Gratitude-Letting others know you see how they've helped you.
November 2020 • Week 3
Today's Bible story: Say Something (Jesus Heals 10 Men) • Luke 17:11-19
Monthly memory verse: "Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good. His faithful love continues forever." Psalm 136:1 NIrV
Memory Verse for 2's - Pre-K: Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good." Psalm 136:1a NIrV
Life Application: Gratitude-Letting others know you see how they've helped you.
Suggested songs: Be Strong In the Lord, How Great is Our God and What a Beautiful Name
Praise & Pray: Sing along with the provided worship videos and pray. Access songs here
What you might pray: "Dear God, your word says to, 'Give thanks to the Lord, because he is good.' Please help me to remember to say thank you to you for all the wonderful things you have given to me. In Jesus' name I pray, amen."
Read God's Word together: Luke 17:11-19 (Need a kid-friendly Bible? Check out our suggestions.)
Family Devotional & Discussion
What you do: Watch the complementary video together as a family and discuss today's question.
What you discuss: "There are a lot of people who do things for us, moms, dads, friends, neighbors. God does things for us constantly throughout the day. Why do people forget to say thank you?"
Bible Story Review
What you need: Bible
What you do: Read Luke 17:11-19 together and discuss the following questions.
- What book of the Bible is our story found? (Luke)
- What disease did the men in the story have? (skin disease, leprosy)
- How many men in the story had a skin disease? (10)
- How many men did Jesus heal in this story? (10)
- How many men came back to thank Jesus? (1)
- If someone says thank you, but they don't really mean it, is it truly gratitude? Why or why not?
- Is it enough to just feel grateful without actually say it or expressing it in any way? Explain.
- What are some ways we can thank someone other than just saying "thank you"?
Pray and bless your family
What you need: No supplies needed
What you do: If you did the Give Thanks activity, refer back to all list your group brainstormed that they are thankful for. If you did not do the Give Thanks activity, take time to brainstorm what you are thankful for.
- God has provided so many things for us. He has given us love, safety, health, families, homes, food, clothing, teachers, etc. Let's take time to thank God for all the blessings God has given to us.
What you might pray: "Dear Jesus, we love You so much. Thank you for (list some of the items you are thankful for that your kids or family brainstormed). Thank You for everything You do for us. Thank You for loving us. Thank You for saving us. Please help us be like the one leper who came back. Help us remember to say thank you to You and to others who help us. We love You, Lord. Amen."
Additional Activities
What you need: At Home Supplies: Bible, a wooden spoon or toy want and "Ten Leaping Lepers" story download DOWNLOAD HERE
What you do: Open the Bible to Luke 17 and remind kids about the story you read. (If you didn't read it earlier, read it now), then read the provided "Ten Leaping Lepers" story.
- As you tell the story and say each number, point to a child and have them jump up and back down between each number.
- Vary your speed of counting to keep kids engaged and listening.
What you say: "God loves it when we say thank you to Him for the good things He does for us. Nine of the men didn't come back, and they didn't say thank you when Jesus made them better. Maybe they forgot because they were so happy. Maybe they thought that they didn't need to say thank you out loud because they were grateful in their hearts. But God loves it when we say thank you. When God does something that helps you or makes you happy, try not to forget to say thank you. (Make it Personal - Tell kids something you can say thank you to Jesus for right now. Then say, "Thank You God for _________.") "What is something that you can say thank you to Jesus for right now? (I can thank Him for loving me, for my family, for being my Savior, etc.) Great ideas! (Spend time saying thank You to God for the things the kids said.) You can always say thank you to Jesus."
What you need: Provided in Kit: Give Thanks craft, At Home Supplies: markers, decorating supplies (stickers, glitter, colored paper, etc.) Note: if you didn't pick up a kit at the church, have the kids use this Download to enjoy this fun activity. DOWNLOAD HERE
What you do: Brainstorm with kids things they are thankful for.
- Hand out the Give Thanks craft card or print and use the provided download. Kids will write or draw things they are thankful for on the accordion word craft or print out.
What you say: "Being healed was very important to the ten men. Not only were their skin diseases painful, but the men couldn't be around their family or friends because they didn't want to pass their skin disease on to anyone else. They had all lived away from their families for a long, long time. So, when Jesus healed them, He changed their lives. They could go back home to their families again! It was a joyful day. But only one of the ten men took the time to go back and say thank you to Jesus. And it meant a lot to Jesus that the man came back to thank Him. There are so many things and people in our lives who help us, and it's important to thank God for both the things in our lives that we are grateful for and the people in our lives are grateful for. This week, pay attention to the people in your life who help you, and say thank you to them. Maybe someone helps you with a homework assignment or your grandma makes you a delicious lunch. Simply saying 'thank you' is a great way to let someone know that you see how they helped you and you are grateful. (Make it Personal -Share a time when you thanked someone for helping you.) And most importantly, don't forget to say thank you to God for all the blessings he has given to you both material possessions and people.
What you need: At Home Supplies: Bibles, Pointer (wand, wooden spoon, etc.)
What you do: Gather the kids or family and give each person a Bible.
- Look up and read Psalm 136:1 together and practice the verse together multiple times.
- Instruct the kids/family that you will point to a person and that person will need to say the first word of the memory verse 'Give'.
- Ask whoever you point to next with the pointer will say the next word in the verse.
- Once they've said the word, point to someone else to say the next word in the verse.
- Continue pointing to different kids or family members until the entire verse has been said.
- Repeat the activity, but suggest that the kids use different voices-like a robot voice or an echo voice.
- Try to say the verse faster each time you repeat the activity.
- (Optional) Using a voice distortion auto tune app on a mobile device, record the group as they say the verse. Allow the kids to choose ways to distort their voices.
What you say: " 'Give thanks to the Lord because He is good.' What a great verse to remind us to say thank you to God. But God doesn't want us to stop there. He wants us to show gratitude to others and let them know we see how they have helped us. Just like the man in our story, it's important to stop and say thank you when someone helps us. You can say thank you in a lot of different ways-maybe you write a note or you make a little thank you gift for someone. Maybe, you simply say thank you. It doesn't matter how you thank others-it's just important you remember to say thank you."