Always forgive
Children's sermon
Object:
a flashcard with "11x7" printed on it
Jesus said to him, "Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.'' (v.
22)
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you know what this is? (hold up flashcard) That's right -- a math problem! How many of you have learned about math? Can you add one plus one? Good job! Do you know what the answer to this math problem is? (point at flashcard) No? It's hard, isn't it? The answer is 77. Have you ever had 77 of anything?
In our scripture reading today, Peter says to Jesus, "How many times should I forgive other people?" Jesus' answer was, "You should forgive people 77 times." Could you keep track of 77 times you forgive somebody? I think I would lose count! Do you think that Jesus really meant for us to forgive exactly 77 times? (allow answers) Probably not; Jesus wants us to forgive others every time. Jesus forgives us that way, too! He forgives us for all the bad things we do. We can sin only a few times or we can sin 1,000 times, but Jesus will always give us another chance. Isn't that great? After Jesus told that to Peter, he told a story that you heard today.
I need two helpers for this story. (choose two volunteers) In this story, there was a king -- pretend that's me -- who let one of his servants borrow a lot of money. That is (name of first volunteer). One day the king asked his servant to pay back all of that money. But, the servant had spent all the money! He couldn't pay the king back. Maybe he bought a house or a car with it. (First volunteer), what would you say to the king if you couldn't pay him back? (allow answer) Would you ask him to forgive your debt and wait a little bit longer? That's what the servant in the story did. The king said, "Okay." When the servant left the castle, he was very relieved! What would you do if you looked relieved? Maybe wipe the sweat off your forehead and say, "Thank you, God!" Well, this servant left the castle and ran into another servant -- that's (second volunteer -- stand up). Now, (second volunteer) owed (first volunteer) a little bit of money. We'll pretend it's just ten cents. (First volunteer) said, "Hey, give me back my money," but (second volunteer) didn't have any money with him. He said, "I'll pay you back later." What do you think (first volunteer) should have done? That's right, he should have forgiven the other servant. Instead, he wanted to beat him up! That's when the king came back and he was mad! The king said, "If I can forgive you for a lot of money, how come you can't forgive (second volunteer) for ten cents?" The king had the first servant put in jail!
The king wanted his servant to forgive as he had been forgiven. That's what God wants us to do, too -- not seven times, or even 77 times, but every time. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you know what this is? (hold up flashcard) That's right -- a math problem! How many of you have learned about math? Can you add one plus one? Good job! Do you know what the answer to this math problem is? (point at flashcard) No? It's hard, isn't it? The answer is 77. Have you ever had 77 of anything?
In our scripture reading today, Peter says to Jesus, "How many times should I forgive other people?" Jesus' answer was, "You should forgive people 77 times." Could you keep track of 77 times you forgive somebody? I think I would lose count! Do you think that Jesus really meant for us to forgive exactly 77 times? (allow answers) Probably not; Jesus wants us to forgive others every time. Jesus forgives us that way, too! He forgives us for all the bad things we do. We can sin only a few times or we can sin 1,000 times, but Jesus will always give us another chance. Isn't that great? After Jesus told that to Peter, he told a story that you heard today.
I need two helpers for this story. (choose two volunteers) In this story, there was a king -- pretend that's me -- who let one of his servants borrow a lot of money. That is (name of first volunteer). One day the king asked his servant to pay back all of that money. But, the servant had spent all the money! He couldn't pay the king back. Maybe he bought a house or a car with it. (First volunteer), what would you say to the king if you couldn't pay him back? (allow answer) Would you ask him to forgive your debt and wait a little bit longer? That's what the servant in the story did. The king said, "Okay." When the servant left the castle, he was very relieved! What would you do if you looked relieved? Maybe wipe the sweat off your forehead and say, "Thank you, God!" Well, this servant left the castle and ran into another servant -- that's (second volunteer -- stand up). Now, (second volunteer) owed (first volunteer) a little bit of money. We'll pretend it's just ten cents. (First volunteer) said, "Hey, give me back my money," but (second volunteer) didn't have any money with him. He said, "I'll pay you back later." What do you think (first volunteer) should have done? That's right, he should have forgiven the other servant. Instead, he wanted to beat him up! That's when the king came back and he was mad! The king said, "If I can forgive you for a lot of money, how come you can't forgive (second volunteer) for ten cents?" The king had the first servant put in jail!
The king wanted his servant to forgive as he had been forgiven. That's what God wants us to do, too -- not seven times, or even 77 times, but every time. Amen.
