Fruits of the Spirit: LESSON 1 PART 1 – Love (John 3:16)

Memory Verse:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

Lesson Presentation:

Write the verse on the blackboard and have the students read it.
Ask the students what they think the verse means.
Discuss the following key words from the verse:
1. God loved – God did what he did because of his great love.
2. The world – This means ALL of us.
3. He gave – God showed his love by giving us his very best – his own Son.
4. Whoever believes – What we need to do is believe – have FAITH in Jesus
5. Not perish – There is a real place called hell which is reserved for people who reject God’s Son and choose to live a life away from God.
6. Eternal life – God has prepared a special place for those who believe in Him where there will be no more tears, pain or suffering … this wonderful place is called heaven.
Substitute a student’s name to the verse so that it will read like this:

For God so loved (person’s name) that He gave His one and only Son, that if (person’s name) believes in Him, (person’s name) shall not perish but have eternal life.

• Say, “I would like us to recite this verse again, but this time, I want us to recite it as a blessing to each other.” Divide group into pairs. If you have an odd number of participants, you can stand in to make the last pair. Say, “This time when you say the verse, I want you to substitute the name of your partner for some of the words.” Have the group recite the verse as a blessing for each of their partners.
Say, “That was great! Now I think we are starting to see that Jesus died for each one of us. Even if your partner was the only one in the world, Jesus would have died for him or her.”
Substitute the pronoun “me” and “I” to the verse for it to read like this:

For God so loved ME that He gave His one and only Son, that if I believe in Him, I shall not perish but have eternal life.

Say, “Now I want to recite the verse again, and this time, you are going to substitute yourself for some of the words.” Have each person recite the verse out loud simultaneously, substituting “I” and “me” in the appropriate places.
Ask the students, “How does that make you feel?”
Say, “Do you see? Jesus died for you! He loved you so much that He was willing to take your punishment for sin. Jesus died for everyone, and He died for anyone….anyone who would accept the gift of His death on the cross. I hope you will accept His gift.”