Forgiveness

Kick-off craft

Make this beautiful “stained glass” cross, then hang it in a prominent place to remind your family to practice forgiveness. You will need transparent packing tape and tissue paper in a variety of colours.

“Stained glass” cross      

Directions
  • Cut two strips of packing tape. Lay one strip on a firm surface, sticky side up. Lay the second strip across the first strip to form the shape of a cross.
  • Have your children rip up small pieces of tissue paper and stick each fragment to the cross. When the sticky surface area is covered in tissue paper, use two more strips of packing tape to seal the tissue paper between the two layers of the packing tape.
  • Help your children cut off the tissue paper that extends beyond the edges of the tape, then hang the finished cross on a window. You may also wish to make a cross-shaped paper frame for your “stained glass” cross. As the light shines through the cross, it serves as a reminder that, despite our sin, we can be beautiful when God’s light shines through us.
  • Read Romans 12:17-19 aloud together: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”
  • Pray with your children, asking that God would give them the strength to overcome evil with good instead of being overcome by evil (Romans 12:21). You may also have them select one of the prayers from the kids talk with God section.
  • Encourage your children to go and stand before your cross when they are angry or frustrated with a friend or family member. Have them touch the insides of their palms – the spot where the nails would have pierced Jesus’ hands. Pray with your children, thanking God for His forgiveness. If your children need to release frustration prior to praying, have them squeeze their hands into a fist, touching the inside of their palms with their “nails.” Then have them open their hands, “releasing” their hurt and pain to God, acknowledging that it is His job to “repay.”
Other ideas

If you do not have the supplies required for a “stained glass” cross, help your children make a cross out of sticks or cardboard. Write your selected memory verse on a card and glue it on the cross.