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We should practice forgiving others because we've been forgiven!

In today’s lesson, we’re learning about a parable Jesus told about forgiveness. Remember, a parable is just a fancy word for a story used to teach an important lesson. One day, a king decided to collect all of the money his servants owed him. One guy owed him A LOT of money, like millions of dollars! The servant pleaded with the king to give him more time. The king felt sorry for the guy and decided to forgive the entire debt! That’s crazy! You would think the servant would be so thankful. But, the servant did something surprising. He went to a guy who owed him a few thousand dollars and said, “Pay up!” That guy pleaded for more time but the servant wouldn’t wait. He threw him in jail until he could pay him back. Did you catch that? The servant who had just been released from a HUGE debt went to a guy who owed him a SMALL debt and made him pay. Here’s the point. Jesus is like the king. He gave his life to pay for our sin debts. The debt we owe God for our sins is way bigger than any debt someone owes us. We need to be forgiving because we’ve been forgiven. So, get in the habit of forgiving!

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Key Points:

  • Jesus told a story about a guy who owed a lot of money. Matthew 18:23-26
  • The servant begged and begged and got more than he expected.
  • But then the servant wouldn’t forgive even a small debt. Matthew 18:28-30
  • We should make a habit of forgiving because we’ve been forgiven.

Memory Verse:

Matthew 18:22 Forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven.

Talk About It
  1. What’s your favorite part of the video? What’s one thing you learned from it?
  2. What does it look like to hold a grudge? Describe what it looks like to forgive someone. 
  3. Who owed the king a big debt? What did the king do about the debt?
  4. What did that guy go and do after his debt was forgiven? Why did that make the king so mad?
  5. Read Colossians 3:13. List all the things this verse says we should do. Is there someone you need to forgive? What has Jesus modeled for us?
  6. How will you apply this lesson to your life this week?

This is part of the Life of Jesus series.

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