Unit 2: Ministry of Christ NT2.14 Jesus Loves Children
Scripture: Matthew 18:1-6; 19:13-15; Mark 9:33-37; 10:13-16; Luke 9:46-48; 18:15-17
Lesson Goal In this lesson we will learn what Jesus did when little children came to see Him. Jesus used children to teach us an important truth about how we go to heaven..
Introduction: This is the fourteenth lesson Unit 2: The Ministry of Christ. The life and ministry of Jesus is told to us in the first four books of the New Testament. In this lesson Jesus told the disciples to allow the children to come to Him. Jesus loves children and said that they are a part of His Kingdom. We will learn that Jesus loves children and wants to forgive them when they do wrong. This lesson is found in the book of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These books are part of the Gospels. The Gospels are the first four books in the New Testament. The gospels tell about the life and ministry of Jesus. The word "gospel" means the good news about Jesus. Let's say the names of the gospels together: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Attention Getter: Have you ever seen one of these? (Hold up a welcome mat.) Do you know what it's called? It's called a welcome mat. We often place a welcome mat outside the front door to our house. What is the real purpose of a welcome mat? This one says, "hello." This one has flip flops on it. I think that sometimes it means, "Please wipe your feet before you come into my house," But the word welcome really means to greet someone in a warm and friendly way. When someone comes to our house, do we really make them feel welcome? What about church? Do we make new people feel welcome? What if someone who has a different color of skin comes to church What if it is someone who doesn't dress as nicely as we do? Do we treat them differently? We should welcome everyone to church. Sometimes people do not feel welcome when they go to a new place. This feeling is nothing new. Even in the day when Jesus lived some people were not made to feel welcome. Jesus' own disciples sometimes didn't understand that everyone was welcome in the Kingdom of God. In this lesson we will learn what Jesus did when little children came to see Him.
Opening Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, Thank you, Jesus for what You did for us on the cross. You paid for our sins completely! You proved that You are God by rising again from the dead and ascending into heaven where you are right now. We thank you that You loved us so much that you came to forgive us our sins so we can go to heaven and be with you. Help us to believe and trust in you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Memory Verse: The memory verse is Mark 10:14 “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
Lesson Video: https://youtu.be/VGU0W176DF4
Everywhere that Jesus went, among the crowds of people that gathered around Him, were children of all ages. The children loved Jesus and believed His words. One day when Jesus was traveling to Judea. The news spread quickly to the nearby village that Jesus, the great Prophet of Nazareth, was in the neighborhood. Some of the mothers who heard the news were especially excited. They wanted to bring their children to see and meet Jesus.
When the disciples saw the mothers and their children coming, they stopped them and tried to send them away. "Jesus is too tired and too busy with important matters to be bothered with children," the disciples said. The disciples thought that children were not important to Jesus and that children could not understand Jesus' teachings.
As soon as Jesus saw what the disciples had done, He was very displeased. "Let the children come to Me," He commanded. "Do not send them away, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." Then Jesus took the children into His arms, put His hands on their heads, and blessed them.
Another time, the disciples came to Jesus with a question. "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?" they asked. The disciples were always worried about who was important and who wasn't important. Perhaps they thought Jesus would answer, "Peter" or "John" or "James."
But, no, Jesus did something that surprised then all. He pointed to a little child who was in the crowd. He called the little child to come to Him and had the child stand where everybody could see him. Then Jesus taught the disciples a very important lesson. "I tell you," Jesus said, "that anyone who won't come to God as a little child will never be allowed into God's kingdom or family." Then Jesus explained. "Whoever humbles himself just like this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven."
Jesus was saying that anyone who doesn't love God just like these children won't get to heaven. It takes humility to come to Jesus. It takes knowing that we're not good enough or smart enough to work things out our own way. Only those who believe in Jesus with the simple humble, and trusting faith of a child can be member of the family of God. Jesus said, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." This shows us just how much the Lord treasures the children who believe in Him.
Jesus explained to His disciples why they needed to let the children come to Him: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." He was saying, "Children are lost, just like adults. They are sinners and in need of a Savior. Let them come to Me and be saved, and let them follow Me all the days of their lives."
Jesus loves each one of us and He wants us to be a part of His family. He came to put out the welcome mat to heaven for us. To become a member of God's family we need to first admit that we have done things that are wrong. These wrong things are called sins. Sins include such things as telling a lie and disobeying our parents. We should tell God that we are sorry that we have sinned and ask Him to forgive us.
Next we need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He came from heaven to pay the debt for our sins. Jesus did that when He died on the cross. He took the punishment for our wrong deeds. After Jesus died He was buried in the tomb. But after three days in the grave He came back to life! This proved that He was really the Son of God and that He has the power to save us and take us to heaven. If you have not asked Jesus to be your Savior you can do that today! Jesus loves you and wants you to be with Him.
After you become a child of God, you may think, "I am only a child now, and it doesn't matter to God how I behave." Oh, but it does matter! Jesus is just as interested in the behavior of children as He is in the behavior of adults. He watches everything that you do; He is pleased when you do right and displeased when you do wrong. Your actions matter very much to Him. Your desire to please Him should be the one great motive of your life, for He cares for You.
In His sight, you are just as valuable as any adult—small or great, rich or poor—who has ever lived. Every day, you need to ask Him to help you do the things that are right—even if no one else is looking—so that you won't be a disappointment to Him.
Remember Jesus loves children. He loves and wants to forgive us!
Review Questions: “Red Light, Green Light” Preparation: You will need two flashlights, green and red cellophane, rubber bands and masking tape. Optional: Hold up a red or green sheet of paper as the signal. Procedure: Cover the flashlights, one with red cellophane and the other with green cellophane. Hold the cellophane in place with rubber bands. Using masking tape, indicate a starting line. Have all the kids stand on the starting line. Stand on the opposite side of the room with the flashlights. Turn off the lights (open door if any children are scared of the dark). Have them take large hops toward you when you flash the green light only. If you flash the red light, they must freeze and remain frozen until they see another green light. Anyone caught running, walking, or hopping when they are not allowed will need to sit down. After a child reaches you they may answer one of the following questions for one point. Game begins again with everyone on the start line when the review question is answered. For extra challenge, you can add a yellow light. Ask: What does the yellow light tell car drivers to do? (Get ready to stop.) When you show the yellow light, children must move in slow motion!
1. Why did the mothers bring their children to see Jesus? (They had heard about Jesus' ministry of healing and helping people. They wanted Jesus to bless or pray for their children.)
2. What the disciples do when they saw the children? (They got angry and turned them away. They said that Jesus was too busy to deal with children.)
3. What did Jesus do when He saw what the disciples were doing? (He called to the disciples and told them to let the children come to Him. He told them that children were a part of His kingdom.
4. How did Jesus show His love to the children? (He let them come to him, talk to Him, and sit on His lap. He put His hands on them and prayed for them.)
5. On another occasion what were the disciples arguing about? (They were discussing who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. They wanted to be the most important.)
6. Who did Jesus say was the most important person in the kingdom of heaven? (Jesus took a little child and put him where everyone could see him. Then He said that anyone who wants to come to God and be a part of His family must come like this little child.)
7. What did Jesus mean when He said, "Whoever humbles himself just like this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?" (Jesus was saying that only those who believe in Jesus with the simple humble, and trusting faith of a child can be member of the family of God.)
8. How does Jesus show His love for children today? (He wants children to become a part of God's family by believing in Jesus as their Savior. He listens when children pray. He gives children someone to take care of them.
9. If you were one of the children in this Bible lesson how would you have felt when the disciples told you to go away? (I would have felt bad and maybe even angry at the disciples that they were not going to let me see Jesus.)
10. How would you have felt when Jesus said to come to Him? (I would have been excited and happy. I would have thought that it was good when Jesus shows His love for me.)
11. Are we important to God? How do we know? (Yes, children are very important to God. He watches over them every day. He loves them and wants them to believe in Him as their Savior.)
12. What example do you think Jesus is showing us about treating others with love? (We are not to think that we are better than others. We are to love everyone even if they are different from us because Jesus loves everyone and died on the cross for them.)
13. What is the greatest way that Jesus shows His love for all people? (He died on the cross to pay for all our sins. He rose again the third day to show His power to save us. He wants everyone to come to Him for salvation.)
14. What is the memory verse? (Mark 10:14 “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." )
Bible Memory Verse Activity: Circle Game: "Come to Jesus" Our memory verse is Mark 10:14 “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." Have children locate verse in scripture and repeat it together several times. Say: “This verse means that Jesus loves children and he wants them to be with Him in heaven forever.” Procedure: Have children stand an arm's length apart in a circle. Say Mark 10:14 aloud and then point to a child in the circle. He or she steps into the middle of the circle and then completes the following sentence with an action. 'I'm going to (skip, hop, jump, leap, run, walk, crawl, fly (wave arms) on my way to see Jesus."
The children then do that action as they go around the circle while the child in the middle recites Mark 10:14. When he or she finishes the verse, the children stop. The child in the center then selects another child for the middle and the game is played again with the new child completing the sentence with a different action.
Group Learning Activity: “Write a Poem” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need poster paper and colored markers. Procedure: On a large sheet of poster paper make a five line poem outline. On the first line write "Jesus' love" as the title of the poem. For the second line draw two blank lines separated by a comma. For the third line, draw three blank lines separated by commas. For the fourth, draw one long line. On the fifth, write "Jesus' love" again. Say: "In our story today, how did Jesus show love? (He told the children to come to Him.) Today we are going to write our poem about Jesus' love. Show poem outline. Read the first line, "Jesus' love." Point to the second line. Say: We need two words to describe Jesus' love to fill in these two spaces. What words should we use? (great, wonderful, kind, etc. Print children's ideas on the blank lines. Continue with other lines, asking for three words that tell how Jesus' love makes them feel. (happy, safe, excited, etc.) and for a sentence about Jesus' love (for example, "We're glad Jesus loves us!" Use a marker and let children trace their hands on construction paper and then cut out the handprints. Sign their names on the construction paper hands. Children can glue the hands around the poem.
Group Learning Activity: “Precious Children” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need Bibles, pencils and spiritual journals. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Jesus loves children. He used them as an example to teach others about His love for everyone. Today we are going to find scriptures that tell us about that love.” Procedure: Have students look up the following passages of scripture and read aloud: Luke 18: 15-17, Matthew 19: 13-15; and Matthew 18:1-6.
Luke 18:15-17 “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” What does it mean that the kingdom of heaven belongs to a child? People have to have the faith that a child has in order to go to heaven. Children trust their parents. We are to trust Jesus to save us with that same kind of humility. The children’s love for Jesus was quite different than the Pharisees and religious leaders who did not believe in Jesus.
Matthew 19: 13-15 “Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.” Why do you think that the disciples were trying to keep the children from seeing Jesus? They thought that Jesus was too busy to take time to talk to children. They did not understand how much Jesus loved them.
Matthew 18:1-6 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them, And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” How do you think we can be like the disciples today in church? We can forget that God loves everyone! We need to welcome everyone to church and encourage them to love and serve God. No one is to be turned away!
Have children record what they have learned in their spiritual journals.
Group Learning Activity: “A Chair for a Crown” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need chairs; tape or CD or DVD of "Jesus Loves Me"; Tape or CD or DVD Player; sticker or treats for each child; cardboard crown (available from Burger King® or Hallmark®, or you can make your own.) Procedure: This game is played similarly to the popular "musical chair" game, but with a different spin. Here there are no winners or losers. Place the chairs in a circle, one less than the number of children. Have the kids march around the chairs as you play the song "Jesus Loves Me." If you cannot find a tape or CD, you can simply sing the song, and if the children know the words, they can sing too. When you suddenly stop the music, or shout out the phrase "sit down!" the children all grab a chair and sit down. Give the one who does not find a chair a crown to wear while taking a few moments to tell the other children why he or she believes
Jesus loves him or her. This demonstrates that the child without the chair is not a “loser” because he or she did not find a chair, but that that child is special because of Jesus' love. When finished, take back the crown and give the child a sticker that says "Jesus Loves Me" or a treat. He or she can then sit out and watch the others. Remove another chair and continue play until everyone has a chance to wear the crown.
Craft Learning Activity: “Cross Cultural Collage” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need poster board, markers, scissors, glue, old magazines or a printed copy of the multicultural children template below for each group. You will also need red construction paper for the paper hearts. Procedure: Divide the class into groups. Have each group make a poster. On the poster they will first write the words, “Jesus Loves the Children of the World.” Write on the bottom of the poster the memory verse Mark 10:14 “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." The rest of the poster they will fill in with a collage of pictures cut out of the magazines of children or people of all different backgrounds. Give each child a large red heart. Have each child write his/her name on the heart and the message--"I will treat every person with love and kindness." Display the poster in the classroom as a reminder that Jesus was not prejudiced. He loves children from all cultures. Say: “In this lesson we learned that Jesus made a point to tell his disciples that he loves children!. Jesus said that anyone who doesn't love God just like children won't get to heaven. It takes humility to come to Jesus. It takes knowing that we're not good enough or smart enough to work things out our own way. Only those who believe in Jesus with the simple humble, and trusting faith of a child can be member of the family of God.” “Jesus has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Everyone from every land is loved by God. Jesus died on the cross to pay the debt of sin for all mankind. He desires that all come to Him for salvation. Our mission as children of God is to share the message of salvation with all.”
Say: "How many children are in this poster? How do these children look the same? How do they look different? (Volunteers answer.) We are all different from each other in some way. Jesus loves and cares for each of us every day. Lead the children in a prayer. Dear Jesus, thank You for loving us. We love you. In Jesus' name. Amen.”
Craft Learning Activity: “Welcome Mat” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need a piece of heavy construction or poster board or drawing paper and colored markers for each child. Procedure: Distribute the supplies to the children. Have students decorate their large poster board as their own welcome mat. Children can write parts of the Bible verse or Learning to Love as Jesus Love, or We are All Precious in His Sight, Jesus Loves Me, etc. on the welcome mat. Children should be encouraged to take the mats home or place them in from of other classroom doors. Say: “Jesus loves each one of us and He wants us to be a part of His family. He came to put out the welcome mat to heaven for us." Craft Learning Activity: “Heart Name Tags” (Grades 2-5) Preparation: You will need red poster board, a heart shaped cookie cutter or a template of a heart, a safety pin, and a variety of decorating items for the heart for each child. Procedure: Demonstrate to the children how to cut out name tags in the shape of a heart. You can give students a heart shaped cookie cutter to trace the outline on heavy tag board or a template you have prepared. Or you can precut the heart shape for younger children. Students can decorate the heart with stickers, colored markers, foam adhesive shapes, sparkling jewels, or glitter. Have students write their name on the name tag and write JESUS LOVES; or I AM PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT and decorate. Tape a safety pin to back of the name tag. Pin the heart name tag to the child's shirt with a safety pin. Say: “In this lesson Jesus said, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." This shows us just how much the Lord treasures the children who believe in Him.”
“Jesus came down from heaven to earth to show God’s love for us. He explained to His disciples why they needed to let the children come to Him: "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost." He was saying, "Children are lost, just like adults. They are sinners and in need of a Savior. Let them come to Me and be saved, and let them follow Me all the days of their lives."
Encourage children to demonstrate their love for God by being obedient to Him. Explain how a person becomes a child of God by A-Admitting that they are sinners; B-believing that Jesus is the Son of God; and C-Confessing their faith in Jesus by asking Jesus to be their Savior.
Craft Learning Activity: "Jesus Loves Me" Headbands (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need 3” X 24” poster board strips; marking pens; stickers; tape or stapler Procedure: Cut a 3 inch by 24 inch strip of poster board for each child. (You may need to tape two strips together if needed.) Measure a strip around each child' head and trim off the excess paper. Have students write on each strip of paper: "Jesus Loves _______(child's name)." Children are to use markers and stickers to decorate the poster board headbands. Tape the ends of the strips together to fit children's heads. Children are to wear their name headbands. Say: "The Bible tells us, "Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me." This verse helps us know how much Jesus loves us. Jesus loves and cares for us every day. One way Jesus cares for us is to listen to our prayers. When is a time that you pray to Jesus? (We pray at meals or bedtime).” Continue with other ways that Jesus shows His loves for us. (He shows His love for us by providing us with a home, family, parents, school, etc.) Optional: Say: "I see a name that begins with the letter A. Whose name begins with A? (Abby) Jesus loves Abby.” (Have the class repeat the sentence: Jesus loves Abby.) Do the same with all the letters that begin the names of the children in your class.
Craft Learning Activity: “I Am Precious to Jesus” (Grades K-5) Preparation: You will need printed photographs of each child (Take pictures a week in advance of lesson.); craft foam frames; stick on foam shapes, and permanent markers. Procedure: Print the photographs from last week. You will likely have children in class this week who were not in class last week. You can make a note for their parents to put a picture in the frame they’ve made, or you can check with church staff to see if they have equipment a volunteer could use to take pictures at the beginning of this session and print in time for the craft. Write, “I am precious to Jesus” in permanent marker on each frame. Give each child their picture and a frame. Help them tape the pictures into the frames; then let them decorate the frames with the stick-on craft foam shapes. See “Heart Name Tags” for the discussion of how children are valuable and loved by Jesus.
Craft Learning Activity: “Mirror” (Grades K-3) Preparation: You will need a printed copy of the template of the "Look Who Jesus Loves" on heavy cardstock paper for each child. You will also need a small mirror and tape. Procedure: Have children cut out the center blue section. (This step can be precut for younger children.) Place a small mirror behind the opening and tape to hold the mirror in place. Say: “Look in the mirror. Who do you see? (Child sees himself.) You are important and loved by Jesus! Jesus came to earth to bring us the gift of eternal life. He wants every child to be with Him forever.” See “Heart Name Tags” for the discussion of how children are valuable and loved by Jesus.
Craft Learning Activity: “Thumbprint Children” (Grades 3-5) Preparation: You will need white paper; fine point black pens; three stamp pads in different colors with non-toxic ink; and colored pencils. Procedure: Let each child press a finger or a thumb into the colored ink pads and stamp on a piece of paper. Make sure the child's thumb is covered with ink before "printing" on the white sheet of drawing paper. Each child can do several thumb prints and then draw different faces on each print with different slanted eyes or kinds of hair, etc and then add arms and legs. Use black fine point Sharpie pens to draw faces, hats, freckles, bow ties or whatever you would like on each of the thumbprint people. Children can write over the top of their thumbprint children: "All Are Precious in His Sight" Use discussion sentences to explain how all children are precious in His sight.
Life Application Challenge: “Stamps of Love” Preparation: You will need a washable red marker, a “love stamp”, or a stamp made from a raw potato and a red ink pad. Procedure: With washable red marker write “I love you, Jesus!” on each child’s palm. You can do this in the shape of a heart also. You can create a stamp cut out of potato if desired. If you would rather not stamp on their hands you can have them stamp on a blank sheet of paper. Say: “Jesus showed His love for children by welcoming them. Jesus loves us, too. Who are some people who show love to you? (We should show love to parents, grandparents, teachers, etc.) Jesus wants us to show love to others just like He has done for us.” “What are some ways we can show Jesus that we love Him? (We can pray, read our Bible, sing songs of praise, and tell others about Jesus.)” Lead children in a prayer of thanks to Jesus for His love. Say: "Because Jesus loves us so much, He wants us to be a part of God's family." (Talk with interested children about becoming members of God's family.)
