The Big Idea

Forgive others, just as Lord Jesus forgave all our sins!

Key Bible Verse

“Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:32 (ICB version)
(It would be good for parents to go through the bible verse with the kids before going through the main lesson, and have a little notebook or journal where children can copy down the verse/draw something related to it).

Worship Songs

Wake

L-O-V-E, love

Lesson Content

Play a game of “The Bestest Best!”

• Have a little competition among your family members on who is the best at each task given. There will be a judge to see who is the winner for each tasks and to keep record of the winner for each round.
• At the end of all tasks, the winner goes to the one with the most tasks achieved.
• The tasks are listed below:
  – Who can hold their breath the longest?
  – Who can do a plank for the longest?
  – Who can run from one end of the house to the other in the shortest time (timer needed)?
  – Who can bounce a ball off the floor the most number of times?
  – Who can keep a balloon afloat for the longest time?
  – Who can balance on one feet the longest?
  – Who can jump the furthest from one end to the other (tape a starting line)?
  – Who can say “Red Lorry, Yellow Lorry” the most number of times quickly, without pronouncing wrongly?
  (you may add on more challenging or simplified tasks depending on the age group you have).
• After the activity, ask if the children can guarantee that they can be the best at the tasks even if they try it 490 times! The truth is, no one can guarantee a win for a straight 490 times. But why 490 times? This special number comes from our “Stories With Jesus” this week. One day, one of Jesus’s disciples, Peter, asked Him: “How many times should I forgive someone if they keep doing something wrong to me?”
• In which, Jesus told him, seventy times seven times, which is 490! But Jesus is not asking us to really count those times we forgive but Jesus is basically saying that we should forgive endlessly, over and over again. And we might think that it is almost impossible for us to forgive that many times when we are hurt or being mistreated. That is precisely why we need Jesus! We need Him to give us the reason and the power to forgive again and again. And He went on to explain through this parable. 

Video Story of The Unforgiving Servant

• Show kids the video of the parable for The Unforgiving Servant.
  – For preschoolers, show the simple version here. 
  – For upper primary kids, show this sketch version here.
  Quote from the Video: “Since God for forgives us for all the small mistakes and big ones in our lives, we should do the same to others!”
• Recap the key parts of the story with the kids (For example: The characters? Why was the servant captured? Why was the servant nasty to the fellow servant?)

Story Reflection

• Reflect through the meaning of the story with the children by going through some key ideas and discuss to relate to their little lives.
• Key points to reflect from the parable:
  1. The servant showed that we are all sinners and we will naturally get selfish or make mistakes, hurting ourselves or others.
  Discussion: Has there been anytime that we have been like the servant? Or even in our hearts, where we cannot forgive someone and secretly dislike them?
  2. The devil often gives us an unforgiving heart, making our hearts feel bitter, unhappy and trapped.
  Discussion: Have you felt this way before? Of how the devil is working in your hearts to take away your joy?
  3. Jesus has completely forgiven us so we should forgive others too!
  Jesus understands our hurts, anger and sadness. So if we are mistreated, God loves us even more and will help us. However, He wants us not to keep the unhappiness inside. Tell it to Him and He will slowly give us the strength and love we need. Also, the devil can no longer control our hearts with hate and anger! Yay!
  Discussion: How can you start learning to forgive and have more love for others? 

Verse of the Week
Go through the Bible Verse of the Week and get the kids to read along with you in small parts.

“Be kind and loving to each other. Forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:32 (ICB version)

Alternatively, get them to write down the verse on their journal or draw something related to the verse.

“Forgiving Heart” craft activity:
1. Cutout some heart shapes from recycled cardboard or any hard paper material.

2. Decorate it with the art supplies you have (crayons, markers, glitter glue, stickers etc.)

3. Punch a hole at the bottom of the heart.

4. Make a tassel with strings or yarns, to hang to the bottom of the heart.

5. Tie the tassel to the heart through the hole and voila! You are done!

6. Children may also write in the Verse of the Week or the Big Idea at the flip side of the heart to remind themselves of the beauty in forgiveness as Jesus is teaching us.

Home Activities

“The Unforgiving Servant” Role Play!:

The best way to recap the story and carve the message into their hearts is to relive the story! So get some easy-to-find props, set up a little space and let us go back in time to Jesus’ story!

Characters needed: Narrator, King, soldier, unforgiving servant, the other servant.
(some family members can play 2 characters, if needed. e.g: the King can also be the Narrator)

Props: Cloths/blankets as robes for the king, a broom as the king’s staff, a hat for the soldier, a stick as a sword for the soldier, a small cloth/headband to tie up the servant’s hands with (basically anything you can find at home that works for the story!)

Narrator to narrate the following parable from Matthew 18: 21-35, while the characters act out the parts:

 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. ²⁴ So the king began to collect his money. One servant owed him several million dollars. ²⁵ But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. The money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

²⁶ “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’ ²⁷ The master felt sorry for his servant. So the master told the servant he did not have to pay. He let the servant go free.

²⁸ “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed the other servant around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

²⁹ “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me. I will pay you everything I owe.’

³⁰ “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. ³¹ All the other servants saw what happened. They were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

³² “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! You begged me to forget what you owed. So I told you that you did not have to pay anything. ³³ I had mercy on you. You should have had the same mercy on that other servant.’ ³⁴ The master was very angry, and he put the servant in prison to be punished. The servant had to stay in prison until he could pay everything he owed.

³⁵ “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”