Forgive each other
Children's sermon
Object:
a toy
Good morning, boys and girls. What does it mean to forgive
someone? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you a story about
forgiveness. As you listen to the story, see if you can decide
who is a forgiving person.
Once there were three good friends. (You may name them if you wish.) They were each about your age. They were on Christmas vacation. They were playing together at one of the three's house with some of their new Christmas gifts. (Hold up the toy.)
They were having a good time. One of the friends was becoming difficult to play with. She wanted to tell the other two what to do. Eventually they stopped playing and decided to have a snack. The bossy friend wanted to have her snack first, so she pushed the other two aside and began to eat. After they finished their snack the three friends decided to color some pictures. The bossy friend wanted to choose her colors first. A little later they decided to watch TV. You can guess who decided what program to watch. This went on all afternoon. Two of the friends were really pretty tired of the bossy friend's demands. Finally two of the friends informed their bossy friend that they were tired of all she was doing and that the next day they weren't going to invite her to play with them.
Then the two went home. The bossy friend thought about how she had acted. She realized she had been pretty unfriendly all afternoon. She felt pretty upset about how the day went. A little later the doorbell rang. Can you imagine her surprise when she greeted her two friends at the door! The two came in and said, "We thought about what we said when we left. We hope you can play with us tomorrow." The bossy friend was so happy, she hugged them and said, "Yes! I will play tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a better day!"
Now, who can tell me which friends showed forgiveness? (Let them answer.) The two friends made the right decision in forgiving their friend. That is what Jesus wants us to do. When we have a complaint about a friend, Jesus wants us to forgive that person.
Once there were three good friends. (You may name them if you wish.) They were each about your age. They were on Christmas vacation. They were playing together at one of the three's house with some of their new Christmas gifts. (Hold up the toy.)
They were having a good time. One of the friends was becoming difficult to play with. She wanted to tell the other two what to do. Eventually they stopped playing and decided to have a snack. The bossy friend wanted to have her snack first, so she pushed the other two aside and began to eat. After they finished their snack the three friends decided to color some pictures. The bossy friend wanted to choose her colors first. A little later they decided to watch TV. You can guess who decided what program to watch. This went on all afternoon. Two of the friends were really pretty tired of the bossy friend's demands. Finally two of the friends informed their bossy friend that they were tired of all she was doing and that the next day they weren't going to invite her to play with them.
Then the two went home. The bossy friend thought about how she had acted. She realized she had been pretty unfriendly all afternoon. She felt pretty upset about how the day went. A little later the doorbell rang. Can you imagine her surprise when she greeted her two friends at the door! The two came in and said, "We thought about what we said when we left. We hope you can play with us tomorrow." The bossy friend was so happy, she hugged them and said, "Yes! I will play tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a better day!"
Now, who can tell me which friends showed forgiveness? (Let them answer.) The two friends made the right decision in forgiving their friend. That is what Jesus wants us to do. When we have a complaint about a friend, Jesus wants us to forgive that person.
