What we want students to learn: That your students would understand that God’s unfailing love is an essential aspect of His character.

What we want students to do with what they’ve learned: To consider how this understanding changes how they relate to God.

Scripture Focus: Psalm 86:1-5, 1 John 4:7-8, Psalm 33:4-5, Psalm 143:7-8

Overview: Part of the richness of God is that He has so many aspects of His character through which He relates to us and the world. But love is arguably God's most essential characteristic. God's love is at the heart of who He is. His love is the impetus for wanting a relationship with us, and for sending His Son to make a way for us to be in relationship with Him. As John says, God literally is love! In this first lesson on God's love, your students will see how Scripture establishes God as love and how this love changes how they look at their relationship with God. It will also set the stage for Lesson 2 where we see Christ as the fullest expression of God’s love.

What we want students to learn: That students would see that God’s unfailing love is most fully expressed through Christ.

What we want students to do with what they’ve learned: To identify how this perfect expression of love positively impacts their identity.

Scripture Focus: Romans 5:6-8, John 3:16-17, Romans 8:35-39

Overview: God is love. And His love is unfailing. These truths you learned in Lesson 1 form the backdrop for sending Christ as the answer to humankind's sin problem. God loved us so much that He provided the perfect way for us to forever be in relationship with Him. It was because of His love that God wanted to see us saved from the punishment of our sin. After all, our sin rightfully earns us separation from God. But God went to the greatest lengths imaginable to provide us with life in relationship with Him. This brand of searching, unfailing, seeking love has a dramatically personal aspect to it. The individual students in your class are the objects of God's love. If they can truly grasp this truth, they will never be able to look at themselves the same way. This lesson will help your students begin to understand how much they are loved and valued by God, and how this powerfully impacts how they see their value and purpose. 

What we want students to learn: That students would understand that God’s love for them sets in motion their love for others.

What we want students to do with what they’ve learned: To practically determine ways in which this love is practically lived out in their daily lives.

Scripture Focus: John 13:33-35, 1 John 3:16-18

Overview: As Jesus was nearing His final moments with His disciples, He made a statement that summed up so much of His time with them. Jesus said, in essence, "Love each other as I have loved you. In fact, you should love so completely that when people look at you, this love is the first thing they see." As you help your students capture the real implications of being loved by God, this command sums it up so succinctly. Having known Jesus' love, your students should extend this love to others. It's the only right response. Loving as Jesus loved is a sacrificial and selfless love. This is the kind of love John writes about in 1 John 3. These two passages combine to paint a really thorough picture of how we are to live out the love God has shown us. They serve as a significant challenge to your students, one that should motivate them to practically demonstrate love to the world around them.