God Gave His Only Son John 3:16

Treasure Hunt (To be done before Chapel Kids Preschool Video)

Materials Needed: A Bible and a box that represents a treasure chest (a decorated shoebox works well) Before the Activity: Secretly, without telling your child(ren), place the Bible inside the treasure chest and hide it somewhere in your house. Gather your family together and say: We’re going to go on a treasure hunt! I’ve hidden a treasure chest somewhere in our house. When I say go, search high and low for the special treasure. When you find it, don’t open it! Bring it back to me and we’ll see what it is together. Ready? Set? Go! Once the “treasure chest” is found, gather your family around the treasure chest. Ask if anyone has a guess of what they think is inside. Then open the treasure chest to reveal the Bible inside. Say: The Bible is such a treasure. It is super-special! We’ll hear all about just how special the Bible is in our Chapel Kids Video today.

Heart Dough (Play-Doh activity)

Materials Needed: Play-Doh, heart cookie-cutters (optional) Say: We get to play with Play-Doh today! We are going to make hearts with the Play-Doh. Hearts remind me all about LOVE! And love reminds me that God loved us so much that he gave us Jesus to be our friend forever. Help your child make hearts from the Play-Doh. Repeat as desired. As your child is creating hearts, help him/her learn, understand, and memorize John 3:16.

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. John 3:16 NIrV

Watch Chapel Kids Preschool May 24, 2000, Video

After the Activity, Say: Awesome job! You made so many hearts. I see so much LOVE! In John 3:16, we learn that God loves us SO much that He gave us Jesus to be our friend forever. If we believe in Jesus, we will always be with God. That is super Good News. The Bible is such a special book, because it is God’s Word. It tells us so many wonderful things. The Bible tells us that God loves us all the time, it tells us what to do, and it guides us to make good choices. The Bible is true…. it is the greatest treasure!

Treasure Chest Review (Craft)

Materials Needed: One copy of each of the Treasure Chest Pictures (cut-out), crayons/markers, stapler. Give your child the picture of a treasure chest (this will be the cover page of his/her “treasure booklet”) Say: The Bible tells us that God sent Jesus to show us how much He loves us. Let’s make our own treasure chest booklet with some pictures to remind us that God sent us Jesus. Give your child the first image of Jesus as a baby. Ask: What do you see in this picture? (Pause.) Yes! This is Jesus as a baby. God gave us His Son, Jesus. Give your child second picture of Jesus with a crowd. Ask: What do you see in this picture? (Pause.) Yes! This is a picture of Jesus with a crowd. Jesus did amazing things and taught us how to live. Give your child the third picture of Jesus in front of the empty tomb. Ask: And finally, what do we see in this picture? (Pause.) Yes! This is Jesus in front of the empty tomb. Jesus is alive and wants to be my friend forever. Staple the pictures together to form a booklet with the treasure chest as the cover and the 3 pictures as the pages. Have the children color their “treasure chests”. After the Activity, Say: These treasure chests remind us that the Bible tells us that God loves us so much that He gave me Jesus to be our friend forever. I’m so thankful that God gave us the Bible. Pray with your family thanking God for giving us His Word (the Bible) and for giving us his one and only Son, Jesus!