Are you trying to teach your students about Love?

I think that sometimes we assume that all our students know what LOVE means? But do they? Do we? Is the world’s definition of LOVE the same as the Bible’s definition of LOVE? Do we know what love is or do we simply identify with a certain feeling?

It is a complex topic and one that can provoke deep learning through discussion and debate. When I am not sure where to start with a topic, I will refer to a Christian author I trust.
Tim Keller and John Piper always make me think and help me to clarify my thoughts.

For fabulous lesson ideas from request.org.uk  start with Big Questions: What is Love?

Big Questions: What is Love?

If you want to get your students up and moving and thinking, give them some Love Challenges.
Ask your students to find 5 Bible verses about LOVE. Then ask them to write down what they mean in their own words. Maybe organise the verses in to rank order – from most helpful – to least helpful.
Debate, discuss, decide. Try these topics.
o Love is a choice.
o Love is an action.
o Love is an attitude.
o Love is sacrificial.
o Love is giving of your best regardless of the response.
o Love is for our enemies and those who persecute us.
Paper Bag Lessons
Ask the students to pop three things in to a paper bag that they think symbolise love. This could be a home task, so students could seek advice and help from their families. In class, the students could share their paper bags and maybe even ask the students to guess what each item symbolises. (For example – a piece of string might symbolise how love ties us together; some hand cream might symbolise how love soothes us, a photo might symbolise how God’s love helps define our identity, an eraser might symbolise how forgiveness is a part of love, etc.)

What would Jesus do? If Jesus had to put three things in a paper Bag to teach us about LOVE – what do you think Jesus would include?

For younger students, you can’t go wrong with a song and there are so many to choose from!