God is Love

BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE, I KNOW HE LOVES ME NO MATTER WHAT, AND HE HELPS ME TO LOVE OTHERS AS I LOVE MYSELF.

Nothing we do will take away His love for us...We need never fear that His blessings are a disguise for other intentions. All God's actions toward us flow out of His pure love for us.
-Bill Bright

Believe it or not, when it comes to God's Love, you're fighting a cultural tsunami. Daily our kids hear things such as: "Jesus may be one way to God but He's not the only way...that just wouldn't be loving!"

Is God really so cruel that He would let his own Son die a horrible death and then declare it unnecessary?

Our children need to hear that God's Love is Perfect -- Perfectly Just and Perfectly Merciful. His love is not swayed by human imperfections and injustice.

When your children experience what God's Love really is, they'll know how powerfully and how perfectly they're loved.

God's Love NEVER fails!

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. I John 4:16

How did you experience God's love today?
How did you show God's love to someone else today?
If you have a friend who isn't a Christian, what do you think they don't understand about God's love?
Is there something we can do as a family to show love to those less fortunate than us?

"ABIDE" FOR GOD IS LOVE

FAMILY NIGHT

DISCOVERING YOUR GOD-GIVEN LOVE LANGUAGE!

Prepare a dessert ahead of time. It's fun if you choose a "heart" theme! For example: heart candies, heart shaped cake, cookies, or brownies, etc.

You will also need:

Question cards (Download pdf of questions or write the questions out yourself on 3x5 cards)

Blank card or pieces of paper

Pencils or pens

Paper to keep score

Cards

ALSO... at the end of the Love Language Game, each person will select the heart that has their love language on it and write their name in the space provided. You can have them printed ahead of time. For the Hearts template download here:.

Hearts

The purpose of this Family Night Activity is to determine your God-given Love Language. Parents should read the questions below in preparation for the Family Night, but don't let your kids know what the love languages are until after you play the game! The Love Language Game will help each of you determine your unique Love Language as well as find out what everyone else's Love Language is!

INTRODUCE THE GAME...

Not everyone feels love the same way. For example, one little girl may feel loved most when her dad tells her he loves her, while another girl might love it more when he hugs her. Their brother, however, may like it best when his dad makes time to play with him. They each have a different Love Language. Tonight we're going to play a game that will help us discover what everyone's love language is!

NOTE: Play the game and then tell them about the Love Languages!

How to play:

The youngest person starts by drawing a question card.
Read the card aloud or have someone read it for you.
The person who drew the card is to write down his/her answer to the question--either A. or B. (may ask for help). The person may like both answers but he/she must choose the one they like best.
Everyone else is to write down how they think the person will answer the question.
When everyone is done the person to the right of the starter reads his/her answer and tells why they chose it.
Go around the circle until everyone has shared. Then the starter shares his/her answer and why he/she chose it.
Continue around the circle until all the questions have been asked. If you like, you can go around the circle with each question and let everyone answer the question for themselves and each other before moving to the next question.

Scoring:

Everyone who guessed correctly receives 1 point.
Everyone who did not answer correctly receives no points.
The starter does not receive points in this round.
The person with the most points at the end gets to have the first piece of dessert!

NOTE:
Some questions are more appropriate for older children and some for younger. If a question doesn't work for the child who drew it, have them draw another one.

Adults: answer the question as best you can even though the situations described are from a child's perspective.

DESSERT:

While you are enjoying dessert, talk about the five love languages.

Explain what a love language is and what each love language looks like. From the answers you heard during the game, have everyone talk about which love language they think they are and which one they think each person in your family or group is. You could even make hearts for each person and have them write their love language on it and post the hearts somewhere in the house as reminders during the week. A PDF of the hearts is in the 'What You Need' section above.

WHAT ARE THE LOVE LANGUAGES?

#1. WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT OR AFFIRMATION

you feel especially loved when someone tells you they appreciate you and are grateful for the things you do, big or small.

#2. QUALITY TIME

you feel especially loved when someone chooses to spend special time with you alone.

#3. RECEIVING GIFTS

you feel especially loved when someone gives you a gift, big or small, to let you know they've thought of you.

#4. ACTS OF SERVICE

you feel especially loved when someone offers to help you accomplish a task, or does something to serve you.

#5. PHYSICAL TOUCH

you feel especially loved when someone hugs you, wrestles with you, pats you on the back or appropriately touches you.

QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FOR DISCUSSION:

What do you think your primary Love Language is?
Are you surprised by someone's Love Language?
Why is it helpful to know what someone's Love Language is?

We tend to show others we love them through our own love language. This works great if their primary love language is the same as yours. It doesn't work well if they have a different one.

Do you think God has a Love Language? If so, which one is it?

We are going to explore God's Love. Let's see if our answer is the same at the end of the adventure as it is now!

NOTE: Have everyone select the heart with their love language on it and have them write their name in the space provided. You may want to have these printed ahead of time. Post them where everyone can see them as a reminder to look for ways to show love in each person's love language!

Close the evening by asking how understanding each others love language will make a difference in how you interact with each other this week.

FINAL NOTE:

We recommend you read Dr. Gary Chapman's Book "The Five Love Languages of Children." The fun activity you did tonight just scratches the surface of possibilities for understanding the Love Languages. The book will give you insight into how to best love your children and yourself and how to help them love others.

Scroll down to see Bonus Activities for God is Love

BIBLE TIMES: Click on the boxes below for the Bible Times (or Family Devotions) for God is All-Powerful:

INFLUENCE OTHERS - LOVE IN ACTION

Look at the list of Love Languages. Brainstorm how each of you can express love to someone in need this week. Let them know that you are doing this because of how much God loves you and how much He loves them.

TOUGH LOVE

Invite a child over to your home for the afternoon. Try to choose somebody that your child is having trouble loving. Bake and decorate heart shaped cookies. (Remember, you can buy refrigerated dough and sprinkles for an easy but tasty treat!) Play the tic tac toe game (one of the Bonus Activities) using coins or small candies for the game pieces. Encourage your children to share with their friend what God's love means to them, and that they hope they know how much God loves them. The conversation about God may end there, but it may lead to more questions... have the Four Fantastic Facts ready just in case!! If you have some left over cookies, send some home with the friend!

LOVE LETTERS

Have your child choose a few close friends to come over for an afternoon to play. Before they arrive do two things:

Help your child write or color a card for each friend to let them know how special they are and how much God loves them.
Encourage your child to think about what the friends would love to do rather than what they love to do. It may be the same thing, but the idea is to help them think of putting the friends first. Let your child help you plan a fun afternoon, full of things that he/she knows the friends would love to do.

JOURNAL JOTS:

Write a love letter to God in your journal. Be specific. Thank God for loving you. Tell Him ways you desire to show Him your love.

AND/OR:

Throughout the week, record in your journal all the ways God shows His love toward you. At the end of each day, write down or draw pictures of things you saw or experienced that communicated God's love. At the end of the week, read through your journal. Pray and thank God for the way He showed His love to you.

"FOR THE FUN OF IT" POET SOCIETY

Make up a funny (but sincere!) poem about the reasons you love each member of your family. Write them in your journal and recite it on a family night or after a family dinner.

GETTING CREATIVE

Have your child type or write out John 3:16 on a 1/2 piece of construction paper or a large index card. Place their name in the blanks. "For God so loved ( name ) that he gave his one and only Son, that if ( name ) believes in him, ( name ) shall not perish but have eternal life," (NIV). Decorate the card with glitter, paints, markers, etc. Glue or staple ribbon or yarn at the top for a hanger and have them hang in their room to remind them of God's love and the opportunity to have a personal relationship with God forever.

EXPERIENCE: GOD IS LOVE

It seems like we never lack opportunities to teach our children what God's love looks like in action, but it's easy to let those teachable moments slip away without recognizing them. Here are some possibilities:

Your child comes home upset because someone has been mean to him/her at school. Talk about how much you love him and God loves him. Then talk about how much God loves the mean person. Talk about how God might want them to respond to the person, in love.
Your child disobeys you. Discipline her, but make sure you communicate how much you love her and how much God loves her. Kids don't always like to hear it at the time, but it will leave a lasting impression on their hearts and minds! The better we are at disciplining in love, the better they will understand the fact that God loves them, even when He has to discipline them.
When you see a homeless person, ask if you and your child could buy him/her something to eat. Go buy some food or take them to a restaurant. Don't forget to talk to them about God's love!!

BONUS ACTIVITIES FOR GOD IS LOVE

Popcorn/Movie Night

Have a Popcorn/Movie Night. Watch "The Jesus Film for Children" or "The Nativity" (if age appropriate), reminding your child of God's love for them throughout the movie. Have a discussion with your child regarding the ways God demonstrated His love for them.
Have an "I love you day" for God. Discover ways you can express your love for God and then follow them out throughout the day.

Complete the Sentence

Complete the sentences with various statements: "I Know My PARENTS Love Me Because..." and "I know God Loves Me Because..." and "I Love God Because..." Have your child list inside each heart how they know you love them and how they know God loves them and then why they love God (you may need to assist your younger child by writing for them). Allow them to come up with their own ideas. If your child has difficulty expressing ways that God loves them don't worry. Use this exercise as an assessment tool to determine their understanding of God's love. By the end of the week, your child will have a clearer understanding of God's love and it will become valuable to them in the days to come. Parents: You may need to ask leading questions to help your child discover ways you show love to them and ways God demonstrates His love to them. Encourage them to list as many ways as possible.

God is Love Tic-Tac-Toe

Copy both the game board and the game pieces onto card stock paper. Cut out the game pieces. On the back of one of the red "X" heart game pieces write a verse about God's love. On the back of one of the pink "O" heart game pieces write a different verse. Play the tick-tac-toe game. Allow the winner of the game to read the verses and congratulate both players with a piece of candy or even a box of candy hearts.

Tic Tac Toe

pieces

Tic Tac Toe

Board

God is Love Maze

Begin at the starting point and find your way to the dove. Remember when God showed His love for those on the Ark by sending out a dove. It came back with a leaf indicating that the land was dry.

Maze for

young kids

Maze for

older kids

Word Mining Activity

(Ages 7-10) How many words can you make out of the statement: GOD IS LOVE!

Word

Mining

Return to Family Adventures!

Out of Darkness, Light

God is Love