2027-01-17 Jesus Loves Sinners
Service date: Sunday, January 17, 2027
Truth78 Lesson 31: Jesus Loves Sinners
Introduction
In this lesson, children will learn that Jesus loves sinners. We start by looking back at many of the wonderful things Jesus has done in our lessons: He was born to save sinners, taught them, healed them, welcomed them, calmed their fears, fed them, looked for them when they were lost, brought them joy, and served them. The Bible says Jesus did so many other things that the whole world could not hold all the books (John 21:25). Why was Jesus so good to sinners who deserved punishment? At His last special meal with His disciples, Jesus told them: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you" (John 15:9). Jesus loves sinners, not because we are special, but because of how special He is. And He was about to show how great that love is: "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
Teachers: This lesson talks plainly about Jesus going to die. Keep it calm and hopeful for young children: Jesus chose to do it because He loves His friends, and (as we will learn soon) the story does not end there. For the "How much do you love this treat?" activity, make sure the treat is safe for any children with food allergies.
Main Ideas:
- Jesus Did So Many Good Things for Sinners: More than all the books in the world could hold.
- Jesus Loves Like His Father: Everything Jesus did for sinners came from God's great love. "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you."
- Not Because We Are Special: Sinners deserve death. Jesus loves us because He is love, not because we earned it.
- The Greatest Love: Jesus freely chose to lay down His life so that sinners who trust in Him can be His friends forever.
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.
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!”
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7,
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.
"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
Teachers: Review Matthew 20:28 from Lesson 30, Jesus Serves Sinners, taught on January 10, 2027.
Matthew 20:28
[Jesus said,] "...the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Bible Story (10 min)
Introduction: "Remember When?" (3 min)
Props Needed:
- Lesson Review visuals from past lessons (or the pages from those lessons): Mary and Joseph (13B), Sower (17A), Healing the Paralytic (19A), Samaritans (22B), Jesus Calms Storm (23D), Jesus with Loaves and Fish (24A), Jesus the Shepherd (27B), Jesus Enters Jerusalem (29B), Washing Feet (30C)
- Darkened Heart and the Death sign from Lesson 5
- A stack of books (as many as you can easily carry)
Teacher: "We have learned SO many true stories about Jesus. Let's see how many you remember! When I hold up a picture, shout out what Jesus did."
(Hold up each visual quickly. Let the children call out answers, then give the short summary.)
- Mary and baby Jesus: "Jesus was born to save sinners!"
- The sower: "Jesus TEACHES sinners!"
- The man let down through the roof: "Jesus HEALS sinners!"
- The Samaritans: "Jesus WELCOMES all kinds of sinners!"
- The storm: "Jesus CALMS fearful sinners!"
- The loaves and fish: "Jesus SATISFIES sinners!"
- The shepherd: "Jesus SEEKS lost sinners!"
- Riding into Jerusalem: "Jesus brings JOY to sinners!"
- Washing feet: "Jesus SERVES sinners!"
Interaction: "Wow! Give yourselves a big clap for remembering!"
(Pick up the stack of books.)
Teacher: "Those are only SOME of the things Jesus did. The Bible says that if someone wrote down every single thing Jesus did, the whole world couldn't hold all the books! That's even more books than a whole library!"
Interaction: "Stretch your arms as wide as you can: that many books!"
(Hold up the Darkened Heart, then the Death sign.)
Teacher: "But wait. What kind of hearts do sinners have? Dark hearts. And what does God say sinners deserve? Death. So why was Jesus SO good to sinners? Was it because sinners deserved it? Let's find the answer in the Bible."
Story Telling: Jesus' Last Supper With His Friends (7 min)
Props / Visuals Suggested:
- Last Supper visual (31A)
- Shiny Heart, Darkened Heart, and Red Heart (31B)
- Death sign
- Savior and Friend visual (31C), save for future lessons
- Bible
Part 1: "I'm Going Away" (2 mins)
(Open the Bible to John 13. Show the Last Supper visual.)
Teacher: "Remember last week? Jesus washed His friends' feet. Then they ate a special supper together. When the meal was over, Jesus had something very important to tell them."
Interaction: "Everyone lean in close, like Jesus' friends, so you can hear."
Teacher: "Jesus said, 'I am going away very soon. Where I am going, you cannot come right now.' How do you think His friends felt?"
Interaction: "Show me a sad face."
Teacher: "They were upset! They loved Jesus. They wanted Him to stay. But Jesus said, 'Let not your hearts be troubled. I am going to get a place ready for you, so that you can be with Me forever.'"
Part 2: Why Jesus Does It All (2 mins)
Teacher: "Then Jesus told them WHY He had done all those wonderful things. He said, 'As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.'"
Interaction: "Point up to God the Father, then cross your arms over your chest in a big hug."
Teacher: "God the Father loves Jesus with a perfect, never-ending love. And Jesus loves His friends with that same kind of love! Teaching, healing, feeding, finding, serving: Jesus did it all because He LOVES sinners."
(Hold up the Darkened Heart.)
Teacher: "Does Jesus love us because our hearts are so shiny and good?"
Interaction: "Shake your head: 'No!'"
Teacher: "No. Jesus loves sinners not because WE are special, but because of how special HE is. Jesus IS love."
Part 3: The Greatest Love (3 mins)
(Hold up the Death sign.)
Teacher: "Sinners deserve death. But Jesus loves sinners so much that instead of giving us death and punishment..." (Put down the Death sign and hold up the Savior and Friend visual.) "...He wants to be our Savior and our Friend!"
Interaction: "Give the person next to you a high five: 'Friend!'"
Teacher: "But to be our Savior, Jesus had to do something very, very hard. The hardest thing of all. Jesus would have to die on the cross, to take the punishment that sinners deserve. Listen to what Jesus said: 'Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.'"
Interaction: "Everyone, stretch your arms out wide like the cross. This is how much Jesus loves."
Teacher: "Nobody made Jesus do it. Jesus CHOSE to give His life, because He loves His friends. That is the biggest love there is!"
(Swap the Darkened Heart for the Red Heart.)
Teacher: "And who are Jesus' friends? Jesus said, 'You are my friends if you do what I command you.' Jesus' friends are people who trust Him and love to obey Him."
Interaction: "Say with me: 'Jesus loves sinners!'"
Review with Actions
Teacher: "Let's remember it with actions!"
- Teacher: "Jesus did SO many good things." (Stretch arms wide: "That many books!")
- Teacher: "Sinners deserve death." (Point to your heart, then shake your head sadly.)
- Teacher: "Jesus had a special supper with His friends." (Pretend to eat.)
- Teacher: "As the Father loves Jesus, Jesus loves us." (Point up, then hug yourself.)
- Teacher: "Jesus wants to be our Savior and Friend." (High five a neighbour.)
- Teacher: "Jesus chose to lay down His life." (Arms out wide like a cross.)
Teacher: "Now faster!"
- "Books!" (Arms wide.)
- "Sinners!" (Point to heart.)
- "Supper!" (Eat.)
- "Love!" (Point up, hug.)
- "Friend!" (High five.)
- "Greatest love!" (Arms wide.)
Wrap-up & Discussion (4 min)
(Gather children close for reflection. Hold up an allergy-safe treat.)
How Much Do You Love This Treat?
Teacher: "I bet you'd LOVE to have this treat right now! Let's see how much you love it. Would you jump up and down five times to get it?"
(Let them jump.)
Teacher: "Would you clean up the whole church to get it? Would you give away all your toys to get it? Would you give away your pet?"
(Let them react. Most will say no to the last ones.)
Teacher: "You like the treat. But you don't love it THAT much! Jesus' love is much, much bigger. Jesus gave His very life for His friends. Nobody has a bigger love than that."
(Save the treat for snack time.)
Discussion Questions:
Question: "Why did Jesus do so many wonderful things for sinners?"
Teacher Key: Because He loves sinners, with the same love His Father has for Him.
Question: "Does Jesus love us because we are good?"
Teacher Key: No. We are sinners and deserve death. Jesus loves us because He is love, not because we earned it.
Question: "Our moms and dads love us too. Do they only love us when we're good?"
Teacher Key: No, they love us even when we do wrong. But moms and dads are sinners too, so they can't love perfectly. Jesus loves perfectly. Think how much MORE Jesus loves!
Question: "What is the greatest love anyone can show?"
Teacher Key: To give your life for your friends. That is what Jesus chose to do on the cross.
Question: "How can we tell someone is Jesus' friend?"
Teacher Key: Jesus' friends trust Him and love to obey Him (John 15:14).
Question: "How can we show Jesus we love Him back?"
Teacher Key: Trust Him, obey Him, thank Him, and sing praises to Him. We love because He first loved us.
Teacher: "This week, every night before bed, say 'Thank You, Jesus, for loving me!' with your family."
Closing Thought & Prayer
Teacher: "Jesus did more good things for sinners than all the books in the world could hold. He did them all because He loves sinners. Not because we are special, but because He is. And Jesus showed the biggest love of all: He chose to lay down His life for His friends. What a Savior!"
(Fold hands and bow heads.)
Prayer: "Dear Jesus, thank You for all the wonderful things You have done. We don't deserve Your love, but You love sinners anyway, just like Your Father loves You. Thank You for choosing to give Your life for Your friends. Help us to trust You, obey You, and love You most of all. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Memorizing Verse: John 15:13
John 15:13
[Jesus said,] "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends."
Hand Gestures:
- "Greater love": Make a heart with your hands, then move it up high (bigger, greater!).
- "has no one than this,": Shake your head "no one," then hold up one finger ("this").
- "that someone lay down": Move both hands slowly downward, palms down.
- "his life": Place both hands on your chest.
- "for his friends.": Put your arms around the shoulders of the children beside you (or hug yourself).
Teacher Tip: Explain that "lay down his life" means to choose to die for someone else. Remind children that Jesus wasn't forced. He chose to do it because He loves His friends. Say the verse three times: whisper it, say it normally, then say it big and joyful.
Craft & Game (10 mins)
Game: "Remember When?" Relay
A quick review of the Jesus stories from this unit. Children race to match a "Jesus ___ sinners" action word to each picture.
⏰ Time: 5 minutes
👧 Age Group: 4-6 years
🧩 Lesson Connection: Reviews how much Jesus did for sinners, and that all of it came from His love.
🪜 Setup & Materials Needed:
- The Lesson Review visuals from the story introduction, laid face up at one end of the room
- A red paper heart for each child
🎲 How to Play:
Step 1: Children line up at the other end of the room, each holding a red heart.
Step 2: Call out an action, for example: "Jesus HEALS sinners!" or "Jesus FEEDS sinners!"
Step 3: One child runs (or hops, or tiptoes) to the picture that matches, places a red heart on it, and runs back.
Step 4: Keep going until every picture is covered with hearts.
Step 5: Point to all the hearts: "Why did Jesus do ALL of these things?" Everyone shouts: "Because Jesus loves sinners!" Say John 15:13 together with the hand gestures.
Craft: "Greater Love" Card
Adapted from the source lesson's optional activity. Each child makes a folded card with the memory verse to give to a grandparent, friend, or neighbour.
Materials: Light-coloured construction paper folded in half (one per child), markers or crayons, red heart stickers or red paper hearts, glue sticks. Before class, write on the front: "Greater ______ has no one than this..." and on the inside top: "...that someone lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
The Activity:
- Step 1: On the front, children fill the blank with a big heart (draw it or glue on a red heart). "What goes in the blank? Love!"
- Step 2: Inside, children draw a picture of Jesus and themselves, or of the person who will receive the card.
- Step 3: Teachers help write the child's name and "Jesus loves sinners!" at the bottom.
- Take Home: Children give the card to someone this week and tell them: "Jesus loves sinners so much that He gave His life for His friends." Practice John 15:13 with your family each night.
Response Song
Closing Prayer & Snack Time (10 mins)
"Dear Jesus, thank You for loving sinners like us. Thank You that Your love is bigger than any other love. You chose to lay down Your life for Your friends. Help us to be Your friends who trust You and obey You. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Now, let us thank You for the snack we’re about to enjoy.
We fold our hands.
We bow our heads.
We thank You, God,
for this daily bread.
Amen.