2025-11-23 God’s Gift of Love to Us
Introduction
This week begins our Christmas series focusing on God’s greatest gift—Jesus. Children will learn that God showed His love by sending Jesus into the world, born in a simple stable in Bethlehem. Through a shortened and child-friendly retelling of the Christmas story, children will see that Jesus is God’s love given to us. We will wrap up by helping children reflect on how much God loves them and how they can receive and share that love.
Main Ideas:
- Sinners are separated from God and helpless to save themselves.
- In His love, God made a way to cover the sin of His people.
- People must come to God by faith, trusting and obeying Him.
Praise and Worship (15 mins)
Parents: The parent and child scheduled for this week will lead us in singing on Sunday. Please take time to practice the songs together at home, helping your child feel confident and joyful as they prepare to lead.
Suggested Songs:
Prayer and Offering (5 mins)
Parents: Please encourage your children to bring an offering to church. You may help your child prepare by setting aside a coin for them to bring on Sunday. This is a great opportunity to teach them about giving to God with a thankful heart and trusting Him to provide.
What is Offering?
Offering is when we give something to God to show our love and thankfulness. In church, we often give money as an offering, but we can also give our time, talents, and kindness to God and others.
Why Do We Make an Offering?
To Thank God – Everything we have comes from God! Giving back is a way to say, "Thank You, God!"
To Trust God – When we give, we show that we trust God to take care of us.
To Help Others – Offerings help the church teach about Jesus, help people in need, and share God's love.The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7,
"God loves a cheerful giver!" That means God is happy when we give with a joyful heart!
Prayer for Offering
Dear God, thank You for giving us everything we need. We want to give back to You with joyful hearts. Please use our offering to help others and share Your love. Help us to always trust You. In Jesus' name, Amen!
Review Verse from Last Week
Romans 3:23 -
"Good morning, everyone! Last week we learned that all people are born sinners because of Adam. Let's review our memory verse together. Can anyone remember it?"
(Give children time to respond. If they struggle, help them by saying the first few words.)
"Wonderful! Let's say it together with our hand motions."
"...for all" - Spread arms wide, gesturing to everyone in the room
"have sinned" - Cover your heart with both hands, head bowed slightly
"and fall short" - Jump forward slightly, then shake your head "no" to show you didn't make it
"of the glory of God," - Point up to heaven with both index fingers
"Romans 3:23" - Hold up 3 fingers, then 2 fingers (pause), then 3 fingers
(Lead children in saying the verse with motions 2-3 times. Be enthusiastic and encouraging!)
"Excellent! Last week we learned that all people are born sinners because of Adam. We all have sinful hearts that cannot show God how special He is. We can't fix our sinful hearts by ourselves. Today we're going to learn about God's amazing plan to help sinners come to Him. Are you ready? Let's begin!"
Bible Story (10 min)
Introduction (1 min)
Leader Says:
“Today we are beginning a special Christmas series called ‘The Greatest Gifts of Christmas.’ At Christmas, we receive presents, but the greatest gift ever is the one God gave us—Jesus.”Interaction Question (hands up):
“Raise your hand if you’ve ever received a gift you really loved. What was it?”
(Allow 2–3 quick responses.)“Those gifts are wonderful, but today we’ll hear about a gift even better!”
Story Telling (5 min)
Bible Verse: Luke 2:11
Bottom Line: God’s gift of love is Jesus.
Use expressive voice and signs of excitement.
Leader Tells the Story:
“About 2,000 years ago, something amazing happened.
A young woman named Mary was visited by an angel!”Open-Ended Question:
“What do you think you would feel like if an angel suddenly appeared in your room?”
(Allow a few responses—surprised, scared, excited.)“The angel told Mary she would have a baby named Jesus, God’s Son. Mary didn’t understand everything, but she trusted God.”
“Mary was going to marry Joseph, and God told Joseph in a dream that this baby was special—a gift from God.”
Interaction Moment:
“Let’s all pretend we’re sleepy Joseph waking up from a dream…”
(Children stretch, yawn, blink dramatically.)“Well done! That’s how Joseph might have felt waking up to such big news!”
“Later, Mary and Joseph traveled to a town called Bethlehem. But when they arrived, the town was so full that every place to stay was taken.”
Open-Ended Question:
“How would you feel if you were tired from a long trip and couldn’t find anywhere to sleep?”
(Allow answers.)“Finally, they found a place where animals stayed—a stable. That’s where baby Jesus was born.”
Interaction Moment:
“Let’s pretend to make animal sounds like the ones in the stable!”
(Sheep, cows, donkeys for 5 seconds.)
“Wow! That’s probably what Mary and Joseph heard too.”“Nearby, shepherds were watching their sheep. Suddenly, a bright light filled the sky and angels appeared, saying: ‘A Savior has been born! Go and see Him!’”
Open-Ended Question:
“If you were a shepherd and saw angels appear in the sky, what would you think?”“The shepherds hurried to find baby Jesus. They were so amazed that they told everyone what they had seen.”
“Jesus came because God loves us so, so much.
Jesus is God’s greatest gift of love.”
Wrap-up & Discussion (4 min)
Leader Says:
“Jesus was born because God loves every one of you—your faces, your hearts, your whole lives. God gave us Jesus so that we could know Him and feel His love every day.”Ask the following open-ended questions:
Why do you think Jesus is God’s greatest gift?Which part of the Christmas story do you think you would want to see if you were there? Why?
What is one way you can show God’s love to someone this week—at school, at home, or with a friend?
Closing Prayer for Bible Story
(Invite children to bow their heads and fold their hands.)
Leader:
“Let’s pray together.”Simple Closing Prayer:
“Dear God, thank You for loving us so much that You sent Jesus. Help us to remember Your love and share it with others. Amen.”
Memorizing Verse: HebrewsLuke 9:22b & Hebrews 11:6a2:11
HebrewsLuke 9:22b2:11"...without11 Today in the sheddingtown of bloodDavid therea isSavior nohas forgivenessbeen of sins."
Hebrews 11:6a"And without faith it is impossibleborn to pleaseyou; him,"
Introduce the Verses
Teacher:"We have two special memory verses today! These verses teach us the most important things from our lesson. Let's learn what they mean first, then we'll memorize them."
Teacher:"Let's look at Hebrews 9:22b first."
"...without the shedding"- This means "without pouring out." When an animal was killed for sacrifice, its blood was "shed" or poured out.
"of blood"- Thishe is theblood fromMessiah, theanimalLord.sacrifice.Christmas
Remember,MinibloodIntrorepresents
life. Without blood, we die.
"there is no forgiveness"- Forgiveness means being pardoned or having your sin covered. This phrase means you cannot have forgiveness without blood.
"ofsins"- These are our wrong actions and thoughts that make God angry.
Teacher:"So this verse means: You cannot have your sins forgiven unless blood is shed. God requires blood to cover sin. This shows us how serious sin is!"
(Pause.Let this sink in.)
Teacher:"Now let's look at Hebrews 11:6a."
"And without faith"- Faith means trusting and believing God. It means doing what God says because you believe He's right.
"it is impossible"- This means it CANNOT happen. There's no way!
"to please him,"- This means to make God happy.
Teacher:"So this verse means: If you don't have faith in God, you cannot make Him happy. You cannot please God without trusting and obeying Him."
Teacher:"Remember Abel? He had faith! He trusted God and obeyed God. That's why God was pleased with him. Cain did not have faith. He didn't trust or obey God. That's why God was not pleased with Cain."