Scripture: Psalm 3
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn about 32 of the Psalms were written by people crying out to God in bad times.
- Students will learn it is okay for us to tell God when we are sad and scared and ask him to help us.
- Students will learn God understands when we don’t understand why bad things are happening in our lives and wants to comfort us.
- Students will learn healthy coping strategies for dealing with grief.
Guiding Question: How can students learn to deal with grief?
Materials: Blank books, pencils, drawing utensils
Procedure: Review the message of asking for God’s help from the scripture above. Tell students that the best thing they can do when they are sad or scared is to reach out to God and pray for help. Explain that God is always there to comfort us when we are upset. Remind students that they may not always understand why bad things are happening but it is important to remember that God knows all things and will comfort them and bring good out of all bad situations. Ask students about how they would have liked to feel encouraged by others during times when they were sad or struggling with something. Then explain that they can provide the same kind of encouragement to others and ask God how to reach other people.
Introduce the activity. Explain that there are stages of grief that people go through when something happens to them such as someone close to them passing away. Tell students that there are healthy coping strategies for dealing with grief and have the students create a book and illustrate about the coping strategies.
Coping Strategies:
- Praying
- Reading Psalms
- Talking with a trusted adult
- Writing in a journal
- Art
- Music
- Crying
- Exercise
Additional Questions: What are some loving things to a friend who is sad because someone they know has died?
Supplemental Activity: Have students create cards they can use in the future to comfort someone who is grieving.