Praise the LORD, all my soul. Do not forget His kindnesses. The LORD forgives me for all my sins. He heals all my diseases. He saves my life from the grave. HE CROWNS ME WITH LOVE and compassion. He satisfies me with good things… Psalms 103:2-5
CELEBRATION OF GOD’S LOVE FOR US
Lesson Plan pdf
PRAISE GOD AT THE CLASSROOM DOOR (GATEWAY):
GOD CROWNS ME WITH LOVE! Clap each word and repeat together.
WORKTABLES: worksheet pdf
- Printing: GOD CROWNS ME WITH LOVE
- Glueing: Glue colored heart cutouts along the top border of the printing strip.
SONG:
- Transition: Criss Cross Applesauce
- Call to worship: I Hear the Blowing of the Shofar
- Oh, Oh, Oh…I Want To Grow, Grow Grow / tune only on keyboard / actions to part 1
OPTIONAL SONGS:
- Love The Lord Your God With All Of Your Heart / songsheet pdf
- Love Each Other / songsheet pdf
BIBLE LESSON:
VISUALS: Psalms 103:2-5 LOVE CARDS
- God loves us. We are His creation and He cares very much about us.
- Our bible verse tells us 5 THINGS God does to show His love for us (lay out LOVE cards one at a time)
- 1. ❤️He forgives all our sins! When we do something wrong, our hearts feel sad. But when we tell God we are sorry for disobeying Him, He says, “I forgive you and I will help you do the right thing.” The BLOOD of JESUS washes all our sins away.
- 2. ❤️He heals all our diseases. God made us and heals us when we get sick. He is our GREAT HEALER.
- 3. ❤️He saves us from death and the grave. When someone who loves Jesus dies, Jesus makes that person come alive again and gives them a brand new healthy body in heaven where he or she will live forever with God. No more sickness. No more death.
- 4. ❤️He crowns us with love! Imaging yourself wearing an invisible crown of love! It is with you all the time and everywhere you go! His love will NEVER leave you.
- 5. ❤️He makes us happy with good things. God always wants good things for us. Jesus came to give us a full, happy life.
- Ok. Let’s turn over our LOVE cards and see if we can REMEMBER the 5 things God does to show us His love.
- Who can remember one of the ways…?
- Let students take turns recalling all 5 ways (prompt with cues if needed).
- GOD CROWNS ME WITH LOVE! Sign each word and repeat together.
PRAYER: pdf
- When you hear this Bible Truth, that God CROWNS you with His love, what do you want to say to HIM?
- Write individual responses in prayer dialogue box.
- End the prayer time by praying for the whole class: “Father, thank you for your great love for us. Thank you for sending Jesus to wash away our sins and give us new, happy hearts. Thank you for putting invisible crowns of love on our heads. We love you! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
FREE PLAY IN CENTERS:
- Release the children, one at a time with HEART play cards, to play in centers.
- CRAFT: Call the children, one at a time, to staple each crown to size. They may wear them during class or put in their mailboxes to take home.
- DRY TABLE: White sand / heart foil hearts / various shops and containers / balance scale
- PLAY DOUGH: heart cookie cutters / pink, red and white play dough
- KITCHEN: Special table cloth / Heart Donuts
- TRAIN TABLE: Transform to Post Office / Toy Mailbox / Valentine’s: GOD LOVES YOU! / Stamps and Ink
- EASEL: Decorating Cardboard Hearts for heart garland
Advanced preparation: cardboard cutouts, paint back solid red with whiteout lettering
Students decorate one side of heart:
String together to form a garland:
CLEAN-UP:
Students must tidy up the centers where they were playing when the timer rang. Teachers/Helpers oversee this activity. Students learn to sort and return items to their proper place. In so doing, they are learning to take care of the classroom. It also helps them be prepared for dismissal. Once the centers are tidy, students move to the BOOK NOOK and quietly look at books.
BOOK NOOK COLLECTION:
GAME:
If parents have not arrived after 5 minutes of quiet reading, lead the children in a game of LOVE EACH OTHER (or Bean Bag Toss, Duck Duck Goose, Doggie Doggie Who Has My Bone, I Spy, etc).
DISMISSAL:
Assign an adult to greet parents/guardians.
Call students ONE AT A TIME when families arrive. Prompt the remaining student to call out, “GOODBYE (student’s name).”
Families check mailboxes. Today’s TAKE HOME: Crowns / SPECIAL VALENTINE SNACK