Bible Story: Leaping Lepers (Jesus heals 10 lepers) Luke 17:11-19
Bottom Line: Take time to say thank you.
Memory Verse: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV
Virtue: Gratitude—letting others know you see how they’ve helped you.
Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.
Telling the Bible Story
STORYTELLER: “I’m grateful I get to tell you this story today! It’s an awesome true story about something that happened to Jesus one time when He was traveling. You can read about it yourself (hold up Bible) in the book of Luke, chapter 17. And I’m also grateful I have some helpers who are going to act out my story today. Come on out, guys!
ALL ASK
STORYTELLER: “As I said, Jesus was traveling along, walking to Jerusalem. As He came near a little village, He noticed ten men standing at a distance from Him.
MAN #1: “Hey! Look over there! Who’s that bloke?”
MAN #2: “I don’t know. He looks familiar though.”
MAN #3: “I know who that is. That’s Jesus!”
MAN #4: “Jesus? Are you sure?”
MAN #3: “That’s him all right. I’d know him anywhere. I had this cousin who couldn’t walk and one word from Jesus—Bam! My cousin’s walking all over the place!”
MAN #1: “That’s incredible!”
MAN #2: “Yeah, amazing!”
MAN #5: (coughs) “Do you think—(coughs) He could help us?” (coughs)
MAN #3: “Only one way to find out.”
STORYTELLER: “All ten of these guys had a skin disease called leprosy. It was a really bad sickness that caused your skin to get all these sores, and boils, flaky, scaly places and nasty scars. No wonder these guys are all covered up. On top of that, leprosy was about as easy to catch as a cold! People with the disease were forced to go off and live by themselves far away from friends and family. Most people with the disease died sick and alone. But these guys had a real chance at a cure! They wanted to ask Jesus to heal them!”
MAN #3: “Jesus! Master! Have pity on us!”
MAN #5: (coughs) “Please. (coughs) Help us.”
ALL RECEIVE
STORYTELLER: “Well, of course Jesus knew exactly what the men needed and wanted, and He was quick with His answer.
MAN #1: “What did He say?”
MAN #2: “He said to show ourselves to the priests.”
MAN #5: (coughs) “But we can’t do that. (coughs) We’re not clean yet.”
MAN #4: “Yeah, I’ve still got these sores.”
STORYTELLER: “Because leprosy was so easy to catch, if you thought you didn’t have it anymore, you had to go and show yourself to the priest as proof. He got to decide if you were cured and could go back home. These guys still had the disease, but they decided to obey Jesus and headed off toward the priest.”
MAN #3: “Listen, I know we haven’t been healed. But if Jesus told us to go to the priests, I think we should.”
MAN #4: “He’s right. What’s the worst that could happen?”
MAN #5: (coughs) “I—agree.”
STORYTELLER: “As the ten men traveled to find a priest, trusting in Jesus to heal them, something really strange and amazing started to happen.”
MAN #1: “Hey! Hey, look! My hands! There’s no more rash!”
MAN #2: “Me too! The boils on my arm are gone.”
MAN #3: “Your face is clean, too!”
MAN #2: “It is?”
MAN #5: “It’s a miracle! Hey, my cough is gone! I’m cured!”
MAN #4: “We’ve got to show ourselves to the priests right now! I can’t wait to go home again!”
ONE THANKS
STORYTELLER: “Isn’t that fantastic! All ten guys with the terrible, horrible disease of leprosy were completely cured! Cool, right? Bet all of those guys hoofed it back to see Jesus, right?
“Nope. Nine of them were so excited, or in such a hurry to get to a priest, or maybe to get back home, that they completely forgot to [Impress] take time to say thank you. But one of the lepers hurried back as fast as he could to praise God and give Jesus a big shout out.”
MAN #1: “I could work my whole life and I would never be able to repay you for this. Thank you, Lord, for making me well! Thank you! Thank you!”
STORYTELLER: “At this point, Jesus was probably looking around for the other lepers who had been healed.”
STORYTELLER/JESUS: “Weren’t all ten healed? Where are the other nine? Didn’t anyone return and praise God except for this outsider? Get up and go on your way. Your faith has made you well.”
WRAPPING UP THE STORY
STORYTELLER: “So even though all ten men were healed, and all ten men were probably incredibly grateful, only one of them thought to [Impress] take time to say thank you. That’s pretty sad. Because even if you feel really grateful for something someone did for you, how are they going to know that unless you actually tell them? That’s why it’s soooo important to [Impress] take time to say thank you. How about saying that with me?”
STORYTELLER and KIDS: [Impress] “Take time to say thank you.”
STORYTELLER: “I want all of us to get in the habit of saying thank you right away, as soon as someone does something nice or says something kind. And don’t just thank the person—tell him what you’re thanking him for! Then that person will know you’re really grateful, not just saying the words. Every time you thank someone that way, it makes him feel noticed and appreciated. So, go out of your way to thank people who do things for you—things you may not usually even notice, like the person who brings your mail, or the one who bags your groceries at the store.
“You know what would be so cool and surprising? If you created your own hand-made thank you notes and took them around with you to give people who help you out during the day. Or if you high-fived someone every time they did something for you. You’d make a lot of people feel special, and when you thank someone, it makes them want to help you even more! Let’s pray that we’ll all remember to [Impress] take time to say thank you.
Prayer
STORYTELLER: “God, thank You for all the wonderful things You do for us every day. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Help us remember to say thank you to You and to all the people You’ve put in our lives who help us. Amen.”