WELCOME TO WEEK 4

Have you ever made a mistake? Have you ever done something wrong on purpose? We have all done things we should not have done whether on purpose or on accident. Sometimes we want to keep it a secret so no one else will know. God wants to know even the bad things that we do because He loves us! This week we will see what God does with our mistakes.

Psalm 32

BIBLE STORY

Have you ever made a mistake? We all make mistakes even when we try really hard not to. Today, I am going to make some mistakes and I want to see if you can figure out what my mistakes are.

-Write their name misspelled (or call them by the wrong name)

-sing the ABC’s, skip a few letters

-Tell them the days of the week in the wrong order

-Sing Jesus Loves me to a different tune

-count to 10 in the wrong order

-Miscount the number of pillows (or another object) in the room

-Tell every family member’s birthday, say their birthday wrong

Did I make any mistakes? Yes I did! Those were small little mistakes that I made on accident, but we all make mistakes. Some of our mistakes are big, some are small, some are on accident and some are really bad choices we do on purpose. Those mistakes are called sins. We all sin so we don’t have to hide our sins or keep them a secret. The bible tells us about how God feels about our sins and what He does with them. Let’s read in Psalms to see what the Psalmist said about sins. 

Read or listen to the scripture story in Psalm 32

Who write Psalm 32? (David)

What is this Psalm about? (Forgiveness)

How does the Psalmist describe how someone feels when they’ve been forgiven? (Joyful)

How does the Psalmist describe the feeling of when he kept silent? (His bones were brittle, God’s hand was heavy)

What do you think he means when he says his bones were brittle?

When does the Psalmist say we should pray to God? (Any time)

Why does David describe God as his hiding place? (Because God is his protection and his Deliverer)

BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY

This week we learned that we all mistakes and sometimes we do wrong things on purpose. Even though we are not perfect, God loves us just the way we are. We can be sure that we are forgiven when we confess our sins, or wrongdoings. When God forgives us he does not remind us of our sins later on, nor does he keep track of how many times we make the same mistakes. God loves you!

Activity

Using a piece of foam, cut out a heart. Have the child draw on the foam heart with washable markers. After the child is finished coloring the heart, give them a wet washcloth to then clean the foam heart. God forgives our sins. He wants to forgive the wrong things we have done. Just like you washed away your drawing, God washes away your sins. Optional Alternative: cut a heart from construction paper and place inside a plastic ziplock bag. Cut the bag along the outline of the heart and tape the outline of the plastic with duck tape or masking tape to keep plastic securely around heart. Similar to a laminated heart

Materials: sheet of foam, washable markers, cleaning cloth Optional: construction paper, ziplock bag or laminate paper, duck tape

Alternate

Play dough confessions. Using a ball of play-dough, shape the dough into a picture form of a sin they’ve committed this week. Demonstrate that after we pray for forgiveness, our sins are no longer remembered by God. Flatten the play dough and then reform it into the shape of a heart or the cross. God wants to forgive our sins when we tell him about our them. He forgives us and then forgets them.

Materials: Play-dough

Independent activity:

Complete the following activity sheet

Materials: printed activity sheet

ARTS & CAFTS

CRAFT 1

Create a forgiving tree. Trace your chid’s handprint and a part of their arm using brown construction paper, to create a tree trunk and branches. Cut out the tree and glue it to a piece of construction paper. Then cut out leaves using different colored construction paper. Glue some of the leaves on the trees and some of the leaves on the ground. Have your child write, or tell you, how they feel when they are forgive (joyful, clean, peaceful, etc.). Write their sins that have been forgiven on the leaves at the bottom of the tree. When God forgives our sins He does not hold on to them and remind us of them later on. They are gone, just like leaves that fall from a tree that blow away. 

Materials: Construction paper in various colors including brown, scissors, glue, pencil

Craft 2

Coloring page

Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons

FOLLOW-UP

Have you ever not obeyed your parents?

Have you ever treated your brother or sister badly?

Have you ever said anything that was not true?

Have you ever done anything that you have needed to be forgiven?

How many times will God forgive us of our sins?

How do you know God has forgiven your sins?

Practical Application at Home

Read 1John 1:9. It says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 

The scripture didn’t say He would forgive us of our small sins, or the ones that don’t hurt others. It says that He will forgive us of all our sins and cleanse us of our unrighteousness. We can trust that God forgives us when we confess to Him. God already knows our sins, but when we acknowledge or confess that sin to Him, we are admitting our wrong and desire to change. Let’s do the following activity to show how God forgives us of our sin and also cleans us so that it is forgotten.

NOTE: ADULT NEEDED for this demonstration. This demonstration uses bleach that should be handled by an adult. Use safety measures including gloves, mask and goggles to ensure safety.

Fill a small glass container with water and several drops of food coloring. This coloring represents our sins. When we ask to be forgiven, God will forgive and cleanse us. Using a dropper filled with bleach, squeeze several drops of bleach into the water. Notice the water has changed from a color to being clear! God can wash away our sins and restore us to His righteousness. If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us and purify us. 

Additional Resources

Outings to Reinforce Lesson

Go to a park and spend time in worship and prayer. Ask God to show you ways to trust him and listen to his voice.