Where in the World?

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July 17th, 2016 .:. .:. Room 301

Pathways Kids Weekend Small Groups

This curriculum is for the 9, 10, 11 and 12 year olds.

This Weeks Scope

Signed, Sealed, Forgiven

Bible Story: Signed, Sealed, Forgiven (Forgiveness principle) Ephesians 4:32
Bottom Line: The story of Jesus changes how I forgive others.
Memory Verse: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --and this is not from yourselves,
it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8, NIV
Life App: Faithbelieving what Jesus did can change me.
Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated

Welcome Time & Bible Story

Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience
todays story.
Before kids arrive, pray for each regular attendee by name. Pray for those who might visit your group
for the first time. Pray that your kids would start to understand what it means to forgive others as a
response to what Christ has done for them. Ask God to give you wisdom to bring these huge concepts
down to their level so they might experience a change in their relationships.
Ask and discuss this with your kids:
Do you know who Paul is? He was one of the writers of the Bible. He was in prison and wrote letters
that are in the Bible. One of these letters is Ephesians. Do you know where Ephesians is in the Bible?
(You can point it out to the kids). Paul wanted to help believers learn more about God and how He
wants us to live.
Read Ephesians 4:32 to your kids: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other,
just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Ask your kids what they think this means. The believersof all peopleneeded to forgive each other
What does forgiveness look like when you know the story of Jesus? Is there someone you need to
forgive? Help them remember the theme of forgiveness for small group.

Activity #1
What You Need: Improv Script Activity Pages; 1 for every 2 kids
What You Do:
Divide the group into pairs. Give each pair the script.
Give kids a few minutes to read through it.
Challenge them to come up and do some improvisation acting in the front of your environment.
(Note: They can read the lines from the script; there should be no pressure to memorize
anything.)
Give kids suggestions about motivations while theyre acting: now youre scared, now youre
happy, now aliens have landed and demand pizza, now you want your partner to buy you a
milkshake, now your hands are completely paralyzed, now youre so excited because youre
going to a giant roller coaster park, now youre trying to talk without moving your lips, etc.
Let whoever really gets into this carry the activity a bit, and then circle up and talk.
What You Say:
Even though the groups were saying the same words, they meant something different because of how
they said them. They were responding to what I was saying; those emotions and situations affected the
way they said their lines. Thats called motivationthe thoughts and intentions behind our words and
actions. The forgiveness principle from Ephesians 4:32, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God
forgave you, doesnt just have to do with our actions but also our motivations.
Jesus didnt forgive us to get something from us, or to convince us of something, or to look like a really
great guy. Jesus forgave us with no motivation other than grace. When we forgive others, we need to
have that same idea. We dont forgive people just to move on from feeling angry, or to make our
parents proud, or to have them owe us a favor. Our motivation in forgiving other people is that Jesus
forgave us.
[Make It Personal] (Share an age-appropriate story about a time you had to forgive someone
and your motivation might have been something other than the forgiveness principle. Perhaps
you forgave someone to gain an advantage or to look strong or to make someone else happy.
Talk about what happened when you thought of your motivation and how you forgave that
person.) We all know that we should forgive others, but today were looking not just at what we should
do, but at how we should do itour motivation. [Bottom Line] The story of Jesus changes how I
forgive others.
4/5/6 Challenge:
What You Say:
(Use the following as a discussion starter for your group.) Author Donald Miller says the simplest
definition of a character in a story is someone who wants something. Thats what motivates them.
Name some of the reality TV shows you know. What motivates people to compete on these shows or to
let cameras film them doing whatever they do? They want to be famous, find love, win money, make
friends, and prove they are the best. Their focus is mainly on themselves. But forgiveness is different.
Real forgiveness expects nothing back. It gives more than a big check, cool job, or red rose ever could.
People talk about intrinsic or internal motivation versus extrinsic or external motivation. Most of what a
reality TV show or contest promises you is external, and often it doesnt last. But Jesus knew that

intrinsic motivation comes from the inside and lasts much longer. When we realize how much weve
been forgiven, its more natural to forgive others.

Activity #2
4/5/6 Challenge
What You Say:
Think about all the places in your life that have mirrors. This week, when you pass a mirror, do a quick
self-check. Ask yourself, Is there someone I need to forgive? Or even, Do I need forgiveness for
anything? Simply taking a minute to regularly think about these things can help them to not build up.
Remember, the story of Jesus shows just how much He loves you and wants to forgive!
If you lead mostly older kids, consider asking these discussion questions:
How do you decide when and how to forgive someone? It is easier to forgive those closest to
you or people whom you dont know well? Why is that true for you?
Do you ever feel uncomfortable when someone forgives you, like you dont deserve it? How
does the idea of grace as motivation for their forgiveness help that feeling?

Prayer
Opposites

Time

What You Do:

Gather the kids to pray in a circle.
Open the prayer, and then let kids go around the circle praying, Help me to forgive others as
Jesus forgave me.
Close the prayer.
What You Say:
Dear God, thank You for forgiving us and giving us the ability to forgive others. Please help us this
week to realize [Bottom Line] the story of Jesus changes how we forgive others and to show
grace to our family, friends, and community. Amen.
Lead your kids to large group.