Happy Thanksgiving to our American friends.  Being grateful to Jesus is a lesson we can teach our kids no matter what country we live in so here’s a lesson on Thanksgiving.  If you’d like to download the free PDF please visit:   https://cooeekidsministry.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Thanksgiving.pdf   

It’s a very full program with an overflowing supply of activities that emphasise thankfulness.  It includes a call and response which may be something new for your kids to experience.  God’s people sang Psalm 136 responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord.  I encourage you to give it a try.     

YouTube Suggested Songs:

• Give Thanks HD (Sag-Sub Choi)
• Thankful (Lifetree Kids)
• Reckless Love (chapelhillkids)

Bible Lesson:  Jesus Heals 10 Lepers

Bible Reference:  Luke 17:11-19

Visual aids are available for this lesson from Free Bible Images here: https://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/

Jesus and His disciples were on the way to Jerusalem and had reached the border between Galilee and Samaria.

As Jesus entered a village, ten men with leprosy (a skin disease) stood at a distance, crying out, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ 

The men were standing away from everyone else because lepers were forbidden from mixing with people.  Leprosy is contagious.  It could be caught by touching a

leper or touching something a leper had touched.

The men could not live with their families.

They were outcasts, covered in horrible sores, and their rotting skin smelled awful.

They had to call out to Jesus from a distance because they were not allowed any closer.

In time they would die from the terrible disease.  There was no cure.

Normally Jews and Samaritans would not be seen together.

They held different religious beliefs and could not agree,

but as outcasts, these men had gathered together for company.

Jesus looked at them and said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’

He said that because it was the job of a local priest to examine people to see whether

or not they had leprosy. 

As they did what Jesus told them to do they were healed of leprosy.

Their skin was perfect!  No more smelly sores! 

One of them, a Samaritan man, when he saw that he was healed, came back to

Jesus, shouting, ‘Praise God!’  He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking

Him for what he had done.

Jesus asked, ‘Didn’t I heal ten men?  Where are the other nine? 

Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’

Jesus then said to the man, ‘Stand up and go.  Your faith has healed you.’

The man who thanked Jesus was not the one Jesus expected to say thank you. 

He was a Samaritan, yet he was the only one who took the time to thank

Jesus for healing him. 

Jesus missed the other nine men who didn’t say thank you.

He noticed they were not there.

Jesus notices everything. 

Have you remembered to thank Jesus for what He has done for you?

Have you thanked Him for leaving His home in heaven?

For dying on the Cross for you?

            Let’s pray and thank Jesus right now!

            (Children may like to take turns to pray aloud.

            It may be thanking Jesus for one thing each.)

Call & Response:  Psalm 136 

You’ll need two Leaders in front of the children.  One Leader gives the call according to the verse in the Psalm and the other Leader leads the response, ‘His love continues forever.’  You may like to add visuals using PowerPoint or Flashcards which need to be shown at the same time as the call.  It will help children understand the words.  I’ve used the Children’s International Bible for the call and response.  The cadence isn’t as good as the King James Version however it is easier for the children to understand.  You may choose to use only a portion of the Psalm depending on the age of the children.

Leader:            When you read the Book of Psalms, you’ll see a lot about giving thanks to God…or thanksgiving. But what is thanksgiving? Thanksgiving is the public recognition and celebration of God and all He has done. We give thanks to God because He is good. No one is as good as God. He is the source of all goodness. It’s because He is so good that He loves us. His love for us never ends. His love never runs out. And that is why we thank Him!

Overview:        Verses 1-4: The continuing love of God from the beginning of time

Visual:             (Child giving thanks)

Call:                 Give thanks to the Lord because he is good.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Elijah and his offering burnt up)

Call:                 Give thanks to the God over all gods.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Statue of Baal fallen down)

Call:                 Give thanks to the Lord of all lords.

Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Walls of Jericho falling down)

Call:                            Only he can do great miracles.

Response:       His love continues forever.

Overview:        Verses 5-9: The continuing love of God the Creator

Visual:             (Sky)

Call:                 With his wisdom he made the skies.

Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Island in the sea)

Call:                 He spread out the earth on the seas.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Sun and moon)

Call:                 He made the sun and the moon.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Daytime)

Call:                 He made the sun to rule the day.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Night time)

Call:                 He made the moon and stars to rule the night.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Overview:        Verses 10-15: The continuing love of God towards His people

Visual:             (Moses in the bulrushes)

Call:                 He killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Israelites leaving Egypt)

Call:                 He brought the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Moses with rod outstretched)

Call:                 He did it with his great power and strength.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Parting of the Red Sea)

Call:                 He parted the water of the Red Sea.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Israelites walking through on dry land)

Call:                 He brought the Israelites through the middle of it.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Egyptian chariots in the sea)

Call:                 But the king of Egypt and his army drowned in the Red Sea.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Overview:        Verses 16-22:  The continuing love of God from the wilderness to the Promised Land

Visual:             (Israelites in the wilderness)

Call:                 He led his people through the desert.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Empty throne)

Call:                 He defeated great kings.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Fallen crown)

Call:                 He killed powerful kings.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Amorites – photograph of stone carving from Wikipedia)

Call:                 He defeated Sihon king of the Amorites.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Ancient city ruins)

Call:                 He defeated Og king of Bashan.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Promised Land)

Call:                 He gave their land as a gift.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Milk and honey)

Call:                 It was a gift to his servants, the Israelites.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Overview:        Verses 23-25:  The continuing love of God in ongoing deliverance and help

Visual:             (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace)

Call:                 He remembered us when we were in trouble.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Daniel in the lion’s den)

Call:                 He freed us from our enemies.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Visual:             (Cow eating grass in a meadow)

Call:                 He gives food to every living creature.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Overview:        Verse 26:  Gratitude to the God of continuing love

Visual:             (Family saying grace)

Call:                 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
Response:       His love continues forever.

Ministry to the Children:

We have so much to be thankful to God for.  He will never stop finding ways to bless us and ways to help us.  But the greatest gift God gave to us was the gift of His Son, Jesus. (Romans 6:23) Even when we didn’t know anything about God he pursued us to make us His own. (Romans 5:6-8)

We were all sinners who had done things wrong.  The punishment for sin is death (Romans 3:23).  Jesus came and died on the Cross to take our punishment.  (Romans 8:3-4)  Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death forever!  Why not thank God for everything He has done by asking Jesus into your life today?  God is calling you…will you respond to Him now?  (Altar call)  

Memory Verse:  1 Thessalonians 5:18

In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1. Get two disposable paper bowls for each word of the Memory Verse. Write one Memory Verse word on each bowl so there are two sets of bowls with the complete Memory Verse in each set.

• Split into two teams and give one set of bowls to each team. Have each bowl filled with food (e.g. cereal, chips, custard) so that the word underneath can’t be read.

• ‘Ready, set, go!’ and the team that finishes their food first, arranges the Memory Verse in proper order, and reads it out is the winner.

You must check for food allergies among the children first!

Morning Tea:

Share morning tea but before eating it’s time to sing Grace!  ‘Grace’ is thanking God for our food.  Jesus thanked God for food before He fed people (Matthew 14:15-21; 15:32-38) and before He ate. (Luke 24:13-35)  There’s a song that has been around for a long time (sometimes referred to as ‘Farmer Grace’ if you add a Yee Haw).  

Th-aaaa-nk you Lord for giving us food

            Th-aaaa-nk you Lord for giving us food

            Th-aaaa-nk you Lord for giving us food

            Right where we are

            Amen!

            Aaaa-lleluia praise the Lord

            Aaaa-lleluia praise the Lord

            Aaaa-lleluia praise the Lord

            Right where we are

            Amen!

Game:  Please Mr Crocodile!

A call-and-response game!  All of the children except the one who is chosen as Mr Crocodile stand side by side at one side of the play area, facing the other side.  Mr Crocodile stands in the middle of the play area.  The children chant, ‘Please Mr Crocodile may we cross the river?  If not, why not? What’s your favourite colour?’

Mr Crocodile calls out one colour name and any of the children wearing that colour are safe to cross past Mr Crocodile to the other side of the play area.

Once the children who are ‘safe’ are across to the other side of the play area, the children not wearing the selected colour must try to run across to the other side of the play area without being caught by Mr Crocodile.  The child that is caught becomes the next Mr Crocodile and the game starts over.

Craft 1:  Thank You Cards

You will need:

• Thank you card template photocopied onto white cardboard (picture or scripture)
• Collage items
• Glue
• Felt pens
• Stickers
• Ink stamps

What to do:

• Give each child a cardboard thank you card
• Decorate the card with collage items and stickers
• Colour pictures and write a message inside

Craft 2:  Placemats

You will need:

• A3 placemats (photocopies of a place setting, food & Bible verse or grace in B&W)
• Felt pens
• Stickers and other decorative bits and pieces
• Scissors
• Glue
• Laminator

What to do:

• Children colour and decorate their placemat
• Laminate the placemat so it can be wiped down after use
• Put one leader in charge of the laminator and make sure they NEVER leave it!

Alternatively, make the placemat craft your first activity and while children are involved in the rest of the program leaders can laminate them elsewhere.