When Barbie and her friends think they are being thrown out with the trash they make a plan to find a home at Sunnyside Daycare. When they get there the toys are very welcoming, especially one of the toys, who seems to have fallen in love….

Applications:

Love and Relationships:

Say: Twit Twooo!!! Did you see how Barbie and Ken seemed to fall in love as soon as they saw each other? Well, they really liked the look of each other anyway! Sometimes we confuse liking somebody’s looks with real lasting love…. that doesn’t mean love at first sight doesn’t exist, but it does mean that deep and real love takes time to develop. When we really love someone then we will put their needs before our own. We will think about what they want and need first, before what we want or need. Loving someone else takes a lot of giving. It means even when that person does something hurtful to us we will keep on giving them love in return. Now, that doesn’t mean that we let them just walk all over us, but it does mean that we treat them with respect even when they don’t treat us that way. In fact, the bible tells husbands that they should love their wives like Jesus loves the church – Jesus lived and died for the church! That means that if we get married then we should love that person just as Jesus loves us.

The bible says that while we were still sinners Jesus died for us. He loves us so much that even when we didn’t love him, even when we hated him, he still loved us. I’m sure each one of us needs help to love like that! My love is sometimes selfish, I love someone because I like feeling good or I like what they can give me. Jesus never loved in a selfish way, his love was always selfless. Jesus never thought about what he was getting out of a relationship. He only ever thought about what he could give. Yet if people didn’t love him he didn’t always run after them (his dealings with the rich man shows this) but he always loved them and had compassion for them. Let’s remember that whether it is a boyfriend or a girlfriend, a friend, our parents or others around us, we should always love in a way that honors God – a selfless love.

RELEVANT BIBLE CHARACTERS:

Adam was lonely and so God created Eve from one of his ribs.

Jacob knew all too well what love was; he spent years serving Laban so that he could marry his daughter Rachel – he was even deceived into marrying Leah before marrying Rachel, but still worked for Rachel’s affections also.

A servant was sent out to look for a suitable wife for Isaac. When he saw Rebekah and watched as she served him the servant knew that she was the right woman for his master.

King Xerxes chose Esther as his wife out of all the other girls in his palace.

Joseph married Mary after the angel appeared to him in a dream to show him that Mary was true to her word; she would give birth to the Son of God.

Jesus loved everyone selflessly. He never got married or had children, yet his example of love is the best!

Paul never got married. He felt being single helped him to focus on his ministry and God.

BIBLE VERSES ON LOVE AND RELATIONSHIPS:

Do everything in love. 1 Corinthians 16:14.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:3-4

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word. Ephesians 5:25-26

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12.

No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON LOVE:

1) Selfless love means putting someone else’s needs and wants first – thinking of yourself less. What do you think that looks like each day?

2) Who do you think loves you selflessly?

3) In what ways did Jesus show us his selfless love?

4) In what ways can we love selfishly?

5) How might you love those around you in a selfless way?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON RELATIONSHIPS:

1) Do you believe in love at first sight?

2) How important do you think it is to fall in love and get married one day?

3) Do you think God cares about us falling in love?

4) Barbie and Ken thought they were ‘made for each other.’ Do you think God ‘makes’ someone for each of us?

5) Why do you think Jesus never got married? What do you think this shows us?

6) Why does Paul say that he never got married?