SCRIPTURE ACTIVITY. JESUS VOLUNTEERED TO BE MY SAVIOR John 15:13 bite-size memorize. Remind youth that in premortal life Jesus volunteered to be our Savior as they memorize: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
USE FOR: COME FOLLOW ME, Primary and Home (family home evening), Activity Days, Sunday School, Seminary, Bible Study
Little LESSON LIFESAVER Activity
Bite-size Memorize Poster – John 15:13
OBJECTIVE: Help youth memorize John 15:13 with this poster. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
Tell them that in the premortal life Jesus volunteered to be our Savior. Learning this scripture will help them feel a greater love for Jesus Christ.
TO MAKE Print and color the poster.
THOUGHT TREAT: Life preserver-shaped treats. Share with children a doughnut or Lifesaver’s candy and tell them that Jesus is our “Life Savior.”
SCRIPTURE CARDS: Help children Search and Ponder this scripture card by filling in the blanks. PRINT this 5 x 7 scripture card from the pdf included with the above activity. You can punch the two holes on the left and tie a ribbon to attach cards or use two metal rings to connect cards.
Moses 4:1-4
“Wherefore, because that aSatan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down; And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive.”
. . . MORE LESSON IDEAS . . .
For the Jesus Volunteered to Be Our Savior! John 15:13 bite-size memorize
The above activity illustrates the ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY #3 in the lesson below* to help children memorize the John 15:13 scripture, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
*LESSON. To add to and enhance the above activity see (HERE) Lesson 2 – Primary 7 Manual – Jesus Christ Volunteered to Be Our Savior
. . . ATONEMENT LESSON IDEAS . . .
Why Did Jesus Volunteer to Be Our Savior?
Jesus volunteered to be our Savior before He came to earth. He is the only one who could save us as He is God’s only begotten, Son. He is PERFECT having no sin. This way He could take upon the sins of the world. Why did He come? Read below about the War in Heaven, but first, let’s tell the story of how He saved us.
Jesus came to earth, getting instruction from the Father to organize His Church, choose His apostles, and teach the people how to live.
Jesus SAVED US FROM SPIRITUAL DEATH.
He first had the Last Supper where He gathered His 12 Apostles and broke the bread to represent His body He would sacrifice. He gave them wine/water (we do now) to represent His blood He would shed for us.
When it was time, He asked a few of His disciples to wait for Him in the Garden of Gethsemane while He prayed to the Father. As He prayed for every man in the world, He knew they would be tempted to sin. He prayed that they would repent and be forgiven if they repent and follow Him.
If we/all men were to be forgiven He must be the one to save them. So, in this Garden, at this time His suffering was so great that He bled from every pour. He suffered so that every man would not have to suffer if they repent.
Taking a long time to pray, His disciples fell asleep which made Him feel alone in His suffering. Because He loves each of us He was willing to continue His pleading prayer for our salvation. This is called the ATONEMENT; this is why He is our Savior, saving us from spiritual death. This way we can make it back into God’s presence.
Jesus also SAVED US FROM PHYSICAL DEATH.
After His Garden prayers, He was betrayed by one of His disciples who sold Him for 30 pieces of silver. His enemies paid Judas to betray our Lord.
They beat Jesus and put a crown of thorns on His head and made Him carry his heavy wooden cross. There they nailed His hands and feet to the cross where He suffered greatly and died. Before His death, He again tried to save those who were crucifying Him by praying to the Father, “Forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
Then, Jesus was resurrected three days later, coming out of the tomb, He showed His disciples the nail prints on His hands and feet. Before leaving them to continue His mission, He told them of His love for them and promised to send the Holy Ghost to guide them.
We can thank Jesus Christ, our Savior for these two things, saving us from sin and death. Now we can live His plan of happiness and be resurrected.
It All Started in Heaven
We learn in Hebrews 12:9 (“we had fathers of our flesh which corrected us”) that we had a premortal life where we were spirit children and lived with our heavenly parents.
DOWNLOAD “I Lived in Heaven” song visuals to sing with children (HERE or below). See the Lyrics for this song below (also)
There was a “war in heaven” Revelation 12: 7-9 that tells about the Devil/Satan who wanted to “deceive the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
It is there that Jesus volunteered to be our Savior. He knew that Satan would be upon the earth to tempt us to sin or make wrong choices. This is why we needed Jesus to come down and suffer for our sins, so we can repent and one day live in heaven again. Jesus is our friend and Savior.
War in Heaven
In Revelations, 12:7 tells us there was a war in heaven where Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. There was a conflict in our premortal existence where we were spirit children of God. The decision of what to do with God’s children once they come to earth and how would they one day return once they have had the agency choices tested on earth.
We were given choices there to follow Satan who would force all to choose good or Jesus who wanted us to make our own choices (called agency). One-third (1/3) chose to follow Satan and they were cast out of heaven without a body to the earth where they tempt God’s children to make wrong choices.
Because we chose to follow Jesus, we were sent to earth to gain a body. Were have this agency to choose and we will make mistakes, but as we learn about Jesus and how He wants us to live, we can repent and learn to be like Him. This way we can return someday to live with God again.
So what is happening today? Lucifer and his followers wanted in the beginning to give every man salvation. In Revelation 12:4-13 John sees the “apostasy of the Church. He also sees the War in Heaven at the beginning when Satan was cast out–He sees the continuation of the war on earth.” (verse 12 “The devil . . . having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time”).
Rebellious spirits (the 1/3rd) who were cast out of heaven, came to earth without mortal bodies (Revelation 12:9).
The conflict between right and wrong between the gospel of Jesus Christ and false principles is still doing battle and our salvation is at stake. Jesus said (Matthew 12:30) “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.”
Let’s hope we can all return to that Savior who loves us and is always there for us.
Have children sing the songs: “Did Jesus Really Live Again?” and “Easter Hosanna.” DOWNLOAD these song visuals below to teach these songs.
Don’t miss the matching “Easter Hosanna” match game, the Lamb of God, and the Lost Lamb activities that follow.
