ELEMENTARY KIDS & FAMILIES For Sunday, May 8, 2016
This resource is designed to allow your family to have time in God’s Word BEFORE your children attend church. Because God’s plan is for parents to be the primary spiritual nurturers of their children’s faith, we want YOU to be the one to introduce this part of The Big God Story to them. HomeFront Magazine: A Spiritual Parenting Resource is a monthly magazine that gives your family ideas for creating fun, spiritually forming times in your home—setting aside sacred space in the midst of your active, everyday lives. Visit www.HomeFrontMag.com to subscribe to the print edition or to have a digital copy sent directly to your inbox.
DID YOU KNOW? • Rabbinic tradition held that a person should forgive another three times. • Jesus taught, in contrast to Rabbinic teaching, that we shouldn’t number the amount of times we offer forgiveness to others. • The servant in this story owed the king more money than he could have ever repaid to him. • Through this parable, Jesus taught that we can’t compare what we owe and what we’ve been forgiven.
REMEMBER VERSE
GOD FORGIVES Parable of the Unmerciful Servant Matthew 18:21–35 Jesus tells the parable of the unmerciful servant. Through this story, Jesus communicates to His followers why and how we should forgive.
JUST FOR FUN Play Peak and Pit, but instead of sharing the best and worst parts of your day, share about a person who blessed you recently and a person who upset you— someone you may need to forgive. Share with your children that God calls us to forgive others. Read together Matthew 18:21–35. How many times did Jesus tell Peter we should forgive someone? Discuss why the master was upset with his servant. Talk about options for forgiving the person who hurt you (from the Peak and Pit game). Explain that God continues to forgive us and wants us to do the same to others.
YOUNGER KIDS It’s important for parents to model forgiveness in the home. When your child or spouse has wronged you, the way you respond with forgiveness, or not, will have an impact on how your child responds to situations in the future in his own life.
OLDER KIDS Your older child may have faced one or more situations that make it very difficult to forgive those who have wronged her. Remind her that forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean a restored relationship, it simply means extending the same grace that’s been extended to us by Jesus.
© 2016 David C Cook. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national network of family and children’s ministry leaders. All rights reserved.
Spring Lesson 10
Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up on compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18
TEACHABLE MOMENTS After reading the Scripture passage, discuss the following together: • How did the king show mercy to his servant? • How has God shown you forgiveness? • Who can you show forgiveness to today?
BLESSING A blessing can be a spoken prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words of encouragement and guidance over your child. For more information about blessing your child, see the Blessing section in HomeFront: A Spiritual Parenting Resource @ HomeFrontMag.com A blessing to pray over your child: (Child’s name), may you know God’s forgiveness this week. May you forgive others as He has forgiven you.
SUMMER U REGISTRATION IS OPEN! Please visit www.SummerU.org to register your kids. Parents, we could use your help. When you sign up your kids, you can also register to volunteer!