Gratitude-Letting others know you see how they've helped you.
November 2020 • Week 4
Today's Bible story: The Story of the Workers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20:1-15
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 Jesus, sometimes we forget to be grateful for what you have given to us. Help us to remember to say thank you to you Lord. In Jesus name I pray, amen."
Read God's Word together: Matthew 20:1-15 (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: Our story today can show us a lot about gratitude. The worker that was hired first complained about how much he was paid but forgot to be grateful for the pay he did receive. Sometimes we want what other people have and when we don't get it we complain. The important thing to remember is that God has given us so much we need to remember to be grateful for what God gave to us. What is keeping you from being grateful?
Bible Story Review
What you need: Bible
What you do: Read Matthew 20:1-15 together and discuss the following questions.
- How is a person saved? (by faith)
- What two questions did Jesus answer before He told the parable of the laborers? (Who can be saved? What will be our reward?)
- What is a parable? (a story that Jesus told to help disciples understand God's ways better)
- What time did the landowner hire his first group of workers? (6 a.m.)
- What did he agree to pay them? (a denarius)
- What other times did the landowner hire workers? (9 a.m. noon, 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.)
- What did he say he would pay them for their work? (whatever is right)
- In what order were the workers paid? (last to first)
- Why did the workers who were hired first grumble? (they expected to be paid more because they worked longer)
Pray and bless your family
What you need: Bible opened to Psalm 136:1 or Bible verse projected on the screens
What you do: Read the Bible verse a few times with the class.
- "What are some things or people you are grateful for? Why are you grateful for that item or person?"
- "Our memory verse for the month tells us that God's faithful love goes on forever! In fact, He loves you SO much that He sent Jesus to live on Earth and make a way for you to have a relationship with God, even when you didn't deserve it. Wow! So, instead of focusing on what you don't have, choose to think about what you DO have. Think about how much God loves you, and think about Jesus."
- Ask for prayer requests.
What you might pray: (Pause briefly after each sentence, leading kids to whisper the sentence after you.)
"God, You are good. You are loving. You are faithful. Your love for me never stops. Please forgive me when I focus on what I don't have. Please help me adjust my attitude. Please help me be thankful. Help me think about Your love. Help me think about Jesus. Thank You, Lord. I love You SO much. Pray for prayer requests. Amen."
Additional Activities
What you need: Provided in Kit: Orange paper plate, 'Give Thanks To The Lord' leaf, Bible, scissors, markers, glue. (DOWNLOAD HERE)
What you do: Open the Bible to Psalm 136:1. Read this month's Bible verse multiple times.
- Cut out the green 'Give Thanks To The Lord' leaf on the solid lines.
- Glue the leaf to the orange side of the paper plate.
- Write the remainder of the Bible verse, Psalm 136:1, on the orange side of the paper plate.
What you say: "There will be times when it will be hard to have a grateful attitude. When you find yourself focusing on what others have or when you find yourself focusing on something that seems unfair, that's when you need to adjust your attitude. Reciting Psalm 136:1 and remembering that God's faithful love for you continues forever can help you adjust your attitude."
What you need: Foam tiles (for home play, we suggest using a length of yarn, a jump rope or some other delineating item)
What you do: In the classroom, kids will jump from the front of their foam square to the back of their foam square.
- Explain that you're going to play a jumping game. Share the rules.
- You will read a True/False statement, and direct the kids to jump to show their answer.
- If the answer is true, kids jump in front of their tile towards you.
- If the answer is false, kids jump to the back of their tile away from you.
- For the "False" statements, review the correct answer.
True/False Questions:
- Today is Friday. True or False? (just a practice question to make sure the kids have the rules down)
- Our story today is from the book of Matthew. True or False? (True)
- The landowner in our story needed workers for his vineyard. True or False? (True)
- He hired all the workers he needed at one time. True or False? (False: He went to out to get workers 5 times, early morning, at 9, at 12, at 3, at 5.)
- The landowner told all of the workers that they would earn the same pay at the end of the day. True or False? (False: He only told the first workers he hired how much they would get paid)
- The landowner was a generous man. True or False? (True)
- All of the workers received the payment they were promised. True or False? (True)
- Everyone was happy with the payment they received for a day's work. True or False? (False: The workers hired first thought they should make the most money even though they received what they were promised.)
- Some of the workers, when they were paid, needed to stop and adjust their attitude. True or False? (True. Follow up with: What workers needed an "attitude adjustment?")
What you say: "Sometimes, it's hard to focus on what you have and be grateful. In the Bible story today, the workers who were hired in the early morning had a hard time being grateful. They were paid exactly what they were promised, but instead of being grateful for what they had, they complained about what others were given. They definitely needed to adjust their attitude!
"When you start focusing on what others have, stop, adjust your attitude, and remember to be thankful for the things you have. It's important to thank God for the gifts He has given you and to not compare what God has given you with others." (Make it Personal - Share a time when you had to adjust your attitude to be thankful for what you have. Maybe your friend got a new bike, and it was nicer than your bike. Or your friend is a better tennis player than you.)