Below is the final lesson in our Psalm 23 series. The lessons that we are using in Sunday school are from the New International Version of the Bible (NIV). This version differs slightly from the version of prayers we use in church. If you do not have a Bible, a good resource on the internet is a site called Bible Gateway   biblegateway.com. Here you can find all passages from the Bible in every translation.

Please work with your children to help them memorize Psalm 23 (as we say it in our church, King James Version)

Psalm 23
 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Lesson
We’re learning a chapter of the Bible called Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is the most often quoted psalm! It’s about how God is our shepherd. And in today’s part of Psalm 23, we’re celebrating how God overflows our cups with blessings! Think about what food or drink you would like to have overflowing amounts of.

Mmm, it sounds like we’d have a delicious feast with those overflowing foods! But you know what? Our cups do overflow with blessings. Maybe it’s not pizza or cookies, but our cups overflow with blessings from God like his love and goodness. Let’s find out more from the Bible, God’s special book. Everything in the Bible is true, and it’s God’s message for you! Plus, we can talk with God anytime. Let’s do that now.

We’ve been learning Psalm 23, a chapter of the Bible that was written as a song about how God is like a shepherd. One thing shepherds do for sheep is provide for them. In fact, David, who wrote Psalm 23, talked about God’s provision this way.

Psalm 23:5.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

David said that his cup overflowed with blessings. Another way to say that is God blesses us.

Let’s hear a story about a time God blessed some of his friends. God had a friend name Ruth. Her husband had died. Her husband’s father died, too. Ruth and her husband’s mother, Naomi, were the only ones left in their families. What a sad time! It was a sad time, but God had a plan to bless them. Ruth and Naomi decided to move back to Naomi’s hometown. When they got there, Naomi told Ruth to go to the nearby farm and pick up the leftover crops. Crops are plants we can use to make food. Back then, farmers often left a little bit of the crops in their fields so poor people could have something to eat.(Talk about a field of crops you’ve seen.) The extra food in the fields was a blessing to poor people because it gave them something to eat even though they had no money. While Ruth was picking up extra food on the farm, the owner came to the field. He was a nice man. He said hello to all his workers.

The owner’s name was Boaz. When he noticed Ruth, he asked who she was. His workers told him how hard she’d been working and how kind she’d been to Naomi. So he went to Ruth and told her to keep coming to get food from his farm. Wow—he was so nice! What a blessing! Boaz also gave Ruth a meal to eat right then! That was a blessing. Then he told his workers to leave extra food for Ruth. God was blessing her a lot through Boaz! When Ruth went home, Naomi was so surprised at how much food Ruth had. Naomi got excited when Ruth said the food came from Boaz—he was Naomi’s relative! She knew he could marry Ruth and take care of her. Naomi encouraged Ruth to tell Boaz they were relatives. When she did, Boaz told her he knew there was another relative who could marry her and take care of her. Boaz said, “I’ll check with him first.” But the other man couldn’t marry Ruth, so Boaz agreed to! What a blessing! Ruth and Boaz got married, and Boaz took care of Ruth and Naomi. Ruth and Boaz even had a baby who was a great-great-great-great grandfather of Jesus! God sent so many blessings to Ruth!

God is so good to us—he gives us everything we need!

(Read Psalm 23:5-6 (NIV)) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Share a few blessings God’s given you. Maybe you feel blessed by your marriage, children, or grandchildren. Maybe you feel blessed by a job or a home you love. Maybe you feel blessed by the mountains, lakes, ocean, or other natural landmark you see every day.

What are some ways God blesses you? Help your child, if needed. They might feel a sibling is a blessing. Or maybe they feel blessed by their mom or dad making meals for them. Or maybe they feel blessed to have a great park to go to or toys to play with.

God blesses us! All the good things we have come from God. Let’s thank God for his blessings. Lead your child in a brief prayer.

Craft for Younger children
Kids make an overflowing game.

Supplies:
8-ounce cups (1 per child)
construction paper (1 piece for every 2 kids)
markers
glue sticks
pompoms
resealable sandwich bags (1 per child)

Give each child a pre-cut piece of construction paper and some markers. Encourage kids to draw some of their blessings on the paper. If kids need help getting started, give them some suggestions like food, loved ones, or things they enjoy.
Have kids label their drawings.
After kids finish drawing, give them each a cup and have them wrap their papers around the outside of the cups and glue them in place.
Have kids pair up and stand about 6 feet apart. (you can play this part with your child) Give each child pompoms, and have partners take turns tossing one pompom at a time into their partner’s cup as the partner holds his or her cup. Have kids take turns and continue until both cups are overflowing.
When God blesses us, those blessings can overflow onto other people around us. Let’s make the pompoms overflow onto our friends with our new game.

Craft for Older Children

Kids decorate a set of four cups.

Supplies:
Bible
clear plastic cups (4 per child)
permanent markers in a variety of colors

David wrote in Psalm 23 that God prepared a feast for him and that his cup overflowed! We’re going to make a set of cups you can take home and use with your friends or family so you can have an overflowing feast.

Give each child four cups. Set out the permanent markers to share, and have kids follow these directions to make a set of cups.

Decorate the four cups on the outside only with permanent markers.
You can make all four cups match or do four different designs.
You might use a sheep theme to remind you of Psalm 23 or draw blessings you’re thankful for.
Talk about how you decorated your cups. Share first about why you decorated the way you did and how your cups remind you of God’s blessings. Talk about people you eat and drink with. Those people are some of God’s blessings for us! God blesses us, and we can share his blessings with others. You can use these and wash them by hand so the marker decorations will stay on. That way you can use the cups over and over with friends and family to remind you that God blesses us!

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