Hook: Genie in the lamp
I'm sure your kids are familiar with the genie and the magic lamp (eg Aladdin etc). If not, you can tell them. So basically, someone rubs the lamp, the genie appears and the person is granted 3 wishes (in the usual case). The person can wish for anything he WANTS in the entire world, but he's only entitled to 3 wishes, no more, no less and when he uses them up- well that's it. And he's not allowed to wish for more wishes.

Here, you can ask your kids what they would wish for, if there really was such a lamp in the world.
Good grades, more money, iphone, ipad, girlfriend, boyfriend, that pretty dress, that cool game, more friends etc?

Okay, now their wishes are used up. They probably should be pretty happy people now with all the stuff they have. Ask them to imagine their lives a few months later. Will they still be satisfied with the stuff they have now? Or will they be wanting more still?

There'll always be the next must-have item that will place them among the popular people and there'll always be someone who scores better grades than them. There'll always be something out there that's better than that something they have. The wants will never end.
Wouldn't it be great if we could wish for contentment? Well that's what today's lessons going to tell them about.

Lesson start:
Pray
I kinda really like this week's book lesson. So you guys could look through and see if there's any analogy or passage you might want them to read.

Read Philippians 3:19 and answer question 1 if you want. Go through with them the consequences of being caught up in worldly desires.

But that's not the end of the story; we don't have to be caught up in worldly desires. As we've been learning the past few weeks and as we've gone through with the kids last week, Psalm 23:1 tells us that 'The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want'. Our wish for contentment can be found in the Lord. We should keep our eyes and hearts focused on eternity and know that our identity is found in Christ, that we are God's children. God's gift of love and salvation to us is the best gift and thing that we can ever have and nothing can ever best or beat it.

Read Ecclesiastes 5:15. This verse should be a good reminder that all the things (worldly things) we own on this earth or desire will not be ours forever. We won't be able to take them to heaven with us; all the accomplishments we've made, all the cool things we own. And like the book says, all these things do not define our very being. Luke 12:15 says 'a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' and 1 Samuel 16:7 says 'The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.' God looks at the heart. Therefore, we too should not view ourselves unkindly if others views us poorly because of out outward appearance or the things we own. Simply because God sees beyond our exterior, and looks at our interior: our compassion, our devotion, our kindness etc. He sees us for who we really are, our real worth. And as God's children, we should also know where our worth lies.

Read Philippians 4:11-13 and emphasize verse 13- 'I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.' You should try to get your kids to memorise this verse. :) Paul found contentment in everything he did because of Christ. He knew who to find contentment in, and he knew who to rely on. We can do that too.

To end off, read 1 Timothy 6:6 (and if you have time, read until verse 10 if possible). Like the verse states, we have great gain with contentment in Christ. This contentment is forever and will definitely not leave us wanting. Situations in life may not always turn out the way we want to, but if we change our attitude and seek contentment in Christ, we will find joy.

Application:
Ask your kids if they're content with their lot in life now. Ask them how they can feel more content with life now.
If you know a bit more about your kids' life, you could also maybe help them to see the little blessings they have in their life.

Heart of the matter:
Discontentment is a kind of poison
We don't really own all the stuff we possess on earth
Don't wait for a change in circumstances to change your attitude
Gratitude is a sure-sign of someone's freedom from want and contentment in Christ

Hope this helps, sorry its late.

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