Aim to learn about the nature of parental love and that it is the same as God’s love
Aim
*to learn about the nature of parental love and that it is the same as God’s love
*to learn the key words: sacrificial, unconditional and unchanging love
Materials
* A Mother’s Grief Turns To Joy, by Barbara Pavey
* Sun Myung Moon, the Early Years, chapter 5, by Michael Breen
* As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen, by Rev. Sun Myung Moon
* Visual Aids
* children’s worksheet
* memory cards
Lesson Outline
1. Review the previous lesson
2. Tell the story
3. Discussion about parental love
4. Activities – hangman, worksheet, memory game
5. Conclusion
6. Prayer
1) Introduction
*Ask the children if they can remember the previous story “Father Goes to Japan” Father went to Japan in 1941 to study electrical engineering. Most Koreans hated the Japanese, because Japan was occupying Korea. But Father wanted to learn how to love his enemy. He became friends with the poorest people to try to understand their situation. The theme of the lesson was loving one’s enemy
* Today’s story is about his mother, Kim Kyung-gye. It takes place in 1943, when Father was 23 years old. The theme of this lesson is parental love
2) Tell the story
* Summary – Father returned to Korea in 1943. The ship he should have been on sank. He didn’t get the ship, because he couldn’t move his feet on the day of departure. Instead, he got the next boat, but his mother didn’t know. She was so shocked by the bad news, that she forgot her shoes and ran barefoot to the next town for information. When Father heard about this, he realized how strong a parent’s love is.
* The story is made up of three different sources. Read them in this order:
a) A Mother’s Grief Turns To Joy
b) Sun Myung Moon, the Early Years
c) As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen
* Show the picture of the ship and the map as you tell the story
3) Discussion about Parental Love
* Have your parents got really worried about you, because you came home late, or you had an accident or you were very sick?
*How would your parents feel if you didn’t come home one day? What would they do?
* The image of Father’s mother rushing to Jeongju without shoes showed him that the love of a parent for their child is so strong. She didn’t notice her own pain. All she cared about was her son’s safety. He also realized that this is how strongly God loves us, His children. Parental love is just the same as God’s love.
How can we describe parental love? How can we describe God’s love? There are 3 words in particular
that we can use to describe parental love:
SACRIFICIAL
UNCONDITIONAL
UNCHANGING
Ask the children for a list of their words first or find the words by playing the hangman game. Then discuss the meaning of each word.
SACRIFICIAL LOVE is to deny yourself for the benefit of others
It also means you are willing to suffer so others don’t suffer. This is what Father’s mother did. She didn’t even notice she was cut, such was her love for her son. She put aside her own suffering.
God’s love is the same.
Example: a father jumps in a river and risks his own life to save his drowning son, forgetting his own safety.
Example: parents feed their hungry children first even if they are very hungry themselves
Example: if you are sick, parents may stay up all night and sacrifice their own sleep, because they are so concerned about you
True Stories: Father saves son, 11, by giving liver and kidney
Father saves Daughter from Burning Flat
Father saves son from cougar (Read the stories below)
Ask the children if they can think of a time when their parents sacrificed something for their sake.
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE is to love without expecting anything in return
Example: Your parents cook food, buy clothes, give pocket money etc., but don’t keep a check of how much they have done and expect you to pay them back They give and forget how much they have given, because they love you. Of course, parents want to be loved. They just don’t give their love with the condition of being loved back! God’s love is the same.
Example. A mother’s love for her baby.
What things do your parents do for children without expecting anything in return? Ask the children if they can remember a time when their parents did something for their sake, without asking for something back
UNCHANGING LOVE is the same no matter what happens
It doesn’t matter how old you are, how many mistakes you’ve made, or where you live, parents love remains the same. Parents don’t love their children more one day and less the next. Love is unchanging. God’s love is the same
Example: In the parable of the prodigal son, the older brother wasted his inheritance on foolish living, but his father welcomed him back with open arms. His younger brother, however, was resentful. Ask the children if they can think of a time when they did something wrong, but their parents forgave them.
Example: A 80-year old father will still tell his 50-year old son to wait for the traffic lights to change before crossing the road.
4) Activities
* Play hangman to find the three words – sacrificial, unconditional and unchanging .
Test the children’s memory of the three words. Who remembers them? Who can spell them? Who can give an example of each one?
* Complete the worksheet. Colour the worksheet picture. Around the picture write words to show what she is thinking
* Play the memory game to reinforce the three kinds of love. Match 12 pairs of cards
5)Conclusion
To conclude ask each person what they could learn from today’s lesson. Refer to the lesson aim:
* to learn about the nature of parental love and that it is the same as God’s love
* to learn the key words: sacrificial, unconditional and unchanging love
6) End with a Prayer
