Thirsty for God – Psalm 63 Lesson

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Thirsty for GodThis free Bible lesson plan is designed for a group of children of various ages. It would work well in children’s church or a multi-age Sunday School class. It deals with our spiritual thirst for God and will help children realize their need for a relationship with Him.
Learning Aim: Children will learn that they need God, just like they need food and water.
Memory Verse: O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1
Gospel Connection: Psalm 63 demonstrates the need that humans have for God. Our human bodies are constantly hungry for food and thirsting for water. Likewise, our spiritual being is hungry for God and his love. This lesson will help children understand how deeply they need God.

Lesson Title: God Fills Me Up
Bible Reference: Psalm 63
Target Age Group: Elementary
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 45 Minutes

Basic Supply List:

  1. Several Old Magazines
  2. Construction Paper with the Bible Verse printed at the top
  3. 4 Buckets
  4. 2 small cups, measuring cups, or scoops
  5. A starting line

Note: In the teaching plan below the words in italics are meant to be read aloud. The regular text is simply directions for the teacher.
> > > > Basic Teaching Plan < < < <
Open the Lesson:  Begin the lesson by greeting the class.  Ask them how their morning has been so far.  Likely, they have just woken up, got ready for the day, and came to church.  Say, If you got up and made your bed this morning, stand up! Allow children to stand, and then ask them to sit back down.  Repeat the game with these questions.  If you woke up to an alarm clock this morning, stand up.  If you picked out your clothes this morning, stand up.  If you brushed your teeth this morning, stand up.  If you brushed your hair this morning, stand up.  If you prayed this morning, stand up.  If you ate breakfast this morning, stand up.  After this last question ask the children to sit down and introduce today’s lesson.
Say, All of the things that we just talked about are very good.  Each morning we should make our beds and brush are hair, but there are some things that we cannot live without.  One of the things that we cannot live without is food and water.  Our bodies need food and water every day.  What might happen if we do not have food and water every day?  Allow for children to respond.  We might get sick or weak if we do not have food and water every day.  Just like our bodies need food and water, we also need God every day.  If we do not spend time with God every day we also become weak and weary.  We might get angry with others more easily and forget to trust God with the difficult things we face in life.   
Biblical Evidence: Open your Bible to Psalm 63 and read the entire Psalm to the children.
Read verse 1.  Our body and soul are thirsty for the Lord.  We should seek Him every day by spending time praying and reading the Bible.    
Read verse 2.  One of the reasons that we want God is because we know that He amazing.  He is full of power and glory and we should want to spend time with him because He is so good. 
Read verse 3.  God’s love is better than anything in life.  Think of your favorite food.  You probably want that food more than any other food.  God is better for you than that food or anything else in life. 
Read verses 4-5.  When we are weary, tired, afraid, or hurt God is there to make us feel better.  We should praise God because He is there for us. 
Read verses 6-7.  We need to be close to God throughout the whole day, no matter where we go or what we do.  He is always with us and is always willing to help us.  No matter what. 
Read verse 8.  When we are close to God, our soul is healthy and full of life.  Without God our soul is weak so we need to be as close to God as possible.
Read verse 9-10:  When we are close to God, He will help us to defeat our enemies.  We will not have to fear when God is on our side.
Read verse 11:  We need God more than we need food or drink.  When we daily have enough time with the Lord, He will help us to conquer our enemies and will give us joy. 
My Soul Thirsts for You Craft:  Give each child a piece of construction paper with the verse, O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. –Psalm 63:1, printed at the top.  Give each child a magazine with pictures of food in it.  They will look through the magazine and cut out pictures of food to make a collage.  Remind the students that they need the Lord every day just like the need food.  They them to take home the picture and verse to help them remember to spend time with God every day.
I’m Thirsty Relay Race:  This game is played as like a typical relay race with 2 teams. Children will begin behind a starting line and race, one at a time, to large bucket full of water.  Once the children reach the bucket they will us a measuring cup or other small cup to scoop up water and carry it back to the starting line without dropping any.  When they return to the starting line, they will dump their water into another bucket and pass the cup to the next child in line.  Once the bucket is filled to the top or to a mark specified by the teacher the game is over.  The first team to fill their bucket wins.  Say, Water is something that we cannot live without.  It might not seem like a very big thing, but when we don’t have water we miss it a lot.  Likewise, when we don’t have God in our lives we will suffer.  We need God and his love to keep ourselves alive and strong.
Review Questions: Use the following questions to review the lesson and the main points.

  1. What was our Bible verse today? O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Psalm 63:1
  2. Finish the sentence.  Our souls need God like our bodies need _____. Water or food. 
  3. What does it mean to seek God?  It means that we are continuously trying to get closer to God and want to know him more.  We are seeking God when we are reading the Bible and praying to Him continuously. 
  4. How do we feel when we don’t have God in our lives?  Many possible answers.  We may feel afraid, lonely, defeated, hurt.
  5. How do we feel when we do have God in our lives and are seeking to know him more?  We feel full, because God is with us.  He helps us in our trouble and guides us. 
  6. What can we do to seek to know God more?  We can pray, read our Bible, attend church, etc. 

Closing:  Say, God is better than anything else in the world.  We also need Him more than anything else in the world.  When we seek to be close to Him he will hear us and give us the strength we need to make it through the hard times in our lives.  We should thank God for his ability to sustain us.  Take a few minutes to pray, thanking God for being all that we need.  Then allow each child to say their own prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord.

1 thought on “Thirsty for God – Psalm 63 Lesson”

  1. In the intro. To finish the questions with “Who came to church today?” makes it inclusive and you ensure every child has the opportunity to stand. In some communities a child may feel very excluded because they have done none of the things suggested ie comb hair, eat breakfast etc

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