How could you forgive?
Children's sermon
Object:
crushed flowers or a ball
(If you use the crushed flowers, start with this.) Good
morning, boys and girls. I want to show you some flowers that
look like someone ran and stomped on them.
(If you use the ball, start with this.) I brought a ball with me this morning because it reminded me of this morning's lesson.
Our lesson is about forgiving someone. Can anyone tell me what it means when someone forgives someone? (Let them answer.) When you forgive someone it means that whatever it was that happened is forgotten. Both of you may start over. No one is mad at the other.
I want to tell you a story about forgiveness. Once there were three children. They lived next door to an old woman who lived by herself. Her family had grown up and moved away, and she didn't have many friends. She did have a little dog and she had a small flower garden in her yard. For some reason, the three children weren't very friendly to the old woman or her dog. One day they were playing in their yard with a ball. The ball was kicked in the woman's flowers. The children ran to get the ball and while they did that they stomped over her flowers and made a mess of the garden. The ball was kicked into her yard again. This time it broke one of her windows. When that happened the children went into their house. They didn't want to admit what they did.
Soon the doorbell rang. They knew who it was. It was the old woman. When they opened the door, they were surprised to see the woman had brought their ball back and also had a plate of cookies. She said, "I think this is your ball. By the way, would you like some cookies that I just baked?" What a surprise! The children knew that their neighbor forgave them for all they had done. That's what Jesus wants us to do. Forgive and forgive again!
(If you use the ball, start with this.) I brought a ball with me this morning because it reminded me of this morning's lesson.
Our lesson is about forgiving someone. Can anyone tell me what it means when someone forgives someone? (Let them answer.) When you forgive someone it means that whatever it was that happened is forgotten. Both of you may start over. No one is mad at the other.
I want to tell you a story about forgiveness. Once there were three children. They lived next door to an old woman who lived by herself. Her family had grown up and moved away, and she didn't have many friends. She did have a little dog and she had a small flower garden in her yard. For some reason, the three children weren't very friendly to the old woman or her dog. One day they were playing in their yard with a ball. The ball was kicked in the woman's flowers. The children ran to get the ball and while they did that they stomped over her flowers and made a mess of the garden. The ball was kicked into her yard again. This time it broke one of her windows. When that happened the children went into their house. They didn't want to admit what they did.
Soon the doorbell rang. They knew who it was. It was the old woman. When they opened the door, they were surprised to see the woman had brought their ball back and also had a plate of cookies. She said, "I think this is your ball. By the way, would you like some cookies that I just baked?" What a surprise! The children knew that their neighbor forgave them for all they had done. That's what Jesus wants us to do. Forgive and forgive again!
