Game

Why is forgiveness so important?

God tells us to forgive one another. Our SuperVerse says in Ephesians 4:32:

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

In addition, if we don’t forgive others, it hurts us on the inside. It can also hurt and even destroy our relationships with others! Jacob ran for his life from Esau after he stole his blessing from their father, Isaac. Their family was broken apart for many years because of anger, fear and unforgiveness.

Let’s do an activity to illustrate how unforgiveness strongly affects and hinders our lives. Divide the class into four teams. We are going to have a race, and each team is going to perform the same task. Let’s pretend that the members of Team 1 have great relationships with each other, and so do all the members of Team 3. If they have ever hurt each other, they have talked about the problem and given and received forgiveness. Because of this, each team can talk to each other to figure out how to do the task.

Now, it’s different with the players on Team 2 and Team 4! We will pretend that the members of these teams are all mad at each other because of some offense. You refuse to talk it out and forgive. Because of this, you won’t talk to each other, so you will do the task silently. Let’s see who can do it faster!

Give each team a piece of yarn. Explain that all the players on each team must figure out how to wind the yarn in and around all of their hands and fingers to create a giant spider web. Have the scissors handy in case the string gets too tight around anyone’s hands. Afterward, talk to the teams and compare their experiences; ask why was it harder to do it without talking and working closely with other team members.

Read Matthew 5:23-24^(cev)

“So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God.”

Jesus makes it very clear that broken relationships with others greatly hinders our worship and relationship with God. Your “gift” that you are bringing to the altar could be your offering, your praise and worship, even yourself for service! Jesus said that you need to try to fix any relationship that is broken—THEN offer your gift to God!

Let’s hold hands, which represents reconciliation and unity among us and say our SuperTruth together: “I will forgive others as Jesus has forgiven me.”