Thanksgiving Lesson Two: Thank God for What He Has Done

The more we learn about who God is, the more thankful we are for each of his amazing attributes. But we should also thank God for the things he has done.

Psalm 9:1–2

Read Psalm 9:1–2.

¹I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. ²I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

• This is a psalm of David. God inspired David to write many of the psalms. What are some things you know about David from the Bible? Who is he and what did he do? He trusted God to give him victory over the giant Goliath. He was anointed king of Israel by the prophet Samuel. He became the second king of Israel. He was chased by King Saul, who tried to kill him many times. He was a man after God’s own heart.

  David had a lot of battles and scary situations in his life, but he trusted in the Lord. He loved the Lord so much that he is called a man after God’s own heart. We can read David’s prayers and praises in the psalms.

• What did David write that he would do in the second half of verse 1? Recount all of your wonderful deeds.

• What does that mean, to recount the deeds the Lord has done? Talk about the wonderful things God has done.

  As part of giving thanks, David remembered all the ways God had helped him in the past. God gave him victory over Goliath and over the Philistines. God protected him from the jealous King Saul. God blessed him and promised to send the Savior, Jesus, through David’s descendants. Wow! These are some great things God did for David!

• We just learned that God is immutable (see Lesson One). Do you remember what that means? God will never change.

  The same God who helped David is alive and working today. He still answers prayer and helps those who call on him.

Let’s take a few minutes and share some things that God has done for us. Has God answered a prayer or helped you with something? Maybe God answered a prayer request in your family by healing someone who was sick or helping them through a tough time. It doesn’t have to be something big. God cares about the little things in our lives, too. Maybe God helped you make a decision or gave you courage to do the right thing when you didn’t think you could.

It’s encouraging to think about what God has done for us, isn’t it? We should always remember to give thanks to God for the things he has done and the prayers he has answered. Then he gets the glory!

Psalm 95:1–5

Let’s look at more things God has done. Read Psalm 95:1–5.

¹Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! ²Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! ³For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. ⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. ⁵The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.

• Which verse had the word “thanksgiving”? Verse 2.

• What description is used for the Lord in verse 1? Rock of our salvation.

  That’s a wonderful description! God is strong, like a rock, and he saves us. When the psalm referred to God as the rock of salvation, it reminded the Israelite people how God miraculously provided water from a rock in the wilderness. That was during the time of Moses. Back then, the people needed saving in the wilderness or they would die of thirst.

• What do we need saving from? Our sins.
• How did God save us from our sins? Who did he send to earth to die on the Cross and take the punishment that we deserve? Jesus.

• How is God described in verse 3? Great God and great King above all gods.

  No false god can compare with the true God.

• Then what deed of God is described in verses 4–5? Creation!

  These verses describe God’s power to create. We already saw how God created each of us. He also made the earth, the mountains, the sea, and the dry land. The Bible tells us that God created everything by the power of his word—just by speaking, he created everything out of nothing! Our God is powerful!

  And that’s not all—God specially designed the earth for us. The earth is just the right distance from the sun to provide good temperatures for us so we don't boil or freeze. He gave us an atmosphere where we can breathe and gravity so we don’t go flying off the ground.

• What else did God give us on the earth? What things are you thankful that God created? Grass, trees, plants, fruits and vegetables, animals, fresh water, etc.

  These are things to be grateful for, aren’t they? But how often do we take for granted or ignore the wonderful things God has given us?

Let’s add some words to the bingo sheet to remind us that God sent the Savior, Jesus; he answers prayer; and he showed great power when he created everything. Write “Prayer”, “King”, “Savior”, “Jesus”, “Power” on your sheet.