Forgive, Forgive, Forgive!
Children's sermon
Object:
The children will be the objects in role-playing this message. If you do not have enough children for all roles, children may play more than one part.
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. (vv. 29-30)
Note: You might want to practice your role of telling each child what to say. The instructions will explain who you are to be speaking to. Most of all, have fun with this!
Hello everyone. I have a story I want to tell you. But instead of me just telling it to you, I think it would be more fun if you helped me with it, okay? (Let them answer) We’ll see if we can show the story instead of telling it. To start, I need one volunteer. (Pick one child and have them stand) Okay, you are going to pretend to be someone who borrowed a video game from a friend last week. And today is the day you are supposed to give the game back, okay? (Let them answer) And I need another volunteer (Pick another child and have them stand facing the first) to pretend to be the friend who loaned them the game last week. Don’t worry, I’ll help you and tell you what to say. Are you ready? (Let them answer)
(To the one who loaned the game) Okay. First, you say, “It is time to give me my game. Do you have it?” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who borrowed the game) Then you say, “I am really sorry, but I don’t have it right now.” (Let them act it out)
(You ask everyone) What do you all think is going to happen next? (Let them answer)
Well, I’ll tell you what happened. The person who loaned the game got very angry, and (to the one who loaned the game) you say, “Well then, unless you give it to me right now, I will tell everyone that you stole the game and get you in a lot of trouble!” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who borrowed the game) But then you say, “Please, don’t do that. I was going to give it back. But my little brother has been sick and he loves that game so I let him play it longer. I promise I will bring it back. Please give me another few days.” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who loaned the game) You stop, take a deep breath, and say, “I didn’t know your brother was sick. Just forget about the game. I’ll let your brother keep it. You don’t need to bring it back. Go and take care of your brother!” (Let them act it out)
(Say to everyone) That was really nice, wasn’t it? (Let them answer)
I need one more volunteer. (Pick one more child and have them stand facing the forgiven person)
Well, the very next day, the person who had been forgiven saw a friend of his who had borrowed a comic book from them and hadn’t brought it back yet.
(To the one who loaned the comic book) You say, “Where is my comic book? GIVE ME MY BOOK!” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who borrowed the comic book) You say, “I am sorry. I forgot and left it at home. I promise I will bring it to you tomorrow.” (Let them act it out)
But the person who loaned the comic book became angrier.
(To the one who loaned the comic book) You said, “NO! You should have brought it back!” (Let them act it out) And then he told everyone that his friend had stolen his comic book and got him in a lot of trouble.
(To everyone) Do you remember the first friend who forgave the one who didn’t return the video game? (Let them answer)
(To the one who had forgiven the video game) Well, when you heard about the comic book, you found the person you had forgiven, and you said to them, “You are mean! I forgave you about the video game, but you would not forgive your friend with the comic book. Just for that, I am going to tell everyone just how mean you really are!” (Let them act it out)
(To everyone) Wow, that was quite a mess, wasn’t it? Why do you think Jesus told everyone that story? (Let them answer) Well, Jesus explained the story at the end. He said that since God has forgiven us of all of our sins, we are supposed to forgive anyone who might have sinned against us. The person borrowing the video game was forgiven for not returning the game, but then they did not forgive the friend who had not returned the comic book. That’s not how God wants us to behave. Sometimes it is very hard to forgive someone when they do something we do not like. But, since we have been forgiven, we are supposed to forgive too. Thank you for helping me tell the story.
Prayer: God, thank you for forgiving me when I make mistakes. Please help me remember to forgive anyone who make mistakes too.
Note: You might want to practice your role of telling each child what to say. The instructions will explain who you are to be speaking to. Most of all, have fun with this!
Hello everyone. I have a story I want to tell you. But instead of me just telling it to you, I think it would be more fun if you helped me with it, okay? (Let them answer) We’ll see if we can show the story instead of telling it. To start, I need one volunteer. (Pick one child and have them stand) Okay, you are going to pretend to be someone who borrowed a video game from a friend last week. And today is the day you are supposed to give the game back, okay? (Let them answer) And I need another volunteer (Pick another child and have them stand facing the first) to pretend to be the friend who loaned them the game last week. Don’t worry, I’ll help you and tell you what to say. Are you ready? (Let them answer)
(To the one who loaned the game) Okay. First, you say, “It is time to give me my game. Do you have it?” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who borrowed the game) Then you say, “I am really sorry, but I don’t have it right now.” (Let them act it out)
(You ask everyone) What do you all think is going to happen next? (Let them answer)
Well, I’ll tell you what happened. The person who loaned the game got very angry, and (to the one who loaned the game) you say, “Well then, unless you give it to me right now, I will tell everyone that you stole the game and get you in a lot of trouble!” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who borrowed the game) But then you say, “Please, don’t do that. I was going to give it back. But my little brother has been sick and he loves that game so I let him play it longer. I promise I will bring it back. Please give me another few days.” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who loaned the game) You stop, take a deep breath, and say, “I didn’t know your brother was sick. Just forget about the game. I’ll let your brother keep it. You don’t need to bring it back. Go and take care of your brother!” (Let them act it out)
(Say to everyone) That was really nice, wasn’t it? (Let them answer)
I need one more volunteer. (Pick one more child and have them stand facing the forgiven person)
Well, the very next day, the person who had been forgiven saw a friend of his who had borrowed a comic book from them and hadn’t brought it back yet.
(To the one who loaned the comic book) You say, “Where is my comic book? GIVE ME MY BOOK!” (Let them act it out)
(To the one who borrowed the comic book) You say, “I am sorry. I forgot and left it at home. I promise I will bring it to you tomorrow.” (Let them act it out)
But the person who loaned the comic book became angrier.
(To the one who loaned the comic book) You said, “NO! You should have brought it back!” (Let them act it out) And then he told everyone that his friend had stolen his comic book and got him in a lot of trouble.
(To everyone) Do you remember the first friend who forgave the one who didn’t return the video game? (Let them answer)
(To the one who had forgiven the video game) Well, when you heard about the comic book, you found the person you had forgiven, and you said to them, “You are mean! I forgave you about the video game, but you would not forgive your friend with the comic book. Just for that, I am going to tell everyone just how mean you really are!” (Let them act it out)
(To everyone) Wow, that was quite a mess, wasn’t it? Why do you think Jesus told everyone that story? (Let them answer) Well, Jesus explained the story at the end. He said that since God has forgiven us of all of our sins, we are supposed to forgive anyone who might have sinned against us. The person borrowing the video game was forgiven for not returning the game, but then they did not forgive the friend who had not returned the comic book. That’s not how God wants us to behave. Sometimes it is very hard to forgive someone when they do something we do not like. But, since we have been forgiven, we are supposed to forgive too. Thank you for helping me tell the story.
Prayer: God, thank you for forgiving me when I make mistakes. Please help me remember to forgive anyone who make mistakes too.
