ELEMENTARY KIDS & FAMILIES
Did You Know?
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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. For additional support in spiritual parenting and to learn more about creating transforming environments in your home, be sure to pick up HomeFront: A Spiritual Parenting Resource from your church or download at HomeFrontMag.com. You can also access the HomeFront app for your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
Younger Kids
3.8
It’s extremely important for you to model forgiveness in the home. When your child or spouse has wronged you, the way you respond will have an impact on how your child will respond to future situations in his own life.
• Rabbinic tradition held that a person should forgive another three times. • Jesus taught that we shouldn’t number the amount of times we offer forgiveness to others.
Older Kids
• The servant in this story owed the king more money than he could have ever repaid to him.
Your older child may have faced situations that make it very difficult to forgive those who have wronged her. Remind her that forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean a restored relationship.
• Through this parable, Jesus taught that we can’t compare what we owe and what we’ve been forgiven.
God Shows Us How to Forgive Part of The Big God Story 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.
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Play Peak and Pit, but instead blessed you recently and a of your day, share about a person who may need to forgive. Share you eone person who upset you—som to forgive others. Read together with your children that God calls us y times did Jesus tell Peter we man How 5. 1–3 18:2 Matthew why the master was upset with uss Disc ? eone should forgive som forgiving the person who hurt for ns optio his servant. Talk about Explain that God continues to e). you (from the Peak and Pit gam the same to others. do to us ts wan and us ive forg
Remember Verse for the environment of COURSE CORRECTION
Teachable Moments After reading Scripture, discuss the following together: • How did the king show mercy to his servant?
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 NLT)
• How has God shown you forgiveness? • How can you show forgiveness to others?
Blessing For more information about blessing your child see the Blessing section in HomeFront: A Spiritual Parenting Resource.
A blessing to pray over your child:
© 2013 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.
(Child’s name), may you be comforted in knowing you are forgiven. May you seek to be a blessing to others, forgiving them and loving them with the same forgiveness and love God has shown you.