Free
2 Share VBS-Year 1
Day
1
Love Neighbors As Yourself
One
of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus
had given them a good answer, he asked him, “of all the commandments, which is
the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus,
“is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our
God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is
this: “love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than
these. Mark 12:28-31 NIV®
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Memory
Verse: “Love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength”. Mark 12:30 NIV®
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Discussion
Example:
After
reading the lesson, ask the children, “Who is your neighbor? Is it only people
that have the same color skin as you do, wear clothes similar to yours, only go
to Christian churches, only drive expensive cars? What about those who don’t
fit this description? From this passage, don’t you think that God wants us to love everyone, whether they believe the same things, look the same or not? We are supposed to be kind and respectful to others the same way that we would want them to be kind and respectful to us. ”
Ask,
“What are ways you can show love to your neighbors?” (Examples might be: Mowing
the yard for an older neighbor, being nice to the new person in school, etc.)
After discussing all their suggestions, ask them, “What are ways you can show love to yourself?” (Examples might be: Not taking drugs, not hanging around people who make poor choices, etc.)
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Arts
and Crafts Example:
(Get
straight salad macaroni and color it with food coloring and let it dry prior to
VBS.) Explain they will make a Bracelet of Many Colors to represent God
creating people of many colors, and despite any differences we may have, God
considers them all our neighbors.”
They will assemble their bracelet (not a necklace,
which is a choking hazard) by threading the macaroni onto a 6-8 inch piece of
string or yarn along with two pieces of tape. One piece of tape goes around the
end of the string or yarn to make it easier to string the macaroni. The other
piece of tape is to tape to the opposite end of the very first piece of macaroni,
so all the other pieces don’t slide off. (Test your tape to see if it holds the macaroni. If not, you may want to use masking tape.) Tell them that they
don’t want to fill up the whole string, because they need the ends to tie
together to make the Bracelet of Many Colors. Depending on their age and
ability levels, you may need to assist them in tying the two ends together when
they are finished stringing their macaroni.
When finished, ask the kids to restate what the Bracelet of Many Colors
represents. The Bracelet of Many Colors is to represent God’s creating
people of many colors, and despite any differences that we may have, God
considers them all our neighbors.”
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Science
Example:
You
or each group puts a ruler on a table so the end extends off the table. Put a
piece of paper on top of the ruler, so that the paper is only on the ruler and
table and does not extend off the table like the ruler does. When all groups
have done this, ask them to give you their Hypothesis about what will happen
when someone hits the ruler. After listening to all their Hypotheses, have the class
count down from 10 and then someone from each group is going to hit the ruler.
Have them explain why they thought this happened.
After
listening to them, explain: “The weight of the air pressure on the paper holds
the paper down and won’t allow the paper to be pushed up.” Make the connection
that, “Christians that stay focused on what Jesus wants of us, stay put like
the paper, instead of allowing ourselves to be hit or tossed about by the
negative things others might say or do.
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Game
Example:
Have
a blown balloon or ball. Have the kids work together to keep it in the air.
