Showing Love for Jesus Christ

Purpose

To help the children show love for Jesus Christ by doing what he wants them to do.

Preparation

Study prayerfully and be prepared to read John 14:15.
On six small pieces of paper, write one of the following clues:
1. Clue 1: He loves us.
2. Clue 2: He was baptized by immersion the same way we are.
3. Clue 3: He learned to do carpentry work when he was a young boy.
4. Clue 4: He loves little children and blesses them.
5. Clue 5: He taught us to love one another.
6. Clue 6: He died for us and made repentance possible.
Before class, hide each clue somewhere in the classroom.
Be prepared to sing “Love One Another” (Children’s Songbook, p. 136); the words are included at the back of this manual.
Materials needed:
1. A Bible.
2. A pencil and paper or card for each child.
3. Picture 3-9, Jesus the Christ (62572; Gospel Art Picture Kit 240); picture 3-23, Child Reading the Scriptures; picture 3-25, Going to Church; picture 3-26, Child Paying Tithing; picture 3-27, Sharing the Tricycle (62317); picture 3-59, Passing the Sacrament (62021); and picture 3-60, Girl Praying (62310).
4. Chalk, chalkboard, and eraser.
Make the necessary preparations for any enrichment activities that you will be using.

Suggested Lesson Development

Invite a child to give the opening prayer.

Follow up with the children if you encouraged them to do something during the week.

Jesus Christ Loves Us

Attention activity

Explain that you have hidden several clues in the room that relate to the lesson. Let the children quietly search for them. After all the clues have been found, have or help the children place them in order from one to six. Read them with the children. Ask for their ideas after each clue.

Who are these clues about? (Jesus Christ.)

Picture and discussion

Display picture 3-9, Jesus the Christ.

Tell the class that we know Jesus Christ loves us because he has done so much for us.

What has Jesus Christ done for us? (Help the children understand that Jesus Christ gave us the commandments, the prophets, his Church, and the priesthood ordinances. Through his atonement, he also made it possible for us to repent of our wrongdoings so that we can someday return to live with Heavenly Father and him.)

Explain that Jesus Christ has shown his love for us by giving us these wonderful blessings. Each of us is special to him and to Heavenly Father.

Chalkboard discussion

Explain that Jesus Christ has shown his love for us and that we can also show our love for him. Write the phrase “I can show love for Jesus Christ by—” on the chalkboard or a piece of paper, and read it aloud. Then tell the children that today you are going to discuss ways we can show love for Jesus Christ. For children who can read, list these ways on the chalkboard as you discuss them. For younger children, you might draw simple figures to illustrate the subject discussed.

We Show Our Love for Jesus Christ by Obeying the Commandments

Scripture and chalkboard discussion

Ask the class to listen for another way to show love for Jesus Christ as you read John 14:15.

Jesus Christ told us that by keeping his commandments, we show him that we love him. When we are baptized, we promise to obey his commandments. When we obey the commandments, we show that we love him. Write “Keeping the commandments,” or draw a smiling face, on the chalkboard or paper list.

Picture discussion

What are commandments? (Rules from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to help us be happy.)
What are some of the commandments we can keep to show our love for Jesus Christ?

You might have the children all stand up; then each child may sit down after he or she names a commandment. (Be prepared to help children who might not be able to think of one.)

Display appropriate pictures as the children suggest such ideas as attending Church meetings, thinking of Jesus Christ during the sacrament, paying tithing, telling the truth, praying, learning from the scriptures, helping our families at home, and so on.

We Show Our Love for Jesus Christ by Taking Care of Church Property

Story

Explain that you would like the children to listen to a story about how Kim showed her love for Jesus Christ:

A very bad storm had just passed through the area where Kim lived. Because Kim’s family lived only a short walk from their new meetinghouse, the bishop called her father to check on the building after the storm. Kim and her father walked together, picking their way around tree limbs that had blown down in the wind. Some homes had lost windows, and they passed some damaged vehicles. Kim was worried that the meetinghouse might also be damaged.

As they approached the meetinghouse, they could see that at least one large window had been broken in the storm. Rain water had washed inside, along with mud, leaves, trash, twigs, and small branches. Kim’s father asked her to wait outside while he made sure it was safe to enter. He quickly returned, reporting that the rest of the building seemed undamaged. Together they went inside the meetinghouse. As Kim’s father looked around to survey the damage more closely, Kim began to get busy. Without being told, she started to gather the leaves, twigs, small branches, and trash that had blown inside during the storm.

Kim’s father got another member of the ward to help, and soon they had the window covered. As the men worked to protect the window, Kim kept busy with her cleanup. Soon nearly all the branches and leaves had been pulled out of the way. Kim’s father offered to take her home to rest, but Kim wanted to help clean the meetinghouse. She stayed and worked as they cleaned out the mud and washed the walls and floor.

How did Kim show her love for Jesus Christ? (She helped to clean the meetinghouse.)
How do you think Kim felt after the job was finished?

Explain that there are many ways we can help care for the meetinghouse and items in it. We can help care for our meetinghouse and do our best to keep it clean and nice. We can pick up paper and not leave things to clutter the buildings. We can treat the hymnbooks and scriptures with care and respect. Sometimes we can help with special projects to clean the meetinghouse or the grounds. Everyone can help take care of Church property in some way.

Write “Taking care of Church property,” or draw a simple meetinghouse, on the chalkboard or paper under the phrase “I can show love for Jesus Christ by—.”

We Show Love for Jesus Christ When We Love Others

Song

Ask the children to listen carefully to learn of a very important commandment.

Sing or say the words to the song “Love One Another” with the class.

Discussion

What does this song tell us Jesus Christ wants us to do? (Love one another the way Jesus does.)
What is the new commandment? (Love one another.)
What does the word disciple mean? (Someone who follows and believes Jesus Christ.)
How will people know that you follow and believe Jesus Christ? (If you show love to others and try to do right in all that you do.)

Explain that Jesus Christ is the most kind and understanding person who ever lived. We must be very loving to others if we are to love as he does. The words to this song are true, and come from the Bible. Jesus said, “As I have loved you, … love one another” (see John 13:34; see also John 15:12, 17). We know he loves us very much. We are to love other people with that same kind of love. By loving others, we show Jesus that we love him too.

Write “Loving others,” or draw a heart, on the bottom of your list.

Summary

Explain that we demonstrate that we love Jesus Christ when we help take care of Church property, keep the commandments, and love others. We show our love for Jesus by what we do.

Activity

Give a pencil and paper or card to each child. Have the children who can write well copy the words “I can show love for Jesus Christ by—” on their papers. You might want to write this on the papers of the younger children. Invite the children to write or draw one thing they will do this week to show love for Jesus Christ. Explain that next week you will want to hear how well they did on this assignment. Encourage the children to take their papers home and place them where they can see them during the coming week as a reminder.

Invite a child to give the closing prayer.

Enrichment Activities

Choose from the following activities those that will work best for your children. You can use them in the lesson itself or as a review or summary. For additional guidance, see “Class Time” in “Helps for the Teacher.”

Bring a beanbag or other soft object to toss. Have the children sit in a circle on the floor. Ask them:

Do you love Jesus? How will he know?

Choose the right and it will show.

Recite this verse with the children; then call out a name and gently toss the beanbag to that child. The child named must tell one thing he can do to show Jesus Christ that he loves him. He then tosses the beanbag back to you. Continue until each child has had a turn.
Sing the song “Love One Another.” Explain to the children that instead of singing the word love, they cross their arms (with hands closed) over their chests each time that word occurs. This means love in sign language. We should show love and understanding to all of Heavenly Father’s children. Teach the children how to sign “Love you!” by making the sign for love, then pointing to a person. Suggest that they show this to family members when they get home. Remind the children that the way to really show love is by being as kind as Jesus would be.
Sing or say the following action song with the children: “Jesus Said Love Everyone” (Children’s Songbook, p. 61).

Jesus said love ev’ryone; (arms outstretched)

Treat them kindly, too. (turn to neighbor, smile and shake hands)

When your heart is filled with love, (place hands over heart)

Others will love you. (spread both arms out and then bring them in to touch chest)
Cut out three or more small paper hearts for each child. Explain that the children can use these hearts this week to show love. They should do something nice for someone and leave a heart. Helping others is something Jesus wants us to do. Give several examples of kind things the children could do. You might decide to role-play a few of these kind acts with the class members.
If your ward owns any hymnbooks that have not been properly taken care of, show them to the children and discuss how they should have been cared for and why.