‘Revenge’ Childrens Lesson on Psalm 69

BIG IDEA: GOD FORGIVES ME

AIM: The ‘Revenge’ Childrens Lesson on Psalm 69 is all about helping children to recognize that when they get hurt they have a choice: they can take revenge or they can choose to do the supernatural thing: to forgive.

SONG IDEAS:

1. ‘Forgive One Another’ by Integrity Kids (for 5-7 year olds)
2. ‘You Forgive Me’ by Group Publishing

GAME IDEAS:

1. Bean Bag Ladder Toss. (regular/widescreen) Allocate a number of points to each hole through the ladder. Children are given a number of bean bags and must throw them through the ladder. The child or team with the most points at the end of the game is the winning team/player.
2. Water Balloon Dodge Ball. (regular/widescreen) Teams stand on either side of a field or playground and must fire water balloons at the opposing team. Once hit, a child is eliminated from the game. The team with the last remaining player is the winning team… everyone else is just wet!
3. Fishing For Marbles. (regular/widescreen) Put water and marbles in a bucket or tub. Children put their bare feet inside it and must try to fish out the marbles. The winning team or player is the one that fishes out the most marbles.
4. Giant Word Game. (regular/widescreen) You will need to print off a number of the Giant letters for this game. You can learn how to play the giant word game by clicking here. You will need to print this number of each letter: [2: J, K, Q, X, Z] [3: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y] [4: G] [5: L] [6: D, S, U] [8: N] [9: T, R] [11: O] [12: I] [13: A] [18: E]

BIG VERSE: Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Psalm 103:1

(regular/widescreen)

 

INTRO QUESTIONS: What does ‘revenge’ mean to you? What does it mean to forgive?

 

SET the Scene:

Read Psalm 69 together. Explain that we all want to take revenge at some point. Yet this is not God’s way.

Explain that this Psalm is written by a man that was obviously very angry and wanted to get revenge. He wanted to do things his own way. Yet revenge is not God’s way. This Psalm is written to show us that we can talk to God about anything, yet He will help us to make wise decisions.

This Psalm could be really misunderstood if it was read without understanding who was writing it and why. The Psalms are all poems and songs that were written to be real with God. They didn’t hide any feelings – they let it all out! It seems scary to read, yet all of us, at times, may have felt so angry we wanted revenge. Isn’t it strange that when we want revenge we always want to pay back more hurt and pain than the person gave to us in the first place?

 

SPOT the Simple Meaning:

1) REVENGE SAYS “I’LL GET YOU BACK!”

Skit: Have two leaders role play a scene where they upset one another. Have one leader splat the other with a custard pie [shaving foam sprayed on a paper plate]. Then have the other make an even bigger custard pie and splat them back. Keep going until the leaders are completely covered in shaving foam.  

Say: Woah!!! Did you see all that mess!!! That was pretty funny, but you know sometimes when we want to get people back it isn’t funny, but it really hurts! Have you ever wanted to get someone back for what they did to you? [Get feedback] Maybe you came up with a cunning plan to hurt them back. Revenge says “I’ll get you back!” That’s what revenge is. It is all about wanting to hurt someone back for what they did to you.

Maybe they took your friend away, or kicked you, or said something mean. It’s natural to want to get them back. Everyone feels like that sometimes. Yet God wants us to act more than natural… He wants us to be supernatural! That means doing something super amazing that nobody expects. It means doing something that needs super strength of mind and character. Doing something supernatural means we need a supernatural God to help us to do it. Revenge says “I’ll get you back” but there is something greater we can do.

2) FORGIVENESS SAYS “I’LL LET THIS GO”

You will need a spikey object or something that looks quite painful to hold – like a cactus. You may want to pass the cactus around the group [if it is a small group] once you have used it to explain your point. If you can’t find a cactus you can always use these pictures of one (regular/widescreen), however it is always best to have a real life visual – and the bigger the better!

Say: So what is this supernatural thing? It’s called forgiveness. Can anyone tell me what that means? [Get feedback]. Where revenge says “I’ll get you back!” Forgiveness says ‘I’ll let this go!” It doesn’t mean that we don’t care, or that the hurt we feel doesn’t matter, but it means that we will let it go so that we don’t feel trapped by the hurt they have made us feel.

Imagine if I had a cactus in my hand. What would happen if I squeezed that cactus? [Get feedback] What would happen if I wrapped my arms around it and squeezed it tight? [Get feedback] It would hurt me! Why? [Get feedback] Because the cacti’s spikes cause pain when we press them into our skin. That’s the same with pain and unforgiveness. When we try and hold tight to the pain that someone has caused us it does not help. [Pull the cactus into our body and pretend to show the kids that it hurts.]

Forgiveness says ‘I’ll let this go.” Why? Because if I hold onto it, it may or may not hurt the other person, but it will always hurt me. When we choose to forgive it sets us free to live fully, passionately and to the best of our ability for and with Jesus.

Romans 12:17-21 (ICB):

If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. Do your best to live in peace with everyone. My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I am the One who punishes; I will pay people back,” says the Lord. But you should do this:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if your enemy is thirsty, give him a drink.
Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.” Proverbs 25:21-22.

Do not let evil defeat you. Defeat evil by doing good.

God wants us to do the supernatural. He calls us to forgive. That means letting go of the hate and hurt that someone has caused us. Asking God’s Holy Spirit [the third person of God: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit] to give us the strength to forgive.

 

3) JESUS: ULTIMATE FORGIVER

Use a bottle of liquid soap [washing up liquid] and put some large googly eyes on the outside of it (this is optional but pretty fun!). Then have something dirty that needs washing: a jug or something that needs to be cleaned inside etc. You could first use the jug and then leave it dirty. 

Say: You know, Jesus is the ultimate forgiver. There is nobody that knows what it means to be hurt, more than Jesus. Jesus was beaten and put on a cross. [Go into as much or as little detail about this as you want depending on the age of the group.] Yet Jesus had never done anything wrong. He could have sent angels to destroy the people hurting him and to set him free. Instead Jesus chose to forgive and let it go.

When Jesus forgives, that means He washes the person clean of wrong doing – of sin.He forgets what they have done (Micah 7:19).  You see sin separates us from God because we are no longer clean and pure in God’s eyes. The wrong that we have done is just like this dirt [show the dirty jug]. I wouldn’t like to drink straight out of this jug! God wants to use us and speak life into and through us, yet He needs us to be clean of sin. That’s where Jesus comes in. [Show the liquid soap]

Jesus washes us clean of our sin when we ask Him into our lives as our Lord and our Savior – the one who saves us from the wrong things we have done. [Begin using the liquid soap to wash the jug]. Jesus is the ultimate forgiver because when we do wrong we don’t just do wrong against our family, friends or enemies – we do wrong against God because He loves every one of His creation. To be forgiven all we need to do is admit that we have done wrong, believe that Jesus can forgive us and ask for His forgiveness, committing to follow Him.

 

SEARCH the Scriptures:

Butterfly Gunk. (regular/widescreen) Print out the bible verse butterflies (1/2/3)and laminate them. Place them inside a big tub of wet mud and leaves. Have the children use their hands or feet to race to find the butterflies.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. When was the last time you took revenge?
2. What is the worst thing you have done in revenge?
3. When was the last time you forgave someone?
4. Is it easy to forgive? Why/why not?

 

SENSE How You Feel:

1. Forgiveness Finger Printing. Draw lots of butterfly middles and have the children use their fingers to paint and press down to make the butterfly wings. Put a bible verse underneath all about forgiveness.
2. Cross Cookies. Using a graham cracker or shortbread cookie put icing on the top, make a cross out of long candy and decorate with mnms.

DISCUSS:

1. Why do you think forgiving is hard to do?
2. When was the last time you forgave someone?
3. How has God forgiven you?
4. Is there someone that God wants you to forgive today?

 

SEEK God:

Jesus Forgives Me. Print the ‘Jesus Forgives Me’ heart printable on red cardstock and laminate it for each child that they can take home. They can use wipe board pens to write on the hearts and then rub off the writing.

I Can Forgive Others.

1. Is there someone you need to forgive? Write or draw them on a post it note and then rip up the paper before putting it in the trash. If not, why not write a prayer of thanks for God’s forgiveness. Use the ‘Forgiveness Sets Me Free’ Printable.
2. Holding and letting stones go. Children take a stone and think about the hurt that someone has given them. Then they let it go and pray that God helps them to let go of their hurt and forgive.
3. Butterfly Prayers. Children write or draw their prayers of forgiveness on a butterfly to remind them that when they forgive they become free.