(5–8 minutes, easy setup)
Provide and index card and pen for each learner.
Ask: Why do you think the Samaritan leper was the only one in the group of ten lepers who returned to Jesus to give thanks? (The Samaritan leper understood his desperate his situation: he was from a hated race of people and he had a disease that was considered incurable.) Say: Because his need was so great, the leper returned to Jesus and offered abundant thanks.
Discuss: When you're going through difficult circumstances, is your first instinct to fix everything yourself, or to come to God with your need? Distribute an index card and pen to each learner. Instruct learners to list on their index cards as many as three times in the past when they faced desperate needs in their lives. (Examples might include a family member with a life-threatening illness, or the loss of a job and subsequent loss of financial security.) Then instruct learners to list next to each past need how God took care of that need. (Examples might include provided a new job, healing, or the strength to survive the loss of a loved one.) Then instruct learners to write a short prayer thanking God for the way He met their needs in those desperate times.
Then instruct learners to turn over their index cards and begin a new list of God’s blessings in their lives, blessings that He has given them that aren’t tied to any specific need they have expressed to Him. After a minute or two, invite volunteers to share with the group some of the blessings on their lists. Ask: What are some ways you can remind yourself that God is more than capable of giving you good gifts and meeting your needs? Point out that when we realize how much we need God, we begin to see that everything we have is a gift from Him—which leads to gratitude and joy. Encourage learners to pray with a partner, thanking God for every good thing He has given them and praying for an attitude of gratitude to take firm root in their lives.