‘Transformed By His Forgiveness’ Childrens Lesson on The Man Through the Roof

BIG IDEA: JESUS’ FORGIVENESS CHANGES ME

AIM: The aim of the ‘Transformed By His Forgiveness’ Childrens Lesson on The Man Through the Roof is to challenge the children to think about how their need for forgiveness is much greater than their need for healing.

For SONG and BIBLE STORY VIDEO IDEAS check out our dedicated Pinterest Board.

GAME IDEAS:

1. The Memory Game (regular/widescreen) Place some items on a tray. Invite the children to try and memorise the items. Then take the tray away and remove an item. When you show the tray again the children should try and spot what item has been taken away.
2. Human Rock Paper Scissors. (regular/widescreen) Choose three different individual motions. The leader shouts 1-2-3 and then everyone chooses a motion to do. If the leader is doing the same motion that player is out. Keep going until there is only one person left – the winner!
3. Sit Down If. (regular/widescreen) Ask everyone to stand. Then ask them to sit down if a statement you make relates to them. Make statements such as “you had cereal for breakfast” or “you am wearing blue” – not subjective ideas, but statements. The last person standing is the winner.

BIG VERSE: If anyone belongs to Christ, then he is made new. The old things have gone; everything is made new! 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Bible verse images (regular/widescreen)

Download Bible Verse Cards.

 

SET the Scene:

Read Mark 2:1-12. You can use this monologue to help communicate the story. A paralyzed man was brought to Jesus. This man was brought by three friends who loved and cared about him and wanted to see him back on his feet. These three men had faith that Jesus could totally transform the paralyzed man’s life. Today we’re going to be looking at an often forgotten part of this story. You see, it was amazing that Jesus made this paralyzed man walk… but he made the man walk to help the people see something. Of course, Jesus loved the paralyzed man and wanted him to walk… yet Jesus was first concerned that the man would know God’s forgiveness. He knew that before people need anything else, they always need God’s forgiveness.

This story is also a really fun story to make your own skit about. Simply use the bible as your starting place and have your leaders or kids act out the story as someone reads.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What was wrong with the man in the story?
2. Why did his friends knock through the roof?
3. Did Jesus ask to heal or forgive the man first?
4. Why did the religious people get upset with Jesus?
5. Why did Jesus heal the man?
6. What did the man and the people do at the end of this passage?

 

SPOT the Simple Meaning:

1) JESUS HAS POWER TO FORGIVE

Create a giant scratch art picture by coloring with colored wax crayons and then putting black crayon or poster paint over the top. Then in front of the children scratch the words ‘Jesus Forgives’ into the paint and wax. The colored wax should show through.

Say: This picture looks like a giant mess! It’s covered in black crayon and it looks really dark. The word on the street during the time that Jesus was about to heal the man through the roof was that people became ill or paralyzed because they had done wrong, or perhaps their parents had done wrong. Jesus shows us that that just wasn’t true (read more about this idea in John 9:1-41). Sometimes people are simply ill or injured or born in a different way and we won’t always understand why. Yet Jesus wanted to show everyone that he had the power to forgive. The people knew that only God could forgive. Forgiveness for all the wrong things we have done could only ever come from God.

Of course, we all need forgiveness – even the paralyzed man. We have all done, said or thought things that are wrong. Just like this picture [show picture] we are all messed up by sin. So Jesus knew that, more than healing, the paralyzed man needed forgiveness for the wrong things that he had done – just like we all need forgiveness for the wrongs we have done.

Mark 2:1-12

Jesus saw that these men had great faith. So he said to the paralyzed man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

Some of the teachers of the law were sitting there. They saw what Jesus did, and they said to themselves, “Why does this man say things like that? He is saying things that are against God. Only God can forgive sins.”

At once Jesus knew what these teachers of the law were thinking. So he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to tell this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to tell him, ‘Stand up. Take your mat and walk’? But I will prove to you that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, stand up. Take your mat and go home.” Immediately the paralyzed man stood up. He took his mat and walked out while everyone was watching him.

The people were amazed and praised God. They said, “We have never seen anything like this!”

Jesus Forgives:

[Scrape in the picture “Jesus Forgives.” It will reveal color behind.]

Jesus showed the people that he had the power to forgive – because he could also heal the sick – two things that only God could do! He showed them that he was God in the flesh and that he had the power and authority (the right and control) to do anything – including to forgive sins! There were lots of other people that Jesus forgave when he was on the earth. Jesus forgave the woman who was caught doing things that she shouldn’t be doing, and men wanted to kill her until Jesus stepped in (John 8:1-11). Jesus forgave the man who was on the cross next to him; a man who was being punished for breaking the law, yet Jesus invited him to be with him in heaven (Luke 23:43).

[At this point you can wipe off all of the black crayon from the picture and leave the colored crayon.]

Jesus has the power to forgive sins because Jesus is God in flesh. When we are forgiven we become who we were meant to be all along – just like the paralyzed man who walked away from the crowded house.

2) JESUS FORGIVES ME

You will need some food to make a dirty plate or kitchenware and a tub of soapy water and something to wipe the plate clean.

Say: Perhaps you’re thinking it’s really cool that Jesus has the power to forgive sins, but you’re not sure he will do it for you. We all need forgiveness that comes from Jesus. God is so good and perfect – He has never done a thing wrong! Yet we mess up and do wrong things.  If this plate was our lives this is what our sin is like. [Splat the clean plate with messy food]. Those wrong things are called sin – the things we do for ourselves. Yet God was willing to send his only Son so that we might know him and come to be His friend [start cleaning the plate and making it sparkle!]. Jesus forgives you, He cleans the sin away. All you need to do is receive his forgiveness. Just like a present may be yours, it is only when you take it and use it that you receive the benefits. Is there anyone who will take this present?

When we receive Jesus’ forgiveness it transforms us. We are a brand new creation because we no longer have to live with the sin of our past. We can know that we are free! That completely changes us – someone that is free does not live in the same way as the person who is stuck in prison. Jesus’ forgiveness gives us freedom to live a big life for Jesus – going out into the world and helping other people be set free by Jesus’ forgiveness too!

Will you receive God’s forgiveness today?

3) WOULD YOU FORGIVE? 

Say: Is it difficult to forgive someone when they hurt you or let you down? How much would you forgive? Let’s do a little test to see how much we think we could forgive someone else.

1. Your best friend has a party but doesn’t invite you. Do you forgive them? If so, how long does it take? View Powerpoint here.
2. Your teacher humiliates you in class for getting an answer wrong. Do you forgive them? If so, how long does it take? View Powerpoint here.
3. Your parent blames you for making your little brother cry, only you didn’t do anything. Do you forgive them? If so, how long does it take? View Powerpoint here.
4. Your classmate spreads a rumor about you that isn’t true. Do you forgive them? If so, how long does it take? View Powerpoint here.
5. Your Kids Pastor promises to come and watch your next game, but doesn’t make it. Do you forgive them? If so, how long does it take? View Powerpoint here.

It feels really difficult to forgive sometimes – especially if someone has hurt you or let you down really badly! Yet we have to remember just how much God has forgiven us! He forgives us for everything that we do that is wrong. So if we want forgiveness from God but we won’t forgive other people there has to be something wrong. God loves everyone. He even loves the people that we find it difficult to forgive. Sometimes we simply have to ask Jesus to help us to forgive, because we know we can’t do it on our own – and that’s okay!

Let’s be the kind of people that choose to forgive even when it’s tough, not just so that we can set others free, but so that we can be free to praise and be friends with Jesus – with nothing holding us back.

 

SEARCH the Scriptures:

Brush Up. (regular/widescreen) Print out a number of Bible verses on Forgiveness, cut them up into slips of paper. Create a bunch of different types of sins onto slips of paper [anger, hurt, pain, rejection, bitterness, envy, jealousy] and tip them onto the floor at one end of the room. Choose two players and give each their own broom. They will need to brush up as many of the pieces of paper as they can and put them in the trash. Then show everyone and discuss the Bible verses about forgiveness.

APPLICATION: When we forgive we have to put all our hurts and the sins of ourselves and others behind us. We have to let them go and trust that God is in control. When we choose to forgive it means we are released from the mess that other people or that we have made over our lives and we can move on. There may still be consequences, but we can choose forgiveness every day and don’t have to feel the weight of sin.

SENSE How You Feel:

Encourage the children to think about what it means and how it feels to be transformed by Jesus’ forgiveness as they do one of the activities below.

1. Encourage children to make their very own colored wax crayon pictures to remember that Jesus forgives.
2. Create a ‘New Creation’ tissue paper butterfly. Simply print off the ‘New Creation’ printable and stick lots of colored tissue paper to the butterfly image.
3. Color in the ‘Jesus Forgives’ Printable
4. Sensory: Find different types of toy bricks and
5. Build: the house with the friends lowering the man on his mat to Jesus with lego or building blocks.
6. Mould: the man and his mat out of playdough or clay.
7. Fill in or color the 5-7s or 8-11s activity booklets.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Why does forgiveness make us feel free?
2. How can having freedom change our lives?
3. What do you need to be free from today?

 

SEEK God:

You will need lots of popsicle sticks. You could also use the song ‘Forgiveness’ by Matthew West in the background.

Take a popsicle stick and write or draw a symbol to represent something that you would like forgiveness for. After the children have prayed they can snap the popsicle stick to show that the sin has no power over the child and that it has been dealt with – Jesus has forgiven and they can put the popsicle stick in the trash. Then say a prayer to thank Jesus for his forgiveness:

Jesus, Thank You for Your forgiveness! Please forgive me for the wrong things that I have done. Thank You that when I am forgiven I am set free and my sins are forgotten by You.