Sunday School Lesson: Valentine's Day—the Infinite Love of Jesus
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The Main Takeaway: We are God’s forever Valentine, so why not make Him ours?
The Lesson Objective: Children will be introduced (or perhaps reintroduced) to John 3:16 and discover that God’s unfailing love is something that can be celebrated every day, always. It’s like an everyday Valentine!
The Infinite Love of Jesus
Did you excel at math in your school days? Did numbers naturally click in your brain? That’s a hard, loud double-no for me! Math was a constant, miserable challenge, but one thing I did enjoy about the subject was wrestling with the idea of infinity, the fact that numbers never end. And though you can’t quantify infinity, you can still apply it to math equations. In fact, infinity is necessary for the foundation of mathematics to hold.
Whether preschoolers or teens, children want to know that life’s best things never end. The preschooler begs for infinite snacks and television shows. The teen dives hard into believing their first true love will last long after the earth is gone. The truth of forever is youth’s gift, and while some of reality’s harsh lessons haven’t hit them quite yet, young people’s faith and hope in eternal things make them much more open to the gospel truth.
On one hand, (most) children aren’t yet bitter, cynical, and pessimistic from constant disappointments, but naivety isn’t the reason they become Christians. No, they believe in Christ’s love because they understand that good things will defy all odds and be forever victorious. They don’t wish or even hope. They know.
Meanwhile, children see the beauty that adults often overlook, even in the simplest things, like leaves, “flowers” (aka weeds), and, in my toddler son’s case, the car wash. They perceive the goodness of a person whom adults have prejudged and avoid. Skin color, socioeconomic status, and outfit choices don’t deter their desire to walk up to a stranger and smile. Better still, they see God for who He is and not what they want Him to be.
Children don’t lean into Jesus because they’re naive; they lean into Jesus because they know His love will never end. They aren’t looking for a god to be magic, like Santa Claus. They are looking to the God of all things because He promises to never leave.
In a world where too many people and things come and go, children, even in their limited understanding, know how powerful it is when Daddy promises to stay, to always defeat the monsters under the bed, to always cheer for them even when they lose the soccer game, and to be the essence of permanent dependability for the entire family.
Understanding Jesus as Our Forever Valentine
When humans can’t fully understand or see something, they often create their own visual representation to give bones to their belief surrounding it. It’s a natural response to human curiosity and the desire to rationalize things outside a person’s capacity to understand. After all, infinity is a challenging concept for humans who witness the complete life cycle of so many things, both living and man-made. It’s hard for humans to believe in eternity because they recognize that their physical bodies have an unavoidable, quantifiable beginning and end.
For believers, the physical body isn’t the end, though. God’s love story for us is infinite, granting us eternal access to His love. That’s what makes us His forever Valentine. That’s what should compel us to make Him our forever Valentine. So what better way to remember this truth than creating a good old-fashioned construction-paper Valentine, a physical representation of God’s love that we can gift to Him?
Activity Ideas and Scripture for Valentine's Day Sunday School Lesson
Before beginning any hands-on activities/crafts, have everyone recite John 3:16 together. I have found that the New Living Translation is clear and simple for younger ones:
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”
For younger children, create a simple, traditional Valentine’s card for Jesus. This craft requires:
- Red, pink, and white construction paper
- Scissors (round-edged, children’s)
- Paper doilies
- Markers (non-toxic, washable)
- Mod Podge
- Glitter (traditional Valentine’s colors will work best)
- Valentine’s stickers (optional)
Instructions:
- Depending on the age group, have children draw and cut out a construction-paper heart.
- Next, have them write John 3:16, the full text, at the center of their heart.
- Coat one side of a doily with Mod Podge and attach it to the back of the construction heart.
- Have children finish decorating the Valentine with creative add-ons, like Valentine’s stickers or free-drawing hearts, roses, “xoxo”s, and, to revisit the idea of infinity, infinity signs. (Most likely, you will need to instruct the children in how to draw this as you’re introducing the idea earlier in the lesson. This way, it’s now their turn to practice drawing [and discussing] God’s infinite love for their personalized Valentine’s.)
- Once they have completed their Valentine, if they want sparkly fun, lightly coat the top of the Valentine with Mod Podge and sprinkle glitter on top.
- Set it aside to dry. (For younger children, you will need to spread the glitter yourself.)
For older children (even middle school and high school students):
Tape a large piece of bulletin board paper onto an empty wall. Draw a huge, empty heart at the center, and have students take turns writing one line of poetry each to create a heart-shaped, poetic Valentine for Jesus. Encourage them to use key words from John 3:16. If they seem very interested and excited for this, encourage them to write a poem all their own once they get home.
Main Point of the Valentine's Day Lesson
Without recognizing the infinite nature of God, we can’t understand salvation. Our salvation from sin and eternal separation from God requires us to recognize that God is eternal, and His loving plan for our hearts lasts forever.
As John 3:16 says, once we ask Jesus to be our Savior and Lord, our hearts are forever safe with Him. We can have peace and joy because no matter what happens in this life, and even though our physical bodies die, we will spend forever with our good, gracious, loving God. That’s why it’s so important that we not only make Jesus our personal Valentine, but that we also tell others about Jesus’ love, especially on Valentine’s Day.
The Lesson Conclusion: Though we can’t fully grasp the concept of eternity, we can trust in God’s eternal love for us, knowing that because He sent His Son to die for our sins and rise again, we are His treasure. We are His Valentine, even when we don’t believe we deserve to be. What better response would there be than for us to choose Christ as our Lord and Savior and make Him our forever Valentine?
Prayers for Sunday School Valentine's Day Lesson
A short, simple prayer for younger children:
“Jesus, help us remember that we are your Valentines forever and always. Thank you for your love. In your holy name, Amen.”
A lengthier prayer for older children:
“Jesus, thank you for your sacrifice on the cross, where your love spilled out for us. May we cling to your powerful love and remember that, through your resurrection, we can know that love never ends. Thank you for being a God who promises to never leave and to forever treasure us, even when we are at our worst. We love you, Jesus. Amen.”
More Valentine's Day Scriptures, Ideas, and Content
Bible Verses for Valentine's Day
Who Was St. Valentine? The Origin and History of Valentine's Day
4 Valentine's Reminders of the Outrageous, Unconditional Love of God
10 Valentine's Day Quotes to Point You to God's Definition of Love
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/sarahwolfephotography
