Be The One

Teaching Goal:  Be thankful.

Scripture:  Luke 17:12-19 As {Jesus} was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Materials:

• Dollar bill for each person
• Internet: Search YouTube for “Making a Dollar Bill Ring”
• Internet: Pictures of leprosy
• Written instructions for making a dollar ring included with this activity

In Advance:  Practice making a ring from a dollar bill. Have a sample to show the family.

1. Play theme song
2. Pray
3. Review last lesson
4. Lesson and Discussion

• Words written in bold are when the leader is speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

DISCUSSION: Put the story in your own words or invite a volunteer to read Luke 17:12-19. Highlight the following: What is leprosy? Leprosy is a very serious disease that kills and discolors the skin. People with leprosy can lose arms, legs and other parts of their bodies. Some forms of leprosy are contagious. Show age-appropriate pictures of leprosy from the Internet. Why did Jesus tell them to show themselves to the priests? The law in that day required someone who was cured of leprosy to go to the priest. The priest would pronounce whether or not the person was cured. Who are the Samaritans? Jesus was born into a Jewish family and the Jewish culture. In general, Jews did not like Samaritans. Jews thought the Samaritans were lower class and unclean. There are several stories in the Bible where Jesus reached out to Samaritans. This confused the Jewish people, but Jesus wanted to communicate that He cares about everyone. In this story, Jesus wanted to point out that it was the Samaritan who did what was right by coming back to say “thank you.”

ACTIVITY #1: Jesus is teaching us that it is important to say “thank you.” Read verses 17-19 again. Was the “thank you” for Jesus or for someone else? Listen to answers. Jesus says that the “thank you” was giving praise to God. When we say “thank you” we are honoring the person and at the same time giving praise to God.

 We want to be people who say “thank you.” To help us remember, we’re going to make a special ring just like this one. Show them the ring you made earlier.

Just like the Samaritan was the one out of ten who came back to say “thank you” we are going to “be the one” and say “thank you” when someone does something nice for us.

Follow the Internet or written directions and make the rings

ACTIVITY #2: While you are making the rings, start a list of times at school, home and play when you can say “thank you.” For the next 24 hours we are going to look for opportunities to say “thank you.” Each person should say “thank you” at least ten times. Please don’t make fun of the game or try and draw attention to yourself by saying “thank you,” just look for real opportunities to express your appreciation and say a simple “thank you.” Don’t forget that we can say “thank you” to God in prayer too!

Encourage each family member to wear his or her “$1” ring for the next 24 hours. Remind them several times in the morning, after school and in the evening about the task. At the end of the 24-hour period have each participant share stories about when they said “thank you.”

 Close in Prayer

Dollar Bill Ring Directions:

1. Place the bill on a flat surface, face up. Smooth it out as much as possible.

1. Fold the top end down. Do it so that the fold falls just under the white edge. This covers the white edge and makes the finished ring a bit slimmer. Note that the front margins are different from the back margins!

1. Fold the bottom end up. Do it the same as the top fold, to cover the white edge. The exact width for these two folds isn’t critical, but try to keep them parallel with the edges of the bill.

1. Fold the bill in half lengthwise. Bring the top and bottom edges you created together.

1. Fold the bill in half lengthwise again. Run your fingernail or a pen over the fold to make it crisp and clean.

1. Check your folds. *Famtime note: We recommend going to the website to see the great photos of each step!

1. Note that one of the small numbers should be facing out. Place it so that it’s on your left, as shown.

1. Fold the right end of the bill upwards (over itself). Form a 90-degree angle, about one-third of the total length. The placement of this fold can be adjusted to make the ring larger or smaller. *Famtime note: For little fingers, you’ll need to make this fold at the center lengthwise.

1. Wrap the tab around the bill. Fold it straight down behind the bill.

1. Turn the folded bill over, so that it is oriented as shown. (To the left and down.)

1. Make the ring. Take the long end sticking out to the right, and curl it in a loop around the back. Pass the free end under the tab that is sticking down.

1. Take the short part of the bill that’s sticking out behind the tab, fold it across, over the angled fold on the outside of the ring.

1. Fold the loose end that’s still sticking down under and tuck it in under the “stone”. *Famtime note: You’ll have a much longer end because you folded in half lengthwise instead of 1/3. Wrap this end up & under the “stone” and tuck into the top to finish the ring.