When Do We Give Thanks?

Memory Verse

“Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Day 1-Give Thanks At All Times

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse. I added a little song on the “Giving Thanks” page if you need something to help your kids remember the verses.
  • Read Psalm 34:1, 4, 18.
  • Summarize Exodus 5:1-9.
    • Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and asked him to let the people go in order that they may worship God in the wilderness. However, he rejected their request and greatly increased the workload of the Israelites.
  • Read Exodus 5:22-23.
  • Ask
    • How were the people feeling?
    • Would you say they were fearful, brokenhearted, or crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:4, 18)?
  • Read or summarize Exodus 7.
  • Discuss
    • Even in very difficult times, God is with us and He is working.
    • How do you see God working to save His people in what we read today?
    • When we are in the midst of good times or difficult times, what are some things we can always praise God for?
      • Examples:
        • He doesn’t change.(Hebrews 13:8)
        • He hears us. (Psalm 116:1-2)
        • He is near. (Psalm 34:18)
        • He loves us. (John 3:16)
        • He made us. (Psalm 13:14)
        • He is in control. (Colossians 1:16-17)
        • He knows what we are going through. (Matthew 6:31-34)
        • He will never leave us. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
  • Song
    • “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman
  • Activity
    • If you haven’t started an ongoing gratitude list, start one with your kids today. Simply have them think of things they are thankful for and write them down. Put the list on the fridge or in a place where they will see it. Keep the list going for the rest of the month.

Day 2-Glorify His Name Forever

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse. I added a little song on the “Giving Thanks” page if you need something to help your kids remember the verses.
  • Read Psalm 86:8, 10, 12. If your kids are old enough, have them look theses verses up in their own Bibles and read them aloud. This would also be a good time to teach them, even young children, how to find Psalms in the Bible. It’s right in the middle, so they can put their two thumbs right in the middle of the Bible, and then open it up. It’ll usually open to Psalms, or at least very close to it.
  • Discuss
    • What do these verses tell us about God?
    • What do these verses say about what we are to do?
  • Have your kids recall what happened yesterday in our Exodus reading.
  • Read Exodus 8:1-15.
  • Talk about it
    • What happened?
    • Why?
    • What did the magicians do? Point out that they were able to make more frogs come up on the land, but that only made the problem worse.
    • Using their ‘secret arts’, the magicians were able to make frogs come up on the land of Egypt, but how did God show that His power was greater than theirs, that He is like no other? (verse 10-11)
    • Have them imagine living with all those frogs. Imagine the smell and how gross it must have been after all the frogs died.
    • Remind them that the God who shows His great power in Exodus is the same God today! He is still like no other, and because of that we should give thanks to Him with all our hearts and glorify His name forever!
  • Song
    • “No One Like Our God” by Matt Redman
  • Activity Ideas

Day 3- In the Morning and By Night

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verses.
  • Read Psalm 92:1-2.
  • Read Exodus 8:16-24.
  • Read or summarize Exodus 9:1-7.
  • Read Exodus 9:8-17.
  • Discuss
    • What four plagues did we read about today?
    • Ask older kids: Did you notice that after the gnats, all the other plagues just strike the Egyptians? Why? Look at Exodus 8:22.
    • Why did God continue to send these plagues? Look at Exodus 9:14, 16.
    • Moses had some early morning assignments from the Lord (Exodus 8:20 and Exodus 9:13). Psalm 92 says that “it is good to give thanks to the Lord…to declare His lovingkindness in the morning.”
    • How does giving thanks and praising Him for His love and faithfulness help us when we have a big day ahead?
      • Examples
        • Praising God helps put things into perspective.
        • When we recognize His love and faithfulness, we are more courageous because we know He never changes, no matter what circumstances may come.
        • Recognizing who God is helps us take the focus off our problems and helps us to rely on Him.
  • Pray. Thank God for His lovingkindness and His faithfulness.
  • Song
    • “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music

Day 4-From the Rising to the Setting of the Sun

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verse. Start with the youngest child. Have he/she say the first word of the memory verse. The person to his/her right will say the next word. Continue with this pattern, taking turns saying the words of the verse until you finish it.
  • Read Psalm 113:3.
  • Ask
    • What instruction does this verse give us?
  • Read or summarize the following passages:
    • Exodus 9:18-35
    • Exodus 10:1-20
    • Exodus 10:21-29
  • Discussion Ideas
    • Can you name all the plagues we have learned about so far? How many have we covered? Tomorrow we will read about the the last one.
    • What do we learn about God as we read about the plagues?
    • What do we learn about people as we read about the plagues?
    • What do we learn about ourselves?
    • What is God speaking to you about?
    • How can you praise God today?
    • What will you praise God for today?
  • Song
  • Activity Idea

Day 5-More and More and All Day Long

  • Pray.
  • Practice the memory verses.
  • Read Psalm 71:14-15.
  • Just a reminder-if you don’t have time to actually read all of the passages listed or if your kids are too young to sit for that long, tell the story in your own words. Kids love hearing their parents tell them stories. You can even do this in the car on the way to school if you don’t have time in the morning at the breakfast table.
  • Read Exodus 11:1-10.
  • Read Exodus 12:1-13.
  • Read Exodus 12:28-32.
  • Talk about it
    • What was the tenth and final plague?
    • God spared the Israelites from many of the previous plagues. This time, however, in order to be spared, they had to do something. What did God require of them?
    • What would happen when the Lord saw the blood on the doorpost of a person’s house?
    • What would happen to to the people who did not put the lamb’s blood on their doorpost?
  • Connect this story to the gospel
    • Those who trusted in the Lord believed that the lamb’s blood would save them from death. They submitted (made their ways line up with His) to Him because He was Lord, and He was the only one who could save them from experiencing the plague of death.
    • Does that sound like something that happens later in the Bible?
    • Jesus is called the Lamb of God. He was perfect, without sin, yet He died for us. We must trust in the Lord, and we must believe that His blood was the only way to save us from death (eternal separation from God). We must submit (make our ways line up with His) to Him because He is Lord (The Boss; the One in control). Jesus is the only one who can save us because He shed His perfect blood to pardon us sinners, and He rose again to overcome sin and death.
    • THIS is why we “praise Him yet more and more” and why we “tell of His salvation all day long.” (Psalm 71:14-15)
  • Song
    • “The Lord is My Salvation” by Keith and Kristyn Getty
  • Activity
    • Make sure you are adding to your Gratitude List!
  • References
    • John 1:29
    • 2 Corinthians 5:21
    • Romans 5:8-9
    • Acts 3:19
    • Ephesians 1:7
    • Romans 10:9
    • Romans 6:9