We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

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1 EVENT GUIDE We love him, because he first loved us.

2 You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine KIDS EVENT OUTLINE This event outline provides ideas for an hour-long program based on the theme You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine. It s perfect for... Valentine s Day parties in midweek classes Children s Sunday school the weekend before or after February 14 A midwinter intergenerational event The ideas that follow include suggestions for decorations, activities, snacks, and other fun ways to celebrate Valentine s Day. Accompanying downloadable extras are available at May God work through you as you share the love of his Son with kids in a brand-new way! 2

3 Preparation Think about creative ways to decorate your space, carrying out the You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine theme in your setting. Hang red, pink, and white streamers and valentine hearts of various sizes. Enter this search term, valentine party decorations, in Pinterest to find a variety of decorating ideas. If possible, let the children help you decorate. Make your event as elaborate or as simple as you like. The ideas below and the You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine items available from CTA are designed to intrigue the children who attend, introduce the Savior to those who don t know him, and encourage faith in the hearts of those who already believe. As children arrive, give everyone a You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine goodie bag (Item #YGV18TS12) to collect treats and prizes and keep them safe along the way. You may want to use a permanent marker to write each child s name on his or her bag. NOTE: This event outline includes suggestions for crafts, games, snacks, and Bible Time. There are so many options that you will not be able to complete all of them in an hour. Each activity is basically a stand-alone which can be used alone or in conjunction with the other suggested activities in this guide. Choose which to activities you ll use, taking into account the size of your group, the children s ages and interests, their background knowledge, skill levels, and the time available. If yours is a large group, consider dividing the group into smaller families and rotate through the activity centers described below. Craft Options MAKE-AND-TAKE CRAFT Distribute the You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine Foam Activity Kits (Item #YGV18KT), one per child, and explain the directions as printed on the header. As the children work, talk about the Bible verse printed on the heart: Who loved us first? (God) How did he show that love? (God demonstrates his love for us in all kinds of ways. He gives us food to eat, water to drink, a safe place to sleep, sunshine, toys, books, a school, a church, grown-ups who love us. Let the children mention as many blessings as they can.) The best way God has shown his love for us is by sending Jesus to be our Savior! Sometimes we are unthankful. Sometimes we are crabby. Sometimes we think we ought to have more things or better things. Sometimes we disobey our parents and teachers. Sometimes we lie. We commit all kinds of sins. We should be punished. But Jesus was punished instead of us. Jesus died on the cross for us. That s how much God loves us! God loved us first. Now we can love God back! How can you show your love for God? (We can tell God we love him. We can thank him for sending Jesus. And we can do kind, loving things for the people around us. Let volunteers make specific suggestions.) 3

4 When the children finish the project, explain that they can take it home and place it on a nightstand or dresser as a reminder of how very much Jesus loves them. Because Jesus loved us first, we can love him and love each other. Help younger children place their completed craft in their God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine goodie bag (Item #YGV18TS12) for safekeeping. GOD S ONE-OF-A-KIND COLORING PLACEMAT One or more copies of the coloring placemat for each student; visit the Resource & Idea Center at to download it. Crayons, markers, or colored pencils 1. Let the children color the letters in any way they like, pointing out the words to be emphasized. Suggest they may want to give it to a parent, grandparent, or friend kind of like a valentine. If time will allow, let the children who want to make more than one gift, do so. 2. As the children work, move around the room from student to student, asking, Tell me about your placemat. Use each respond to start a brief conversation about God s love and forgiveness for us in Jesus. Note that every child s page is colored differently, but each is still a work of art. God made each of us different, too. But we are each his work of art! 3. Help younger children place their placemat(s) in their God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine goodie bag (Item #YGV18TS12) for safekeeping. Bible Truth Time Decorate a corner of your space with a You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine banner and hang lots of hearts from the ceiling or affix hearts to the walls around you. Be sure you have enough Wrapped in God s Love Activity Books for older children (Item #YGV18AB) and You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine Accordion-Fold Booklet w/stickers (Item #YGV18AF) for younger children. Each child should receive one or the other. When the children are seated, ask: How many of you sometimes line up in school? (Encourage those who do to raise their hands.) How many of you like to be first in line line leader? (Again, let the children raise their hands.) 4

5 Suppose Mom or Dad brings a new toy or game home from the store. How many of you would want to be first to play it? If you are at Burger Barn (or name a local fast-food restaurant popular with the children) and you are hungry, would you rather be tenth in line or first in line? Most of us like to go first, at least sometimes. Did you know there s a time when none of us can ever, ever go first? Listen to hear who always goes first in this Bible verse! Read from your children s Bible. Who loved us first? (God did!) So now that we know that, what do we do? (We love God back.) We love God because God loved us first. Valentines are all about love. A valentine s kind of love can be all ooey and gooey. Yuck! That kind of love often comes quickly and leaves again quickly. That kind of love comes and goes. But God s kind of love does not come and go. It stays and stays. It started before you were even born! God loved you way back then! Even before you were born, you were God s one-of-a-kind valentine. God s love for you will never stop. But suppose you do something really, really, REALLY bad, really mean and hurtful. Maybe then God will stop loving you. What do you think? (Let volunteers respond.) No, God will not stop loving us even then. We know because God sent Jesus to die for all the mean, hurtful, nasty, bad, unloving things we do. Jesus died for our sins and rose again on the first Easter. That s how our heavenly Father showed his love for us. Now, we love him because he loved us first. Let s say the Bible verse together. Listen while I read it. Then get ready to say it together: (Repeat the verse in unison several times, stressing the word first.) Prayer: Dear Father, you loved us first. You love us still. You forgive our sins in Jesus. You have made us each your one-of-a-kind valentine. Thank you, Lord! Now show us how we can love other people by doing good, kind things for them. In Jesus name. Amen. As the children leave the area, give each child two copies of either the Wrapped in God s Love Activity Books (for older children; Item #YGV18AB) or the You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine Accordion-Fold Booklet w/stickers (for younger children; Item #YGV18AF) to take home. Explain that they may keep one and share one with a friend, especially a friend who might not know how very much Jesus loves him or her. 5

6 Games THE STACKING GAME Conversation hearts A timer 1. Have the children pair up with a friend. 2. Tell them to build the tallest tower they can, using conversation hearts. The tower must stand on its own for at least 20 seconds. 3. Whoever builds the highest tower wins. (Let children keep their hearts as a prize.) HUGS AND KISSES A large area where the children can spread out Prizes 1. Have the children stand, arm s length apart, in a large, open area. 2. Explain that when you say hugs, the players are to make a circle with their arms above their heads. When you say kisses, the players should make an X across their chests with their arms. 3. If you say anything else, the players should not move. 4. Begin to play and let the children follow along. Add in words like jump or sit occasionally to make the game more challenging and fun. Depending on the ages and abilities of the children, shout out commands more slowly or more quickly. 5. If a player makes the wrong sign or moves when he or she should not, that player is out. 6. Continue until only one player remains. That player is the winner. Hint Award prizes to everyone. Perhaps you will give each child one of the You Are God s One-of-a- Kind Valentine Activity Cards (Item #YGV18CDCA). These each come with a sucker. Or give each child a You Are God s One-of-a-Kind Valentine Cloth Bracelet (Item #YGV18CBB). These each come with a children s bookmark. Or offer both and let the children choose whichever they would like. Consider letting the winner go first, choosing the prize he or she wants. Then everyone else may choose. 6

7 SIDEWALK ART Paper Crayons or colored pencils Sidewalk chalk and a sidewalk Permission to use the sidewalk as a canvas 1. Give the children paper and crayons or colored pencils. Ask that they design some sidewalk art for Valentine s Day. Explain that this is a fun way to remind lots of people that Jesus loves them on Valentine s Day and every other day, too. Encourage them to include witnessing words and images in their plan. 2. If you have permission and if the weather will allow, take the children to the church parking lot or sidewalk to transfer their planned designs to the surface there. As they work, urge them to pray for the people who will see their drawings. Snack Options Before you eat your snack together, ask God s blessing on the food and on the helpers who prepared it. You might teach this simple thank-you song (tune: London Bridge ): Lord, we thank you for this food, for this food, for this food. Lord, we thank you for this food. You re so good! SNACK IDEAS Heart-shaped cookies Heart-shaped crispy-rice cereal bars Fresh fruit cut in heart shapes Small pretzels dipped in melted chocolate Use a large, heart-shaped cookie cutter to make heart-shaped sandwiches; feed the leftover bread to the birds Check Pinterest for more ideas VALENTINE PUNCH Stir together: 4 liters white soda pop (refrigerated) 2 liters club soda (refrigerated) 1 pound strawberries If you can t get fresh strawberries, use a 24-ounce package of frozen strawberries in sugar. (You will need to thaw them.) This recipe makes 21 large servings. For a healthier option, simply serve fruit juice CTA, Inc. Permission to make photocopies or reproduce by any other mechanical or electronic means is granted and is intended for use within a church or other Christian organization, but not for resale. The Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible. #YGV18DCE