Timothy Club (P1-3) Year 2

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Small Group Leader’s Guide Theme: Forgiveness

Date: 16/17 April 2016 Character Focus: Forgiveness Lesson 2 of 4 – I will be quick to forgive and respond kindly to those who hurt me

Series Overview We are starting on our new series on the character value of “Forgiveness”.

Forgiveness means letting go of feelings like anger, sadness, or frustration that happen

when you or someone else makes a mistake. It’s saying “Thank you” or “That’s okay”

when someone apologizes and not staying upset about what they did. It’s having

patience with yourself and others, and recognizing that no one is perfect—everyone

makes mistakes. It’s letting go of hurt feelings, and moving ahead, ready to do things.

It doesn’t mean that all of a sudden what someone did doesn’t hurt or isn’t wrong.

Forgiveness is not ignoring wrong, setting aside standards of truth and virtue, or

excusing that person who hurts you from the responsibility for wrong actions. It means

that you find it in your heart to give the person another chance. When you are able to

forgive someone from your heart first and let go of the grudge, you will gradually be able

to forgive in deeds and actions.

Those who find it hard to forgive are often those who see themselves as if they do not

need forgiveness from others. They might also find it hard to ask for forgiveness and

tend to be rigid and critical of others.

Teaching a child in the area of forgiveness will help them to experience God’s

forgiveness and be less critical of themselves and others and be more accepting of

themselves and of others and learning not to bear a grudge.

The children will learn to demonstrate forgiveness through the 4 “I will’s namely:-

1. I will be quick to forgive because God has forgiven my sin 2. I will be quick to forgive and respond kindly to those who hurt me 3. I will not cover my own wrongs but will be quick to ask for forgiveness 4. I will not seek revenge or take up other people’s unforgiveness

Memory Verse Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13 (NIRV)

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Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 9 – David responded kindly to Mephibosheth, the son of a wicked king who wanted to kill him. Introduction We are going to teach the children on the values of the heart – Forgiveness. There will be 4 lessons on Forgiveness.

Date

Lesson

Character Action Point/ Bible Passage

Family Devotion

9/10 April Lesson 1

I will be quick to forgive because God has forgiven my sin. Matthew 18: 21–35 – Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Forgive “S”more take home activity – child to share what they have written on the various “forgiving hearts.

16/17 April Lesson 2

I will be quick to forgive and respond kindly to those who hurt me. 2 Samuel 9 – David responded kindly to Mephibosheth, the son of a wicked king who wanted to kill him.

Parents to share their personal journey in forgiveness. Disciple their child using the Benefits of Forgiveness worksheet. - Receive God’s forgiveness (Mark 11:25) - Purify our hearts (1Jn1:9) - No grudge or revengeful spirit (Prov 24:29) - Leads to healing (Matt 9:6)

23/24 April Lesson 3

I will not cover my own wrongs but will be quick to ask for forgiveness. Genesis 33 – Jacob sought forgiveness from Esau

I feel safe and not being judged worksheet - child would feel safe to share their wrongs and ask parents for forgiveness. Enlarge the safe place to school and to GKidz

30 April/1 May Lesson 4

I will not seek revenge or take up other people’s unforgiveness. Genesis 37-50 – Joseph forgiving his brothers

Parents read the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers to the child. Discuss Joseph’s way of handling unforgiveness

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CONNECT / ICEBREAKER – Letter Scramble (10 mins)

Materials: Letters of the Word “Forgive” (GKidz will provide)

Preparation – to unscramble the letters and do not place them in a way that will spell

“Forgive”. Eg. you can place vowels on left side, consonants on right side or randomly

place them as a random word VORGIFE.

Leader: Children, we are going to see who is the fastest letter snatcher? As I mention

a word category, you are to find the FIRST letter of that word. For example, domestic

animals or pets that can be kept at home. So, if your answer is fish, you rush forward

and snatch the letter “F” and remain there. If you answer is guinea pig, you rush

forward and grab the letter “G” or “P” but since there is no letter “P”, you will take “G”.

You got it?

So, what must you do when I mention a word category? Yes, you will think of as many

answers to that word category and matches the letters which are available here.

Category (sample) – Pets, Your Surnames, Your School Names, Colours, Countries,

Bible Characters, Character Values you have learnt in GKidz (eg. obedience,

responsibility, etc), Animals, Sports, etc.

Once the children have snatched a letter for that category, the leader will ask them to

say out the word that begins with the letter they have taken and verify. Play this until

you run out of category. At the end of each category round, put back the letters and

reset.

For the final minute of the icebreaker, ask the children to raise their hands if they can

form the word that is related to the character value of the current lessons. Leader to

select the fastest hand up and have the child step forward and form the word. The

child who forms the word “FORGIVE” deserves a round of applause.

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CHARACTER REVIEW (5 mins)

The 4 “I Will”s chart will be provided

Leader: It is possible to be quick to forgive because God has forgiven you. What is

“Forgiveness”? Forgiveness is clearing the record of those who have wronged

me and not bearing a grudge. There are 4 ways to practice Forgiveness:-

1. I will be quick to forgive because God has forgiven my sin 2. I will be quick to forgive and respond kindly to those who hurt me 3. I will not cover my own wrongs but will be quick to ask for forgiveness 4. I will not seek revenge or take up other people’s unforgiveness

Today we will learn and apply the second “I will” that is, “I will be quick to forgive and respond kindly to those who hurt me.”

We will study a Bible character from the Bible who was always at the receiving end of

an abusive king. David not only forgave King Saul who sought to kill him but he went

one step further and responded kindly to Mephibosheth, who was King Saul’s

grandson and David’s best friend Jonathan’s son.

BIBLE STORY (20 mins)

2 Samuel 4:4, 9:1- 13; 1 Samuel 20:13 -1 7

Leader to tell the story of David and Mephibosheth using one of the following teaching methods:

After getting the children to turn their Bibles and read on their own 2 Samuel 9:1- 13, use one of the teaching methods:

1) Role play - Appoint a child to be the narrator and select 3 other children to act as the

King David, servant and Mephibosheth - Narrator to read direct from the Bible passage while the other 3 children do

their acting

2) Passing the Message Relay - Leader to summarise the lessons in 10 sentences - Have the children line up in two rows - The first child will run up to the leader to receive the first sentence and pass

to the next child

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- The last child will shout out the sentence that was passed to him/her - Repeat the message passing until all the 10 sentences are passed down - Example of sentences

Mephibosheth was 5yrs old when his father and grandfather both died on the same day.

Mephibosheth’s nurse rushed out carrying him to escape and dropped him and he became crippled.

David became King and often thought of his friend Jonathan.

King David asked if any of Jonathan’s son is still alive.

3) Mime - 3 child actors step forward and act their roles with no speaking lines - They mime and act on stage

4) Video Playback

- Download this video link to playback on your IPad - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=welwqunEECU - Duration 4:11 min

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why was Mephibosheth crippled? What had happened?

(Ans: 2 Sam 4:4 - His nurse fled from the murder scene of his father and

grandfather and dropped him accidentally during their escape)

2. How was Mephibosheth related to King David? (Ans: 1 Sam 20:13-17 - David

used to serve Mephibosheth’s grandfather King Saul and his father

Jonathan was David’s best friend)

3. What kind of person was King Saul to David? (Ans: mean, unkind, abusive

and wicked to the extent of wanting to kill David)

4. What could have been David’s response to King Saul’s children and

grandchildren after King Saul had died? (Ans: get rid of them, be nasty to

them, murder them)

5. Instead of unforgiveness, how did King David respond to King Saul’s only

surviving descendent, Mephibosheth? (Ans: David showed kindness instead

of taking revenge and continue to be unforgiving to King Saul’s family)

Summary: Releasing forgiveness benefits us more than the person who receives

forgiveness. When we forgive the person who hurts us or wrong us quickly and

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respond kindly, we receive the following benefits. Please have the children turn to

their bibles and read together.

Benefits of Forgiveness 1. Receive God’s forgiveness (Mark 11:25) 2. Purify our hearts (1John 1:9) 3. No grudge or revengeful spirit (Proverbs 24:29) 4. Leads to healing (Matthew 9:6) Forgiveness Pack Leader: “Children, last week you received a Forgiveness Pack, how many of you have started using it and has done it with your parents during F.A.T? Can anyone remember what the items inside the pack are?”

1) A long string 2) 10 heart shape cut outs 3) 10 pegs

What are you supposed to do with the string? Tie it near your study table and put up ONE heart shape cut out whenever someone makes you angry or hurts you and you must forgive that person. Can anyone remember what are the 3 categories of things that you write on the card?

WHO to forgive OR ask for forgiveness? WHAT to forgive the person for OR to seek forgiveness for? WHEN did the person hurt or wrong you OR when did you wrong that person?

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APPLICATION ACTIVITY/PLATFORM MINISTRY RESPONSE

(15 mins)

TLs or GKidz Pastor to decide if this is to be done in Small Group or in Platform

1. Small Group Application

Logistics: Twine string, blank paper, pegs (GKidz to provide)

Preparation – Leader to pre tear the paper into 4 smaller quarter sizes.

Leader: “Children, it is important that we quickly forgive the person who hurts us

because God has already forgiven us. We should not only forgive but also respond

kindly to the person. I am going to give us some time for God to show you who are

the people you need to forgive.

I want all heads to be bowed down. (Leader please play soft instrumental music in

the background). Take 3 deep breaths and allow the Holy Spirit to open up your

hearts. Some of you are so badly hurt by that same somebody, maybe he is the

school bully and you tell yourself you will never forgive this bully. But, God says

forgive because it will benefit you and because you have been forgiven by God.

Some of you misbehave when you are with somebody, maybe one of your siblings or

parents or even your classmates or teachers. Do you know why you misbehave?

Maybe you have not forgiven them because of the mean words they said to you or the

mean actions they have done to hurt you. So, instead of forgiving them, you

misbehave and respond unkindly and wrongly back to them. You need to forgive too.

So, continue to let the Holy Spirit speak to you.

After 2-3 minutes, I will pass you these small papers and you will write down: WHO,

WHAT and WHEN.

Hang these forgiveness papers on the string in front of you. And after that, we will say

a group prayer to thank God for cleansing you from unforgivness and setting you free.

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2. Platform Ministry Response

Logistics: YouTube playback https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxoMbPWuk0I

(Duration 2:04 min)

Platform Leader: “Children, to forgive someone is never easy. Uncle/Aunty is still

learning how to forgive. The tough part is to forgive QUICKLY and to RESPOND

KINDLY to the person whom you are forgiving. This is really not easy. Let’s watch

this video and after that, we will ask the Holy Spirit to show us who we should forgive .

Playback video clip. Play instrumental music after the video.

Platform Leader: I want all of you to close your eyes and bow your heads. Take 3

deep breaths and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you WHO you should forgive? And

ask the Holy Spirit WHAT you should forgive this person for? And WHEN you were

angry with this person?

Platform Leader continues to direct ministry and release words of knowledge

given by the small group leaders.

Close the session with this prayer:

“Dear God, thank you for forgiving me when I sin against you. I thank you that

today/tonight I am able to forgive those who have hurt me. Teach me to respond

to them with kindness. It won’t be easy and they may continue to hurt me. But

each time they hurt me I will forgive quickly because you said to forgive 7 times

7. Thank you for cleansing my heart from unforgiveness. In Jesus’ name,

Amen.”

REVIEW MEMORY VERSE (10 mins) Memory Verse: Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you.

Colossians 3:13 (NIRV)

Write out the verse on the whiteboard. Slowly erase word by word and see if the children can memorise all at the end of the series. For this week, erase “forgive”, “forgave”, “you” and “another”

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Parent’s Toolkit (5 mins)

Leader to say:

Remind the children to do these at home with their parents.

1. Go through pages 19 - 27 of Booklet C – Values of the Heart, Character Development Parents’ Toolkit. 2. Go through Week of the “Star Action Chart” and earn as many stars as you can.

References

1. Character First Education Series 1, Booklet 7