Psalm 107 is long, but for this lesson we’ve focused on a tiny part of it — what is usually written as the first and fourth paragraph (or pericope for the theology scholars among us). These look at gathering and rescuing God’s people, and these games echo those ideas.
A naming exercise where you take it in turns naming something you are thankful for, assign it a mime or action and then as a group make the action accompanied by a whoop of joy! Link: verse 22
‘Stuck in the Mud’
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
A classic game where getting tagged freezes you until another player can rescue you. (Also called freeze tag.) Link: being rescued.
Psalm Beat
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Using a small section of words from the Psalm as lyrics, have the youngsters make up a tune or a beat to sing the words. Add percussion instruments and work in pairs. Link: Psalms were songs sung, not read.
Faithful Grip
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Each child has a piece of ice they must pass between their hands, never stopping. They lose when they drop the ice. The winner is the last one holding their ice. Link: Even with all life’s moving parts God never lets us go.
This is a small moving papercraft based on Psalm 107 verse 22 “Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and announce his works with shouts of joy.” This is a little mechanism papercraft that opens to reveal the end of the verse and see the people lift up in their ‘shouts of joy’.
To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, a craft knife and glue.
Cut along the bold black lines on the yellow piece to make a ‘tongue’ before you start cutting out.
Cut out all 4 pieces.
Fold along the dotted lines of the tongue piece.
Glue the small yellow rectangle at the end of the tongue to the grey box on the pull piece. Centring this helps
Glue the people onto the white box on the yellow piece.
Add glue to the white edges of the purple piece and glue on the back.
Lay your final creation flat.
Pull the tab to make the people will stand up and reveal the other words.
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Each JWL lesson has a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page that links to each lesson. (Psalm lesson have no hero card and are predominantly colouring pages) Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).
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These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only. Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decor, big screen presentations, flannelgraphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group. You may not use them in products you are going to sell — both printed and digital, or to upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos. Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.
Kids love puppet crafts and nestled in the reading for Psalm 107 is verse 22 is probably my favourite, “Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and announce his works with shouts of joy.” It just begs a response, not just of Joy but of a shout. That’s where this craft comes from. It’s most likely the simplest form of puppet there is.
To make this craft, you will need the 1-page template printout, scissors, and some paper glue.
Cut out the big piece.
Fold it down the middle of the mouth – all the folds have dotted lines.
Fold one side back so you can see the edges of the lips.
Repeat on the other side.
Open up flat and fold either side of the lips behind the back – like you are trying to form a tube.
Add some glue along the grey box and make your ‘tube’.
Now repeat the folds so you have an ‘m’ shaped piece of paper.
Slide your fingers into one end and your thumb into the other.
Push your fingers and thumb together to make the ‘lips’
Open your hand to see the ‘shout’ of ‘Joy’!
Download your FREE TEMPLATE using the relevant link in this box. Help keep the free items on this site free by donating. This site supports my family as we live by God's great economy.
This week we look at Psalm 107. I’ve only used part of the Psalm, but older groups may want to read the whole thing. It’s a song that turns suffering into praise. Accepting there will be suffering, there will be bad things, but that God can save us from them is part of the trials of discovering life. Teaching children that God does not promise us a life of ease is an important part of developing their faith into something that is lasting.
These psalm lessons follow the Lectionary passages for the six weeks of year B Lent.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
We are going to read a song, a song Jesus may have sung with his friends, a song from the book of songs to be sung – the book called Psalms. Have you ever been rescued? How did you feel afterwards? Did you thank the person who saved you? God’s people were always getting into trouble, and God kept saving them, again and again. This is a song of joy to thank God for being the one who always saves his people.
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever. 2 Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe 3 and has gathered them from the lands— from the east and the west, from the north and the south
Pause – Wow! In those few lines God tells us three things: God’s love never ever runs out, there is nothing so big that God can’t save us from it, and we can never get too far from God to be saved.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; he saved them from their distress. 20 He sent his word and healed them; he rescued them from their traps. 21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity. 22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and announce his works with shouts of joy.
Do you think when they sung that song they shouted the last bit? There is so much to celebrate about God’s faithful love. It never leaves us, it never gives up or fades away; it never stops working. God wanted to save us so much he came down from heaven. Jesus came to save us, to show us a bigger picture of the love of God, to win the war over darkness. How can we join the celebration and thank God today?