Children's Bible Activities on Forgiveness
In "The Lord's Prayer" (Matthew 6: 9-15) Jesus says "forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." Jesus makes this unquestionably clear when he says that those who don't forgive others won't be forgiven.
Some people have trouble forgiving others. Peter, Jesus' disciple asked how many times he had to forgive his siblings (Matthew 18: 21-23). Jesus replied, "seventy times seven," or "unlimited forgiveness" according to the Bible Gateway commentary.
Other People Are Reading
-
Forgive my Brother and Sister?
-
Like Peter, children sometimes have problems with siblings. The issues vary, but sometimes the anger can fester for years. Ask the children if they have ever been angry with a brother or sister. The children will probably provide you with lots of examples to work with. Ask them if they forgive family members after the event.
Have the children practice forgiving using role-play. Ask one of the children to replay a recent fight with a sibling. Have the child practice saying, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me," and "I forgive you."
Ask the children how often they need to forgive. Explain that Jesus meant to forgive and to keep on forgiving, not to keep count of how many times they forgive.
God Forgives Me
-
Allow the children to create a collage about forgiveness. Put a picture of each child on a large piece of craft paper. Across the top of the paper, print "God Forgives Me" and across the bottom of the paper print "I forgive others." Allow the children to decorate the poster. Have them write a short note on why forgiveness is important.
-
Brothers Forgive
-
Tell the children the story of Jacob and Esau found in Genesis 25: 24-34, 27: 1-44, 32: 3-21 and 33: 1-16. Ask the children to explain the problem between Jacob and Esau. Have the children explain why Jacob ran from Esau. You might ask them if they believe Jacob's gifts made a difference to Esau. If it wasn't Jacob's gifts, ask them what else might have affected how Esau felt about Jacob's return.
Forgiveness Maze
-
Have the students create a maze on how to travel the path from error or sin through forgiveness to justification. Talk about how sometimes it is difficult to figure out how to forgive those who hurt us. Ask them what steps a person needs to take in order to reach the final goal.
Explain that justification can be defined as "Just as if I'd never..." Forgiveness from God brings justification where the sin is erased as if it has never happened. Let the eraser represent the end of the maze.
Forgiveness in Music
-
Ask the students if they can think of any songs that speak of forgiveness. They may consider songs like "Amazing Grace," "Oh Happy Day" and "Forgive Me." You might play some of the songs for your students. Challenge the students to write their own song for forgiveness.
-
References
- Photo Credit hugging puppets (6) image by TiG from Fotolia.com
