Praise the Lord lesson¶

Teaching: “We Can Never Repay Him … but We Can Praise Him”¶

Concrete analogy of repaying God.

Object Lesson: A Gift¶

Bring a wrapped gift

“Imagine I gave you this as a gift. What could you say?” “If you say thank you, have you paid me back for the gift?” “Then why say thank you?”

Help them discover this idea:

Idea

Saying thank you doesn’t repay the gift. It shows the giver that we recognize and appreciate it.

What has Jesus Christ given us?¶

Ideas:

Families
Bodies
The earth
Scriptures
Prayer
Forgiveness

Resurrection
The Holy Ghost
Temples
His example
The Atonement of Jesus Christ
The ability to return to Heavenly Father

“Could you ever give Jesus something equal to the Resurrection?” “Could you pay Him back for the Atonement?”

Then introduce the main idea:

Main idea

We can never repay Him for any of this, but we can praise Him.**

Psalm 103 — Why We Praise Him¶

What has God done for us?

Psalm 103:1-5
Psalm 103:8-12

These help answer the question and essentially say:

Don't forget what God has done for you—He forgives, heals, loves, and gives good things. That's concrete enough that kids can generate their own examples.

Ask the children to find things the Psalmist says God does:

He forgives.
He heals.
He redeems.
He shows lovingkindness.
He gives good things.
He is merciful.
He is patient.
He removes our sins from us.

Then turn each one into a statement of praise:

He forgives → God is forgiving.
He shows mercy → God is merciful.
He gives good things → God is generous.
He helps us → God loves and cares about us.

What Does “Praise” Mean?¶

For children, it may help to distinguish thanking God from praising God.

Write:

THANK: “Thank you for ___.”
PRAISE: “You are ___.”

For example:

“Heavenly Father, thank Thee for helping me when I was scared.”

versus:

“Heavenly Father, Thou art loving and always willing to help me.”

Praise means recognizing and saying what is wonderful about God.

Praise can also include:

Singing
Praying
Bearing testimony
Talking about what God has done
Following Jesus Christ
Keeping His commandments
Using the gifts He has given us for good

Psalm 150 — How We Praise Him¶

How can we praise God?

Psalm 150:1-6

Activity: Because He Has Given Me…¶

Give each child a piece of paper divided into two columns:

Because Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ…	I can praise Them by…
love me	praying
gave me my family	thanking Them
forgive me	forgiving someone else
gave me scriptures	reading them
created this world	taking care of it
suffered for me	remembering Jesus during the sacrament

Let the children come up with most of the answers themselves.

Final idea

The point is that praise is not only something we say. We can praise God by how we live and by what we do with the gifts He has given us.

Closing Thought/Question/Challenge¶

“Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” “If you are breathing, what is one way you can praise the Lord this week?”