Where does true thankfulness come from? Can we be thankful even when we face trials? “Thankful to God (Biblical Thankfulness – Lesson 1)” is the first of three lessons helping children understand the ultimate reason we should be thankful. Also, children will learn that we can be thankful even when we face hard times. Click here for lesson 2 and lesson 3.
TARGET AGES: 10-14
OBJECTIVE: To understand that true thankfulness comes from knowing Jesus Christ as our Savior.
MAIN IDEA: Thankfulness comes from having a relationship with Jesus and understanding God’s love for us. We should choose thankfulness even in difficult situations because we already have victory through Jesus Christ.
SCRIPTURE PASSAGES: Colossians 2:6-7, Psalm 136:1, and 1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
MATERIAL(S): white board or poster board, paper, writing utensils, markers, stickers
MORE IDEAS: Don’t miss our large collection of Thanksgiving ideas for children’s ministry. You’ll find many more lesson ideas and free thanksgiving coloring pages.
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Introduction (10 minutes)
Say, “When you think about the holiday we call Thanksgiving what comes to mind? Today we are going to talk about true thanksgiving. First, let’s start by listing things we are thankful for on the board.” Allow a few minutes for the students to comment. Afterward, emphasize that today’s lesson will teach us what the bible says about thankfulness.
OPENING PRAYER: “God, thank you for your son, Jesus, who died for our sins. And thank you for the many blessings you give us. Give us understanding today as we learn what your word says about thankfulness. Amen.”
Lesson (20 minutes)
- Comment, “The bible tells us what we should be most thankful for.” Read Colossians 2:6-7. Explain that true thankfulness comes from knowing Jesus Christ! Say, “When we are faithful to God and choose to obey his commands then we will experience true thankfulness.” Share about a time when you were overwhelmed with thankfulness for your relationship to Jesus Christ. Then briefly outline the gospel message and invite students to come into a relationship with Christ if they do not already know him. Lastly, write “knowing Jesus” on the board.
- Next read Psalm 136:1. Ask, “According to this verse, why should we be thankful to God (because his love endures forever)? How do we know this promise is true (because he sent us Jesus and shows his love by taking care of us)?” Ask a volunteer to share about a time in their life when God took care of them. Then add “God’s love endures forever” on the board.
- Say, “We should also be thankful because God gives us victory through Jesus!” Read 1 Corinthians 15:57. Explain that God does more than provide salvation and take care of us – he gives us daily victory over life’s trials. Comment, “Because we are victors, we never have to wonder if God will help us through our troubles. We have confidence that he will always be with us, and that should make us extremely thankful.” Write, “We have victory through Jesus” on the board.
- Lastly, admit that it can be hard to be thankful in the midst of difficulties. Say, “Paul faced many trials, so we’re going to discover how he remained thankful even when life was hard.” Read 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Emphasize that Paul remained thankful because he chose obedience and faithfulness no matter what happened. Ask the students to come up with their own examples of when it could be hard to be thankful. Comment, “No matter what we go through, prayer and rejoicing in God will help us be thankful. Paul faced incredible struggles, so we should strive to follow his example of faithful perseverance when we find ourselves in difficult situations.”
Letters of Thankfulness (10 minutes)
Pass out the paper and craft supplies. Say, “We are going to spend the rest of our time today writing letters of thankfulness to God. This is not something we are going to share with one another, but it is a serious time of reflection. Please remain quiet as you work.” Allow the students to decorate their letters when they finish writing. Encourage them to keep the letters in a place where they can read it often as reminders to be thankful to God.
Conclusion (5 minutes)
RECAP: True thankfulness comes from knowing Jesus as our Savior and experiencing God’s eternal love. No matter what we face, we can choose thankfulness because we have victory in Jesus Christ.
CLOSING PRAYER: “Lord, thank you for our salvation and your love. Remind us to be thankful this week no matter what we face. Amen.”
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Giving thanks to God or showing your gratitude as an obedient religious person proved that you have faith and strong belief in God. There are lots of things and God’s blessings for what you should thank him from the bottom of your heart and almost for everything. Yes, you should praise to God not only when you’re going through sufferings or sad moments but always. Here’s some best Thank You Message To God for all the blessings and quotes that will help you to say thank you god for everything. We sincerely expect that from these thanking phrases for God you’ll find good thoughts to be more thankful to God and encouragement for living a glorious life with the blessings of God.
Thank You Message To God
Thank you for giving me strength to overcome adversity, to do what’s right for the benefit of the greater good, to rise above negativity.
Thank you God for every second on this earth, of which I will never receive back. Please teach me to steward this life that You have given to me.
God, thanks for giving me wisdom and bliss, I know that without you I couldn’t do anything. Thank you God for all the good that has happened in my life.
Father, thank You that You are always smiling, arms wide open welcoming this sinner back into Your embrace. Thank You for the joy it brings to share about You.
Thank you for giving me free will to love and be loved, to make my own decisions, to learn from my mistakes, to laugh when I am happy, to cry when I am sad.
Thank You for the strength by prayer to turn from self-pity over jealousy. Thank You for the wisdom to rest to continue serving You.
Thank You for still calling my name, for still loving me the same. My sins, you forgave. On that cross, my price You paid. Please help me understand the Gospel.
I will never stop thanking you’ve made me a reliable and committed person. Only to you I will be faithful forever. Thanks for everything, God, especially for my happiness and that of those around me.
Thank God for giving me life and for allowing me to share with family and friends good times that will be in the memory forever. Always light my way.
Thank You for the time I could spend with my friend and serve him, please teach me to love and serve others as You have served me first.
Thank You God Video Message
Thank You Wordings To Praise God
Thank You God for giving a sinner like me a new life, and an assurance that someday I will be with you in paradise, not by my merit, but Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross for my sins.
Thank you for the energy that feeds my soul, the sun that warms our bodies and the air that fills our lungs…
Lord, mostly I am thankful for the relationship that I have with You. Lord, You initiated this relationship, by what Your Son endeavored to accomplish, paying the price for my sin, redeeming and reconciling me.
Thank you God for giving me another day, another chance to become a better individual, another chance to give and experience love.
It’s impossible to stop believing in you if you’ve saved me from a moment of depression, an you came into my life when I most needed it, thanks to you I’m a different person full of love and goals. Thank you God.
Thank you for giving me hope for an end to world suffering, pain, and war, for a beginning of a world filled with light and everlasting love.
Thank you is little for all the happiness you give me along with my loved ones. Thank God for letting me live so long with them and for all the good things I have in this life.
I’m thankful, Lord, that I do not have to live under condemnation anymore, that You have truly set me free, that I am a new creation that I need not live under the law anymore. Thankful Lord that You have given me joy unspeakable. Thankful Lord that You are longsuffering, allowing me to mature in You!
Thank you God for giving me health, for the food you provide, for the awareness you have awaken in me…
Thank you God for another year of life! Still many dreams, desires… and You are always faithful! What will this year bring, I don’t know! But You know, please lead me to trust in you.
How not love you and thank you if it was you, God, who gave me a chance to find happiness again. Blessed be your spirit.
Thank You, Jesus for the blessings showered upon us. Thank You for all the happiness, health, and wealth. Thank You for this day.
Thank you for my family, my friends, my pets, my colleagues, and for every other living creature I meet along my journey.
Thank You God For All Blessings
Dear God thank you very much for the opportunities you’ve given me to be happy with a wonderful woman, thank you for being born here on earth and helping me achieve success.
I am thankful, Lord, for everything that You allow to cross my path. Thankful for the decisions that You allow me to make and the lessons that come from these decisions.
Lord, words do not express my thankfulness. For Your mighty power is at work in me, transforming me, renewing my mind. To You Lord belong thanks eternal.
I’ll never stop thanking you for making me a better person. I promise to be loyal in every aspect. Thank you dear God for the happiness I now have in my life and for the people who are with me.
Dear God, thank you for my life on this earth, however challenging or not.
My life wouldn’t be enough to thank you for all the happy moments you’ve given me with my family. Thanks for giving me so much to live with them and for how wonderful my life is.
Thank God for showing me the way of wisdom and happiness, I feel that without you I could get anywhere. I thank you for all the positive things happened in this life.
Lord I come before You, desiring to provide thanks. Father, I have so much to be thankful for, things unseen and seen, that You have done in my life.
Dear God, if you hadn’t sent your son Jesus Christ to earth, this world would be much worse and without hope of being saved. Thank you for the sacrifice of your son.
Yet God You are and always will be there with me, even when it seems like I am forever in the wilderness, running further and further from You, You, my God are there guiding me back to Your loving arms.
God, thank you for giving me life and happiness, for guiding me in the right path of peace and salvation.
Thank you God for all your blessings to me and my family, for the strength you give me each day and for all the people around me who make life more meaningful.
Thank You God Quotes
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you’? – Dr. William Arthur Ward
Thank you, God, for the dignity and beauty of self. The precious innate self. The only thing that can’t be taken from us. The only thing we really own. – Marjorie Holmes
I have never had anyone love me the way you love me. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. Thank you God for showing us the way to each other. – Nishan Panwar
I thank you God for this most amazing day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. – E.E. Cummings
I thank God I’m myself and for the life I’m given to live and for friends and lovers and beloveds, and I thank God for knowing that all those people have already paid for me. – Maya Angelou
I’m blessed and I thank God for every day for everything that happens for me. – Lil Wayne
Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do that day, which must be done, whether you like it or not. – James Russell Lowell
I may not be where I want to be, but thank God I am not where I used to be. – Joyce Meyer
I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that’s in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute. – Maya Angelou
Thank God I have the seeing eye, that is to say, as I lie in bed I can walk step by step on the fells and rough land seeing every stone and flower and patch of bog and cotton pass where my old legs will never take me again. – Beatrix Potter
I am as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best. – Walt Whitman
Thank you, dear God, for this good life and forgive us if we do not love it enough. Thank you for the rain. And for the chance to wake up in three hours and go fishing: I thank you for that now, because I won’t feel so thankful then. – Garrison Keillor
Make it a habit to thank God everyday and may your prayers can bring benefits or rewards to your life. We are feeling pleased to be a part of your thankfulness to God and share these messages and quotes with you. We wish that you will find these thank you message to God helpful and able to show your hearty thanks to God for everything.
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