Master Teacher Option: Forgiveness to Share

(10 minutes, easy set-up)
Students will discuss how receiving God’s forgiveness motivates them to forgive others.
Provide index cards and pens.

Distribute index card and pens to students. Invite students to write on their cards how they feel when they confess their sins and receive God’s forgiveness. After a few moments, invite volunteers to share their answers. (Profound relief that God loves me enough to forgive; amazement that God would forgive such sins; overwhelming gratitude.) Ask: How do these feelings help us understand why God would want us to forgive others just as He forgives us?

Encourage students to write on the back of their index cards the people they may need to forgive and the offenses to be forgiven. Emphasize that no one will be asked to share this information. Next, encourage students to note why they find it difficult to forgive each listed person and offense. Conclude by leading students to pray in response to these prompts:

Thank God for His extravagant and unmerited forgiveness in your life.
Ask God to help you desire to extend forgiveness to those who have hurt you.
If possible, prayerfully extend forgiveness to those people on your list.
If you’re not ready to forgive them now, pray that God will give you the desire to forgive.