IT’S NORMAL TO FEEL LONELY at times. When we do, it’s a reminder to look out for other lonely people and make friends with them. Jesus felt very alone when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He died. Adam felt lonely after he named all the pairs of animals. Elijah felt lonely when he ran to the mountains. David felt lonely and wrote a song about it. And Naomi felt lonely when her husband and sons died.
TALK ABOUT LONELINESS
Discuss these questions with your family:
• When do you feel most lonely?
• What do you do to help you feel less lonely?
• What have other people done that helped you feel less lonely?
• Guess when the person to your left is most likely to feel lonely. And then guess what they would like others to do for them when they feel all alone.
We might even feel lonely when we have our loving family and friends all around us. We can’t always guess how other people are feeling. What could you do to let one another know when you’re feeling lonely? And what would you most like people to do to help you feel less alone?
GOD NEVER LEAVES YOU
God loves you so much that He never leaves your side! Read these Bible verses: Psalm 139:1-3, 7; Psalm 145:18; Jeremiah 31:33; Matthew 28:20; John 14:16, 17; Romans 8:38, 39; Ephesians 3:14-19; Hebrews 13:5. Can you find other Bible verses that tell us that God always loves us and will never leave us?
Choose your favorite Bible verse about God being with you. Make something that will always remind you of His loving presence. It might be a key ring or a tag for your schoolbag or a little poster for your room.
JESUS NOTICED LONELY PEOPLE
Jesus was always looking out for lonely people. His heart was filled with love for them, and He wanted them to know how much they were loved by God. Read the stories of Jesus to find 10 people who might have felt lonely before they met Jesus. Then describe how Jesus made friends with them and showed them His love. Can you find more than 10? Keep looking and learning about the ways Jesus noticed and loved lonely people, such as lepers, widows, children, and people from other countries.
LONELY TO LOVED
Choose one of your favorite stories about Jesus from the last activity. Imagine you are one of the lonely people in the story. Write a story about meeting Jesus and feeling His love. Or draw pictures of the person in the story before and after they met Jesus.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Paul describes lots of things we can do for others so we feel loved by God and by each other. Look up these verses in the New International Bible to discover what you and your family can do to help others feel less lonely.
VERSE ACTION 3 THINGS YOU CAN DO
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Encourage them by cheering them on toward their goals. 1. Send them an encouraging message. 2. Tell them you are praying for them. 3. Cheer them on—support their team!
2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 C _ _ _ _ _ _ them when they are sad.
Romans 15:7 A _ _ _ _ _ them by being their friend when others reject them.
Romans 12:10 H _ _ _ _ them and learn how to show them respect.
Galatians 6:2 C _ _ _ _ b_ _ _ _ _ _ and help them when they are struggling.
Romans 12:13 S _ _ _ _ your things with them when they don’t have enough.
Romans 12:13 Be h _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and invite them to your home.
Philippians 2:3, 4 Show i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ in them and their lives by listening to them.
YOU’RE WELCOME
Have you ever visited a church for the first time and felt shy and lonely? Why not start a welcome ministry for the new children in your local church? In some churches some of the older children take turns welcoming all the other children coming to church. They smile, greet them, and tell them they are welcome! Some churches give little welcome bags to visiting children. These might have a Bible storybook, a Bible puzzle book, crayons, a button/badge, a welcome card, and perhaps a guide to the service in your church in child-friendly language. Some also include healthy juice and crackers. Perhaps you could encourage your church to start a special ministry to children like this. Maybe you and your family could prepare the welcome bags.
ALWAYS INVITED
Have you ever felt sad and lonely because you weren’t invited to a party? What was that like? Read John 14:1-3. Jesus has gone to prepare a place and a party in heaven for all His friends. Jesus loves you, and He doesn’t want you to miss out on being with Him forever! Design and write an invitation to yourself from Jesus to remind you that you’re always invited to His party. And it will be the best party ever!
LONELINESS PROJECT
Work with your family to create a special mission/care project for people who might be lonely. Prayerfully think about what you could do to welcome and encourage some of the lonely people in your school, church, street, or community. Jesus reached out to lonely mothers, children, sick people, foreigners, hungry people, and disabled people. You could write prayer letters to them, visit them with food, invite them to your home, ask them to join you on a picnic, go to the park with them, or listen to them. Whenever you do something kind for a lonely person, you are also doing something kind for Jesus (Matthew 25:40).
