play. You see, there are many things you can do to show others you love them! Let’s be this way! Let’s love everyone!