2: Reasons for Thanksgiving and Prayer — Teaching Plan

Key Thought: We should be dependent on God. So our lives will be an outworking of His will. As we commit our ways to Him, He will direct our steps.
January 10, 2026

1. Have a volunteer read Philippians 1:3-8.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What is Paul thankful for? What assurances does he give, and why is that important?
3. Personal Application: How do you understand that God will finish the good work He has begun in you? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “What about your past week? Tell me what you had to be thankful for? Did you thank God for these things? Or did you now realize how much more thankful you could be than you realize? How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Philippians 1:9-11.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What is Paul’s focus here, and what big requests does he make? What does this indicate about prayer?
3. Personal Application: Why is having our love abound more and more, and why is it so important for the Christian life? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “How is your faith and prayer life? Do you ask God for big things in your life? Have you dedicated yourself to sharing the gospel and preparing people for the second coming? Are you sharing your love with others in tangible ways?” How would you respond to your relative?

3. Have a volunteer read Philippians 11:12-18.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How did Paul view his imprisonment? What lessons can we learn from his attitude?
3. Personal Application: Have you learned any lessons from experiences that were bad, but also brought out some benefits? How can we learn to trust God even if we don’t see benefits in our bad experiences? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “The church is full of negative nancys, pessimistic phils, and trembling timothys. That’s why the work is not moving forward as it should. Just like the Israelites in the desert. They were more concerned with what they didn’t have than what they had. We are more focused inward rather than outward. We are too worldly, selfish, confrontational than we should be..” How would you respond to your friend?

4. Have a volunteer read Colossians 1:9-12

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What specific requests do you find in Paul’s prayer?
3. Personal Application: If someone asks you, “How do you know if God is leading you in one direction or another? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared. ”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-reasons-for-thanksgiving-and-prayer-teaching-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2-reasons-for-thanksgiving-and-prayer-teaching-plan