3rd–5th

March 1-2, 2014

Matthew 18:23-35

The Unmerciful Servant

God has forgiven us, so we should forgive others.

Connect Time (15 minutes): Five minutes after the service begins, split kids into groups and begin their activity. Large Group (30 minutes): Begin 20 minutes after the service starts. Model what it looks like to be engaged in large group. Small Group (15 minutes): Keep kids in small groups until parents arrive. If you all have extra time at the end, you can review the video and songs together.

As kids come in, try to connect with them right away. Address them by name and ask them about their day or how they’re doing. Introduce them to other kids if they don’t know anybody.

As kids leave, remind them to keep track of their fabric square. Encourage them to tell their parents that it’s supposed to remind them of how good it feels to be forgiven by God.

Today’s story is another parable: the parable of the unjust servant. We’re learning that since God forgave us for every single wrong thing we’ve done (or will do!), we need to forgive others too.

                                                                                                               

GOAL: Connect Time is all about engaging kids in an activity that allows them to connect with each other right away while simultaneously piquing their curiosity for Large Group and preparing their minds for what they’re going to hear. SNOWBALL FIGHT *Split into small groups or play altogether.

• Stand in a circle. • Each kid gets one sheet of paper. • They have 30 seconds to make “snowballs”—wad the paper into one or several

balls. • On the count of three, from where they are standing, they have to launch their

snowballs. If kids get hit OR move their feet, they have to sit. • Have your snowball fight! Congratulate those left standing. • ASK those who are sitting:

o How does it feel to have to sit? o Does it make you mad? Why or why not?

• CLEAN UP. PUT “SNOWBALLS” IN THE BIN TO BE RECYCLED or the TRASH.

Then gather as small groups. Ask kids about the best/worst parts of their weeks. Before you go to Large Group, remind kids of the expectations for Large Group behavior: (1) be kind, (2) listen when somebody speaks, and (3) follow the leader’s instructions.

   

Goal: to help kids (1) retell the story, (2) relate to the characters, and (3) understand the truth Jesus revealed through the parable. Why? Acting upon the truth in this story is hard. So we want kids to prepare for action by really grasping the meaning and application Jesus intended. Tip: This is a guided discussion. Kids have ways to interact while you process through the meaning. Present it in a structured manner.  

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ACTIVITY TO REVIEW THE STORY *Put the crown (you may have to construct it) and ALL the pieces of material in a pile in the middle of the table/small group.

1. Pass a post-it to each kid. a. On your post-it, write one word to describe the king in this story. b. Stick it to the crown c. Share. d. ASK: If we know the king in this story is like God, what does this story teach us

about God? 2. Think about how the servant felt when the king forgave him.

a. Choose a piece of material from the center of the table that you think describes how the servant felt.

b. Have kids tell a partner (or the table) which they chose and why. c. Put all the pieces of material in a pile. d. ASK: How does it feel to be forgiven?

3. Think about how the other guy felt when the servant choked him. a. Choose a piece of material from the center of the table that you think

describes how the other guy felt. b. Have kids tell a partner (or the table) which they chose and why. c. Put all the pieces of material in a pile. d. ASK: How does it feel when someone refuses to forgive us? Or when we stay

angry? What kinds of things do we do when we don’t forgive others? (start rumors; get into fights; get angry, etc.)

4. Discussion questions: a. Why do you think the servant choked the man who owed him a hundred

dollars? Why is it so hard for us to forgive? (Continue on the following page)

                                                                                                               

 

 

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b. Why did the king get so angry at the servant for not forgiving? Why does God want us to forgive, no matter how many times someone hurts us?

FORGIVENESS ACTIVITY Choose a piece of material from the pile that represents how the servant felt when the king forgave him. Using the fabric marker, write at least one thing God has forgiven you for—or done for you (e.g. sent Jesus to take our punishment!). SAY: It feels good to be forgiven. And remembering God forgave us can help us to remember to forgive others. Put this piece of material in your pocket/purse/shoe this week. Use it to remember to do what Jesus commanded in Matthew 22:37-38: Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’” *Pray together, thanking God for his forgiveness and asking him to help us forgive. *Some kids may be victims of bullying or worse. Discuss how it’s not OK for people to hurt them (just like it’s not OK for us to hurt others). But Jesus wants our response to be forgiveness, even if we need to separate ourselves from that situation. God doesn’t want us to get hurt, just like the king in the story didn’t want the guy to get choked. But he also doesn’t want us to grow angry or bitter. Focus on OUR response, since that’s the part we can control, and Matthew 22:37-38. Extra time? Split your small group into two teams and have each team compete to act today’s story out most accurately. They can use props from the room. Or tear a sheet of blank paper into small slips, have kids write down one way to love God or others this week, and use their examples to play charades or Pictionary.

                                                                                                               

When teaching this story, it’s important to consider that some kids have been victimized by bullying or worse. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help kids understand how to forgive and separate themselves from an unhealthy or dangerous situation, if necessary (those are not mutually exclusive!).

Preview the first video clip here: www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/despicable-me/fluffy-prize The second can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTO00bUHCjU  

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Hi kids! Welcome to Kids’ Club. It’s great to see you here today. It sure looked like a blizzard in your rooms a few minutes ago…snowballs were flying! Raise your hand if you got hit with a snowball and had to sit down (let kids respond). OK, will one of you tell me how it felt? (Let 1 kid respond.) Hmmm, that makes sense. Were you mad at the person who hit you? (Guide kid toward understanding that they could have hit that person too, if they had aimed at him/her. So it’s not really appropriate to be mad.) INTRO: PEOPLE WILL HURT US You know, everybody was throwing snowballs at each other. It’s not very fun to be hit…but the truth is you probably hit some people too, right!? Sometimes in life people make us mad, don’t they? Raise your hand if you’ve ever been angry at somebody (raise your own hand too). Yep, that’s what I thought…but raise your hand if somebody’s been angry at you (raise your own hand too). Yeah, unfortunately, I—and all of you—have done something to make someone else mad too. JESUS WANTS US TO FORGIVE Now, when somebody treats us badly—maybe they call us a name or talk about us behind our back—how do we usually react? (Let kids respond.) Sure, we get mad. Maybe we even try to get back. Let’s watch a clip to imagine what this can look like: Video: Despicable Me Clip Wow, when somebody made Gru mad, he got even, didn’t he!? And in a movie like that, it’s kind of funny. But the truth is, that’s not how Jesus taught us to live. Jesus taught us to forgive people. In fact, one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, said, “Lord, how many times do I have to forgive someone who hurts me or does something mean to me? Do I have to forgive him 7 times?”

                                                                                                               

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Guess what Jesus said? He said, “Not just seven! Seventy-seven!” Jesus wasn’t really telling us to keep count. But he was telling us that even if somebody keeps hurting us over and over and over again, we have to forgive them. Fortunately, he also told us WHY we should forgive. THE PARABLE OF THE UNMERCIFUL SERVANT He showed us why through a parable. Does anybody remember what a parable is? (Let kids respond.) Yes, it’s a story that teaches us a lesson. This story teaches us why we should forgive. See, there’s a king in this story, and he’s like God! There’s a servant in this story, and he’s like us. As you watch, see if you can figure out why the king gets mad at the servant: Video: The Unjust Servant So did anybody figure out why the king got so mad at the servant? (Let kids respond.) Yes, the servant was forgiven by the king: he didn’t have to pay back the millions of silver he owed. But then, he turned around and demanded to get paid back a hundred silver coins from another guy. If the KING could forgive the servant owing him a million dollars, the servant should forgive a hundred! WE FORGIVE BECAUSE WE’VE BEEN FORGIVEN So if the king is like God and the servant is like us, why should WE forgive? (Let kids guess.) Well, we are like that servant. God has forgiven us for disobeying him. He sent Jesus to take our punishment—we are completely free. God chose to be patient with us because he loves us. And now that we know what it’s like to be forgiven, we need to forgive other people, no matter what they do to us. No matter if they’re sorry or not. Remember our verse: SLIDE: Matthew 22:37-38: Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’” That might sound hard to do. But if we remember all the things WE did wrong, we’ll love God back (point to the first part). And when we remember all God did for us, we’ll want to forgive others too. That’s not easy in a world where people hurt us. It’s kind of like the snowball game. We get frustrated when we get treated badly. But we’ve done wrong things too. And when we focus on being thankful that God forgave us, we can forgive others. WORSHIP Now let’s praise God for loving us so much that no matter what we’ve done, he forgives us! We are his kids, and he loves us. Our second song talks about how God makes us brave. Sometimes, that means we have to ask him to help us to be brave and forgive somebody. Music Video: I’m Yours Song: Bravery (with hand motions) PRAY: Ask somebody to come and thank God for his amazing forgiveness!

                                                                                                               

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1 piece of paper per kid

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1. Markers 2. Bible 3. Post-its 4. 1 piece per kid of felt OR fabric (can be post-it sized; please have both available, but can have half felt/half fabric) 5. 1 piece per kid of sandpaper OR burlap (can be

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post-it sized; please have both available but can have half sandpaper and half burlap) 6. Fabric markers: (OT: IN-56/913 or IN-56/4043 or IN-56/4011; whatever makes the most sense in terms of prep, etc; no need for color variety in this age group) 7. One paper crown per small group

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Tell me about the unmerciful servant. What does today’s parable teach us?

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We’ve been looking at parables for the last couple weeks, and today we learned about the story of the unmerciful servant. It teaches us that we must forgive others, because we’ve been forgiven by God. Ask your kid about it. And if you want, read it together in Matthew 18:23-35.

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Bible

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1. Video: Despicable Me clip: http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/despicable-me/fluffy-prize

2. Video: The Unjust Servant http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTO00bUHCjU

3. Matthew 22:37-38: Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’”

4. Music Video: I’m Yours 5. Song: Bravery (with hand motions)

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