Come Follow Me: 2 Corinthians 8-13 (September 16-22)

Hello and sorry for the late post!  I have some really fun and as always free lesson helps for next weeks Come Follow Me lesson.  We are covering 2 Corinthians 8-13.  These ideas are perfect for families or primary classes.  I'm going to keep it brief tonight and will edit and add the cover picture tomorrow.  A stomach bug hit and I'm just running really slow right now.  Please forgive me if half of this doesn't make sense :)  

I loved the intro in the individual and family manual  and most of my activities go along with the idea of helping those in need.

"What would you do if you heard that a congregation of Saints in another area was struggling in poverty? This was the situation that Paul described to the Corinthian Saints in 2 Corinthians 8–9. He hoped to persuade the Corinthian Saints to donate some of their abundance to Saints in need. But beyond a request for donations, Paul’s words also contain profound truths about giving: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). In our day, there are still Saints throughout the world who are in need of help. Sometimes the most we can do for them is to fast and donate fast offerings. In other cases, our giving can be more direct and personal. Whatever forms our sacrifices take, it’s worth examining our motivations for giving. Are our sacrifices expressions of love? After all, it’s love that makes a giver cheerful."

This week I want to focus on teaching my children about ways they can help and serve others who are in need of help.

First we are going to talk about the importance of a fast and fast offering. I can't remember the talk I was reading but it said that something like even if our children are young we should still teach them about fasting so that when the time comes for them to fast they have the testimony to do so. First I found this cute story in one of the primary manual.  It is a fun way to teach how fasting can help those in need. I included story cards that you can use as you tell the story.  After play the fill the candy bag game.  Print the empty bag page and the question cards.  You can use the printable candy in the download or use pom poms, candy.  When using pom poms I like to let the kids use tongs to pick up the pom poms and transfer them to the bag.  Have a child pick a card and answer the question.  Then add one "candy" to the bag. EDIT: When playing this game I had the kids roll a dice and add that many pieces of candy to the bag.  It would be fun to make a treat together and deliver it to a neighbor.

I found this cute story here and her idea inspired this idea :)  Again this goes along with how teaching about fast offerings and how it blesses those in need.  Sometimes I think it may be difficult for children to comprehend how it helps others for them to go with out eating for a day.  So to illustrate this point we are going to go shopping in our house.  Print and give them the grocery list.  Have them shop the kitchen (or if you prefer play food) to find the items on the list.  Check off each item and put it in a bag-I tried to keep it generic but if there is an item you do not have cross it off before you have them shop.  Explain that this is the food we would have eaten during our fast.  When we give a fast offering its like we are giving this bag of food to someone who needs it.  We don't take the actual bag of food to the family (often we don't know who needs it) instead we give the amount of money we would have spent on the food to the bishop and he gives the money to a family that needs it.
*If you don't want your kids raiding your kitchen I did include printable food.  The food has the question on them from the activity above.  There is also a printable bag that you can cut the top out and then they can put the food in the bag.
*Another idea if you want to add the food into a wagon like the story you can use Little LDS Idea's printables.  She has a super cute wagon and food ready for you to print!

 While some people are in need of financial help others need a hug, a conversation, their yard raked, a babysitter, a friend, etc.  Kids aren't always in a position to give money but they can give and help in so many ways.  Help them brainstorm some ideas.  This would also be a good time to talk about specific people that may need help and how they can help.  Cut out some hearts (I did include a printable but I always find it easier to just free hand them :) and print out a wagon for each person.   They can color their wagon and on the hearts write ways they can give. If possible plan as a family a way you can help someone in need then carry out that plan.

All of this goes right along with the topic of ministering.  It even mentions it a couple of times in these verses.  I love this quote (found here)"Ministering is learning of and attending to others’ needs. It is doing the Lord’s work. When we minister, we are representing Jesus Christ and acting as His agents to watch over, lift, and strengthen those around us."   Isn't that what we are teaching our kids to do?  Love and Serve others.  There are some awesome videos and quotes here  that I plan to share with my family.  

2 Corinthians 9:7 We learn that we should serve others cheerfully.  I loved the idea in the primary manual that suggests we sing the song When we're Helping and change the emotion each time you sing it.  So when you pick the happy card you are going to sing the song happy, silly sing silly, etc.  Remind them that Heavenly Father wants us to serve cheerfully.

2 Corinthians 12:7–10 "Explain that Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” was a trial, such as a physical weakness. Even though Paul asked God to remove the trial, God did not. Instead, God taught Paul that challenges can help us learn to be humble and trust Him. Then God can make us strong." (primary Manual) Use the "blessing and thorn" page to discuss some of the trials people may experience.  Write their ideas by the thorns.  Then discuss some of the blessing that come from trials and write their ideas on the petals.  I also included a journal page where they can share some of their own thoughts or experiences on this subject.

That's all for this week :) I hope there is something that will work for your family or class.  Like I mentioned above I'll be back hopefully tomorrow to edit this post a little and add some more black and white options in the download.  I know many of you have asked for that option. I did include some but have a few more to add.   If you have any questions or trouble with the download please don't hesitate to ask.  I know I rambled quite a bit this week and I'm pretty sure some of it doesn't make any sense.  Thank you all for being amazing and sticking with me even when I'm running late and sometime sound a little crazy :)  

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