Choose one of the following activities to do with your child

1. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY?

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WHAT YOU NEED: Bible, “Who, What, When, Why?” Activity Pages,, pencil
WHAT YOU DO:
• Look up Matthew 5:23-24.
• Ask your child to read the verses aloud.
• Pass out the Activity Page, and a pencil to your child.
• Discuss the verses and ask the questions below.
• As you answer them together, encourage your child to write down their own
answers on the Activity Page in the appropriate spot on the page.
• WHO: Who is this verse talking about? (Us)
• WHAT: What are these verses saying? (Forgive first and be quick to forgive)
• WHEN: When and where should we do this? (BEFORE anything else)
• WHY: Why is this an important truth to apply to our lives? (Because forgiveness fixes the relationship)
WHAT YOU SAY:
“When you read your Bible, it’s important to ask questions like these. Who is this written to? What is it saying? When or where should I do this? Why is it important? Today’s verses remind us that forgiveness fixes things.

Why is it hard sometimes to ask for forgiveness or to forgive someone else?
Do you sometimes just want to stay mad?
How does choosing to stay mad hurt your relationship with others? (Allow a few moments for kids to respond.)

“Before we do anything else—even before we worship God—we should make things right. When we’ve hurt someone, the first thing we should do is to ask for forgiveness. When someone hurts us and wants forgiveness, we should give it!

Jesus tells us that forgiveness comes first. Refusing to forgive or make things right not only hurts our relationship with others, it also hurts our relationship with God. He loves you and He’s forgiven you. Let’s take the first step to forgive others.”

[Make it Personal] (Tell your child about a time when you chose to forgive someone instead of holding onto your anger. If you could share an example from around the time you were the age of your child, that would be ideal. Either way, make sure your example is age-appropriate.)

2. ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

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WHAT YOU NEED: Boardgame template, a die, scissors, “Forgiveness Scenarios” (Activity Page)

WHAT YOU DO:
• Cut and shuffle the “Forgiveness Scenarios” and keep them facedown.
• The first player will roll the die and move the appropriate number of spaces on the board.
• Then that player will select a card, read the scenario, and move forward or backward, depending on what the card says.
• Continue, next player to roll the die, moving that number of spaces, drawing a card, and moving forward or backward accordingly.
• The first player to get to the finish line is the winner!

WHAT YOU SAY:
“Why do you think you had to move backward when the scenario was an example of someone refusing to forgive? How is moving forward in this game
like a picture of what happens when we take steps to forgive? In each of these scenarios, something happened that either wasn’t fair or was hurtful. It’s natural when we’re hurting to want to hurt the other person back or to stay angry. But that won’t fix it. Jesus tells us that forgiveness comes first. Do just ONE thing to help fix the relationship—to ‘take a step’ toward the other person. That can mean you save them a seat at lunch, even though they said they would be
your reading partner today but then they picked someone else. Or it can mean you let your brother borrow a few LEGO® pieces even though he lost them
last time. Let’s make sure we take the first step to forgive others so we can protect our relationships with the people around us.”

PRAY AND DISMISS
WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed

WHAT YOU DO :
• Sit together with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Encourage your child to put his hands on his feet as you pray that God would help them to take the first step to forgive others this week.

WHAT YOU SAY:
“Let’s pray. God, thank You for loving us and for always choosing to forgive us, even when we don’t deserve it. When we’re tempted to stay mad or refuse
to forgive, help us to make the wise choice and choose to fix the relationship instead of just being right or making a point. We want to be a good friend and
to love others the way You love us. So this week, help us to take the first step to forgive others. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

Choose one of the following activities to do with your child

1. WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHY?

DOWNLOAD ACTIVITY PAGE

WHAT YOU NEED: Bible, “Who, What, When, Why?” Activity Pages,, pencil
WHAT YOU DO:
• Look up Matthew 5:23-24.
• Ask your child to read the verses aloud.
• Pass out the Activity Page, and a pencil to your child.
• Discuss the verses and ask the questions below.
• As you answer them together, encourage your child to write down their own
answers on the Activity Page in the appropriate spot on the page.
• WHO: Who is this verse talking about? (Us)
• WHAT: What are these verses saying? (Forgive first and be quick to forgive)
• WHEN: When and where should we do this? (BEFORE anything else)
• WHY: Why is this an important truth to apply to our lives? (Because forgiveness fixes the relationship)
WHAT YOU SAY:
“When you read your Bible, it’s important to ask questions like these. Who is this written to? What is it saying? When or where should I do this? Why is it important? Today’s verses remind us that forgiveness fixes things.

Why is it hard sometimes to ask for forgiveness or to forgive someone else?
Do you sometimes just want to stay mad?
How does choosing to stay mad hurt your relationship with others? (Allow a few moments for kids to respond.)

“Before we do anything else—even before we worship God—we should make things right. When we’ve hurt someone, the first thing we should do is to ask for forgiveness. When someone hurts us and wants forgiveness, we should give it!

Jesus tells us that forgiveness comes first. Refusing to forgive or make things right not only hurts our relationship with others, it also hurts our relationship with God. He loves you and He’s forgiven you. Let’s take the first step to forgive others.”

[Make it Personal] (Tell your child about a time when you chose to forgive someone instead of holding onto your anger. If you could share an example from around the time you were the age of your child, that would be ideal. Either way, make sure your example is age-appropriate.)

2. ONE STEP FORWARD, TWO STEPS BACK

DOWNLOAD ACTIVITY PAGE

WHAT YOU NEED: Boardgame template, a die, scissors, “Forgiveness Scenarios” (Activity Page)

WHAT YOU DO:
• Cut and shuffle the “Forgiveness Scenarios” and keep them facedown.
• The first player will roll the die and move the appropriate number of spaces on the board.
• Then that player will select a card, read the scenario, and move forward or backward, depending on what the card says.
• Continue, next player to roll the die, moving that number of spaces, drawing a card, and moving forward or backward accordingly.
• The first player to get to the finish line is the winner!

WHAT YOU SAY:
“Why do you think you had to move backward when the scenario was an example of someone refusing to forgive? How is moving forward in this game
like a picture of what happens when we take steps to forgive? In each of these scenarios, something happened that either wasn’t fair or was hurtful. It’s natural when we’re hurting to want to hurt the other person back or to stay angry. But that won’t fix it. Jesus tells us that forgiveness comes first. Do just ONE thing to help fix the relationship—to ‘take a step’ toward the other person. That can mean you save them a seat at lunch, even though they said they would be
your reading partner today but then they picked someone else. Or it can mean you let your brother borrow a few LEGO® pieces even though he lost them
last time. Let’s make sure we take the first step to forgive others so we can protect our relationships with the people around us.”

PRAY AND DISMISS
WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed

WHAT YOU DO :
• Sit together with knees bent and feet flat on the floor.
• Encourage your child to put his hands on his feet as you pray that God would help them to take the first step to forgive others this week.

WHAT YOU SAY:
“Let’s pray. God, thank You for loving us and for always choosing to forgive us, even when we don’t deserve it. When we’re tempted to stay mad or refuse
to forgive, help us to make the wise choice and choose to fix the relationship instead of just being right or making a point. We want to be a good friend and
to love others the way You love us. So this week, help us to take the first step to forgive others. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.”

Choose one of the following activities to do with your child

1. TAKE A SNAPSHOT

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WHAT YOU NEED: “Scenario Cards” Activity Pages, masking tape
WHAT YOU DO:
• Give your child set of “Scenario Cards”
• Create a line with masking tape. On one end of the tape write the word “EASY” and on the other end write “HARD”
• Encourage your child to read each “Scenario Cards” and place the card on the tape to show whether it would be easy or hard to show forgiveness (or
perhaps somewhere in between)
• Facilitate discussion on why your child place the cards where they did. Discuss the similarities and differences in the card placements.
• Ask: When is it hard to forgive someone? (To prompt kids, ask: Is it easier to forgive someone you like or someone who annoys you? Or how do
your feelings affect how easy it is to forgive someone? Is it easy to forgive someone when you are angry? What about if you have already forgiven them
and they keep doing the same thing?)

2. BIBLE STORY EXTENSION

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WHAT YOU NEED: Bibles, paper squares, stapler, yarn, scissors, markers, “Forgiveness Face” Activity Page
WHAT YOU DO:
• Give your child a Bible.
• Read Matthew 5:1-2 and Matthew 5:23-24.
• Review the verses. Potential questions to ask:

1. Who is Jesus talking to? (his disciples, a crowd, anyone reading His Word)
2. What does Jesus mean when He says, “And you remember your brother or sister has something against you?”
3. What does it look like to hold something against someone?
4. What is Jesus saying about forgiveness? (It is important, you should not wait to show forgiveness, it offers peace, it fixes the relationship)

• Lead kids to make a paper “face” to race. (you need more than one child to do this)

1. To make the “face” use the directions provided in the Activity Page, “Forgiveness Face.”
2. Instruct kids to decorate their “faces” by drawing an emoji that best represents themselves.
3. Tell kids their creations will represent themselves, pretending to “race” to forgive.
   • Pair kids up.
   • Instruct one kid to point his index finger to the ceiling. Instruct the teammate put the loop of yarn around their teammate’s index finger.
   • Encourage kids to practice racing their “faces” by pulling the ends of the yarn back and forth to move their “face” to their teammate’s finger.
   • When everyone has had a chance to get the hang of it, tell the pairs to choose one person to be the racer and one person to be the holder.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
WHAT YOU NEED: No supplies needed
WHAT YOU DO:
Ask:
• When is it hard to forgive someone? What can keep us from forgiving someone?
• What are things people do when they hold a grudge?
• What have you learned that can help you to take the first step to forgive?
• How can knowing we are all created in God’s image help you to forgive others?