I often have people tell me how they wished they had more time to lead a Bible study or reach out to others. What I usually respond with is reminding them that God uses us right here where He has placed us. Maybe one day it will be leading a Bible study but we don’t have to wait for that “one day” because God can use us exactly where He has placed us, reaching the women, co-workers, little people, neighbors, strangers that cross our paths.
I don’t know where God has placed you but what I do know is that He will use you for His glory right in that very place. Just like He used Paul and Silas in prison to bring the Good news to the jailer and the Samaritan woman’s background to bring glory to God as she shared the Good News that she’s been forgiven, and Rahab to influence her family –God will use you right in your home, in your community and with your neighbor right next door.
Spreading God’s Love Object Lesson
Before you give out your Valentine’s to your neighbors you can do this little activity to give your children a visual object lesson on the impact we can have on others.
I shared this activity over in my article called “8 Activities to Focus on God’s Love on Valentine’s Day” you can go HERE to read the whole article.
“Rings of Love. Talk about the verse in 1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.” Discuss what LOVE means and how it starts with God. When we love others we are actually loving God.
Take a piece of paper and draw 5 rings on it (One big one and smaller ones to go into that big circle. Then write in each circle–God, Family, Friends, Community (neighbors, church, community centers), and World.
Then say, “This is our “Rings of Love” circle”.
Fill a bucket of water and say this is a ring of love. Then drop a marble in it and watch the ripples move across the water.
Explain how when we do acts of kindness we show others love and that creates a chain reaction that affects others. This one little action affects the whole pool of water. Love is contagious! How we love others has an impact on our world one person at a time.
Valentine’s Day Treat for Neighbors
This is simple and it doesn’t involve baking!
supplies:
-hot chocolate
-marshmallow chocolate
-printable
-bag
Then place the hot chocolate and marshmallows in bag and use tape or string to adhere the Valentine’s card to the top of the bag.
Note: We used chocolate covered hearts.
We love because He first loved us! That’s the beginning of the ripple effect–His love drew near and as a result, we overflow and spread His love.
These are simple acts of kindness but you never know how they will touch someone.
