Lesson 1: Who is God?
It is hoped that you will truly enjoy working through this course with your child. The course is developed for children ages 6 to 8. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you be there with your child to help them understand what they are learning. You are encouraged to expand on any areas you feel necessary to apply your family's values to these lessons. As you know, learning about God is helping your child to foster a personal relationship with Him.
It is also recommended that your child have an NIV Bible handy while going through these lessons. For this particular age group, an NIrV Bible is good. Give your child a chance to look up books, chapters, and verses in their Bible with your assistance, gradually letting them do this on their own.
The NIV is the "New International Version" of the Bible. The NIrV is the "New International Reader Version" of the Bible. NIrV is written on a third grade reading level and is more easily understood for younger children learning to read.
God is Love
God Is Love
When you hear the name of God, what do you think about? Maybe you picture the world because God created it. Or, perhaps you think about love. That is good because God is love. We just summarized who God is. That was too easy! God created the world, and he is love. Let's change that sentence around a bit and add something to it. How about:
God created the world and everything in it because He loves me.
There! Now that sounds better.
We cannot see God, but He is real. How do we know God is real? Look outside your window. Are the branches on the trees moving? Can you see what is causing the branches to move? No, you can't! But you know that wind is causing the branches to move. We cannot see God with our eyes, but our hearts tell us He is there because we love. The Bible tells us that God is real. We just have to trust God's Word (the Bible).
Name three people that you love on a piece of paper. Have an adult help you write the names, if you need to. Now go through each name on your list and say, out loud, what you love about that person. For example:
Danny ~ "I love Danny because he is nice to me."
How did you feel when you did this? Do you feel happy because you love those people? I bet there are many other people you could have put on that piece of paper. And, chances are, they all love you, too!
