Never Be Afraid to Thank God
Let’s get up and dance with your kids in praise! Play some worship music in your home, have fun with it! Raise your hands, jump, close your eyes – enjoy a time of worship as a family. To get you into a groove, here are some songs to choose from:
Fear Get Out Of Here - by Hillsong Kids https://youtu.be/EfWhVXmEfjc
Never Be Afraid to Thank God
Lesson: “I can tell God ‘thank you’ even if no one else does.”
Bible Passage: Luke 7:36-50, Jesus Anointed
Today’s story comes to us from the Bible. (Hold up a Bible.) The Bible is God’s word to us, so we know that everything it says is true. (Open the Bible and set it down in front of you as you give the lesson.)
In life, we can choose to grumble and be selfish, or we can choose to be grateful. Everyday, we should praise God and give Him thanks. We can tell God “thank you” even if no one else does.
One day, Jesus was having dinner in the home of a man named Simon. A woman came into the house. The people didn’t like this woman, because she had done some bad things. But this woman didn’t care what other people thought. She only cared about Jesus. She wanted to thank him for who he was.
The woman was crying, and her tears wet Jesus’ feet. She used her hair to wipe Jesus feet. She had brought an expensive bottle of perfume with her. She poured the perfume on Jesus’ feet and washed them. This was her way of thanking Jesus.
No one else at the dinner thanked Jesus. They were mad at the woman for what she was doing. But Jesus told them that what she was doing was a good thing. She was the only one who had shown her love and thanks to Jesus.
Jesus forgave the woman of all the bad things that she had done. Just one more reason for the woman to give Jesus thanks.
We can thank God for who he is and everything he does for us. Not everyone will praise and thank God; they might even think we’re weird if we do. But we shouldn’t let that stop us. We should remember: I can tell God “thank you” even if no one else does.
Simple Prayer:
Dear God, You are good. We don’t care what other people do; we will always thank you. Amen
Discussion Questions:
Wiggle Tamer: Play a few rounds of Follow the Leader
Small Group Memory Verse: As a group, see how loudly you can shout the verse together.
Questions: What did the woman in the story do when she saw Jesus? Did anyone else stop to thank Jesus?What are some ways we can tell God ‘thank you’?
Game: Have kids sit in a circle. Challenge kids to think of something that they thank God for. When you say, “I thank God for. . .” one of the kids will stand up, finish the sentence, and then sit down again. Repeat the “I thank God for. . .” until all kids have had a chance to participate. If two or more kids stand up at the same time and talk over each other, that’s okay – we want to thank God even if no one else does, but we also thank God when everyone else does!
Arts & Craft: Happy Tears
Items Needed: Construction paper, glue sticks, crayons
Advanced Prep: From blue construction paper, cut out a 1” x 2” tear shape. Make enough tears for each kid to have 6-10. Cut other cream, brown, and white construction paper, into the shape of a large footprint.
Directions: Give each kid a footprint and 6-10 teardrops. Have kids glue the teardrops to the foot. Explain that the woman in today’s story cried because she was overcome with gratitude and joy. She was crying “happy tears.” Have kids transform the teardrops into “happy tears” by drawing smiley faces on them. Allow kids to color the rest of the image as they see fit.
Tell the kids: Each teardrop can remind us of one thing that we have to be thankful for. Ask kids what they thank God for. See if you can come up with one for every “happy tear.”
