70 x 7
Hi Werb’s Kids and Werb’s Parents
How are you!?
There lots going on at the moment in the news and things are still changing each day in regards to the governments advice.
So this week we are looking at some important words: justice, forgiveness and mercy. Because just as this picture shows we need to be people who do justly, love mercy and walk humbly each and every day. We won’t always get it right and that’s why there’s forgiveness.
There are lots of people in the world who are sad and struggling right now.
Lots of our friends and family of God are not treated fairly each and every day.
If you one of our friends who sees injustice in the world and is hurting because of it we want to remind you that you are part of the family of Werbs who completely accepts, loves you and will stand by you.
If you have a friend who might be struggling right now be sure to check on them and show them God’s love!
Remind them that you are their ally. An ally is someone who stands with and for someone. An ally speaks up when their friend cannot but also gives their friend strength to speak out themselves.
Be the best YOU this week and be an ally for someone who need it.
Stay safe and stay connected!
Love Amy
70 x 7
What does this title mean!?
In our story today Jesus get asked how many times we should forgive others. Is it 7 times?
And Jesus replies by saying no it’s 70 x 7! That’s a lot of times to say sorry!!
Are you that forgiving? Are you quick to say sorry?
I think most of us are pretty good at knowing when something is good and right to do and when something is bad and wrong to do.
But that doesn’t mean we always follow these rules does it?
And we still get things wrong sometimes don’t we!?
And that’s why we need forgiveness for the times when we mess up whether its on purpose or whether it is by accident.
FIRST LET’S PLAY A GAME!
RIGHT VS WRONG - how many can you get? A point for every correct answer
A square has 5 sides
This is WRONG - a square has 4 sides!Jesus calmed the storm
This is RIGHT - we looked at this story not so long ago!The sun is very very very hot
This is RIGHT - and it’s the reason we put sun cream on to protect us!Jesus walked on custard
This is WRONG - Jesus walked on water which is amazing!
When Pentecost happened fire appeared on the disciples heads
This is RIGHT - when the Holy Spirit came it looked like fire over the heads of all of Jesus’ friends!
Now these things were slightly easy so let’s make it harder not only have you got to say whether these things are right or wrong, you also have to pick a punishment! First which are right and which are wrong?
It is good to kick people
Stealing some food because you’re hungry
Ruining someone’s work because they were mean to you
Drawing on the wall at school to impress your friends
Cheating on a test
Being mean to someone with your words
Breaking someone else’s toy by accident
Now all these things are wrong and make others sad. BUT what is the best punishment for each crime?
Pick from the options below what you think is a fair and just consequence or response to the bad things above.
Have a hand cut off.
Pay back twice as much as you stole.
Say sorry nicely to the person you hurt or stole from.
Sell everything you own and give the money to the person you stole from.
Go to prison.
Get hurt as badly as the person you hurt.
Get something that you love taken away from you.
How fair have you been? Some of you might have been really strict or harsh. Others might have shown more mercy.
We often make our decisions depending on how we feel that day and that isn’t always fair.
What would it be like if God was like that and gave out heavy punishments one day and really lenient ones the next? To be truly fair and just we need to know that punishments are always going to be the same: we need to know where we stand.
God is just. What God tells us is right or wrong doesn't change, and His response doesn't change either.
I think God wants to talk to us about justice, forgiveness and mercy.
these three things are extremely important to god!
Here are 3 words that I want you to remember
JUSTICE
FORGIVENESS
MERCY
Would you be able to explain these?
Let’s start with Justice, what is it??
Below is a little video to help us begin to think about this big word!
What did you learn from the video?
We’re told that justice is to reward the good and discipline or punish the bad. We need to try and do what is right and fair at all times. AND by following God’s commandments he will help us to do that!
When most people think about justice they think about what it means to give people what they deserve.
Or you could describe it as behaviour based on what you know to be morally right and fair.
But what about Forgiveness?
True forgiveness is when someone does wrong towards you and you no longer hold onto the anger or want them to be punished and you don’t hold a grudge against them for the wrong thing they did!
Some people struggle with forgiveness because they want revenge and they want to see people told off for the things they’ve done wrong. It is right to be told off at times as this helps us to learn what is right and what is wrong. We want learn what hurts other people so that we don’t do it again.
But forgiveness is special and helps the person who got hurt in the first place. Forgiveness means you see the fault and the thing they did wrong but you love the person and want your relationship with them to get better so whether they say sorry or not you forgive them because you love them!
“God forgives us ALL THE TIME and so we should think about forgiving others more often!”
Our last word was Mercy…
Do you know what MERCY means?
Mercy means to show someone love and kindness even when they don’t deserve it. For example to show someone mercy would be seeing someone doing wrong and them knowing they’ve done wrong. BUT the judge decides not to punish and instead show extreme kindness because by doing this and showing mercy the person might change their ways.
Mercy and Forgiveness are linked and similar in the way they show love and kindness to others.
God has a lot to say about justice, mercy and kindness so watch the video below of today’s story!
This story is not only about justice and things being put right but also about forgiveness and mercy.
We’ve already looked at what they mean but can you remind yourself what those words mean again?
Jesus wants us to be more like him each day and so it’s important to understand these words and then show them to others.
You’ve watched the video but we are going to go through the story again, I challenge you to pull a face that fits the emotions or feelings that person has at that point in the story.
You might need to warm up your face so before we begin pull the silliest craziest face you can!
One day Jesus was talking to his disciples and teaching them when Peter asked “how often should I forgive someone who sins against me and does bad things towards me? How about 7 times?”
Jesus said “No, not 7 times but 70x7!”
Pull a face of how you think Peter felt about that answer and having to forgive someone 490 times!
Then Jesus told a special story called a parable to help them understand.
There once lived a King. The King was massively rich and had many servants. Sometimes the King would lend money to his servants for particular things but one day he decided that he wanted to get his money back.
Pull a face of how you think the King felt at this moment
There was one particular servant who owed the King a million pounds! The King called him in and asked for his money back. The servant was very frightened - he didn’t have the money and knew he couldn’t pay the King back.
Pull a face of how you think the Servant felt before the King!
The King ordered that the man and his family along with everything he owned be sold so that the King could get his money back.
The servant fell on his knees and begged the King to give him some more time to pay back all the money.
Pull a face of how you think the Servant and the King both felt at this point in the story
The King felt sorry for the servant and had mercy on him. The King said that he would cancel the debt so that the servant would no longer owe him any more money!
Pull a face of how you think the Servant was feeling now!
The servant couldn’t believe it and he went away very happy indeed.
However, just outside the palace, the servant bumped into another servant who owed him some money - it wasn’t that much money - not nearly as much as the million pounds he had owed to the King.
Pull a face of how you think the Servant felt towards the servant who owed him money
You might be surprised to hear that our servant grabbed his friend round the neck, pushed him against the wall and demanded that he give him his money back right away!
Pull a face of how you think the second Servant felt against the man who was hurting him
The second servant begged him to give him a bit more time (just like our servant had begged the King, in fact) but the first servant refused: he called the police and the man was put into prison.
Pull a face of how you think the second Servant felt now in prison
Some of the King’s other servants saw what had happened and they told the King. The King was very angry and he sent for the first servant.
Pull a face of how you think the first Servant felt having to face the King now
The King told the servant that he was not happy. He had showed the first servant forgiveness, kindness and mercy but he couldn’t show the same kindness to some one else. So the King threw the first servant in prison until he could pay all the money back.
Pull a face of how you think the first Servant felt now in prison
Jesus said this is what God is like with us if we refuse to forgive others.
Could you try and retell the story in a more modern way which could be set at school or in the play ground or something? Instead of money it could be sweets that are owed….
For those aged 0-6:
PARENTS: this activity is to help our children think about justice and being fair.
Distribute some of the treats unfairly. Give some people 2 or 3 but others none.
In front of you, your parents should have given you some treats or some food.
How do you feel about the way the treats have been shared? Is it fair? Why?
The truth is that there is a lot of unfairness all around us.
How often do you use or hear the words, “It’s not fair!”
Do you sometimes use this phrase when you just don’t get what you want? Or something you don’t like?
Is it truly unfair or just not want you want?
What can you think of which is really unfair?
(e.g. someone being punished when it wasn’t their fault; bullying, and bullies getting away with it like someone not being punished when perhaps they should be).
When things aren’t fair, it upsets us.
Look back at the treats. For those of us who have it better we need to try and make things fairer.
Will those who have more treats share and make things fairer?
How good are you at sharing what you have like food and toys? Are you good at being fair to those around you?
Finish by praying: If you don’t think you are good at sharing ask God to help you with this. For those who think they are good at this ask God for more opportunities and chances this week to be kind and share what they have with others.
For those aged 7 and above:
Think about the story for a minute the King wasn’t wrong to want his money back and he wouldn’t have been wrong to punish the servant for not paying it back. But the King decided to cancel everything the servant owed instead.
What words would you use to describe what the King did for the first servant?
The problem in this story was that the servant who was showed love and mercy wasn’t prepared to show the same love and kindness to other people and because of that, he couldn’t have the same from the King anymore and was punished.
We do lots of things that upset God all the time and we deserve to be punished for the wrong things we do, but God forgives us over and over again when we come to him and say sorry. The problem is that when we don’t do the same for other people it’s not fair. We need to forgive others like how God forgives us.
Think about how you can be more fair and whether there is anything that you need to think about where you did not show mercy or forgiveness when maybe you should have.
You could also think about these questions:
Can you think of anyone who has been treated unfairly? Can you do anything to make it better in the future?
“ ‘Be kind to one another.’
Ephesians 4:32”
Whether or not you believe in God, you can still stand up for what is right and speak out for people who are treated unjustly. But if you are a friend of Jesus then justice is really important to us because its super important to God.
CRAFT IDEAS
Something to do during the talk
- Story colouring sheets ONE and TWO
- FORGIVE colouring sheet
- Activity Sheet
- Spot the difference
- Can you draw what you think the King and Servants look like in the story Jesus told?Make shadow puppets to retell the story!
HERE is a great link to help you make your shadow puppet theatre.But now you need your puppets! HERE are some outlines of the characters you’ll need. You can use this or feel free to draw and create your own puppets.
It’s best if your puppets are made of card and you’ll need them to stick them to twigs or you could use cutlery to make them easier to move around!
Then retell the story and perform for your family and friends!Create your own palace or castle using paper.
Can you make it 3D? As you make your palace think about how kind the king was to the servant in our story today and how we should be kind like that too.In the bible Psalm 51 it talks all about God ‘s forgiveness and mercy. In verse 10 it says “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” So create a heart to remind you that God always forgives us and want to give us new hearts that love and forgive better than we did before.
Amy will be showing you how to make this but HERE is a video to help too! All you need is some paper and some scissors!
WORSHIP + PRAY
Instead of a new song this week go and listen to THIS worship playlist as you do the following prayer time.
“Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others.” Matthew 6:12
First we are going to ask God to forgive us.
Think about those who you might have hurt or say sorry for something bad you did this week that you know was wrong. Draw what you did or the person you hurt or upset.
If it is someone in your family that please make sure you do tell them you are sorry and make up with a big hug!
Once you’ve said sorry I want you to remember you’ll probably mess up again. But let’s be quick to say sorry. We aren’t perfect but we can promise to try and be better.
Now think of someone who hurt you that you need to forgive and draw that person.
As you draw ask God to help you really forgive them. You don’t need to say who it is or any details - that’s between you and God but pray that you will be able to forgive those who have hurt you.
PUT SOMETHING INTO ACTION: LEARN THIS BIBLE VERSE
We need to remember that if God forgives us we must forgive others too.
Write each word of the verse out on a separate piece of paper. Read the verse together then take away one sheet and then read the verse again. Take away another sheet and do the same. Continue until no sheets are left and see if you can remember the whole verse!
“Forgive us for doing wrong, as we forgive others.
Matthew 6:12”
Edited and adapted by Amy Farrar from several sources including energize.com
