Lesson 4: The unmerciful servant.

Passage: Matthew 18:21-35 - When Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive someone who wrongs him seven times, Jesus answers that he should not forgive only seven times, but seventy-seven. Jesus then tells a story about a servant who owed the king a large sum of money. When the servant was unable to pay the king back and begged for extra time, the king took pity on him and completely forgave the servant’s debt. However, the servant immediately went and found a fellow servant who owed him a smaller amount of money, and demanded payment. When that servant couldn’t pay and begged for extra time, the first servant did not take pity on him but threw his fellow servant in jail until he could pay back what he owed. When the king heard of this he was indignant. He called the first servant to him, and told him that he had changed his mind and would throw the servant in jail until he could pay back everything he owed.

Big Idea: Forgiving others as God forgives us.

For Teachers:

Lesson plan.

  • Welcome — Activity Leader

    • Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.

    Warm Up Activity: Acting Out Bible Stories — Activity Leader

    Kids dress up and act out any Bible story using their imagination.

    Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader

    Today we’ll be talking about another one of Jesus’ stories and what important lesson we can learn from it.

    • Today's story is all about forgiveness. Have you ever had to forgive someone for something wrong they did to you? Was it easy or hard to forgive them?

    • What if someone kept doing the same thing over and over again… Would it be hard to keep forgiving them many times?

    Let’s watch our video to find out more…

    Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader

    Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader

    • What did the king in the story say when the servant couldn’t pay back the money that he owed?

    • Then when another servant owed that first servant money, what did the first servant do?

    • What did the king do after he found out how his servant treated another servant?

    • What do you think is the lesson we learn about God from this story?

    • What do you think that means about how we should treat each other?

    Prayer — Bible Story Leader

    “Dear God, thank you for how much you forgive us every time we make mistakes or do wrong. Thank you that your forgiveness never runs out. Please help us to also learn to forgive others who do wrong to us. Please fill us with your love for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

    Activity: Paper People Craft — 10 minutes

    Kids will colour, fold, and glue together pre-cut paper people with a heart that says “forgive each other”.

    If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to free play.

    Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.

  • Welcome — Activity Leader

    Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class.

    Warm Up Activity: True or False Buzzer Game — Activity Leader

    There will be a list of questions and some buzzers. Kids will take turns coming up to the front to answer the questions.

    Preliminary Discussion —Bible Story Leader

    Today we’ll be talking about another one of Jesus’ stories and what important lesson we can learn from it.

    • This story is all about forgiveness. Have you ever had to forgive someone for something wrong they did to you? Was it easy or hard to forgive them?

    • What if someone kept doing the same thing over and over again… Would it be hard to keep forgiving them so many times?

    Let’s watch our video to find out about what Jesus’ story teaches us about forgiveness…

    Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader

    Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader

    • What did the king in the story say when the servant couldn’t pay back the money that he owed?

    • Then when another servant owed that first servant money, what did the first servant do?

    • What did the king do when he found out how his servant had treated another servant?

    • What do you think is the lesson we learn about God from this story?

    • What do you think that means about how we should treat each other?

    Prayer — Bible Story Leader

    “Dear God, thank you for how much you forgive us every time we make mistakes or do wrong. Thank you that your forgiveness never runs out. Please help us to also learn to forgive others who do wrong to us. Please fill us with your love for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

    Activity: Paper People Craft —

    Kids will colour, fold, and glue together pre-cut paper people with a heart that says “forgive each other”.

    Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.

  • Welcome — Activity Leader

    Welcome the kids to class, ask how their week was.

    Warm Up Activity: True or False Buzzer Game — Activity Leader

    There will be a list of questions and some buzzers. Kids will take turns coming up to the front to answer the questions.

    Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader

    Today is week four of our series on Jesus’ parables.

    • Can anyone remember some of the parables we’ve learned so far?

    • What were some of the lessons that we learned from them?

    • Today’s story is all about forgiveness… Have you ever had to forgive someone for something wrong they did to you? Was it easy or hard to forgive?

    • If you already forgave someone many times and they kept doing the same things over and over again, do you think you’d still be willing to forgive them? Why or why not?

    Let’s watch our video to find out more…

    Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader

    Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader

    • Can anyone summarize the parable of Jesus from the video?

    • What’s something that we can learn about God from the story?

    • What’s something that we can learn about our human nature or how we tend to act as humans when it comes to forgiveness?

    • Do you think that forgiving people means that we have to let them continually hurt us or do wrong to us? Is it possible to forgive someone while still having boundaries for how others can treat us? How do you think you would do that?

    Prayer — Bible Story Leader

    “Dear God, thank you that you are such a merciful and forgiving God, who forgives us for the wrong that we do time and again. There is no limit to your love and forgiveness. Please help us to follow that example in the way that we forgive others who have wronged us. Please help us to learn not to hold grudges and to be able to let go of anger, even as we set good boundaries to prevent others from taking advantage of us. Please help us to become more and more like Jesus every day in the way we treat others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

    Activity: Paper People Craft — Activity Leader

    Kids will colour, fold, and glue together pre-cut paper people with a heart that says “forgive each other”.

    Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.

For Parents:

Follow-up questions.

    • What was the story you learned about in class today?

    • What do you think the story teaches us about what God is like?

    • What do you think the story teaches us about what we should do when other people do wrong to us?

    • Do you think it’s easy or hard to forgive others who hurt you? Why?

    • What are some things you can remember or do when you are having a hard time forgiving others?

    • What was the story you learned about in class today?

    • Which character in the story is an example of what God is like? What can we learn about God from that character?

    • What do you think the story teaches us about what we should do when other people do wrong to us?

    • Have you ever had to ask someone for forgiveness when you made a mistake or did something wrong? Has someone ever asked you for forgiveness?

    • What are some things you can remember or do when you are having a hard time forgiving others?

    • What was the story you learned about in class today?

    • What do you think the story can teach us about God?

    • Why do you think God expects us to forgive others no matter how many times they do wrong to us? Have you ever had to do that?

    • What do you think it means to forgive someone while still having boundaries for how they can treat you?

    • What are some helpful things to remember when you are struggling to forgive someone for the wrong they did to you?

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Lesson 5: The vineyard workers.

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Lesson 3: The good Samaritan.