Children's Bible Lesson: Jesus is the Light

This is a Bible lesson about how Jesus is the Light of the world.  The children will learn where the Light is darkness will flee.  The lesson is followed by a craft activity in which the children will make their own light switch cover for their bedroom at home. You could use this lesson and craft in children’s Sunday School or Kids Church. Based on the scripture in John 8:12 where Jesus says, “”I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Optional: You can download our free coloring page about being the light of the world from Matthew 5:14

Bible Passage: John 3:16-21, John 8:12
Bible Story Title: Jesus is the Light
Target Age Group: 1st – 5th graders
Target Time Frame:30 minutes
Original Teaching Context: Children’s Church or Sunday School
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Learning Objective: The children will learn that Jesus is the Light of the world and true believers will no longer want to walk in darkness and sin.
Materials Needed: Paper template for light switch cover, markers, crayons, colored pencils, and scissors
Hook:

1. “When you walk into a room with no windows and the lights are turned off can you see anything?  No because it is dark!”
2. “What happens if you turn on the light switch?  It is all light in the room and the darkness goes away.”
3. Tip:  Depending on the age of your children and the number of windows in your classroom, you may want to actually turn the lights off and then back on so the children can experience this first hand as you discuss it.

Book:

1. “We are going to read a familiar Bible passage together about darkness and light.  Maybe some of you could even recite part of it from memory.  The passage is John 3:16-21.  You may have heard John 3:16-17, but today we are going to focus on verses 19-21.”
2. Read aloud John 3:16-21.

 
Look:

1. “Would someone be able to give me a summary, which is a short version, of verses 16-18?”  This may need to be an older child who is familiar with the passage and can synthesize its meaning correctly.
2. “Verses 16-18 can be summarized like this: God loved us, so He sent Jesus to die in our place.  If we believe in Jesus and are born again, we will have everlasting life.  Jesus came to save us from sin and death by dying on the cross in our place.”
3. “Now let’s reread verses 19-21 slowly.” Reread these verses again out loud.
4. “Who is the light in these verses?  Jesus is the Light.  In John 8:12, Jesus says, ‘I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’  So Jesus is the Light!”
5. “What is the darkness that people love instead of Jesus?  Their sin.”
6. “Let’s read verse 20 again.” Read verse 20 aloud.
7. “When people like to sin and do bad things, they do not want to be near Jesus and be in the light. When they sin, if they come near Jesus they will see how bad their sin is.  People who like to sin do not want it pointed out that their sin is bad.”
8. “Think of this: have you ever taken an extra cookie or piece of candy when you were told not to?  That would be stealing, which is a sin and you were also disobeying.  Yet you probably liked taking the extra cookie because you wanted it.  Now think back again: did you get caught when you stole the extra cookie or piece of candy?  When you got caught in your sin, you did not like that.  People who are not followers of Jesus like to sin until they get caught.  They like to live in the darkness.”
9. “But if you are a follower of Jesus and you believe in what He did for us on the cross, then you will not like to live in darkness and sin.” Read verse 21.
10. “If we are a believer, then we hate our sin and we want to stay in the light close to Jesus.”

Took:

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1. “At the beginning of our lesson, when I turned the lights off what could you see?  Nothing because it was dark!”
2. “What happened when I turned on the light switch?  It was all light in the room and the darkness went away.”
3. “This is how it is with Jesus because He is the Light.  When we are followers of Jesus and we walk with Him we want to stay far away from darkness.  Yes, we will still sin, but we will no longer want to sin.  We hate the darkness of sin and love the light of Jesus!”
4. “You are now going to decorate a light switch cover which you can tape onto the light switch in your room at home.  Every time you turn on the light in your bedroom you will see the darkness disappear.  You will remember that Jesus is the Light.”

Light Switch Cover Craft:
The template for this craft can easily be made by the teacher at home.

1. Measure the dimensions of a single switch light switch cover in your home.  Draw a rectangle of the same dimensions on a piece of blank white paper.
2. Draw a smaller rectangle in the center that will be cut out by the children to fit over the actual switch.
3. Trace over the two rectangles with a black marker.  Make enough copies of the template for one per child.
4. Following the lesson, the children will decorate their template.  They can draw on it or write the reference John 8:12.
5. When finished decorating they will cut out the template and cut out the rectangular hole for the switch.
6. When the child gets home, they can tape their paper cover over the light switch cover they already have in their bedroom.

Need More Ideas: Browse our growing collecting of Sunday School Coloring Pages or check out our tips for teaching Sunday School. For preschoolers you might sing “The little light of mine.”