Scripture: Luke 19:1-10
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn there is no sin impossible for God to forgive if we repent.
- Students will learn God wants us to repent of all of our sins as quickly and as honestly as possible.
- Students will learn even though we are forgiven of our sins, we need to do whatever we can to make things right with the people we hurt with our sins.
- Students will learn to make comparisons by describing various people.
Guiding Question: Why is repentance and honesty with sin important?
Materials: Paper “people” of various sizes, colors, clothing, etc.
Procedure: Review the story of Zacchaeus. Remind students that sometimes we may feel our sin is impossible for God to forgive just like how Zacchaeus felt. God wants to to come to Him for any sin, no matter how big or small we may think it is. It is important for us to be honest with ourselves and not attempt to hide our sin from God because God knows the sin before we even tell Him. We should be honest and repent of our sins to show God that we believe He can forgive us, to be obedient, and for Him to show us how to do better in the future. Have students share what kind of sins may hurt other people and upset them. After sharing, explain that it is important we seek forgiveness in a godly way from others and make things right with them.
Introduce the activity. Show the paper “people” and explain that they are like the crowd of people in the story of Zacchaeus. Explain that they students are going to practice making comparisons when describing two different people. For example, “The paper person with brown hair and brown eyes is taller than the paper person with brown hair and blue eyes.” Remind students to use words such as “taller, tallest, shorter, larger, etc) which shows they are comparing on feature to another.
Additional Questions: How can students compare real life objects?
Supplemental Activity: Have students observe their classroom and record ten comparisons about objects in the room. For example: The bookcase is taller than the table.