A Bible Lesson on the Value of Human Life

Find a Bible Lesson on the value of life for younger children here.

It was my turn to teach our middle school class today at church. I have been wanting to get into some deeper topics with them for awhile, and recent events gave me an even stronger desire to address this topic with them. This was not a “fluff” Bible lesson. The lesson was tough and to the point, but I felt that it really needed to be done. Our kids are bombarded every single day with the message that not all life has value and they need to be taught the Truth.

Warning: This is not a normal Cheri Gamble lesson. There aren’t games, object lessons, crafts and snacks. This is simply an outline of what I did with my kids today with the hope that some of you who aren’t sure how to address this issue (but you know that it needs to be addressed) can use it. (Oh, and I did throw in one game at the beginning for those of you who would like to start off with something a bit lighter.)

I hope you can use this, and remember . . . . EVERY LIFE really does matter . . . including the life of the baby in the womb.

The value of Life

A Bible Lesson

Opening Activity: Play a game of “Human ring toss” with your group. Place part of your group in certain locations (kind of like “bowling pins”) away from the others. Give each kid a point value. For example, kids in the back row might be worth 10 points, while kids in the front are only worth 1 point. For the first round, make sure all the point values make sense. Let the rest of your group take turns tossing hula hoops with the object of trying to “catch” the others. (The others should not move out of their positions) Keep track of how many points they make. Switch sides and let the kids who were the “pins” have a chance to toss the hula hoops. The team with the most points at the end wins the game.

Optional: Play another round, mixing the points up and keeping the point values a secret.

Say: In this game, every person had a different value. Sometimes, we try to “assign” a value to people. We say that some people have more value than others, or that some have no value at all. Today we are going to look at what the Bible says about the value of human life.

Bible Lesson:

I. Opening Discussion.

A. What gives something value? After you have had a discussion about this, say: There are two things that give an object value. They are:

1) Who made it: For example, a painting by Van Gogh would have much more value than a painting by ME!!!

2) How much someone is willing to pay for it.

B. Knowing that, let’s take a look at human life. Who made us?

1) Look up and read Genesis 1:26-27.

2) According to these verses, God created us. God is the one who made us.

There is no one better than God, therefore we have INCREDIBLE value!

C. What price was paid for us?

1) Look up and read Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

2) According to these verses, the price paid for us was CHRIST himself! Jesus willingly died for us. That is the ultimate price . . . therefore we truly do have

INCREDIBLE VALUE.

So, our lives have value because God Created us and Jesus died for us, but what exactly constitutes life? Are there different degrees of value . . . like in the game we played earlier? Is one person’s life worth more than someone else’s? Are there different “degrees” of life? (Discuss)

II. When does life begin? (After discussing this question, ask if anyone can think of any Scripture that supports life beginning in the womb.)

A. Read Psalm 139:13-16. These verses say that we were “knit together’ by our creator while still in the womb.

B. Read Genesis 25:21-23. These verses tell the story of Jacob and Esau, twins who actually showed “sibling rivalry” while in the womb!

C. Read Luke 1:41-42. These verses show the reaction of baby John (while still in the womb) to his first meeting with baby Jesus (who was also still in the womb).

D. Read Exodus 21:22-25. This is an old testament law regarding the unborn in which it is clear that the unborn baby is considered a valuable life.

NOTE: If you remove God from the picture, you remove the VALUE of human life! If there is no God, life has no value. Removing God has HUGE implications for the value of life . . . which is one reason that the teaching of evolution is such a big deal. If we are taught from a young age that evolution is true, then we also begin to believe that there is no God, life has no value, and the baby in the womb is nothing more than a mass of tissue.

III. The attack on God’s people has involved killing babies in the past. Ask if anyone can give an example of this.

A. Pharaoh: The Israelite babies when Pharaoh ordered that all the baby boys were to be killed.

B. Herod – When he learned that baby Jesus had been born, he sent his soldiers to kill all babies age 2 and under in an effort to get rid of the new king.

But someone might say, “That’s different. In those cases, the people had no choice. Their babies were forcibly taken from them. In abortion, the woman has a choice. She should be allowed that choice.”

Let me ask this question: “Is something less valuable just because it is not wanted?”

And one more question, “Is anything ever truly NOT wanted?” Read John 3:16. God loves EVERYONE. God, the creator, made EVERYONE and loves EVERYONE. Everyone has value . . . from the unborn baby to the 90 year old with dementia. God wants EVERYONE to come to know Him. Jesus died for EVERYONE. Therefore EVERYONE has value.

IV. What does this mean for us?

A. How should this impact the way we treat others?

1. We need to treat everyone as valuable – even if we disagree with them.

2. We need to recognize the value of all people and live in such a way that we help others discover their value in Christ.

B. How should we live our lives?

Additional Activities:

1. Spend time in prayer!!!! There are a lot of things you can pray for that go along with this lesson – make a list and then spend time in serious prayer!

2. Volunteer at a local Pregnancy Resource Center.

3. Do something nice for someone who holds a different political view than you.