Redemption- Ephesians 1:7-8
Week of March 9th
Ephesians 1:7-8
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.”
Our God is a just God and we can praise Him for that all the days of our lives! Justice means that things are fair and you get what you deserve. So, as people who make bad decisions sometimes and live sinful lives, we deserve punishment. But, In Jesus, we are safe from punishment because He took on the punishment for all of us. When Jesus lived a perfect life and then died for us, He bore the punishment of all our past, present, and future sins. The price has been paid for our bad decisions, the slate is wiped clean and will continue to be wiped clean because Jesus’s death was enough for all the sins in the world. Because of the blood Jesus shed from dying on the cross for us, we are redeemed. Redemption means that we are saved. Saved from our mistakes and sin. Thank you God for sending your son Jesus so that we can be redeemed in Him! We could not have done it on our own so we owe so much thanks to Jesus. Through Jesus, we are forgiven of all our sins, His death was enough to cover all our sins, and His death will always be enough. Jesus is our savior, our redeemer. Not only is our God just but, He also lavishes grace on us. Grace means that we get what we don’t deserve. God is constantly pouring blessing over us, giving us what we don’t deserve. We can be unloving and disobedient to God and others. We sometimes lie or yell at people. We tend to be selfish and mean. We sometimes hurt people, even the people we love. We can do a lot of bad things and still, God blesses us. He takes care of us, making sure we have everything we need and He gives us even more than we can ask for. We deserve punishment and death but not only did Jesus bear the punishment for us, also God gives us more than we deserve. Our sins are wiped clean from Jesus’s blood and He pours blessings over us. God really loves us. We can be so grateful that our God is just and graceful.
Ephesians 1:7-8
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.”
Our God is a just God and we can praise Him for that all the days of our lives! Justice means that things are fair and you get what you deserve. So, as people who make bad decisions sometimes and live sinful lives, we deserve punishment. But, In Jesus, we are safe from punishment because He took on the punishment for all of us. When Jesus lived a perfect life and then died for us, He bore the punishment of all our past, present, and future sins. The price has been paid for our bad decisions, the slate is wiped clean and will continue to be wiped clean because Jesus’s death was enough for all the sins in the world. Because of the blood Jesus shed from dying on the cross for us, we are redeemed. Redemption means that we are saved. Saved from our mistakes and sin. Thank you God for sending your son Jesus so that we can be redeemed in Him! We could not have done it on our own so we owe so much thanks to Jesus. Through Jesus, we are forgiven of all our sins, His death was enough to cover all our sins, and His death will always be enough. Jesus is our savior, our redeemer. Not only is our God just but, He also lavishes grace on us. Grace means that we get what we don’t deserve. God is constantly pouring blessing over us, giving us what we don’t deserve. We can be unloving and disobedient to God and others. We sometimes lie or yell at people. We tend to be selfish and mean. We sometimes hurt people, even the people we love. We can do a lot of bad things and still, God blesses us. He takes care of us, making sure we have everything we need and He gives us even more than we can ask for. We deserve punishment and death but not only did Jesus bear the punishment for us, also God gives us more than we deserve. Our sins are wiped clean from Jesus’s blood and He pours blessings over us. God really loves us. We can be so grateful that our God is just and graceful.
Discussion:
- Why is Jesus’s death so important to us?
- What are some examples of justice that you can think of in your life?
- What are some things God has forgiven you for?
- Take time right now and throughout the week memorizing Ephesians 1:7-8a
- Pray together as a family, thanking God for His justice and grace that He pours on us. Encourage your kids to lead your family in prayer.
- Song to help memorize the verse this week: watch
The way, the truth, & the life- John 14:6
Week of March 2nd
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Jesus is a lot of things and He is all the things. He is our brother, our friend, our savior, our redeemer, the king of kings, the lion and the lamb, a healer, a waymaker, He is simply perfect. Jesus is all of those things and so much more. Jesus also tells us that He is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” But what do those things mean? Let's work through them backwards. Jesus is the life. He is the living God in human form that came down to give all of us new life. Only through Jesus will we have eternal (never ending) life with God. Without Jesus, life will end, but in Jesus, life will never end. Jesus also claims that He is the truth. This one can be a little trickier to understand but what Jesus is saying is that He is the ultimate truth. All things of this world were made through Him and He is all we need. He simply is the source of all truth. Lastly, in this list of titles Jesus gives Himself, He says “I am the way.” What Jesus is sharing is that He is the way to all life, all goodness, all joy, all hope. Jesus is the only path to God and eternal life. Before Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice and died on the cross for ALL of our sins, humans were making tons and tons of sacrifices to try and be right with God. But as humans, we are broken and sinful so it was a never ending cycle of trying to get right with God. But then Jesus came. He lived a perfect life, died, and then rose, defeating death and all of our sins. Because of Jesus, we can one day have eternal life with the Father. Without Jesus this is impossible. For those who believe in Jesus, and love Jesus, the promise of eternal life is in your hands. Jesus is the way to Heaven. He is the way to God. And, He is the only way. No matter how much money you give to the poor, how nice you are to your parents, or how friendly you are to strangers, only if you believe in Jesus and love Jesus, will you have eternal life with God. Jesus is the way and the only way. But He makes it very easy for us. We simply must believe in Him and love Him. He already did the rest.
John 14:6
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
Jesus is a lot of things and He is all the things. He is our brother, our friend, our savior, our redeemer, the king of kings, the lion and the lamb, a healer, a waymaker, He is simply perfect. Jesus is all of those things and so much more. Jesus also tells us that He is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” But what do those things mean? Let's work through them backwards. Jesus is the life. He is the living God in human form that came down to give all of us new life. Only through Jesus will we have eternal (never ending) life with God. Without Jesus, life will end, but in Jesus, life will never end. Jesus also claims that He is the truth. This one can be a little trickier to understand but what Jesus is saying is that He is the ultimate truth. All things of this world were made through Him and He is all we need. He simply is the source of all truth. Lastly, in this list of titles Jesus gives Himself, He says “I am the way.” What Jesus is sharing is that He is the way to all life, all goodness, all joy, all hope. Jesus is the only path to God and eternal life. Before Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice and died on the cross for ALL of our sins, humans were making tons and tons of sacrifices to try and be right with God. But as humans, we are broken and sinful so it was a never ending cycle of trying to get right with God. But then Jesus came. He lived a perfect life, died, and then rose, defeating death and all of our sins. Because of Jesus, we can one day have eternal life with the Father. Without Jesus this is impossible. For those who believe in Jesus, and love Jesus, the promise of eternal life is in your hands. Jesus is the way to Heaven. He is the way to God. And, He is the only way. No matter how much money you give to the poor, how nice you are to your parents, or how friendly you are to strangers, only if you believe in Jesus and love Jesus, will you have eternal life with God. Jesus is the way and the only way. But He makes it very easy for us. We simply must believe in Him and love Him. He already did the rest.
Discussion
- What does eternal life mean?
- What do you have to do to have eternal life with God in Heaven?
- Why is Jesus all we need to have eternal life?
- Right now and throughout the week, practice memorizing John 14:6
- Pray together as a family thanking God for sending His son Jesus down to us so that we can one day have eternal life with God. Encourage your children to brainstorm some prayer requests and bring them to God in prayer.
- Song to help memorize the verse this week: watch
Generosity- 2 Corinthians 9:6
Week of February 23rd
2 Corinthians 9:6
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
The bible uses a lot of farming metaphors and analogies which makes sense considering that back then, a lot of people were farmers and tended the land. However, it can be a little confusing for those of us today who aren’t farmers. In this verse, when it talks about sowing, it is talking about giving. When it talks about reaping, it is talking about the reward that you will receive. God wants us to give generously. He doesn’t want us to hesitate giving away our toys, our clothes, our food, our money, or our time. Giving can be very hard to do because to be a good giver, you have to avoid being selfish and put others needs and wants before your own. But, we are called to be like Jesus and Jesus always gave generously and He praised those He saw giving generously. Jesus would be stopped all the time by people asking to be healed and He would choose to spend His time and energy healing them. When Jesus was teaching to 5,000 people, instead of sending them off to go figure out dinner themselves, He provided them all with dinner. All 5,000 people. Jesus was a perfect example of a generous giver. When this verse talks about giving, it is telling us that for those of us who give generously or give a lot, we will then receive a lot. But, for those who don’t give much at all, you won’t receive much in return. God promises to provide for our every need so we do not have to be afraid to give away everything we have because we can trust that the more we give away, the more God will bless us with and provide us with. Giving can be very hard to do but the Bible teaches us many times that it is the righteous thing to do. The verse after this one goes on to say that what we each give will be different and that is okay. God will call each of us to give different amounts of our time, money, and resources. But no matter how much you are giving, God wants us to do it cheerfully- being happy to give to others. We aren’t supposed to pout or be mad about giving but we should be excited because we know that we can bless others by giving and in return, God will give us an abundance of blessings.
2 Corinthians 9:6
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
The bible uses a lot of farming metaphors and analogies which makes sense considering that back then, a lot of people were farmers and tended the land. However, it can be a little confusing for those of us today who aren’t farmers. In this verse, when it talks about sowing, it is talking about giving. When it talks about reaping, it is talking about the reward that you will receive. God wants us to give generously. He doesn’t want us to hesitate giving away our toys, our clothes, our food, our money, or our time. Giving can be very hard to do because to be a good giver, you have to avoid being selfish and put others needs and wants before your own. But, we are called to be like Jesus and Jesus always gave generously and He praised those He saw giving generously. Jesus would be stopped all the time by people asking to be healed and He would choose to spend His time and energy healing them. When Jesus was teaching to 5,000 people, instead of sending them off to go figure out dinner themselves, He provided them all with dinner. All 5,000 people. Jesus was a perfect example of a generous giver. When this verse talks about giving, it is telling us that for those of us who give generously or give a lot, we will then receive a lot. But, for those who don’t give much at all, you won’t receive much in return. God promises to provide for our every need so we do not have to be afraid to give away everything we have because we can trust that the more we give away, the more God will bless us with and provide us with. Giving can be very hard to do but the Bible teaches us many times that it is the righteous thing to do. The verse after this one goes on to say that what we each give will be different and that is okay. God will call each of us to give different amounts of our time, money, and resources. But no matter how much you are giving, God wants us to do it cheerfully- being happy to give to others. We aren’t supposed to pout or be mad about giving but we should be excited because we know that we can bless others by giving and in return, God will give us an abundance of blessings.
Discussion:
- Why is it hard to give things to other people?
- Is there anything you can give away to practice giving with a cheerful heart?
- Do you trust that if you give an abundance of things away that God will bless you in return?
- Can you think of any stories in the bible that talk about giving and generosity?
- Some examples: Abraham giving His son to God, the widow tithing everything she had, the Good Samaritan, Ruth giving up her home to protect her Mother in law, the woman in Bethany who poured expensive perfume over Jesus, and of course Jesus giving His life for us.
- Right now and throughout the week, practicing memorizing 2 Corinthians 9:6
- Close in prayer, asking God to help you be more generous in your giving and to do so cheerfully. Encourage your children to lead your family in prayer.
- Song to help memorize the verse this week: watch
The Word of God- Deuteronomy 6:5-9
Week of February 16th
Deuteronomy 6:5-9
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
You have probably heard this commandment before- to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is a commandment from God that Moses is sharing with all the Israelites that he leads. But, he doesn’t stop after telling them that they should love the Lord. Instead, he gives them a list of where to store these words and where to write them. This commandment is so important he doesn’t want the people to ever forget them. He tells them they should be on their hearts and written in their homes and outside of their homes. They should talk about this commandment when they are walking outside, sitting in their homes, with their families. They should think about this commandment when they go to sleep and when they wake up. He wants his people to always be thinking about this commandment and to never forget it. Why? Because it is the most important commandment. It is the most important thing for us to ever do, love God. While this is the most important commandment ever given and loving God should be what we think about and talk about more than anything, there are also so many wonderful things in the bible to remember in our hearts and minds. God teaches us so many wonderful things in the Bible and shows us through real stories in the Bible and through commandments how to love God and love people better. The Bible is a gift and each and every verse is a piece of treasure. This is why, as a children’s ministry, we are trying to memorize several verses from the Bible. God’s words have so much power and can guide our lives towards loving Him. Storing His words in our hearts and minds will help us to remember God’s commands and guide us to love Him and other people well. So, as Moses asked the Israelites to write the commandment to love God everywhere and to talk about it often and to think about it at all times, I am encouraging you all to think about the words of the Bible often. Store many verses in your heart. Write verses around your house. Write verses in chalk on your driveway. Make a bracelet with key words of a verse written out. Sing songs about scripture. Talk about the verse in the Bible. And read the stories in the Bible as a family. And above all, love the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9
“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
You have probably heard this commandment before- to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is a commandment from God that Moses is sharing with all the Israelites that he leads. But, he doesn’t stop after telling them that they should love the Lord. Instead, he gives them a list of where to store these words and where to write them. This commandment is so important he doesn’t want the people to ever forget them. He tells them they should be on their hearts and written in their homes and outside of their homes. They should talk about this commandment when they are walking outside, sitting in their homes, with their families. They should think about this commandment when they go to sleep and when they wake up. He wants his people to always be thinking about this commandment and to never forget it. Why? Because it is the most important commandment. It is the most important thing for us to ever do, love God. While this is the most important commandment ever given and loving God should be what we think about and talk about more than anything, there are also so many wonderful things in the bible to remember in our hearts and minds. God teaches us so many wonderful things in the Bible and shows us through real stories in the Bible and through commandments how to love God and love people better. The Bible is a gift and each and every verse is a piece of treasure. This is why, as a children’s ministry, we are trying to memorize several verses from the Bible. God’s words have so much power and can guide our lives towards loving Him. Storing His words in our hearts and minds will help us to remember God’s commands and guide us to love Him and other people well. So, as Moses asked the Israelites to write the commandment to love God everywhere and to talk about it often and to think about it at all times, I am encouraging you all to think about the words of the Bible often. Store many verses in your heart. Write verses around your house. Write verses in chalk on your driveway. Make a bracelet with key words of a verse written out. Sing songs about scripture. Talk about the verse in the Bible. And read the stories in the Bible as a family. And above all, love the Lord your God.
Discussion:
- Do you love God? What does it look like to love God?
- How can you and your family continue going about memorizing scripture? Where could you write the verses in your house? Is there a grandparent or cousin you can call every week to share the verse of the week with?
- As a family, take time to practice memorizing the previous 3 verses: Ephesians 4:32, Romans 8:28, and Luke 6:35. Write it down on paper, make flashcards, quiz one another, sing along to the memory songs, get creative!
- Close in prayer thanking the Lord for His goodness. Encourage your children to come up with prayer requests and then participate in the prayer.
Love everyone- Luke 6:35
Week of February 9th
Luke 6:35
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
Loving people can be easy sometimes and hard other times. It is easy to love your friends when they give you their last cookie. It is easy to love your parents when they give you presents for your birthday. It is easy to love your siblings when they let you choose what game to play next. But, some people can be hard to love. Even our friends and family can be hard to love sometimes. It is hard to love your friend when they tell you they don’t want to sit by you. It is hard to love your parents when they won’t let you have dessert. It can be even harder to love the kid on the playground who just stole your ball that you were playing with. Or the girl in your class who took all your markers without asking. That can be frustrating. But, what would Jesus do if there was an unfriendly kid who stole something you were using? Jesus recognizes that some people can be harder to love than others but He wants us to love them anyway! A few verses in the bible before this one, Jesus says “To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” Jesus is saying that if an unfriendly person comes and hits you, don’t hit them back. If someone comes and steals your jacket, give them your shirt too. Often when a sibling hits us or someone steals something from us, we want to fight back. We want to hit them back or take something from them. Jesus, instead, wants us to simply love them. Don’t fight back, give them whatever else you have. And don’t give someone a cookie and expect them to give you a muffin back. Instead, give them a cookie out of the goodness of your heart and don’t expect them to give you anything in return. Jesus promises that when we are kind and loving to others, we will be rewarded. So, continue to strive to be more like Jesus. Love all people no matter if they are kind to you or mean to you. Love others when it is easy and even when it is hard. Do this and you will be rewarded by God.
Luke 6:35
“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
Loving people can be easy sometimes and hard other times. It is easy to love your friends when they give you their last cookie. It is easy to love your parents when they give you presents for your birthday. It is easy to love your siblings when they let you choose what game to play next. But, some people can be hard to love. Even our friends and family can be hard to love sometimes. It is hard to love your friend when they tell you they don’t want to sit by you. It is hard to love your parents when they won’t let you have dessert. It can be even harder to love the kid on the playground who just stole your ball that you were playing with. Or the girl in your class who took all your markers without asking. That can be frustrating. But, what would Jesus do if there was an unfriendly kid who stole something you were using? Jesus recognizes that some people can be harder to love than others but He wants us to love them anyway! A few verses in the bible before this one, Jesus says “To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either.” Jesus is saying that if an unfriendly person comes and hits you, don’t hit them back. If someone comes and steals your jacket, give them your shirt too. Often when a sibling hits us or someone steals something from us, we want to fight back. We want to hit them back or take something from them. Jesus, instead, wants us to simply love them. Don’t fight back, give them whatever else you have. And don’t give someone a cookie and expect them to give you a muffin back. Instead, give them a cookie out of the goodness of your heart and don’t expect them to give you anything in return. Jesus promises that when we are kind and loving to others, we will be rewarded. So, continue to strive to be more like Jesus. Love all people no matter if they are kind to you or mean to you. Love others when it is easy and even when it is hard. Do this and you will be rewarded by God.
Discussion:
- Who are some people that are easy to love? Who are some people that are hard to love?
- What can you do this week to love someone who can be hard to love?
- Is there someone you can give something to this week or some way that you can help someone without expecting anything in return?
- In what ways do you think God rewards those who are good and loving towards others?
- Read Luke 6:27-36 as a family
- Right now and throughout the week, practicing memorizing Luke 6:35
- Close in prayer, thanking God for His love. Ask your children for any prayer requests and encourage them to lead the prayer for your family.
For good- Romans 8:28
Week of February 2nd
Romans 8:28
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
When God made the first people, Adam and Eve, He put them on Earth and gave them a purpose of filling the Earth with people and working the ground. These two people, the very first people to live, had a specific purpose given to them by God. A purpose that was a part of God’s masterpiece of humanity. When God created these people, He gave them this purpose in hopes that their work and lives would glorify Him. He called them to love and glorify Him in everything they did. As people, we too are supposed to glorify and honor God in everything we do. No matter what it is you are doing, no matter your age, or where you live, God calls us to love Him and glorify Him. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Whether you are a teacher, a parent, a mailman, a pastor, a fireman, a football player, a piano teacher, a construction worker or anything else, God has called you to love and honor Him. To praise and worship Him as you do whatever it is you do and to do it with your best effort and attitude. When you have God in your heart and do what He has called His people to do, things will work together for good. When we abide by the first commandment, loving God above all else, you will be glorifying God in your daily life and things will be “for good”. When it says good, this doesn’t mean you will become rich or you will be famous, this is God’s definition of good. Good may mean that more people come to know Jesus through your actions. Or, good may mean harmony, peace, and joy exist because you are being obedient to God. Things will be good as they were after the 6th day of creation. All the animals, plants, stars, bodies of water, and people had been made and God said “it was very good.”
Romans 8:28
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.”
When God made the first people, Adam and Eve, He put them on Earth and gave them a purpose of filling the Earth with people and working the ground. These two people, the very first people to live, had a specific purpose given to them by God. A purpose that was a part of God’s masterpiece of humanity. When God created these people, He gave them this purpose in hopes that their work and lives would glorify Him. He called them to love and glorify Him in everything they did. As people, we too are supposed to glorify and honor God in everything we do. No matter what it is you are doing, no matter your age, or where you live, God calls us to love Him and glorify Him. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Whether you are a teacher, a parent, a mailman, a pastor, a fireman, a football player, a piano teacher, a construction worker or anything else, God has called you to love and honor Him. To praise and worship Him as you do whatever it is you do and to do it with your best effort and attitude. When you have God in your heart and do what He has called His people to do, things will work together for good. When we abide by the first commandment, loving God above all else, you will be glorifying God in your daily life and things will be “for good”. When it says good, this doesn’t mean you will become rich or you will be famous, this is God’s definition of good. Good may mean that more people come to know Jesus through your actions. Or, good may mean harmony, peace, and joy exist because you are being obedient to God. Things will be good as they were after the 6th day of creation. All the animals, plants, stars, bodies of water, and people had been made and God said “it was very good.”
Discussion:
- What are some things that you think God considers good?
- What do you think it means to be called by God?
- How can you glorify God in your daily tasks?
- Take time today and throughout the week memorizing Romans 8:28.
- Close in prayer asking God to guide you in your daily life so that what you do may be a part of His purpose. Encourage your children to lead your family in prayer.
- Song link to help memorize the verse of the week: watch
Forgiveness- Ephesians 4:32
Week of January 26th
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Forgiveness is a challenging thing. Forgiving someone means moving past the ways they have hurt you. When someone is mean to us, it makes us angry and we often want to stay angry forever. But that is not how God treats us. We have all done a lot of things to hurt God. Anytime we say mean things to others, anytime we lie, anytime we disobey our parents, anytime we hit or push our siblings, all these things hurt God because He cares about all humans and doesn’t like to see us hurting one another or being disrespectful. Instead of being mad at us forever, God lets go of the hurt we have caused Him and loves us anyway. We are called to be image bearers of God, to try and live and love as God did through His son Jesus. So, we too are supposed to forgive one another. We are supposed to let go of our anger towards someone after they wrong us. God keeps no record of our wrongs and because we are supposed to be like God, we too are not supposed to keep a list of the wrongs people have done to us. What is wonderful about this is that when we let go of the ways people have hurt us, and when we choose to forgive people, we will feel better. It is not good to keep anger inside of us or to live mad at other people. Life feels so much more peaceful and freeing when we can let go of all the mean things that have been said and done to us, and just love the people around us. All people mess up and say mean things or do mean things. We hurt God all the time. We hurt our parents and siblings and friends sometimes too. This isn’t how God wants the world to be but we all still mess up and hurt each other. One of the most important commandments God gave us is to love one another, so, instead of anger towards one another, we should focus on loving one another and forgiving all wrongs.
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Forgiveness is a challenging thing. Forgiving someone means moving past the ways they have hurt you. When someone is mean to us, it makes us angry and we often want to stay angry forever. But that is not how God treats us. We have all done a lot of things to hurt God. Anytime we say mean things to others, anytime we lie, anytime we disobey our parents, anytime we hit or push our siblings, all these things hurt God because He cares about all humans and doesn’t like to see us hurting one another or being disrespectful. Instead of being mad at us forever, God lets go of the hurt we have caused Him and loves us anyway. We are called to be image bearers of God, to try and live and love as God did through His son Jesus. So, we too are supposed to forgive one another. We are supposed to let go of our anger towards someone after they wrong us. God keeps no record of our wrongs and because we are supposed to be like God, we too are not supposed to keep a list of the wrongs people have done to us. What is wonderful about this is that when we let go of the ways people have hurt us, and when we choose to forgive people, we will feel better. It is not good to keep anger inside of us or to live mad at other people. Life feels so much more peaceful and freeing when we can let go of all the mean things that have been said and done to us, and just love the people around us. All people mess up and say mean things or do mean things. We hurt God all the time. We hurt our parents and siblings and friends sometimes too. This isn’t how God wants the world to be but we all still mess up and hurt each other. One of the most important commandments God gave us is to love one another, so, instead of anger towards one another, we should focus on loving one another and forgiving all wrongs.
Discussion:
- What does it look like to forgive someone?
- Is there anyone that you still have anger towards and you need to forgive?
- What things has God had to forgive you for?
- Is there anything hurtful you have done recently that you need to ask God or the person you hurt for forgiveness?
- Spend time right now and throughout the week memorizing Ephesians 4:32.
- Close in prayer thanking God for His forgiveness and ask Him for help forgiving those who hurt you. Encourage your children to lead your family in prayer.
- Song link to help memorize the verse of the week: watch