Jesus Heals Ten Lepers
Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:
Children will prepare a healthy snack and then thank God for it by saying many different graces.

Scripture Reference:
Luke 17:11-19

Memory Verse:
“O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. ~ Psalm 136:1

Objectives for Giving Thanks Workshop ~ Children will:

• Understand that Jesus wants us to thank God for his gifts
• think about how they thank God for their food
• be thankful for the good, healthy food that God gives us
• learn some new ways to say grace
• learn about a healthy food they might not have known before: quinoa
• think about when they should say thank you to God (always!).

Preparation:

• Read the Bible Story and background
• Set out the food and utensils.
• Cut up the “graces” at the back of the lesson to hand out.

Materials List:

• Bibles
• Equipment:
• • Pot for cooking quinoa
  • Measuring cup
  • Fine-grained strainer
  • Chopping boards
  • Knives
  • 3 bowls, for quinoa, strawberries, and bananas
  • Clear plastic glasses
  • Spoons
• Food:
• • Dry quinoa (2 Tablespoons – ¼ cup per child)
  • Strawberries
  • Bananas
  • Vanilla flavoured yogurt, or plain Greek yogurt (sugar optional).
  • Cinnamon (optional)

Activity:

1. Start by putting the quinoa on the stove to cook. Have the kids help you. (Or cook it ahead of time.)
   1. Measure the quinoa. One cup dry makes 2 cups cooked. Each child needs ¼ to ½ a cup after it is cooked, so 2 Tablespoons to ¼ cup dry.
   2. Rinse the dry quinoa in the strainer. Put it in the pot.
   3. Measure twice as much water as dry quinoa and add it to the pot. You can add a little salt if you like.
   4. Put the pot on the stove and turn it on to high. When the water boils, turn down the heat to low and cover the quinoa. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes. It is done when the grains are plump and the white, spiral germ is visible.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, talk about the story:
3. Read Luke 17:11-19 out loud, or if this is not the first workshop for the children, have them tell you the story and prompt them if they forget parts of it.
4. Briefly discuss leprosy so they know what the people suffered from. (Leprosy is a disease of the nerves that makes people unable to feel pain. When they hurt themselves, they don't know it, so keep on doing the thing that is hurting them. Their bodies get very damaged. (So feeling pain is actually a gift fro God, because it keeps us safe!) In the Bible, the term may refer to different diseases as well. People with leprosy had to stay away from their families and communities and shout "unclean!" whenever anyone came near.)
5. Go over the memory verse. Steadfast means "devoted" and "unchanging". Endures means that it lasts for a very long time, in this case, forever. Say the verse with them a few times. What things should we give thanks for. (Everything!)
6. Tell the children that today they are going to talk about giving thanks for our food. You can talk about the good, healthy food that God gives us in contrast to the unhealthy food that we often see.
   1. Ask them how they give thanks for their food at home. Or do they? Do they say grace or does a parent say it? Can they share a grace with the group? Or maybe they don’t use a particular grace, but just thank God in their own words.
   2. Hand out the slips of paper with the different graces on them. Have the kids take turns reading them. Discuss each one briefly. What do they like about it? Would they use that one? How would they change it to express their thanks better?
   3. Can they think of a new one?
7. Stop the discussion when the quinoa is done. The teacher should take it off the stove. Now you have to cool it down. You can either dump it into the strainer and rinse it with cold water, or put it into another bowl and put it in the fridge while you prepare the fruit.
8. Have the children prepare the fruit:
   1. Rinse the strawberries in the strainer. Cut off their leaves. Slice or chop them and put them into a bowl.
   2. Peel the bananas. (Cut off the end with a knife if it is too hard to break open.) Slice them into a bowl.
9. Open the yogurt container and put a spoon into it. Put a spoon into each of the fruit bowls too. (If using plain yogurt, mix in the optional sugar and cinnamon. Plain Greek yogurt may be okay without sugar--our kids loved it as is.)
10. Assemble the parfaits:
    1. Put the cooled quinoa on the table with the fruit and yogurt.
    2. Give each child a plastic glass and a spoon. Have them spoon the quinoa, yogurt, and fruit into their cups in layers. It’s okay if some of it touches the sides of the glass. They can do it in any order they want, but encourage them to use some of each thing. Recommended order: yogurt, fruit, quinoa, then repeat until the top of the glass.
11. Say Grace! Have each child choose a grace from the ones provided or say another one they know. When everyone has thanked God for the food, you can eat.
12. As you eat, talk some more about giving thanks. What are you thankful for? A good time to give thanks is when you feel really bad. Remembering all the good things and thanking God for them can make you feel better. When else can we give thanks?
13. All clean up together.

Graces

1. Thank you, God, for loving me.
   Thank you for my family.
   Help me to learn more each day ,
   To be kind at work and play.
2. God is great, God is good.
   Let us thank him for our food.
   By his hands, we are fed.
   Let us thank him for our bread.
3. Good food,
   Good meat,
   Good Lord,
   Let's eat!
4. Lord,
   Bless this bunch
   As they munch
   Their lunch.
5. Johnny Appleseed Grace (sing if you know the tune):
   The Lord is good to me.
   And so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need,
   The sun and the rain and the apple seed.
   The Lord is good to me.
   Johnny Appleseed—Amen!
6. Thank you for the world so sweet,
   Thank you for the food we eat,
   Thank you for the birds that sing,
   Thank you Lord, for everything!
   (can be sung to tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)
   
7. For health and food,
   for love and friends,
   for everything your goodness sends,
   Father in Heaven, we thank you.
8. God bless us (hands on head)
   God bless this food (hands around plate)
   Amen (hands folded)
9. Thank you, Jesus, for this food, and for _______________________.
10. Some have food but cannot eat.
    Some can eat but have no food.
    We have food and we can eat.
    Glory to our God!
    (African grace)
11. Thank you for toast and jam,
    Thank you for eggs and ham,
    We thank you Lord. (da, da, da, da)
    Thank you for beans and spam,
    Thank you for all I am,
    We're thanking you the best we can,
    We thank you Lord!
    (sung to the tune of "God Save the Queen". Written in the 1970s at a Saskatchewan Anglican youth summer camp)

Submitted by Sharon Hamilton, from Argyle Road Baptist Church in Saskatchewan, Canada.