(5-8 minutes, easy set-up)
Learners will discuss their willingness to forgive others.
Provide a dry erase board and marker.
Invite learners to create a list of ways that one person can offend another. (This should be a generic list of actions rather than a time for people to voice personal hurts.) Record answers on the dry erase board, making sure that both minor insults and major offenses are included. When several offenses have been listed, lead learners to discuss which offenses would be easy or hard to forgive.
Remind learners that it is a human trait to classify offenses (sins) with degrees of severity. Ask: How does our desire to classify sins differ from God’s view of sin? As learners respond, emphasize that all sins are equally offensive to God. Ask: When someone commits these offenses, do they hurt people or God? (While both are hurt through sin, Psalm 51:4 explains that all sin is ultimately against God alone.)
Explain that God forgives people who commit these sins when they ask Him to forgive them. Ask: If God is willing to forgive every offense, how can we increase our willingness to forgive? After responses, lead learners to voice sentence prayers thanking God for His forgiveness and asking God to help them become more willing to forgive those who have hurt them.