Unforgiving Servant Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free unforgiving servant Sunday school lesson teaches kids to forgive because they are forgiven. Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive "till seven times?" and Jesus said, "Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:21–22). Then Jesus told of a servant forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents who would not forgive a fellowservant an hundred pence (18:24–30). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families. Everything is in the order you teach it.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a big-and-little game, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, the memory verse with motions, and a drawing activity.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 4 pages: the Heavy Bag, Light Bag game, the story in simple words, five recall questions with answers, a counting memory verse game, and a Make a Heart game.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a how-long-to-pay game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story ("ten thousand talents," "moved with compassion," "an hundred pence," "from your hearts"), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Matthew 18:21–35 out loud themselves, then look closer at the size of the two debts, the same words in 18:26 and 18:29, the king's question (18:33) and Jesus' serious ending (18:35). Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Matthew 18:22 and Ephesians 4:32).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Matthew 18:21–35
• Main point: Forgive because you are forgiven.
• Memory verse: Matthew 18:22 (KJV), with Ephesians 4:32 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about big and little debts, or keeping score.
2. Bible story: Peter's question (Matthew 18:21), "seventy times seven" (18:22), the servant who owed ten thousand talents (18:24), "Lord, have patience with me" (18:26), the lord "moved with compassion" (18:27), the hundred pence and the prison (18:28–30), and "even as I had pity on thee" (18:33). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Matthew 18:22.
5. What this means for us: God forgives a debt we could never pay, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and forgiving others from the heart this week.
6. Activity: the word search, crossword, maze, worksheet, the unforgiving servant craft, a make-a-heart game, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the unforgiving servant

• Read Matthew 18:33 and 18:35 straight from your Bible. Jesus' point is that forgiven people forgive.
• Read 18:35 plainly; don't soften it. The younger lessons leave out the tormentors (18:34) and end with God's love and the good news about Jesus.
• Explain the money simply: a talent was a huge amount, and a penny was a day's pay (Matthew 20:2).
• Forgiving never means keeping a secret when someone is hurting a child. Each lesson has a short teacher note on this.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.