(5-8 minutes, easy setup)
Learners will discuss how the presence or absence of gratitude might affect a person’s life.
Print the quotes by Nancy Leigh DeMoss (listed below) on separate sheets of paper. Also provide a dry erase board and marker.
Create two columns on the board and label them “Thankfulness” and “Gratitude.” Ask: What do you think is the difference between thankfulness and gratitude? List responses under the appropriate column on the board.
Share this definition of thankful and grateful offered by Charles Shelton in his book, The Gratitude Factor: “Being thankful connotes a sense of appreciation aroused by an external event that is seldom memorable or meaningful, while being grateful conveys something of deeper significance and frequently includes some level of interior transformation.”
Divide learners into two groups and give each group one of the pieces of paper on which you’ve printed a quote from Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Invite each group to discuss how the presence or absence of gratitude impacts an individual’s life. After two to three minutes, invite the first group to share their quote with the class, and then ask: Have you ever seen ungratefulness fester like a disease in a person? How did that impact his or her relationships with others? Invite the second group to share their quote with the class, and then ask: Have you known any people who lived in a constant state of gratitude? How did that impact their outlook on life?
Share that in today’s lesson, learners will consider how people expressed—or failed to express—their gratitude to Jesus when He performed a miracle for them.