We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God

Transcription

1 13 We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God BIBLE BASIS This is a session on the outpouring of grace. When Jesus told Peter to forgive someone not just seven but 70 times seven times, he wasn t telling Peter to stop at 490. Instead, Jesus was saying Bible Focus: Matthew 18:21-35 Discovery Point: God. We give grace because we ve received it from Worship Response: Children will worship God by passing his grace to others. Key Verse: Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15a). that we should show grace as often as we need to. Then he told a story about a king who showed grace A Look at the Session Mix and match to meet your needs. For more ideas, see For-Extra-Time Activities on page 137. to his debtor, who in turn went out and showed no grace to someone who Session Sequence What Kids Will Do Supplies owed him money. The lesson for Peter was that because we ve received grace from God, God expects us to pour Welcome! (up to 15 minutes) Rate scenarios on how easy or hard it would be to forgive others in each one, and talk about how we can show God s grace to others. Sticking With God: Grasping His Grace CD or DVD, CD player or TV/DVD player, paper, marker, tape out just as much grace to others. And that can be the same message your children take from Jesus Let s Explore! (up to 20 minutes) Experience the weight of debt and explore what it means to give grace to others. Hands-On Bibles, heavy object per child, paper, crayons or markers story. Let s Praise! (up to 15 minutes) Think of grace they ve received, and praise God for the opportunity to give grace to others. Sticking With God: Grasping His Grace CD or DVD, CD player or TV/DVD player, small plastic cups, pennies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) Identify someone they need to forgive, and consider offering that person forgiveness. Coffee filters, black washable markers, paper plates, pitcher of water 130 Hands-On Bible MAX

2 Before This Session o Make 10 signs, each with a number from 1 to 10. Put the numbers up in order around the perimeter of your room. o Place two or three pennies in a small plastic cup for each child. o Assemble Bible Exploration Kits (one per four kids): one Hands-On Bible, two heavy objects per child, paper, crayons or markers, one black washable marker, one coffee filter, and one paper plate. o CD/DVD Cue the Sticking With God: Grasping His Grace CD (1) or DVD (1). o Huddle briefly with volunteers before the session. Answer questions they have. Encourage them, and pray for the session, the volunteers, and the kids. TEACHER TIP Bible Exploration Kits are an easy way to give each group supplies. The Jabber Mat from Group Publishing is a great tool that can be used as a Bible Exploration Kit and as a space for a Bible Crew to gather. Check it out at group.com/jabbermat. Session 13 We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God 131

3 Welcome! Supplies: numbered signs (see page 131) CD player or TV/DVD player DVD CD 1. Play CD/DVD Into the Bible (1) as kids arrive. 2. Have kids gather in the center of your meeting area. SAY: We ve learned the past few weeks that anyone can ask for God s grace, and he gives it for free. But there s one more thing we need to know about God s grace. Let s see what that is. I m going to read some situations. Think about what it would be like if that situation happened to you. Then rank how easy or hard it would be to forgive the person in that situation. Point out the numbered signs around the room. If you think it s extremely easy, go stand by the 10. If it would be almost impossible to forgive someone for doing that to you, go to the 1. If it s sort of easy or sort of hard, go somewhere in between. Ready? Read the following situations, pausing for kids to respond by moving. After each situation, ask them to find someone nearby and discuss why they chose the way they did. You were just getting ready to eat lunch (it s actually your favorite for once), and someone sneezed on it. Your dad promised to take you to a baseball game, but he got home late from work. Your brother played with your favorite toy or video game without asking and broke it. You found out that your friends were talking about you behind your back. You trusted your best friend with a secret about you, and your friend told someone else. Your sister borrowed your favorite DVD and returned it to you scratched. Now you can t get it to play past the first four minutes. After kids finish discussing the last scenario, ASK: Why did you answer differently for different situations? 132 Hands-On Bible MAX

4 If God were doing this activity, how would his ratings be different from ours? SAY: God gives us his grace, no matter what we ve done or who we are. That means we can give grace to others, too. Today we ll explore what it means that WE GIVE GRACE BECAUSE WE VE RECEIVED IT FROM GOD. Let s Explore! Supplies: assembled Bible Exploration Kits (see page 131) 1. Help children form Bible Crews of four kids each, and give each crew a Bible Exploration Kit. Send half the crews to one half of the room; they ll be Servant 1. Send the other half to the other side of the room; they ll be Servant Have kids take the heavy objects out of their Bible Exploration Kits and stand up. SAY: A long time ago, there was a man who needed money. He needed to feed his family, buy a house, and get furniture and stuff for his house. But he didn t have enough money, so he borrowed it from someone who had a lot of money: a king. Have kids hold their heavy objects at arm s length, parallel to the ground. When we borrow money, we put ourselves in debt. We owe everything we borrowed plus a little extra called interest. When we owe someone money, it s like we re carrying a heavy weight. We can t let go of it until we pay the debt back or the debt is forgiven. ASK: How are the things you re holding like debt? SAY: Well, this man borrowed so much money, he had trouble paying back his debt when the king asked him to, and it was like he was holding a heavy weight. Read Matthew 18:23-27 aloud. Make sure the kids arms are good and tired. Then encourage kids in the Servant 1 group to beg Session 13 We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God 133

5 you to let them drop their arms. Allow them to drop their arms immediately, and then encourage the kids in the Servant 2 group to beg the Servant 1 group to let them drop their arms. Tell the Servant 1 group that it s their decision whether they will allow them to do so. After the Servant 1 group makes their decision, read Matthew 18:28-30 aloud. If any kids are still holding a weight, allow them to drop their arms. 3. ASK: Servant 1 group, what did you think of me when I let you drop your arms? Servant 2 group, what did you think of Servant 1 when you asked them to let you drop your arms? Why would Jesus tell a story like this? 4. SAY: Let s see what happened to the unforgiving servant. Have crews find and read Matthew 18:31-35 aloud. ASK: What does this story tell us about grace? 5. SAY: WE GIVE GRACE BECAUSE WE VE RECEIVED IT FROM GOD. The king gave grace to his servant. But when the servant had a chance to give grace to someone else, he didn t do it! Let s see what this looks like in our lives. Give each Bible Crew one of the scenarios from Welcome! Ask crews to think of a creative way to tell the story Jesus told in this new situation. For example, one crew could create a skit showing a boy receiving grace for breaking a friend s video game but not giving grace when another friend breaks his game. Give crews five minutes, and encourage kids to be creative. They can write a song, a skit, or a story; draw a picture; or come up with something else. Kids can use the paper and crayons or markers from their Bible Exploration Kits. 6. When crews finish, let them present their creations to everyone else. Stop after each presentation. ASK: What does grace look like in this situation? After all the presentations, SAY: There are a lot of opportunities 134 Hands-On Bible MAX

6 in our lives to give grace to others as Jesus tells us to. Read Matthew 18: WE GIVE GRACE BECAUSE WE VE RECEIVED IT FROM GOD, just as the servant should have given grace after receiving it from the king. Let s Praise! Supplies: CD player or TV/DVD player small plastic cups pennies DVD CD 1. SAY: The king gave grace by forgiving the servant s debt. As I give you some money, think of the grace you ve received from others. When you think of something, start lightly shaking your cup of coins. Then we ll shake our coins to the beat of the music as we praise God for giving us the opportunity to give grace to others. 2. Give each child a cup of coins. When most of them are shaking their coins, PLAY: CD/DVD It Is by Grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) (2) Because of His Mercy (Titus 3:5a) (4) A New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17) (6) Let s Pray! Supplies: assembled Bible Exploration Kits (see page 131) pitcher of water 1. Have kids take the coffee filters, black markers, and paper plates out of their Bible Exploration Kits. SAY: Think about what it feels like when someone is mean to you, breaks something that s special to you, or hurts you in some way. As you think about Session 13 We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God 135

7 that, use the black marker to make a small dot in the middle of the coffee filter. Pause as kids do this. Then ask them to think of one way someone has hurt them recently and tell God what that is. 2. As kids pray, pour a small amount of water onto each crew s plate. Then SAY: It doesn t feel very good when people hurt us. But we ve hurt God, too, and God gave us grace. God showed us how to give grace, and we can give grace to those who hurt us. Ask the person wearing the most black in each crew to carefully place the black part of the coffee filter in the water and quickly pull it out. SAY: As you watch the black spread out and turn into different colors, ask God to help you forgive the person who s hurt you. Pause as kids pray. The pain from someone hurting us may feel like a black dot in our lives. But when we give grace, that dot can spread into many beautiful colors of peace and love. High Fives Supplies: none Make a high five chain. Someone will start by giving a high five to one person, who will then give a high five to another person. Continue until everyone has been high fived and God s grace has been shared! 136 Hands-On Bible MAX

8 For-Extra-Time Activities FOUNTAIN OF GRACE Supplies: 2-liter bottle of regular Coca-Cola or Pepsi (brand name necessary) roll of Mentos candies paper rolled into quarter-sized tube You ll want to do this outside, unless you want to clean cola off the ceiling. Open a full 2-liter bottle of brand-name regular Coca-Cola or Pepsi, and have kids step back a little bit. Open a roll of Mentos candies, and drop them in the paper tube. Holding the tube with the Mentos, SAY: God pours his grace into our lives, and WE GIVE GRACE BECAUSE WE VE RECEIVED IT FROM GOD. Drop the Mentos, all at once, into the open cola bottle, and step back as it erupts into the air. Then discuss how grace can flow out of us because God has poured his grace into us. FOCUS FORGIVENESS PLEDGE Supplies: paper markers Have the children work together to craft a Forgiveness Pledge a declaration that they will choose to forgive and show God s grace to others. Have each child write a copy of the declaration, decorate it, and sign it. (You may want to help young children form their words.) HIDING IT IN YOUR HEART Supplies: pictures of weeds (you can find these online) Show kids pictures of various weeds. ASK: Why are weeds harmful to plants? What kinds of things are harmful to our relationship with God? What can we do to keep those weeds out of our lives? Help kids find the Key Verse, Hebrews 12:15a, and read it aloud. THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE Supplies: CD player Ask kids to read the intro page for any book of the Bible and create a motion for that book. For example, kids could make a motion for rain for Genesis or do a beauty pageant wave for Esther. Play CD The Books of the Bible Song (8), and have kids do all of the motions they have learned. CREATE A BIBLE DICTIONARY Supplies: paper markers dictionary Ask kids to create one or more new pages, each with a new word, for the Bible Dictionary. Ask for ideas of new words from today s session give and receive are two suggestions. Have them write each word on a sheet of paper in fun letters, add a definition, list Scripture references, and make illustrations. Add each page to a three-ring binder, and watch the dictionary grow! Session 13 We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God 137

9 Family Devotion Bible Focus: Matthew 18:21-35 Discovery Point: We give grace because we ve received it from God. Key Verse: Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God (Hebrews 12:15a). We Give Grace Because We ve Received It From God Growing Grace God has offered his grace to us as a free gift. What can we do with his grace? Pass it on to others! Try this together as a family to see what that looks like. Grab a flower pot, some potting soil, and some flower seeds. (Spring is a great time of year to get these for cheap at your local garden center or home improvement store.) Fill the flower pot to about one inch below the top with potting soil. 3 Follow the instructions on your seed packet to plant the seeds in the soil. 4 Then use paint to decorate your flower pot with words or pictures of grace you ve thought of or learned over the last 13 weeks as a family. As you decorate, talk about these questions: How are we showing these seeds grace? How can we show God s grace to others? FAMILY CHALLENGE Look at that last question you discussed together: How can we show God s grace to others? Write specific answers to that question on a sheet of paper. Then choose one you ll do this week! 138 Hands-On Bible MAX Permission to photocopy this handout from Group s Hands-On Bible MAX granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., P.O. Box 481, Loveland, CO group.com/biblemax

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