Unmerciful Servant Children Activities

Forgiveness Journals

• Ask children to think about a time when they were forgiven for something they did wrong. Older children can write about this in a journal, and younger children can draw a picture to represent the scene. Then ask them about a time when they had to forgive someone else, and have them write or draw about this as well.
  Explain to children that God is always ready to forgive us, just as the master in the story forgave his servant. We simply have to pray to God to ask for his forgiveness, and take steps not to repeat our sin again. Then tell them that it is our Christian duty to extend this same kindness to others, and to forgive other people any time they ask. You might ask children to brainstorm a situation where it would be hard to forgive someone, such as if a friend broke a favorite toy or a thief stole a valued possession. Then pray with children that God will grant them the strength and wisdom to forgive others, as He forgives them.
  
  

Forgive and Forget

• An important part of forgiveness is to forget the situation and move beyond it. For younger children, reinforce this by helping them make elephant masks (an elephant "never forgets," but they should). They can color paper plates gray and then use construction paper to make ears and trunks; cut out holes for the eyes and then tie the plates with string around children's heads. Remind children that even though an elephant never forgets anything, it is the nice thing to do to forget someone's sin after they have apologized and received forgiveness. Remind them that they should never make someone feel bad for what they have done, because one day they'll make a mistake too, and they will want their friends to forgive and forget as well.
  
  

Role Plays

• Read a series of scenario descriptions and ask children to act out how they should behave in those scenarios. For example, you might read, "Someone cheated off your assignment in math class," or "Your dad promised to take you to the park but ran out of time to do so." Ask students how they would originally have responded, and how they think God would want them to respond. Remind them of the servant in the parable.