Our Valentine session on 19th February 2023 focussed on love.
We started by making heart cookies, enough for us, and some for others to give as gifts.
We coloured hearts made of card, filling them-in with all the things and people we love. We talked about the word “love” and how it is used to express feelings about so many things. (people we love, food we love etc.)
We talked about how God’s love for us is the strongest, most amazing, never-ending love there is, and how he wants us to share that love with others.
We listened to song “Love God, Love people” by Danny Gokey, as we stuck our hearts on a board inside a very large heart, representing God’s love, knowing that God loves us and loves all the people we care about too. You can see the song on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ8D2Mx7tGg
We went back to our last session on Paul, to talk about what Paul said about love in his letter to the church in Corinth.
We read from 1 Corinthians 13
We acted out a play about two friends and how they showed love to one another.
In teams, the children had to guess from a set of placards, which quality was being displayed (kindness, patience, selflessness, forgiveness, trustworthiness, hope, protection, joy, perseverance.) They had no trouble recognising love in the way we treat others.
Moving on, we spoke about how it’s easy to love a friend that treats you well, but what about people that are harder to get-on with? We discussed this challenge, with a view on justice and abuse.
We read Matthew 5:43-48
We returned again to our previous session and Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. He was on his way to arrest and kill the Christians in Damascus when he was stopped in his tracks by a blinding light and a voice from Heaven. Blind and disoriented, he was helped to Damascus by his friends.
God spoke to one of the Christians in Damascus, a man called Ananias. God asked him to go to Saul and lay his hands on him and restore his sight. Ananias didn’t really want to do this, as he knew Saul to be an enemy, certainly not a friend, but, in the end, he did what God wanted and went to Saul and laid hands on him. Ananias showed Saul, now Paul, mercy and love. If he hadn’t, Paul may not have become a top-player for Jesus, spreading the Good News around the Mediterranean.
We read several more bible verses – Proverbs 10:12 and 1 Peter 4:8 Romans 5:5
John 13:34-35,
We watched a Superbook video showing Chris, the hero, being kind to someone who had done him wrong. You can watch this (we did up to 6 mins 25 secs) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdMKgOrHg9Q
We prayed with chocolate hearts thanking God for his gift of love. Thanking him for people we love and who love us and for help us to love others, how God loves. We thanked Him that love changes people and situations.
We wrote names on paper hearts folded them and floated them in water, then watched as the hearts opened in the water as though opening up that person’s heart to God’s love.
We tried a new action song “Shine”
Here it is- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Btbzli8sR1o
Coming up….
Don’t forget that the children will be taking part in a JAM Sponsored Walk in aid of Cancer Research on Thursday April 13th – there is a team sponsor sheet in The Hub, please support them, if you can.
We will be holding a beetle drive in The Hub over Easter (date coming soon), please come along and join the fun; we will be having pizza and pudding too!