Curriculum

Thanks Living

Thanks Living Go to Curriculum multi-week pack

Bible Background

What Kids Will Learn

God invites each of us to follow Him and His way of living. He wants us to serve others and share the blessings He has given us.

Scripture Summary

Throughout His ministry, Jesus continued to teach and preach God’s truths to His followers. Those listening in on His sermons included religious leaders, sinners, Jewish people, Gentiles, and common people. Some wanted to catch Jesus in saying something wrong while others hung on His every word in curiosity of a new life available.

At the end of this earth, God will separate those who genuinely follow Him from those who ignore Him or pretend to follow Him. While only God knows what’s truly in our hearts, His fruit in our lives is evidence of our belief. Jesus uses sheep and goats as examples of believers and unbelievers. They often grazed together and were separated when the sheep needed to be sheared.

When we serve others, we are acting out of the love God so lavishly extended to us. We are not to keep His love to ourselves, but we should freely share this love–in action–with others. It’s easy to serve our friends, those we like, and those who might serve us in return. But that’s not what Jesus is calling us to do.

He wants us to serve “the least of these”—those who can’t or won’t return the service, those who might spit in our faces, those who cannot do for themselves, those who are hard to love, and those with whom we have nothing in common. When we serve these and when we provide for some of their tangible needs, it’s as if we’re serving Jesus Himself.

Why Is This Important

God loves us and has given us many blessings. One of the ways we can show God that we truly love Him is when we share God’s blessings with others.

Teacher Devotion

Scripture

It’s a Heart Matter

“Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.” (Deuteronomy 15:10-11)

Generosity.

Take just a moment to ponder what thoughts you have in response to that word. Are you experiencing positive feelings? Do you feel weighed down by the thought? Are your thoughts focused on when you have experienced others’ generosity toward you or when you’ve been generous toward others?

God calls us to be generous with others. He loves us and has given us countless blessings–blessings that are to be freely shared with others. However, it’s not enough to give, to share, to be generous. Did you catch another key phrase in this passage? Not grudgingly.

Other words for “not grudgingly” are willingly, by choice, and at the drop of a hat. Synonyms go even further to include happily, eagerly, and enthusiastically. Whoa, those are some bold and beautiful words. Words that don’t always describe my attitude toward giving and sharing.

I’m not always eagerly preparing a meal for a new mom. I don’t always make two carpool trips enthusiastically to be sure a neighbor’s kids have a ride to school. I’m not always happy to open my door to tough- to-love friends needing to talk.

When I’m grudgingly serving out of obligation, my attitude taints everything–the act of service, the rest of my day, and my interactions with others. I find that when I’m honest with God and let Him know that I’m feeling inconvenienced, He is faithful to change my heart. His blessings to me are far more than meeting tangible things like food, shelter, and clothing. He blesses me with His love, His attitude, and His generosity to not only affect my soul but the souls around me.

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for loving me and meeting my physical needs. Please forgive me when I’m stingy and have an unwilling heart to share what You’ve given me with others. I want to have genuine willingness to share Your blessings with others today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Get the full Sunday school lesson plan

  • Bible Memory Verse
  • Interactive Bible Experience
  • Animated video with companion questions

Bible Memory Verse

You’ll Need: Bed sheets - one per team, Index cards

Get Ready: Write words or phrases from the Bible memory verse on different index cards. Make one set per team, and make enough so there is at least one card for each player. Place the index card sets in piles at one end of the room, along with a bed sheet for each team.

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40

  • Explain to the kids that you’re going to help one another solve the Bible memory verse.
  • A player from each team will sit on the sheet with the correct index card to put the Bible memory verse in order.
  • The other players will pull the sheet and the other person to the oppo- site side of the room to put the verse in order on the floor and then pull them back.
  • Make sure each player gets a ride on the sheet with an index card.
  • The first team to help all their players down to put the Bible memory verse in order wins.

ASK:

  • What was difficult about putting this Bible memory verse in order?
  • What things might get in your way of caring for others like God calls us to do?

SAY: It’s not always easy to help others, but God has told us to help those in need. We can always ask God to help us know what to do when helping others is hard. He’ll help us know what to do. Remember, sharing God’s blessings with others is a great way to thank God for all He has done for us.

Interactive Bible Experience

You’ll Need: Bibles - one per child

  • Invite each child to turn in their Bibles to Psalm 100.
  • Explain that you’re going to read the Psalm aloud. When the kids hear something about God they can be thankful for, encourage them to yell out “Thank You!”

ASK:

  • What did this Psalm help you remember to be thankful for?

SAY: In God we have so much to be thankful for. When we live thankful lives, especially during hard times, we can share the blessing of Jesus with others because He is the greatest gift of all.

Snack

Thankful Treats

You’ll Need: Mini candy bars, Buckets

  • Place the mini candy bars in buckets.
  • For every thing kids can name they are thankful for, they can have a treat. (Set a max number.)

SAY: Today we learned we have so much to be thankful for, didn’t we? We can show how thankful we are by how we live.

ASK:

  • Tell about someone you know who you could help.
  • What will you do for that person?
  • What might you share with that person about God that shows why you want to help them?

Game

Thanks Living Charades

You’ll Need: Small paper bag, Slips of paper, Timer

Get Ready: Before class, write different ways you can help someone in need on slips of paper.

  • Divide the class into teams.
  • Let each team draw a slip of paper and act out a charade of something they can do to help someone in need.
  • Each team will guess until time is up.

ASK:

  • What senses or skills did you use to figure out what your teammates were acting out?
  • How can you use those senses or skills to look for people in need?

SAY: One way we can live a thankful life is by looking for others in need and finding ways to help them. God loves when we thank Him by caring for others because He wants everyone to know about Him, and He wants us to be part of His blessings toward others.

Craft

Snack Pack for Others

You’ll Need: Brown paper lunch bags - one per child, Stickers, Markers, Crackers, Pudding cups, Fruit cups, Juice boxes, Granola bars, Other items for someone in need

To make the thankful bag, have kids follow these steps:

  • Provide the children with a brown paper lunch bag to decorate with words from today’s lesson on showing our thanks to God by sharing God’s blessings.
  • Let the children put together “snack packs” to give to hungry people in their area.
  • Set up the food on a table so kids can fill the bags—assembly style.
  • Let the children walk around the table and make snack packs to be given out to people in need.
  • Invite children to keep this bag in their family car to give it to someone in need. Stress that they’re only to do this with adult supervision.

SAY: Now that you’ve made your snack bag, let’s pray and ask God to give us the opportunity to share this bag with someone else. Hold your bags as I pray.

PRAY: Dear God, please give us the eyes to see those in need. Give us the courage to share with them. We want to live lives of thanksgiving for all You have done for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Prayer

Thankful for You Prayers

You’ll Need: Construction paper, Markers

  • Give each child a piece of construction paper and some markers.
  • Invite them to think of someone in their life who they’re thankful for.
  • Instruct them to pray silently for that person.
  • Then have them make that person a card sharing that they thanked God for them.

PRAY: Dear God, we have so much to be thankful for. Thank You for all the people in our lives we just prayed for. God, show us others who are in need and how we can help them. We want to live thankful lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.