Lesson 4: Love your enemies.
Passage: Luke 6:27-31 - Jesus teaches his followers that they must love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and pray for those who mistreat them. Furthermore, if someone were to slap them on one cheek, they should turn to them the other one too, and if someone were to take their coat, they should give them their shirt too. They should give to anyone who asks and not demand back something that was taken from them. They should do to other what they would have done to them.
Big Idea: Loving like Jesus.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: Nobody Hugs a Cactus
(Grades 1-3 will use the book first and then pass it on to Pre-K )Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
For the last couple of Sundays we’ve been learning about the teachings of Jesus! Last week we learned about how about Jesus said that we are blessed by God even when we go through hard things. That means that God is with us and God loves us and takes care of us.
What’s something that makes you really happy?
Today we’re going to be learning about another one of Jesus’ lessons. Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In this story we learned that Jesus told his friends to love their enemies. Does anyone know what an enemy is?
Is it easy or hard to love someone who isn’t nice to us or who we don’t get along with?
Why do you think Jesus told us to love everyone, even the people who are not nice to us or that we don’t really like?
Do you think that Jesus loved even the people who were not nice to him?
What are some good things we can do when other people aren’t being kind to us? How can we show them God’s amazing love?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus we learned about today about how Jesus said that we should love our enemies, the people who aren’t nice to us or who we don’t really like that much. When we love people we are being like Jesus who loves everyone no matter who they are or what they did, even the people who were mean to him. Please help us to be more and more like Jesus and think of ways that we can show God’s love to everyone around us. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Paper Cactus — Activity Leader
Kids will glue together and colour their own paper cactus.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Storytime — Activity Leader
Read: Nobody Hugs a Cactus
(When you are done with the book, pass it along to the Pre-K class)
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are continuing our series about the teachings of Jesus! Last week we learned about the Beatitudes, which means The Blessings! We learned that Jesus said things like “blessed are the poor” and “blessed are the hungry” and “blessed are you when others treat you badly.” What we learned from that is that we are so blessed by God even when life is hard, because God is with us and takes care of us.
Well this week we’re going to be hearing another one of Jesus’ teachings. So let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In this story we learned about Jesus’ teaching on loving our enemies. Can anyone tell us what an enemy is?
Are there people you know who you don’t really get along with or who aren’t the nicest to you?
Why do you think Jesus said that we should love our enemies and do good to those who are not good to us?
Do you think that Jesus also did the same thing? Who were Jesus’ enemies that he loved in the Bible stories?
What are some ways we can show God’s love to people who we don’t get along with or who aren’t kind to us?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus we learned about today about loving even our enemies and those who we don’t get along with. Sometimes Jesus’ teachings are really tough to follow but when we do them we become more like Jesus. We know that Jesus loved his enemies, treated them well even thought they wanted to hurt him, and even prayed for them. Please help us to be loving and kind to everyone, no matter who they are or how we feel about them. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Cactus Hand Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will trace their hand onto green paper and cut it out. They will then glue it together with a brown paper pot to make their cactus.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: Noodle Pickup — Activity Leader
For this game, you will need uncooked spaghetti and uncooked penne pasta. Each player has a hard spaghetti noodle in their mouth and has to use it to try to pick up six penne noodles without using their hands.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is week 4 of our new series on Jesus’ teachings.
Can anyone remember the story that we learned about the Beatitudes? What’s a Beatitude?
Who were the people that Jesus said were blessed? What was the big lesson we learned from that?
Today we’ll be hearing another one of Jesus’ teachings. Let's watch our video to find out more...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story, Jesus is teaching his followers about loving their enemies, doing good and praying for those who mistreat them. What do you think about this teaching?
Do you have people in your life who you don’t get along with or don’t like very much? What do you think of Jesus saying that you need to love those people?
Did Jesus practice what he preached? Can you think of a time in the Bible stories where Jesus loved people who hated him? (ie. the time when he was being arrested and Peter cut someone’s ear off to defend Jesus, but Jesus healed him instead)
What about a time when Jesus prayed for his enemies? (ie. the time when Jesus was on the cross and prayed for those who put him there, asking God to forgive them)
What are some ways that you can show God’s love and kindness to people who you dislike or who treat you badly? How do you think they will react to that?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the teaching of Jesus we learned about today about loving our enemies, blessing and praying for those who mistreat us. It’s a really tough teaching to follow, but when we do that we know that we are becoming more like Jesus who did practiced what he preached. Please fill us with your love and goodness so that loving others, no matter who they are, will come naturally to us. We pray that those who hurt us will also be filled with your love. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Activity: Cactus Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will build their own cactus with the materials provided.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Who did Jesus say were the people that we should love and be kind to?
Is it easy or hard to love someone who isn’t nice to you? Why do you think Jesus taught us to do that?
Do you think that Jesus loved people who were not nice to him? How did he show love to them?
What are some ways that you can show God’s love to someone who you don’t get along with or who isn’t being nice to you?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think about Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies and do good to those who are not good to us?
Did Jesus practice what he preached? Can you think of some ways that Jesus loved people who hated him?
What are some ways that you can react to people who aren’t treating you well or who you don’t really get along with?
Do you think people would be surprised if you are kind to them even when they are being unkind to you? How might that change their hearts?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What do you think about Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies and do good to those who hate or mistreat us? Is it a hard teaching to follow?
Are there people in your life who you don’t really get along with or who don’t treat you well? How do you normally react to them?
How did Jesus react to those who hated him and mistreated him? What are some examples from the Bible?
How do you think showing God’s love to those who are unkind to you might change their perspectives and their hearts?
