During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true.
Think about what is noble, right and pure.
Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect.
If anything is excellent or worthy of praise,
think about those kinds of things.
Philippians 4:8
Our thoughts can powerfully affect our attitude and outlook. Negative thoughts lead to anger, sadness, and bitterness. Positive thoughts lead to joy, peace, and hope. Our brains are designed to reinforce the thought patterns we use most often. That is why Paul encourages us to think about things that are true, right, and pure. As we cultivate gratefulness and train our thoughts on good things, we can have joy, even when our circumstances are difficult.
What do you think about? When you have a quiet moment to just think does your mind dwell on your worries and cares? Do you think about the ways you have been mistreated or the trials you have endured? Or do you ponder the amazing works of your wonderful God? Do you meditate on the ways He has changed your life and provided for you? When you think about the good things in your life and how good God is, you can experience the peace and joy that only come from Him.
Encourage families to talk to their children about the things they are thankful for. Ask them to think of at least 1 good thing that has come out of a difficult situation.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Greet the children as they come to class. Ask each child to say 1 positive thing that happened to him this week.
Today, we will talk about choices we have in our lives and over our feelings. Let’s try an activity. I will say a statement. If it is true, stand up and raise your hand in the air. If it is not true, sit down.
That last one was a little difficult.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
We make many choices every day. While we cannot choose what emotions we will feel, we can choose how to manage them. Our emotions can be hard to control sometimes. When bad things happen, we may feel as if we have no choice but to be sad and feel afraid. There are times to be sad, but the Bible tells us we can choose to be happy and joyful even when bad things happen. Today we will talk about how to do that!
Help the children find partners to sit with for this section of the lesson.
Listen carefully as I tell you a story. You will answer questions about it in a moment. Joseph was having a bad day. In the morning, he stepped on a sharp rock and cut his foot. In the afternoon, he argued with his older brother, which made him grumpy. In the evening, his father came home and told the family that he had lost his job. Joseph felt sad and angry. He wanted to scream and cry. He began to think that only bad things happened to him.
After asking each question below, give the children about 1 minute to talk with their partners about their answers. After each question, ask 2 pairs to share their ideas with the whole class.
Our thoughts are very powerful. Science shows that our brains build pathways based on the emotions we feel in different situations. When we respond with angry, negative thoughts, those thoughts build a pathway in our brains that makes it easier to have angry and negative thoughts again. God knows it can be difficult for us to think positive thoughts because He created us. For this reason, the Bible tells us how to choose to think about things that will help us to be cheerful.
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.
Philippians 4:8
This verse tells us that we can always think about what is true. Here is something true for you to think about: God made us and He loves us! Because of Him we have so many good things to think about, even when we have a difficult day or something bad happens.
Thinking about the good things in your life and how good God is can help you to have a positive attitude. The more you think about things that are good, right, and pure, the more likely you will be to have those thoughts when you face a challenge or have a bad day.
Let’s listen to Joseph’s story again. Every time you hear something positive, stand up. Every time you hear something that is not positive, squat down.
Joseph was having a bad day. In the morning, he stepped on a sharp rock and cut his foot (squat). His mum helped him clean the wound and put a bandage on it (stand). In the afternoon, he argued with his older brother over whose turn it was to feed the animals (squat). This made Joseph grumpy until he remembered that he actually enjoyed feeding the animals (stand). In the evening, his father came home and told the family that he had lost his job (squat). “I’m glad that I can work for your uncle while I’m looking for a new job,” he said (stand). Joseph felt sad and angry. He wanted to scream and cry. He began to think that only bad things happened to him.
Allow 2–3 students to respond to each of the following questions.
His mum cares about him and helped him when he hurt his foot. He likes spending time with animals. His dad has temporary work until he finds a new job.
Here are some tools you can use to help you focus on the good things in your life.
God is our place of safety. He gives us strength. He is always there to help us in times of trouble.
Psalm 46:1
As you go through each day, practicing these 4 tools can help you to focus on the good things in your life so that you can be cheerful. Let’s practice using these to help us through a pretend day.
Let’s gather together and talk about some things that might happen to us in a day. You will decide how you will choose to be cheerful!
Ask the children to sit in a circle in the middle of your teaching space. Ask the children to act with you as you talk about the events.
Let’s pretend it is Saturday morning and you just woke up.
Pretend to stretch your arms and yawn.
What do you do every morning to get ready for the day? Stay in your place in the circle as you show me with your actions what you might do.
Allow the children to act out their morning routines. Call out any actions you recognize, like eating, getting dressed, and helping siblings get ready.
Next, it is time to go to the market.
Lead the children in standing up and marching in place. Then have the children sit down again.
You need to buy some things for your home, but you do not have much money to spend. You worry that you will not be able to buy what you need.
How would you choose to be cheerful in this situation? I will read 4 things you can do. Choose 1 and act it out.
Pause for the children to act out how they would choose to be cheerful.
You search the market for the items you need at the price you can pay. You do not find what you need. You choose to talk about what you are thankful for as you walk home.
When you get home, you play with your friends. Suddenly, it begins to rain. It is raining so hard that you have to go inside!
How will you choose to be cheerful? Show me what you might do with your actions.
At the end of the day, you say a prayer and go to sleep. It has been a busy day!
Life can be like the day we just acted out. We must choose every day to smile, be thankful, think about good things, see the good in our lives, and be cheerful. As you think about these things and choose to use the tools you learned today, you will be happier.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give the children crayons and allow 3 minutes for them to draw pictures of what they can do to be cheerful.
When bad things do happen, God will help you manage difficult emotions and choose to be thankful. Our memory verse today reminds us to think about things that are true and good.
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.
Philippians 4:8
Sing or chant the first part of this verse using the following motions.
Have the children sing or chant with you as you repeat the words to the memory verse 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on Philippians 4:8, over the children.
Blessing: May you think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, excellent, and worthy of praise. May you choose to be cheerful as you live each day.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
