Object Needed: 2 eggs, marker, two clear bowls

NOTE FOR PREPARATION: At least a week ahead, draw a frown on an egg and let it set out to rotten. Draw a smile on an egg and keep it fresh.

Have you heard the expression ‘He’s a good egg”? It means that a person is an overall good person and tries to do what is right. Here are two eggs. Can you tell which is the ‘good egg’ and which is the ‘bad egg’? One egg is thankful and the other egg is not. This unhappy frowning egg never wanted to share his carton with any other eggs. He wanted the carton all from himself. He was grumpy and unthankful even for his space in the carton. The good egg is always thankful. He thinks it is great to be in a carton full of other eggs so he can tell them all the things he is thankful for. God want you to be like the good egg not the bad egg. Do you know why? Well, there are two verses in the Bible that go together very well. First, there is a simple command from God to us in Colossians 3:15. It simply says, “And be thankful.” Well, you can’t get much clearer than that. Jesus also said in Matthew 15:18, “The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart.” When you use these two verses together you realize that when a person is thankful in their heart, then they will be thankful with their words. The opposite is also true. (Crack open the rotten bad egg into a clear bowl. Have the children take a deep sniff.) The bad egg is bad all the way through. He was frowning on the outside and being unthankful because his heart, or spirit, is unthankful. There is nothing about this bad egg that is pleasant. We definitely would not want to use him in a cake. He would make the whole cake bad. (Crack open the good egg into a clear bowl and show it to the children.) This good egg is good all the way through. Of course, we already suspected that because he was a thankful egg. There are times during the year when we place special attention on being thankful, like during the Thanksgiving season. We should be thankful then. We must also be thankful all of the time. Being thankful starts in our hearts, which is our spirits, before it takes place in our words. Right now, close your eyes. Imagine if you could see deep down inside to see what your spirit is like. Do you see a good egg or a bad egg? If you see a bad egg, then repent for your unthankfulness. Tell God that you want to be thankful. Now, think of something you are thankful for and thank God right now for it. (pause) You can open your eyes. Make it a habit that every morning when you first wake up to thank God for another great day. Make it a habit that every night before you go to sleep to thank God for His blessings He gave you that day. Remember – “And be thankful.”