Gratitude It's Your Move Work Zone and High Way Set Up: Before the meal set up the LCD projector and show the DV8 clips & slides to start the lesson. (14 min) Announcements: (Included in the DV8 slides) No Youth next week and 10 dozen Cookies per youth coming up Dec 6.   After the DV8 portion Gratitude (3min) Read: Joseph's life seemed to be full of sorrow and disappointment. But, he was thankful for the life that he had. He made the most of the skills he had and eventually realized God's plan. He forgave all the liars and cheats he knew. He tolerated the prideful and the jealous. If you made it to Chat Room this last Wednesday we asked about the characteristics that really tripped you trigger. Joseph dealt with these kinds of people in his life all the time and even worse - they were his brothers. And yet Joseph was thankful. He prayed to the Lord with gratitude.   Have you ever known anyone to be too thankful? If there's one thing teenagers need to be more mindful of, it's being thankful. It's really a very simple concept: Being grateful makes us content. Being grateful protects us from dangers like greed, lust, and envy. Being grateful helps us meet the needs of others and not be self-absorbed. Being grateful draws us closer. Perhaps the most important thing we can teach you about thankfulness tonight is how you can make it a habit-a daily attitude-for the rest of your life. You'll be happier, safer, more productive, and more spiritually mature. These kinds of guaranteed benefits can't be found anywhere else.   Break into Journey Groups   Moving In  Work Zone & High Way   Real Treasure (Stay as large groups, 5-10 min) Needed: pennies Before the youth arrive, hide pennies around the meeting room. After they arrive, tell teenagers that you have hidden pennies around the room. Count to three and then have teenagers begin searching for the pennies. After three minutes, stop the game and gather (High Way-the Pit, Work Zone-In a tight circle). Say: Name one thing you are thankful for, either physical or spiritual, for every penny you found. Read: Matthew 6:19-24, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  ASK:    "Why did you want to accumulate the most pennies?     "What are some examples of spiritual treasures?     "Which is worth more in life: physical treasure or spiritual treasure?    "What physical treasures are you most thankful for? Why?    "What spiritual treasures are you most thankful for? Why?   Moving On Work Zone & High Way  Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit (Stay as large groups, 15-20 min) Needed: pens, Bid Sheets Say: In upscale auction houses, anonymous investors hire buyers to represent their interests. It's a great job-buyers get to spend other people's money! Imagine that all of you are buyers at an auction. You're out to buy the ingredients of a fulfilling life, and you're representing God, who's given you each a $100,000 spending limit. You can't go over that $100,000 limit; you must keep your own running tally of what you've bid. Your goal is to purchase the most fulfilling life possible. Act as auctioneer. Remind youth that they can buy more than one lot if their money lasts. Give teenagers pens and Bit Sheets. Then start the auction. Auction 2 of each: Health (When you've got your health, you've got everything.) Wealth (Use it for creature comforts, or give it all to missions.) Fame (You'll be everyone's best friend-instantly!) Family (Warm moments with those you love most.) Power (Set the pace for what's hot and what's not.) Possessions (The person with the most toys wins!) Career (You'll have one great job after another-and be rich!) Friends (Close buddies who'll stick with you forever.) Inner Peace (Be at peace with yourself and others. What stress?) Fun (Need we say more?) Talent (Be impressive-make a big impact with your skills.) Suffering (Build character that would impress Mother Teresa.) After the auction, Work Zone breaks into small groups. High Way forms one "Cabana" Senior led small group to break away from The Pit of no less than 6 and no more than 10 (1 adult supervises). ASK:    "Why are the things you bid on important for a fulfilling life?    "You were representing God: Did you faithfully represent his interests?    "Do you wish you could switch what you have for something else? What? Why?     "Which items on the auction list are priceless? Explain.     "Is there anything on the list that really won't help you lead a fulfilling life? Explain.    "If you had to give up everything on the list to get one thing on the list, would you? And what would your one thing be? Explain.    "Is a fulfilling life the same as a God-honoring life? What's the difference? Which is better? Say: God wants to give us a fulfilling life. But before we can accept what He has for us, He asks us to lay down all that we have-so we're ready to receive what He has for us. It's called being poor in spirit-realizing that all we have and are belongs to God.   Moving Up Work Zone & High Way  Poor in Spirit (5 min. Small Groups) Read: Matthew 5:3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Discuss:    "The reward promised to those who are poor in spirit is the kingdom of heaven-what does that mean?    "Share one thing that's difficult about being poor in spirit and one thing that's great about being poor in spirit.    "How does this spiritual perspective on life differ from the way most people view life?   Moving Out Work Zone  Gifted (10-15 min. Come back together as a large group.) Needed: Marshmallows and toothpicks Have youth form groups of five. Give each group a supply of marshmallows and toothpicks. In another room or somewhere out of sight, have a model constructed out of marshmallows and toothpicks. Each group member has only one role to play. Here's the breakdown: Player 1-Can only use his or her right hand and can only handle toothpicks. Player 2-Can only use his or her left hand and can only handle toothpicks. Player 3-Can only use his or her right hand and can only handle marshmallows. Player 4-Can only use his or her left hand and can only handle marshmallows. Player 5-This person is the Runner, the only person allowed to see the model and the only person who's allowed to speak. He or she instructs the other group members in constructing a replica of the model. This person isn't allowed to touch anything. Explain the game, but before playing- ASK:    "Do you think all of the responsibilities will be equal in this activity, or will one be more important than the others? Why or why not?    "Do you think all of the responsibilities will be equally hard, or will one be harder than the others? Why or why not?    "What spiritual gifts often seem to us like "lesser" gifts? Why?    "Why is it often hard to work together with people who have gifts different from our own?    "Why would God insist that it's crucial to honor our differences? Play the game and be sure to enforce all the rules, especially the talking one!   Return to the gym for the closing   Moving Out High Way  Guest of Honor (Stay in small groups, 10-15 min) Say: In America, every November the turkey becomes the symbol of the national holiday of Thanksgiving. When Americans see turkeys, they are moved to consider all the blessings in their lives. Unfortunately, the turkeys have a little less to be thankful about. Let's pretend now that we are all turkeys and take turns telling the person/turkey on your right why he or she should be thankful. ASK:    "How do you feel when facing a difficult situation and people say you should be thankful? What do you say?    "Describe a time something that appeared to be awful was in reality a blessing from God. What happened?    "If God cares for us, why does he let painful things happen to us? Read: Ephesians 5:20, always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father. ASK:    "What's hard about complying with this directive?     "What's easy about it?    "How can you exercise this principle this week?   Quotations Discuss:    "A single thankful thought towards heaven is the most perfect of all prayers."-Gotthold Ephraim Lessing    "Thank God, I am still an atheist."-Luis Bu'uel    "Never thank anybody for anything, except a drink of water in the desert and then make it brief."-Gene Fowler    "A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass."-English proverb   Return to the gym for the closing   Closing Work Zone & High Way Gather in a closing circle. Pass out key Scriptures cards  Print Discover "Gratitude" Cards Genesis 37-50 (The story of Joseph) 1 Thessalonians 5:18 1 Chronicles 16:34 Luke 17:11-19 John 6:8-11  Revelation 7:11-12 Say: Being grateful makes us content. Being grateful protects us from dangers like greed, lust, and envy. Being grateful helps us meet the needs of others and not be self-absorbed. Being grateful draws us closer to God. Tonight we have looked at those things in our lives that are less than we would hope them to be; things that seem challenging, unfair, or difficult. When our hearts feel stretched and empty, and pools of tears form in our weary eyes, we can remember Joseph always rejoicing knowing that God was always as near as his next breath. We remember in the midst of turbulence God is near and we are thankful to be growing and learning.   Close in Prayer: Gracious God, in the busy-ness of our days, we sometimes forget to stop to thank you for all that is good in our lives. Our blessings are many and our heart is filled with gratefulness for the gift of living, for the ability to love and be loved, for the opportunity to see the everyday wonders of creation, for a mind that thinks and a body that feels. In the silence of our soul, we thank you most of all for your unconditional and eternal love. Amen.   Say the UMYF Benediction and turn out in to the world.    Gather for this lesson: DV8 stuff, pennies, pens, Bid Sheets, marshmallows and toothpicks