Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
This is an icebreaker designed to get people focused as you begin Youth Sabbath School.
Have your participants stand in a circle, whether you have 2-6 people or 10-15 people. If you have a large Youth Sabbath School of more than 15 people, divide them into groups of no more than 15 each.
The goal of this rhythm-based game is to repeat the same three words one at a time around the circle, with someone saying a word with each downbeat of the rhythm. These three words (and the correct order) are “zip,” “zap,” and “zop.” The leader starts by folding their hands together as if in prayer, then pointing them both at someone else standing in the circle. They will say, “Zip!” and it will now be the next person’s turn.
The person they pointed to will fold their hands next, point to someone else in the circle, and say, “Zap!” Then whoever they pointed to will fold and point their hands at someone else, saying, “Zop!” and the cycle will start all over again. This continues until somebody messes up by saying the wrong word or pausing too long (you can be as strict about this as you like). When somebody does mess up, they step outside of the circle and the last person to say a word correctly starts the sequence again from “Zap!”
Continue until you’re down to one person—the Zip, Zap, Zop champion! If you have time, you can invite everyone back to the circle and start anew.
The following is a list of six ways you can hurt someone else. Choose the one you would most prefer to ask forgiveness for doing. Feel free to think of a specific example within any of these categories, as well as an example of someone to ask forgiveness for doing it to. Here is the list:
Asking someone to forgive you puts you in a vulnerable position because they can say either yes or no, and you’re at their mercy. That person might not be ready or willing to forgive you. In fact, it could even escalate things in your relationship. Furthermore, the person might not know that you have wronged them, and this could tip them off!
After you’ve thought through this, including how you would apologize and ask forgiveness for doing this particular thing, practice it with another person. This might be awkward to do, but perhaps not as difficult as making a real apology to someone you have actually wronged in your life.
You can reverse this process by considering what you would do if someone were to approach you and ask forgiveness for wronging you in one of these six ways. How would you respond? If you truly forgive someone, you lose the power you have over that person. Plus, you may be the one who ends up covering the cost of what they did wrong, especially if it involves something you can’t replace quickly or at all. In many situations, this can be very difficult to do.
Practice forgiving someone for doing something like this with your partner. When you’re done, try to think of real people you may need to ask forgiveness from—or give forgiveness to—in your own life!
TRANSITION: As we consider our lesson for today, keep in mind that forgiveness is an important topic and has been ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden. As we come to the close of the first book in the Bible, we’re going to see an amazing and moving example of forgiveness. All of us should strive to practice this same magnanimity today.
This is a short video clip you can show your Youth Sabbath School to illustrate this week’s topic, plus a few follow-up questions to spark discussion afterwards.
If you want, you can also create a video clip instead and use the video recommended below as inspiration. In this case, it should illustrate forgiveness—something that’s been a major topic since sin entered our world. Jesus spoke about it and practiced it. God has communicated it throughout Earth’s history. Joseph did it when his brothers came to him for food. Can you come up with some current examples and feature them in your video? Don’t forget to think of some follow-up questions to ask afterwards!
Note: For a feature-length example of the power of forgiveness, see Les Miserables. Note how the bishop’s decision to forgive Jean Valjean sets the stage for him to lead a whole new life in the rest of the film.
This emotional 4-minute clip ends with a moving quotation from someone killed during the Virginia Tech shooting. After the video ends, ask your participants the discussion questions provided below (or create your own if you prefer).
Before the youth of today were born, the country of Rwanda experienced a genocide in which two clans, the Hutus and Tutsis, killed each other because of tribal prejudice. What seemed to have been a thing of the past erupted in a moment. Approximately 800,000 people were brutally killed in 100 days, most of them hacked to death by machetes. If one of your family members had been among those killed, would you be able to forgive their killers? You can YouTube many videos on this subject. Here’s a short, 2-minute one.
