“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Day 1-God is Love

• Pray.
• Review the memory verse.
• Say, “This week we are focusing on love. What would you say love is?”
• Read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a.
• Go through each characteristic of love with your kids, giving further explanation if necessary. (HCSB and NIV seem to have the most kid-friendly wording of this passage.)
• Ask, “If I put all of those things together, Who would I be describing?”
• Say, “God is all of those things because God IS love!”
• Read 1 John 4:7-8.
• Ask, “What are we to do? Where does love come from? Finish my sentence: Everyone who loves is _________ of God and _______ God. What is God?
• Read 1 John 4:9-10.
• Ask, “How did God show His love for us? Who loved first-us or God (1 John 4:19)? Why does God deserve our love?
• Read 1 John 4:11.
• Ask, “What are we to do? Why?”
• Older kids can also read/meditate/journal 1 John 4:15-21 by themselves. If you want to discuss with them later about what they read, you can, but it is important for them to practice time alone in God’s Word as well.
• Ask, “How are you going to love today?”
• Activity:
  • Write “love notes” to your brothers or sisters telling them why you love them.
  • Draw a big heart on a piece of paper. Have kids glue squares of tissue paper or colored paper inside the heart. Write ‘God is Love’ on the top.

Day 2-Jesus Loves

• Pray.
• Review the memory verse.
• Today we are going to see how Jesus loved a woman who knew she needed Him.
• Read Luke 8:40-48.
• Review what you just read in your own words:
  • A man came to Jesus, begging Him to come to his house because his 12 year old daughter was dying.
  • Many people wanted to follow Jesus so it was very crowded as they walked to the man’s house.
  • A woman who had been very sick for 12 years was in the crowd. She had tried everything to get better, but nothing had worked. She knew that if she just got close enough to Jesus to touch Him, she would be okay.
  • Right when she touched His cloak, she knew she was better; she could feel it!
  • Jesus felt it too. The woman told Jesus everything, and He showed His great love for her by calling her His Daughter.
• Explain how back then people who were sick like this woman was would have to have been separated from others so as not to make anyone else “unclean”. (Leviticus 15:25-30)
• Ask, “How do you think she felt after all those years?”
• Jesus shows us the great love He has for all of us in this passage. Even the smallest touch He noticed. He notices all of us too, no matter how big or small we are, or how smart we are, or how good we are at sports or music. He sees each of us.
• Ask, “What does Jesus call the woman in verse 48?”
• Ask (older kids), “What feelings do you get when you hear your mom or dad call you their daughter or son? What significance do those words carry?”
• Ask (younger kids), “What feelings do you get when I call you my daughter or son? Does it make you feel safe? Does it make you feel cared for? Does it make you feel loved?”
• That’s exactly what Jesus was saying to the woman that day. Because of her faith in Him, she was His child and she was loved.
• Jesus loves you too. We are sick like this woman was, but our sickness is our sin. When we have faith and ask Jesus to be our Savior and forgive our sins, He heals us and calls us His children (1 John 3:1-2, Galatians 3:26)-His daughters and sons.
• Ask (older kids), “What feelings do you get when you hear Jesus calling you His daughter or son? What significance do those words carry?”
• Ask (younger kids), “How does it make you feel to know that Jesus calls you His daughter or son? Does is make you feel safe? Does it make you feel cared for? Does it make you feel loved?”
• If your kids are wondering what happened to the man’s 12 year old daughter, keep reading in Luke 8:49-56.

Day 3-A Father’s Love

• Pray.
• Review the memory verse.
• When Jesus was on the earth He told His followers stories, called parables, to help them understand more about God. Today we are going to be reading one of those parables. It shows us the great love a father has for a child, but it also shows us the great love that the Heavenly Father has for his children.
• Read or tell in your own words Luke 15:11-24. Be sure to read verse 20 directly from the Bible. You may want to have older children read through verse 32.
• For younger children, this would be a great story to use Little People or other small toys to represent the people involved in the story.
• Check for understanding
  • The son asked for his inheritance- the money he wasn’t suppose to receive until after his father had died (verse 12).This shows his selfishness.
  • How did the son spend his money? Was he wise in how he behaved?
  • Do you know what a famine is (verse 14)?
  • What became his job?
  • How did the Father react when he saw his son?
  • The father loved his son! How can we tell?
    • saw him from far away
    • felt compassion for him
    • ran to him
    • hugged and kissed him
  • If you were the father, what do you think you would have done?
  • What do you think Jesus was wanting to teach the people as he told them this story?
• The boy had really messed things up. He had made a lot of mistakes and had hurt the people he loved. BUT-his father loved him, and because he loved him, he forgave him. The son had a good life back home with his father.
• This shows us a picture of God’s love for us. We mess up all the time (sin), but He loves us and is always ready to forgive us. When we come to Him and confess our sin and admit our need for a Savior, He is so quick to forgive us and give us a new, better life with Him!
• Challenge: Can you show love today by forgiving others even though they may have messed up really badly?

Day 4-When We Love, We Serve

• Pray.
• Review the memory verse.
• Ask, “What fruit have we been focusing on this week? Can you name some people who love you? How do you know they love you?”
• Jesus loved His disciples. We will read today how He showed them His love. Encourage your children to be listening as you read for the way Jesus loved His disciples.
• Read John 13:1-5.
• Jesus loved His disciples. He knew the time of His suffering and death was very near, yet He chose to use that time to serve His disciples to teach them one more thing about God’s perfect love for them.
• Ask, “What did Jesus do that showed He loved His disciples? How did this prove His love for them?”
• Have your children consider the setting of this story. It took place a very long time ago when there were no cars or paved roads. It was dusty and dirty, and the people had to walk everywhere. Have them think about what their feet may have been like after a long day outside. Explain that footwashing was a job that would have been done by the lowest-ranking slaves in the house. The master of the house certainly would not have washed his guests’ feet, but yet Jesus did.
• Read John 13:12-15.
• Ask, “What two names did Jesus say the disciples called Him?”
  • Tip: a good, kid-friendly definition for the word ‘Lord’ is ‘Boss’.
• Ask, “Jesus said we should follow His example. So does that mean we should just go around washing everyone’s feet? What is the deeper meaning He was teaching?”
• Jesus is the King of Kings, the Master of all of us. By washing the disciples’ feet, He was showing us that when we love others, we should serve them. He was showing them that people see God’s perfect love in us when we put others’ needs ahead of our own, when we make their needs more important than our own.
• Ask, “How can we as a family serve others this weekend to show them that we love them and, more importantly, that God loves them? How can you serve someone in our house today to show them your love for them?”
• Have one of your children pray, thanking God for His perfect love and for Jesus’ example.
• Activity:
  • As a family, come up with a way to serve someone else this weekend. There are great ideas on Pinterest.
  • Have everyone (parents included) draw the name of another family member in your home. Have that person come up with a way to show love to the person whose name they chose.