Use this free forgiveness Bible lesson with preteens at your church.
Forgiveness is difficult for anyone at any age. Letting go of the hurt and anger we feel when someone wounds us is challenging. And forgiveness is uniquely difficult for preteens. At this stage, kids develop fierce loyalties to friends. Plus, they’re testing newly discovered (and still awkward) social skills.
Preteens try on and discard ways of relating like clothing in a mall dressing room. Inevitably, one friend offends another, and hurt and confusion result. The upside? This dynamic creates ever-present opportunities for kids to practice forgiveness.
Preteens are also characterized by a keen sense of justice and concrete thinking (“it’s either this or that” and not much in between). When preteens feel a situation is wrong or unfair, they’re quick to grow indignant.
This lesson teaches preteens that even when people hurt us, God urges us to take the next step. We can forgive when we’ve been wronged because God, who’s been wronged infinitely more, has forgiven us.
To help preteens better understand this concept, use this forgiveness Bible lesson.
Forgiveness Bible Lesson for Preteens
Say: Sometimes we get tired of forgiving the same thing over and over and over. In Matthew 18, Jesus’ followers were trying to figure out when they could quit forgiving someone who did the same bad thing over and over.
Ask:
- Tell about a time you kept forgiving someone for the same thing over and over.
Say: One way Jesus responded to his friends was to teach them in parables, using a simple spiritual lesson with a point. This parable from Jesus has three main people. There’s a king and the first man, who owed the king a lot of money—millions of dollars in today’s money. Then there’s the second man, who owed the first man one day’s worth of pay.
Forgiveness in Scripture
Have kids form three groups, and give each group a Bible. Assign the following sections of Scripture to each group: Matthew 18:23-27; Matthew 18:28-31; and Matthew 18:32-34.
Allow time for groups to read their passages.
Say: Think about what happened in your Scripture passage. Then with your group, pretend that it’s later that evening, after all the action in the parable is over. The first debtor in the parable is exchanging text messages with a friend, trying to describe his eventful day.
Distribute paper and pencils. Then instruct groups to discuss what kinds of texts the debtor would send and then write them down.
Give groups 10 minutes to work. After time is up, have a representative from each group tell about its text messages in chronological order.
