Locations & Times

Kid Principles

Forgive - Week 1

March 9-10, 2019 |

When a kid is the principal, students get schooled in the “kid principles” of forgiveness, truth, humility, and putting people first. This four-week video series shows kids that if we follow Jesus, and he makes our hearts good inside, then what we say and do on the outside gets good too.

ASK YOUR KID

What happens to our outside when our inside is good?

BIBLE VERSE

“Don't change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect," Romans 12:2.

 

GROUP Q&A
  1. What happened today in our video that made Bawb angry? (Someone took his coat.)
  2. Mrs. Molecule explained to Bawb what anger feels like inside our bodies. Tell about a time you were angry and how anger made your body feel. (Discuss.)
  3. Kid Principal explained to Bawb what Jesus taught about anger. What did Jesus say we should do when we are angry with other people? (forgive)
  4. Who can ask Jesus for forgiveness? (anybody) What happens when we ask him? (We are forgiven.)
  5. What happens when your heart changes on the inside to be more like Jesus? (We act better on the outside.)
  6. Why would it be important to remember what Jesus said and forgive others? (Discuss. We won’t have to be angry for long. We won’t do something bad because we are mad.)
PARENT BIBLE STUDY

Read: Colossians 3:1-17; Ephesians 4:30-32; Proverbs 14:17; Matthew 5:38-42, 6:14-15, 18:21-22; 1 John 1:9

If forgiveness were easy, the Bible wouldn’t repeatedly remind and command us to forgive one another. Forgiving doesn’t come naturally to anyone, and it is a choice we have to make intentionally, sometimes over and over again. Thankfully, the Bible is also an incredible story of God’s forgiveness of us. Before we repented, before we ever said sorry, and even before we were aware of our wrong and hurtful actions, God was moving in his plan to send his one and only son Jesus to forgive our sins by dying in our place, freely forgiving us of an enormous debt. This is beautiful news, and this is where we draw our strength to forgive others.

And yet the reality is, when we are hurt or when the consequences of someone else’s actions fall out on us in deeply painful and lasting ways, forgiveness feels impossible. But God promises that he makes all things possible. And as followers of Jesus, with his spirit inside of us, our hearts are being formed into something more and more like the heart of Christ. In these moments of deep pain, forgiveness becomes an act of discipline, obedience, and faith. And we cling to the promise that freedom is on the other side of forgiveness.

Yet at the same time, forgiveness is not forgetting, and forgiveness is not foregoing boundaries. Forgiveness is faith that if God is big enough to carry our sin, he is big enough to carry our wounds, too. It’s an act of humility and surrender to Jesus as we forgive, remembering the enormity of what he has forgiven in us. And ultimately, it’s a step into freedom. When we choose not to forgive, we are the ones who are punished because refusing to forgive sows seeds of anger, resentment, and bitterness in our hearts. But choosing forgiveness brings healing, and while it is no guarantee that a relationship will be perfectly restored, we can know that forgiveness will lead us back into the joy and abundant life God intends for us.

Why do you think it is easier sometimes to nurse our wounds and dwell on our hurts rather than forgive the people who’ve hurt us?

Have you been harboring hostile feelings toward someone who has hurt you? How is that affecting your life, your relationships? What steps can you take to move toward forgiveness?

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