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Getting to Know God: Who God Is

Week 4: God Is Love

This includes:

Leader Preparation

Lesson Guide

LEADER PREPARATION

BIBLE BASIS

The book of 1 John is considered a love story—the greatest love of all time: God’s. Our Bible passage tells us that God is love. God doesn’t just have love; he is love. It’s part of God’s character. God has endless love and wants to give it abundantly to those who know him. As we receive God’s love, we are to share that love with others. There’s plenty of love to share when we realize all the love God has for us!

DISCOVERY POINT

God is love.

BIBLE FOCUS

1 John 4:7-21

KEY VERSE

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).

TEACHING PREP

The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson.

Supplies You’ll Need: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, CD player, TV/DVD player, Bibles, paper, “God Is Love” handout, and scissors

Before This Lesson

• Print the “God Is Love” handout, and cut apart cards. You’ll need one card for each Bible crew. Put one card in each Bible to mark 1 John 4. If you have fewer than six Bible Crews, put more than one Scripture card in each Bible. (Save the “Dump Truck” outline to use in a For-Extra-Time Activity.)

• Assemble Bible Exploration Kits (one per four kids): Bible with Scripture card marking 1 John 4, one white or red half sheet of paper per person.

• Review 1 John 4:7-21.

• Cue "Into the Bible" (Track 1) on Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or (Quarter 5/Track 1) on the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD.

• Huddle briefly with your volunteers beforehand. Answer any questions they have. Encourage them and pray.

PARENT EMAIL

We’ve provided you with a “Family Devotion” handout to send the Bible learning and faith discovery home. When kids and parents have faith discussions regularly, kids’ faith multiplies.

So we’ve given you two options:

• Print the “Family Devotion” handout and make enough copies for each child to take one home.

• Email the “Family Devotion” to families before or after the actual lesson.

Or why not do both? That way you’ll double the opportunities for parents to actually get the handout.

Getting to Know God: Who God Is

Week 4: God Is Love

2. LESSON GUIDE

WELCOME!

Supplies: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, CD player, TV/DVD player

1. Play “Into the Bible” (Track 1) from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or (Quarter 5/Track 1) from the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD as kids arrive.

• “Into the Bible”

Makes me wanna jump!

Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!

Makes me wanna sing! Hallelujah!

It’s the greatest book.

Come and take a look.

Makes me wanna shout!

Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout!

So that everyone will see

I’m getting into the Bible

And the Bible...is getting into me!

We’re discovering a brand-new world

As we dig a little deeper (deeper),

Finding out about who God is.

Open it up and see it (see it)!

There’s nothin’ like

God’s Word, and I get

So excited.

It makes me wanna,

Makes me,

Makes me wanna jump!

Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!

Makes me wanna sing! Hallelujah!

It’s the greatest book.

Come and take a look.

Makes me wanna shout!

Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout!

So that everyone will see

I’m getting into the Bible

And the Bible...is getting into me!

“Into the Bible” by Jay Stocker. © 2006 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

2. Have kids form Bible Crews as they arrive. Ask them to create the biggest dump truck they can using just themselves. Tell them to find something that they can dump (for example, their coats or coins from their pockets). When everyone has arrived, allow each crew to demonstrate how they’re a dump truck.

ASK:

• What’s the biggest dump truck you’ve ever seen?

• Why do we need dump trucks?

• How does God deliver his love to you?

SAY: Today we’re going to explore God’s love. If God had a dump truck, it would be filled with love for you. Let’s find out more!

3. Play the “Rocket Countdown” (Quarter 5/Countdown Track 1) the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, and have kids call out the numbers as they appear.

LET’S EXPLORE!

Supplies: assembled Bible Exploration Kits

1. Have kids return to their Bible Crews. Have kids each take one piece of paper and fold about one inch of it over. Show them how to tear small hearts using the fold. SAY: Open your Bibles to 1 John where you’ll find a card with your Scripture for today. In your crews, read your Scripture to find out what it says about God and love. As you find something about God or love, tear a small heart out of your paper and start a heart pile in front of you. Find one thing about God or love for each person in your crew to report.

2. After several minutes, allow crews to take turns reporting what they found. Have kids tear more hearts and pile them up for each thing they hear about God and love. Then have crews think of all the ways they can that God loves them and tear a heart for each way. Kids can continue to make folds to allow for more hearts.

ASK:

• Why do some crews have more hearts than others?

• Why do you or don’t you think God has the same amount of love for each person?

• What did you hear most about God’s love?

• What do you think about the amount of love God has for you?

SAY: God is love, and God wants to dump that love all over us. God has enough love for each of you to fill hundreds of dump trucks! Think for a moment what it would be like for a dump truck of love to be dumped on you.

ASK:

• How much love might fill a dump truck?

• What would it be like to get a dump truck of God’s love?

3. Have someone in the crew with the 1 John 4:7-8 Scripture card read their Scripture out loud. SAY: God wants us to love each other with the love that he gives to us!

Have kids play an unending-supply-of-love game. Have kids pair up and each take some of the hearts. Have one person from each pair stand opposite his or her partner at least 10 feet away. Instruct all kids to put their hearts in a pile in front of them. On “go” all kids are to try to add all their hearts to their partner’s pile, one heart at a time. After a few minutes, let kids return to their Bible Crews.

ASK:

• How did it work to give your hearts away?

• How is this like receiving and giving God’s love?

• Why do you or don’t you think it’s possible to give more love than we get from God?

SAY: God is love. Because God is love, God will never run out of love. The more love you give away, the more love God will dump on you!

LET’S PRAISE!

Supplies: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, CD player or TV/DVD player

1. Say: Let’s praise God because God is love.

2. Set up the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD. PLAY:

• “We Can Trust Him” (Psalm 33:4) (CD Track 5) (DVD Quarter 5/Track 5)

We can trust him. Yeah!

If there’s one thing we can count on,

It’s that God will never let us down, and

We can trust everything he does.

He keeps his promises.

We know because

Yeah, the Word of the Lord holds true.

We can trust him.

We can trust him.

Yeah, the Word of the Lord holds true.

We can trust him.

We can trust him .

Yeah, the Word of the Lord holds true.

We can trust him.

We can trust him.

Yeah, the Word of the Lord holds true.

We can trust him.

We can trust him.

We can trust him.

We can trust him.

“We Can Trust Him” (Psalm 33:4) by Jay Stocker. © 2007, 2009 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

• “You Know Everything About Me” (Psalm 139:1-3) (CD Track 4) (DVD Quarter 5/Track 4)

O Lord, you have examined my heart;

You know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up;

You know everything about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

O Lord, you know my thoughts and my ways;

You know everything about me.

You chart the path that I take;

You know everything about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything;

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

O Lord, you have examined my heart;

You know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up;

You know everything about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

“You Know Everything About Me” (Psalm 139:1-3) by Ben Glover and Jay Stocker. © 2004 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

• “Give Thanks to the Lord” (Psalm 107:1) (CD Track 7) (DVD Quarter 5/Track 7)

Every day he watches over us,

And every night God is there.

When I sleep and when I rise,

He is always by my side.

O give thanks to the Lord

For he is good, he is good.

His faithful love endures forever.

O give thanks to the Lord

For he is good, he is good.

His faithful love endures forever.

Every day he watches over us,

And every night God is there.

When I sleep and when I rise,

He is always by my side.

O give thanks to the Lord

For he is good, he is good.

His faithful love endures forever.

O give thanks to the Lord

For he is good, he is good.

His faithful love endures forever.

His faithful love endures forever.

“Give Thanks to the Lord” (Psalm 107:1) by Maggie Hold You Music. © 2007 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

LET’S PRAY!

Supplies: hearts from Let’s Explore!, Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, CD player

1. Have kids return to their Bible Crews with their hearts. Ask them to choose one person to sit in the middle while the others sprinkle their hearts all over the person in the middle. While they dump their hearts, have them ask God to dump love on that person. Have crew members trade places until all kids have been dumped on and prayed for.

2. Play the “Dump Truck Sound Effects” (Track 22) from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD while the kids are dumping the hearts and praying.

HIGH FIVES

Supplies: none

Have kids make the beeping sound of a dump truck backing up while they back up to each other and “low five” each other. When they low five each other, have them say, “God is love, and God wants to dump that love on you!”

FOR EXTRA-TIME ACTIVITIES

A Full Load

Supplies: copies of “Dump Truck Outline,” handout, glue sticks, hearts from Let’s Explore!

Have kids return to their Bible Crews. Give kids each a copy of the dump truck outline, and let them glue their hearts to the back of the truck. As they work, talk about all the ways that God dumps love on them.

Pour It On

Supplies: none

Have kids return to their Bible Crews and brainstorm other ways to explain the amount of love God has for them and how it could be delivered. Let crews take turns giving their explanations to the rest of the class.

Create a Bible Dictionary

Supplies: paper, markers, dictionary, CD player, Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD

Ask kids to create one or more pages, each with a new word, for a Bible dictionary. Have kids suggest words from today’s lesson—love and dump truck are two suggestions. Have them write each word on a sheet of paper in fun letters, add a definition, list Scripture references, and make illustrations. Play “The Books of the Bible Song” (Track 8), from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD while kids work. Add each page to a three-ring binder, and watch the dictionary grow!

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