Spanish 
From "A Celebration of Advent: Family Worship Guide"
1 John 4:9-11 NLT
God showed how much He loved us by sending His one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
Have you ever thought about how often we use the word love when we talk about things or activities? I love ice cream! I love riding my bike! I love summer! We use the same word to talk about the people who are really important to us, as well. I love my parents! I love my friend, Shelley. We use the word to describe a feeling of affection for someone or enthusiasm for something. We often use the word ‘love’ because it describes one of the strongest, best-feeling emotions we have.
But what if love isn’t an emotion? What if it’s someone? In 1 John 4, the author says God is love. This is hard for our brains to understand because we are used to thinking about love as a feeling. In the New Testament, the word used for God’s love is agape. Agape love is unconditional, which means it doesn’t depend on anything we say or do but rather on who God is. This love is sacrificial, giving without expecting anything in return. It’s a love that wants what is best for us, whether we deserve it or not. We learn that God is love through the way He acts, and we see that really well through the life of Jesus.
Jesus was the living example of the Father’s love to everyone around Him. When He came to the world to live with people, He was fully God and fully human all at the same time. People related to Jesus because He was like them in every way - except for sin. People were able to see the Father’s love through what He said and did. The writers of the New Testament looked to Jesus’ teachings and His actions to define this new kind of love. Every word Jesus spoke about love was demonstrated through His actions. Think about all of the wonderful and amazing things Jesus did, and you’ll know what God’s character of love looks like. Jesus left Heaven to live as a human being and give Himself the perfect and final sacrifice. He died for every sin of every person that ever was or ever will be, so all who believe in Him can be part of God’s family forever. That is unconditional and undeserving love given freely with no strings attached!
God’s love didn’t end with Jesus’ death or His resurrection or His ascension into Heaven. It keeps on going as we wait for Jesus to return. His presence, filled with a love we can’t fully comprehend, is continually with us as He teaches us more about Him and more about loving Him by showing God’s love to others. This love is always with us as we wait for Jesus to come back. That is what we celebrate during Advent and on Christmas Day, but also all year long. That is why we share God’s amazing gift of love with others all year long!