The parable of the unforgiving servant is an important parable told by our Lord to teach all of us the importance of forgiveness. The Bible is very clear when it says that we MUST forgive others because God has forgiven us. Our kids need to know this truth and here is a creative way to share it.
In my newest program for elementary kids called, “Let Us KNOW God,” I get the opportunity to share the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” in a fun and creative way.
“Let Us KNOW God” uses the acrostic of K-N-O-W to teach kids 4 important benefits of knowing God.
K stands for Keeping the Faith
N stands for Never Forget to Show Love to Others
O stands for Offer Forgiveness
W stands for Wait for God to Work
The “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” fits nicely into the “O” category of offering forgiveness.
I start by telling the kids the following:
Remember, my friends. God can have nothing to do with sin. Because of this, He sent His one and only Son Jesus to die on the cross to forgive us of our sin so that we can be in relationship with God and know Him.
Therefore, the Bible is very clear that because God has forgiven us, we MUST forgive others.
Here is one of my favorite stories in the Bible that Jesus told that really drives home this point.
At this point, I bring out my very special “Scripture Lady Bag.” It’s kind of like a “Mary Poppins’ Bag” out of which I pull lots of great props.
You don’t have to be so elaborate. You could just have a really large bag that you can pull all of your props out of to tell the story.
The following are links to pictures showing each of my props. Hopefully, you will be inspired to make your own props for the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” as I did.
One large “7”, Crown for King, Tiny bag and Bags of Gold
Bible hat for 1st debtor, Bible hat for 2nd debtor, Pics of family and Prison bars
Once you have all your props, you can follow along with the biblical account of the story and pull each prop out at the appropriate time.
That’s it. Have fun!
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
Matthew 18:21-35 New International Version (NIV)
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Hold up a “7”)
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. (Take out a lot of “7’s”)
Jesus continued with this story: “…the kingdom of heaven is like a king (pull out a crown, then find a helper to be the king) who wanted to settle accounts with his servants (bring up 1 helper to be the servant and place on him a Bible hat).
As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold (pull out bags of gold) was brought to him.
Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. (Pull out pics of family)
“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. (Have helper #1 go on his knees) ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt (Pull out a paper that says “DEBT” on it and tear it, then have helper stand up) and let him go.
“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants (bring up 1 helper to be the servant and place on him a Bible hat). This servant owed this servant a hundred silver coins. (Pull out one small bag.)
This servant grabbed him and began to choke him. (Say, “Just pretend to choke him!”) ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
“This servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ (Have helper go to his knees.)
“But he refused. (Have helper turn his back.)
Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. (Pull out some prison bars and have the helper hold them.)
When the other servants saw (Pull out big sunglasses) what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
“Then the master called the servant in. (Have the helper turn around.)‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’
In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. (Switch the prison bars to the first helper.)
“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (Pull out a heart.)
Looking for other fun Bible ideas for elementary kids?
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