January 30, 2022
Parents, follow the instructions and have a great time with your kids worshipping God and learning from His Word together.
Build-a-Prayer Workshop #5: Repent, Forgive, And Let God Lead
First watch this lesson video:
After the video…
Explore together
Here are some activities and questions to help you talk about the lesson with your kids.
- 1. Have a family member pretend to be the unmerciful servant from the parable in Matthew 18:21-34. Have another family member pretend to be a reporter interviewing the servant in jail. Have the servant tell the story of what happened and why he ended up in jail.
- 2. Why do you think the servant refused to forgive the man who owed him money? Why didn’t he pass on the forgiveness?
- 3. Why is it hard to forgive others sometimes?
- 4. How is God like the king in the parable? (Just like the king forgave the man of his huge debt and gave him a clean start, God forgives us of our sin when we ask and gives us a clean start.)
- 4. How does that make you feel about God?
- 5. Recite the memory verse together: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ, God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32”
Seek God together
With younger kids…
For a simple prayer time with pre-school kids, start by taking out some bubbles. Have everyone think of something they want to say sorry for and say sorry to God. Blow some bubbles. Tell your kids that just like the bubbles float away and pop, God takes our sins away and forgives us.
With older kids…
Below are 4 ways to use today’s building block. Use a different idea each day this week, starting today.
Begin each time by reciting the Lord’s Prayer together:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory now and forever.
- – Day 1: Focus on “Forgive us our sins.” Take a moment for everyone to silently confess their sins to God and repent. Then let each person voice thanks to God by saying, “Lord, thank you for forgiving me.”
- – Day 2: Focus on “As we forgive those who sin against us.” Take a moment for everyone to silently talk to God about someone they may need to forgive. Then lead your family in this prayer: “Lord, You have forgiven us of so much. We have an ocean full of your forgiveness. Forgiving someone who has wronged us is like giving a cup from that ocean to that person. Help us to forgive those who hurt us and those we’re angry at. We need You, God.”
- – Day 3: Focus on “Lead us not into temptation.” Pause for a moment so everyone can think of a temptation they may be facing. Whoever wants to can pray aloud, “Lord, please help me to…” or “Lord help me to stop…” Then lead your family in this prayer: “Lord, please help us to want what is good and what pleases You. We can be like wild horses sometimes. Forgive us. Hold us back from sinning and help us to stay on your path. Thank you for leading us gently back to You.”
- – Day 4: Focus on “Deliver us from evil.” Take turns praying sentence prayers about the trouble in the world around us. After each sentence prayer, have everyone say, “Lord, we trust You.” After everyone has had a turn, close with this prayer: “Lord the world can be a scary place. There’s so much bad. But you are bigger than all the bad. You are working to fix this broken world. Please help us to join you in your work. Protect us from evil and help us not to fear because You are with us. We trust You God!“
Celebrate together
This is a song about God’s forgiveness.