Lesson Introduction

Recommended Start Time: 10:15AM - 10:35AMTo help children understand the concepts of mercy and forgiveness. Mercy is withholding punishment deserved, and forgiveness is being given a clean slate, as if the wrongdoing had never happened in the first place. The Bible teaches us that, in light of all that God has done for us, we are to show mercy as we have been shown mercy, and forgive as we have been forgiven.

For more on the lesson click here!

Lesson Continued...

Matthew 18This parable is Jesus’ response to a question Peter asked about forgiveness. Jesus’ parable focuses on a servant forgiven by a king of an unpayable debt, who then refuses to forgive another. The point, according to Jesus, is that we should forgive each other because God has first forgiven us.
GoalTo help children understand the concepts of mercy and forgiveness. Mercy is withholding punishment deserved, and forgiveness is being given a clean slate, as if the wrongdoing had never happened in the first place. The Bible teaches us that, in light of all that God has done for us, we are to show mercy as we have been shown mercy, and forgive as we have been forgiven.
CharactersThe King: Decides one day to collect the money owed to him. A certain indebted servant owes him a great sum of money that he cannot repay. The king commands that the indebted servant and his family be sold into slavery and that all of their possessions be sold. When the servant begs for more time to come up with the money, the king has compassion and forgives the man his debt. However, when the servant fails to forgive a fellow servant a much lesser debt, the king sends the unmerciful servant to prison to be held and tortured until he is able to repay the money.Unmerciful Servant: Owes a great sum of money to the king that he is unable to repay. When the king commands that he and his family be sold into slavery, the indebted servant falls to his knees and begs for mercy. The king forgives him his entire debt. But this unmerciful servant fails to forgive a fellow servant who owes a much lesser debt, and finds himself imprisoned for his lack of mercy.Servant: Owes a small amount of money to the unmerciful servant. He was thrown in jail until he could repay his debt.
Memory verseMatthew 18:21-22: Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Read Matthew 18:21-35Read Matthew 18:21-35: In this story, a servant owed a great debt to the king, which he was unable to repay. He found himself facing severe judgment, but in an act of mercy, the king had compassion for the servant and forgave him all of his debt. The servant walked free! But the story takes a twist when this same servant refused to forgive a very small debt owed to him by a fellow servant. The king heard about it and reversed his judgment, throwing the unmerciful servant into prison—complete with torture—because he failed to forgive as he had been forgiven.
God has forgiven us a debt we could never, ever, pay. The wages of even just one sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life to everyone who believes. That’s mercy! God held back the severe judgment we deserve, just like the king held back from severe judgment on the servant who was unable to repay the great sum of money he owed. We are required to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to be merciful in the way we have been shown mercy. Forgive in the same way you would want to be forgiven.1. DoesGodwritedowneverythingyoudowrong,evenafteryouaskforforgiveness?No.When He forgives, He purposely forgets those things, and lets you start over again with a clean slate.How can we do the same? When you forgive a person, don’t keep bringing up the offense. Let it go.2. Does God limit the amount of times He forgives you for a particular offense? No. If you truly repent, God will forgive you every time you ask Him to, no matter how many times you ask.How can we do the same? Don’t ever give up on the person. Continue to forgive, even for the same offense.3. Does God limit forgiveness to minor offenses? No. He forgives us for every sin, no matter how bad it is.How can we do the same? No matter how bad the sin is that is committed against us, we are obliged to forgive in the same way as any other sin—as Christ forgave us.

Activities

Craft 1 - Forgiving Hands

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Construction paper
Scissors
Markers
Glue

Get the details by clicking here!

Directions

Let the kids cut out their hand print
Let them glue them down to make a heart shape as seen in the picture above. Then they can color in the heart.
Lastly, have them write, "Forgive as we are forgiven"

Craft 2 - Forgiven Mosaic

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

Construction paper
Glue
Tissue paper
Scissors

Get the details by clicking here!

Directions

Follow the directions in this video

Game 1 - How Many Times?

Time: 10-15 minutes

Materials needed from the cart:

None

Get the details by clicking here!

Directions

Ask the children how many times they can do various tasks. “How many pushups can you do? How many times can you bounce a ping pong ball on a paddle? How many times can you bounce a hacky sack off your knee? How many free throws can you score in a row?” Have the children attempt these tasks. Ask if anyone can complete these tasks 490 times in a row without messing up. Let them try. The point of the game is to show that it is nearly impossible to do something 490 times. This idea ties in with today’s lesson. The exact activities you do don’t matter, as long as they get the wiggles out of the kids and show them how hard it is to do something 490 times.

Activity 1 - Dance It Out

Once you're through the lesson/games use these to fill any remaining time, or the ideas listed below

Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):

Christian just dance videos below
If they don't want to play the Christian Just Dance game they can play follow the leader.

Wrap It Up!

**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**

Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only) or color the pictures (littles).
Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
Worship time - Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).

Worship

Energy Release!

Last Minute Filler Ideas

Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.
Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)

Page updated

Report abuse