The one who came back to say thank you

Teacher background

Luke tells this story in Luke 17:11–19. On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus met ten men with leprosy outside a village. In the Bible, leprosy is a name for many kinds of skin disease. The law said that a person with such a disease had to live apart and call out “Unclean!” so that others would keep away (Leviticus 13:45–46). Only a priest could declare the person well enough to go home. So the ten men stood at a distance and shouted for mercy, and Jesus sent them to the priests. On the way, all ten were healed.

One man turned back. He praised God with a loud voice, fell at Jesus’ feet, and thanked him. Luke saves one detail for the end: he was a Samaritan. Jews and Samaritans had been at odds for centuries, and Jesus calls him “this foreigner.”

The main idea for children is that God gives us good gifts, and saying thank you brings us close to God. God’s love is for everyone, from every place. Avoid making the nine into villains, since they were doing what Jesus told them. Some children live with illness or disability, or love someone who does, so speak of healing with care and never suggest that anyone stays sick for lack of faith. Thanksgiving can also be a hard or hungry time for some families, so keep the focus on noticing small, everyday gifts.

For more background, read Jesus heals ten lepers.

Welcome activity

Thank you around the world (5 minutes). Write THANK YOU in big letters on a sheet of paper or a whiteboard. As children arrive, teach them a few ways to say thank you: gracias (Spanish), merci (French), asante (Swahili), shukran (Arabic), toda (Hebrew), and xièxie (Chinese). Ask whether anyone speaks another language at home, and let that child teach the group. Add each new word to the paper.

Then gather in a circle and ask:

• Who said thank you to you this week?
• How do you feel when someone thanks you?
• What is something you are glad to have today?

Say: “Today’s story is about ten men who got a wonderful gift from God. Only one of them came back to say thank you. Let’s find out what happened.”

Telling the story

10 minutes. Open your Bible to Luke 17 and show the children where the story is. Then read this version aloud, or tell it in your own words. Pause where the notes in italics suggest.

Jesus and his friends were walking to the big city of Jerusalem. It was a long walk. (Walk in place.) They walked past fields and hills. They came near a small village.

Outside the village, ten men were waiting. (Hold up ten fingers.) These ten men were sick. They had a sickness on their skin called leprosy. In those days, people with leprosy had to live away from everyone else. They could not live at home with their families. They could not go to the market or to worship. They could not even give anyone a hug. They had to stay far away.

The ten men saw Jesus coming. They could not come close, so they shouted as loud as they could. “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Cup your hands around your mouth and call, “Jesus, have mercy on us!”) That meant, “Jesus, please help us!”

Jesus saw them. He called back to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” The priests were the ones who could look at their skin and say, “You are well. You can go home now.”

Their skin still looked sick. Still, the ten men started walking to find the priests. (Walk in place.) They walked and walked. And as they walked, something wonderful happened. Their skin got better! (Look at your hands and arms in surprise.) The sores were gone. They were healed! They could go home to their families.

Nine of the men kept walking. They hurried on to find the priests, just as Jesus had said. (Hold up nine fingers.)

But one man stopped. (Hold up one finger.) He looked at his hands. He looked at his arms. He knew that God had healed him. So he turned around. (Turn around in place.) He ran back to Jesus, praising God with a loud voice. (Raise your arms and say, “Praise God!”)

He fell down at Jesus’ feet. “Thank you!” he said. “Thank you!” (Kneel or bow.)

Now here is a surprise. This man was a Samaritan. Samaritans came from a different group of people. Jesus’ people and the Samaritans often did not get along. Yet this was the man who came back to give thanks.

Jesus looked around. “Weren’t there ten men who were healed?” he asked. “Where are the other nine? Did only this man from another land come back to give glory to God?”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.”

The man got up. He went home to his family. He was well, and he was glad, and he knew that God loved him.

God gives us so many good gifts every day. When we stop to say thank you, like the man who came back, we come close to God. And God’s love is for everyone, from every place.

Wondering questions

5 minutes. Wondering questions have no wrong answers. Ask one at a time, wait in silence, and welcome every answer without correcting it. Repeat back what a child says so they know you heard them.

• I wonder which part of this story you like best.
• I wonder how the ten men felt when they had to stay far away from everyone.
• I wonder what the men said to each other when they saw that their skin was well.
• I wonder why the one man turned back.
• I wonder what the man did when he got home.
• I wonder what gifts from God you would like to say thank you for.

After the wondering questions, play the quiz on the slides, or ask the questions aloud and let the children call out the answers.

Craft: a pop-up thank-you card

10 minutes. Each child makes a thank-you card to give to someone this week, just as the man in the story came back to say thank you.

You will need a sheet of construction paper or cardstock for each child, paper hearts about 2 inches wide cut out ahead of time, safety scissors, glue sticks, and crayons or markers.

1. Fold the paper in half like a book.
2. On the folded edge, cut two short slits about 1 inch long and 1 inch apart. Help with cutting where needed.
3. Open the card and push the strip between the slits inside, so it pops up like a little step. Close the card and press hard, then open it again.
4. Glue a paper heart to the front of the pop-up step, so it jumps out when the card opens.
5. Write “Thank you!” inside the card, and decorate the front.

Before the children start writing, ask who might like a thank-you card: a parent or grandparent, a teacher, a bus driver, a neighbor, or someone who cooks or cleans at church. Children who finish early can make a second card.

Game: thank-you toss

7 minutes. Sit in a circle on the floor. This game borrows the words of Psalm 136, which repeats one line twenty-six times so that everyone can answer together.

1. Toss a soft ball or beanbag gently to a child.
2. The child names one thing to thank God for, such as “Thank you, God, for my grandma!”
3. Everyone answers together, “His loving kindness endures forever!”
4. The child tosses the ball to someone who has not had a turn yet.

Keep going until everyone has had a turn or two. A child may pass and take a turn later. No one is out, and every answer counts, whether it is a best friend, a pet, or pancakes.

Memory verse

3 minutes. Teach the memory verse with motions.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

• “Give thanks to the LORD”: fold your hands, then lift them up.
• “for he is good”: give a thumbs up.
• “for his loving kindness”: hug yourself.
• “endures forever”: draw a big circle in the air, around and around.

Explain that “loving kindness” is God’s love that never gives up, and “endures forever” means it lasts forever and ever. Say the verse together softly, then loudly, then in a whisper. The memory verse coloring page lets children color the words in bubble letters.

Snack idea

Optional. Share a simple thank-you snack, such as apple slices or crackers. Before eating, go around the table and let each child finish the sentence, “Thank you, God, for…” Check for food allergies before class, and serve water or juice.

Closing prayer

Ask the children to fold their hands or open them on their laps. Read each line and let them repeat it after you.

Dear God,
thank you for all your good gifts.
Thank you for food and friends,
for families and for fun.
Help us notice your gifts every day,
and help us turn back and say thank you.
Thank you for loving everyone,
from every place.
Amen.

Take-home note for families

Send this note home with the activity sheets and the thank-you card. It also prints by itself on the printables page.

Today in Sunday school

Today your child heard the story of the ten lepers (Luke 17:11–19). Ten men with a skin disease called to Jesus for help, and all ten were healed. Only one came back to praise God and say thank you, and he was a Samaritan, a man from a different people. The children talked about noticing God’s good gifts and saying thank you, and they made a pop-up thank-you card to give to someone special.

Talk about it

• What was your favorite part of the story?
• Why do you think only one man came back to say thank you?
• What are three things you are thankful for today?

Try this at home

Read Luke 17:11–19 together. At a meal this week, pray the way Psalm 136 does: one person names a gift from God, and everyone answers, “His loving kindness endures forever!”

Pray together

Dear God, thank you for every good gift. Help us remember to say thank you, and help us welcome everyone the way Jesus did. Amen.

Adapting for younger or older children

Younger children (ages 4 to 6). Tell the story with ten fingers, or with ten clothespin people, and turn one around at the end. Skip the crossword and the word search, and use the maze, the coloring pages, and the thank-you card with the pop-up already cut. Teach only the first part of the memory verse: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.”

Older children (ages 10 to 12). Read Luke 17:11–19 together from a Bible, and look up Leviticus 13:45–46 to see why the men stood far away. Compare the story with Naaman in 2 Kings 5, another foreigner who was healed of leprosy and went back to give thanks. Talk about who is kept at a distance today, use the crossword without the word bank, and invite the children to write a thank-you letter to God.