(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will draw pictures of their favorite things and discuss why they are thankful for those things.
Provide pens and white paper. (If you prefer, you can create the labeled sheet and make enough copies to distribute to students.)
Distribute paper and pens to students. Instruct students to draw a grid similar to a tic-tac-toe board on their papers and then label each section with one of these categories: Movie, Soft Drink, Athlete, Song, Car, TV Show, Color, Season, Vacation Spot. Instruct students to write their favorite thing within each category. (For example: favorite vacation spot = beach, favorite soft drink = Dr. Pepper.)
Next, invite students to play a game. Challenge them to find one person in the class whose favorite item in each category is the same as theirs. Explain that they cannot place a person’s name in more than one category. (Example: Susan’s favorite TV Show is the same; Bryan’s favorite car is the same.) Allow students three minutes to find someone who shares their favorite item in each category. If desired, determine who found the most matches and award a small prize.
Invite volunteers to share with the group their favorite car or vacation spot. Ask: If someone gave you a car or a trip, how would you respond? As students respond, lead them to focus on how they would show their gratitude for such a gift to the person who provided it. Ask: What would you think of someone who showed no appreciation or gratitude for such a valuable gift?
Explain that students will read a passage of Scripture today that describes an incredible gift that Jesus gave to ten men and how each man responded to Jesus after receiving their gift.