High Voltage Elementary: Deal with It

Hard To Say, ‘I’m Sorry!’

“I’m sorry” are two of the hardest words for someone to say. Even when the person who hurt us finally says those two words, it can be even harder for us to say, “I forgive you.” Forgiveness is hard to deal with, but not dealing with it is even worse. For a Christian, that’s not an option. We must not live our lives holding unforgive- ness towards someone, no matter what they have done to hurt us. If we do, it hurts us much more than it ever hurts them. In this lesson, the children will look at the parable of the Unforgiving Servant and learn that we must choose to forgive others because God has forgiven us of so much more
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Hard To Say, ‘I’m Sorry!’

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At Home Instructions

Family Devotion: Hard To Say I'm SorryMaterials: pretend money

Big Idea God Forgave Me, So I Forgive You

Power Verse Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. – Colossians 3:13

PRESCHOOL & ELEMENTARY Tell your children to pretend that you’ve loaned them the money to buy the item they’ve mentioned. Hand them enough pretend money to pay for their item, and remind them that they’ll have to pay you back. Ask your children how they’d feel if this happened in real life.

Then tell your children that you’ve decided that they don’t have to pay back the money you loaned them. Explain to them that this is called forgiving the loan; even though they did nothing to deserve it, they no longer owe you anything. Discuss the following questions:

• How would you feel if someone really loaned you money and then forgave your debt?

• What did the person have to give up in order to forgive your debt? (the right to get his money back)

• Why do you think someone would willingly forgive your debt?

• How do you think that person would feel after he forgave your debt?

Explain to your children that forgiving a person who has wronged us is our choice. When someone wrongs us, we may lose our trust and confidence in them, or they may harm our reputation. Just like a person who forgives a debt and doesn’t get his money back, we have to give up something in order to forgive—the right to make them try to fix things or pay us back. By forgiving them, we’re choosing to let go of the desire for revenge. Our reward? Approval, acceptance, and forgiveness from God.

Ask God to help you forgive people even when they don’t ask for forgiveness. Thank Him for not requiring you to pay Him back for everything you do wrong

AGES 12 & UP It may hurt when a friend forgets to call or decides to stay home instead of coming to your house, but it’s usually pretty easy to forgive them and get over it. But what about the times when a friend does something that causes you a lot of hurt or anger? How do you forgive them then?

Parents, talk about a situation in your past when someone hurt you and it was hard to forgive them. Answer the following questions:

• What was your initial reaction? How did you feel? What did you want to do?

• How did you handle the situation? (Don’t be afraid to admit you handled it poorly—your children know you’re human)

• If you faced that same situation now, would you do anything differently? If so, what?

• What did you do after you’d forgiven that person but feelings of hurt, anger, or revenge came back?

Just because we choose to forgive someone doesn’t mean all of the bad feelings are miraculously erased. When those feelings resurface, it’s important to do two things: remind yourself that you’ve already chosen to forgive that person, and then consciously start thinking about something else. The longer we dwell on how someone wronged us, the stronger the negative feelings become. By redirecting our thoughts to something positive, like Philippians 4:8 instructs us to, we can learn to control our emotions and reactions instead of having them control us.

Pray together, thanking God for His forgiveness. Ask Him to help you take control of your thoughts and learn to think about people—even people who have wronged you—like He does.

Hard To Say, ‘I’m Sorry!’ Instructions

Family Devotion: Hard To Say I'm SorryMaterials: pretend money

Big Idea God Forgave Me, So I Forgive You

Power Verse Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. – Colossians 3:13

PRESCHOOL & ELEMENTARY Tell your children to pretend that you’ve loaned them the money to buy the item they’ve mentioned. Hand them enough pretend money to pay for their item, and remind them that they’ll have to pay you back. Ask your children how they’d feel if this happened in real life.

Then tell your children that you’ve decided that they don’t have to pay back the money you loaned them. Explain to them that this is called forgiving the loan; even though they did nothing to deserve it, they no longer owe you anything. Discuss the following questions:

• How would you feel if someone really loaned you money and then forgave your debt?

• What did the person have to give up in order to forgive your debt? (the right to get his money back)

• Why do you think someone would willingly forgive your debt?

• How do you think that person would feel after he forgave your debt?

Explain to your children that forgiving a person who has wronged us is our choice. When someone wrongs us, we may lose our trust and confidence in them, or they may harm our reputation. Just like a person who forgives a debt and doesn’t get his money back, we have to give up something in order to forgive—the right to make them try to fix things or pay us back. By forgiving them, we’re choosing to let go of the desire for revenge. Our reward? Approval, acceptance, and forgiveness from God.

Ask God to help you forgive people even when they don’t ask for forgiveness. Thank Him for not requiring you to pay Him back for everything you do wrong

AGES 12 & UP It may hurt when a friend forgets to call or decides to stay home instead of coming to your house, but it’s usually pretty easy to forgive them and get over it. But what about the times when a friend does something that causes you a lot of hurt or anger? How do you forgive them then?

Parents, talk about a situation in your past when someone hurt you and it was hard to forgive them. Answer the following questions:

• What was your initial reaction? How did you feel? What did you want to do?

• How did you handle the situation? (Don’t be afraid to admit you handled it poorly—your children know you’re human)

• If you faced that same situation now, would you do anything differently? If so, what?

• What did you do after you’d forgiven that person but feelings of hurt, anger, or revenge came back?

Just because we choose to forgive someone doesn’t mean all of the bad feelings are miraculously erased. When those feelings resurface, it’s important to do two things: remind yourself that you’ve already chosen to forgive that person, and then consciously start thinking about something else. The longer we dwell on how someone wronged us, the stronger the negative feelings become. By redirecting our thoughts to something positive, like Philippians 4:8 instructs us to, we can learn to control our emotions and reactions instead of having them control us.

Pray together, thanking God for His forgiveness. Ask Him to help you take control of your thoughts and learn to think about people—even people who have wronged you—like He does.