(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will reflect on the blessings they have experienced in their lives.
Provide a sheet of paper and a pen for each student. Also provide a dry erase board and marker.
Learning Goal: Students will evaluate their own responses to God of gratitude for the blessings He has brought to their lives.
Challenge students to use their smart phones to find the lyrics to the old song “Count Your Blessings” by Johnson Oatman, Jr. Invite students to call out the words to the chorus (or refrain) as you write them on the board. Ask: Why do you think we need songs to remind us to give thanks to God for the blessings He has given us?
Pass out paper and pens to students. Explain that students will work in groups of three to “count their blessings, name them one by one” in response to the promptings in each verse of the song. Enlist a volunteer to read the first verse of the song aloud, and then ask: Under what conditions does this song remind us to count our blessings? Lead students to write on their papers times when God has blessed them when they were discouraged or worried.
Enlist a volunteer to read the second verse of the song aloud, and then ask: Why is it sometimes hard to see God’s blessings when life is hard? Lead students to list times when God’s blessings have helped them get through tough circumstances.
Enlist a volunteer to read the third verses aloud, and then ask: How does comparing our blessings with the blessings we think others have received hinder your ability to be grateful for what you have? Have you considered how much more you have than teenagers in many parts of the world have? Lead students to list the ways God has blessed them with material and spiritual riches.
Enlist a volunteer to read the final verse aloud, and then ask: How can the certainty that God will bless us all of our lives lead us to show our gratitude to Him? Close by encouraging students to pray within their groups, thanking God for the many blesses each person has received and asking Him to help each person develop the habit of showing gratitude to God for His blessings each day.