Opening

What are some things that make children sad? What did you do when you saw your friend sad? What did you tell your friend? Help the children brainstorm on sad situations of a friend or even loss of something very dear to them and help them answer the questions.
Game: Band Aid Relay Before you play, ask the kids what they would do to help a friend who was hurt. After taking their answers, explain that one thing that can make a scrape feel better is to put a bandaid on it. Band aids help us feel better when we are hurt. Divide the class into two or three teams, depending on the size of your class. Line the teams up along one side of the room. At the other side of the room, lay out band aids. (You may want to unwrap them for younger kids.) The object of the game is to be the first team with band aids on every team member. To play, the first child from each team will run across the room, grab a band aid, and adhere it to the next person in line. Place the band aids on the back of hands only, to make them visible and easy to remove later. After the first runner places a band aid on the hand of the second runner, the second runner then runs and grabs a band aid and places it on the hand of the third team mate. Play continues until the first team mate who ran has a band aid too. The first team to have a band aid on the hand of every teammate wins. Tell the kids what a great job they did providing comfort for their hurting friends.

Bible Story

● We are continuing to learn the beatitudes; the second beatitude says “blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted”. Jesus taught that those who mourn are blessed for they will be comforted. This means when we are sad we should go to God and talk about it because he promises to comfort us.
● Jesus said Blessed are those who mourn. When you mourn, you are very sad, you might cry, and you are very upset. God wants us to ben sad about the sin in our life. He wants us to obey Him! When we follow Jesus, He will comfort us. (reassure, calm or soothe)
● If you are sad because of bad things that have happened, you can still be content, because Jesus will comfort you.
● The word “mourn” is probably the first word to be addressed here. Sin in the world is incredibly sad. Often our own sins and the sins of others leads to mourning, or being really upset. God is the ultimate comforter and we will be comforted when we mourn sins or bad things that happen, because of God’s love for us.
● In 1 Samuel we read the story of a lady called Hannah, Elkanah’s first wife. Elkanah had another wife called Peninah.
● Peninah had children while Hannah had no children, Peninah often mocked Hannah for being barren and it made her very sad. One day they went to the house of the Lord to offer sacrifices as they used to do annually. Peninah provoked Hannah very much until she cried, she refused to eat. She went to the Lord’s house and prayed weeping until Eli the priest thought she was drunk. He asked her if she was drunk and Hannah replied “Do not take your servant for a wicked woman, I have been praying here out of great anguish and grief”. Finally Eli told her “Go in peace may God grant you what you have
asked of him” The bible says Hannah went her way and ate something and her face was no longer downcast”
● Hannah later conceived and gave birth to a baby boy called Samuel.
● God comforted Hannah by giving her a child, because she got a child Peninah would now not provoke her.
● If you’re sad, then be sad. Feelings are a good thing. We’re not always happy. Different things might make us feel sad or guilty, but know that being upset doesn’t last forever.
● The story of Hannah teaches us that when we are sad we should go to God because we will find comfort.
● Mourning is a good thing! When we mourn over our sins, we repent, and when we repent, we get salvation. That is why mourning is a blessing. When we mourn over our sins, God gives us the comfort of salvation, the comfort of getting to spend all of forever with him. (On the board, draw an arrow from the word MOURN, pointing to the word COMFORT.)
● Along with giving us comfort when we mourn, God gives us a job to do. Let’s see what that job is in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. Follow along as I
read. (Read, or have a student read, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5.) “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” There is a lot to learn from these few verses! The main point I want you to take from them now is that God comforts us so we can comfort others. As we have received salvation, so too we share with others and invite them to receive the comfort of Jesus of salvation.

Questions

1. What was the name of Hannah’s husband? Elkanah
2. Why did they go to the house of the Lord annually? To offer sacrifices to God
3. What can we learn from this story? God comforts us when we ask him in prayer