The disciples thought Jesus was too busy to spend time with children. They were wrong. He corrected their thinking by saying, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them.”How long has it been since you spent time with Jesus – This morning? Yesterday? Last week? Too long? Be reminded as you walk through these activities with your kids this week that He loves you too and is never too busy to spend time with you. Make sure you are not too busy to spend time with Him.
HIGHLIGHTS from the Weekend…
This week your child learned that Jesus loves children. Jesus always has time for us, and we can talk to Him through prayer. Jesus was sitting with some of His followers, talking to them about families. Little children began to approach Him but were told by the disciples to go away. The disciples were afraid Jesus had more important things to say and do. Jesus quickly said, “No, let the little children come to me.” Jesus loves children, and everyone can come to Him. (Matthew 19:13‐14, Mark 10:13‐14, Luke 18:15‐17)
Teaching Truth:
- Jesus loves children
- Everyone can come to Jesus
Memory Verse
"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14
3 Activities that Help Us Learn That Jesus loves children and that everyone can go to him:
1. Child Collage
Cut out a large heart from construction paper. Then gather magazines, newspapers, old photos, this year’s Christmas cards, etc. Cut out pictures of children and let your child glue them to the heart making a collage. As you are cutting out the pictures, try to get all different kinds of children if you can. Then, once the collage is finished, point out some differences among the children…where they are from, different hairstyles, clothing, etc. Remind your child that Jesus loves all children no matter what they look like or where they live, and He wants them all to come to Him.
1. Was Jesus too busy to spend time with children?
2. Can we still come and talk to Jesus even though He’s not sitting in this room? Yes. How? Through prayer.
3. Does Jesus love children?
4. Does Jesus love you?
5. How do you feel when you know someone loves you?
2. Jesus Loves You
Sing this song with your child to the tune London Bridge:
“Who’s the child that Jesus loves
Jesus loves, Jesus loves?
Who’s the child that Jesus loves?
He loves (insert your child’s name here).”
Have two people form the bridge and let your child walk under the bridge while singing the song.Close the bridge when the song says, “He loves…”
3. Act it Out
Grab several paper towel tubes and cut them in half, so you have about six tubes. Then, cut 2-3 of those tubes in half again, so you will have about 3-4 large tubes and 4-6 smaller tubes.Help your child draw faces and clothes on all of the tubes. Choose one of the large tubes to be Jesus, make the other large tubes the disciples and the smaller tubes children. Read the story from the Bible about Jesus and the children and have your child act out the story using the tubes as the characters.
Pray
God, thank-you for giving us time this week to learn more about Jesus. Help us to write these words on our heart so that we will never forget your Truth- that we are found in Jesus and loved endlessly by Him!