God does not look upon the outward appearance and He is no respecter of persons. Social status, titles, rank, and prestige all mean nothing to Him. The Lord invites ALL to come unto Him.
Not some. Not most. ALL.
As you study the Come Follow Me lesson this week, we hope that you (and the children in your life) will feel the pure and unconditional love of your Heavenly Father!
He invites YOU to come unto Him! His arms are stretched out to you all day long!
LESSON BUNDLE DOWNLOADS:
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 O P E N I N G S O N G : "Heavenly Father Loves Me"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N
You will need a fresh dollar bill that is in relatively good shape (or some other type of paper currency), and you will need an individual photo of each person who is present for the lesson. If you don’t have a photo of each person, you could also write individual names on small pieces of paper.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N
Hold up the dollar and discuss the following questions:
1) What is this? (A dollar bill.)
2) How much is it worth? (One dollar.)
3) What can you buy with this dollar? (Discuss things that the children would like to buy with the dollar.)
4) Do you want it? (Yes!)
Now crumple up the dollar bill, drop on the floor, kick it around, step on it, etc. Leave it on the floor (still crumpled up), and ask the following questions.
1) Now how much is this dollar worth? (It is still worth one dollar!)
2) Can you still buy things with it? (You can still buy all the same things!)
3) Is this dollar still valuable? (Yes!)
4) Do you still want this dollar? (Yes!)
Now hold up the individual photos of each person present and explain the following:
Today, we are going to learn about how much Heavenly Father loves each one of us! Just like the dollar was always valuable to you, you will always be valuable to Heavenly Father! He knows each of you. He knows your names. You are so precious to Him! He always wants you, and He always loves you!
🎥 V I D E O : "No Green Fish Allowed | Come Follow Me Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video about a little green fish who wanted to fit in with the other fish. Let’s see what happens to the little green fish!”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) Why didn’t the blue fish let the green fish join their school? (Because he wasn’t blue like the other fish.)
2) Why didn’t the yellow fish let the green fish join their school? (Because he wasn’t blue like the other fish.)
3) Why didn’t the red fish let the green fish join their school? (Because he wasn’t blue like the other fish.)
4) Why did the last school of fish let the green fish join them? (Because they welcomed everyone!)
5) Which school of fish is like the gospel of Jesus Christ? (The last school of fish. Heavenly Father loves all of His children, and wants all of us to be with Him no matter how we appear on the outside or where we are from!)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the following scriptures and discuss the questions that follow.
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
1) What does it mean to be a “respecter of persons?” (It means you treat people better if they are rich or famous, and you treat them worse if they are not.)
2) How does Heavenly Father treat us? (He loves us very much and He loves every one of us the same! )
3) This verse says that God will accept us if we “work righteousness.” What does that mean? (It means we repent of our sins and try to keep the commandments.)
4) This verse says that God will accept us if we “fear” Him. What does that mean? (It means we will listen to Him and trust Him. We are willing to obey Him.)
[Read the last part of 2 Nephi 26:33]
…and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile.
1) Who does Jesus Christ invite to come unto Him? (He invites all to come unto Him!)
2) Will Jesus ever turn anyone away who chooses to follow Him? (He will not turn anyone away!)
3) How do Jesus and Heavenly Father feel about all of us? (They love us very much!)
[Read the last part of 1 Samuel 16:7]
…for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
1) What do people look for sometimes when they will accept and welcome other people? (People sometimes look at the outward appearance.)
2) What does the Lord look for when He is deciding whether He will accept us or not? (He does not look at the outward appearance. He looks into our hearts!)
3) What does he look for in our hearts? (He wants to know if we are willing to follow Him.)
➤ C O L O R I N G P A G E S
Pass out the coloring page and activity page, one to each child. Invite the children to color the fish and cut them out! Color the underwater tunnel on the opposite page. Use your fingers to guide the fish along the paper to make them “swim” through the tunnel! Use this time to talk about how much Heavenly Father loves each one of us!
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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Find the needle in the haystack:
