INTERMEDIATE LEVEL 1 – Lesson 23 for Students

LESSON 23: LISTEN AND RESPOND 

THEME: Forgiveness 

VOCABULARY: anger, causes, depression, forgive, blame, hurt, support 

STORY: There is a young man. His name is Juan. He is 17 years old and he struggles with depression. He has two younger siblings, a brother who is 10 and a sister who is 13. When he was little his father left and never returned. He lives with his siblings and his mother. His mother works a lot and makes very little money. Juan had to quit school and get a job in order to help with the bills. Juan sometimes feels angry that he had to quit school and grow up faster than he wanted to. Juan feels angry with his father for leaving his family and for not helping them out. This causes Juan to get angry easier. In certain situations, it is hard for Juan to not yell. Juan’s anger comes because he has been hurt by his father. Juan works hard for little pay. He delivers food during the day and helps at a store during the evenings. Juan is tired and just wants to have time to study and be a teenager. He doesn’t want to have to be an adult. It is hard for him to forgive his father for leaving. Juan blames his father for leaving the family and forcing Juan to quit school and support the family. Juan knows that his anger only hurts himself because his father does not know Juan is angry with him. Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The Lord always forgives us for our sins, so we need to learn to forgive others just like God has forgiven us. It is not good for Juan to live with unforgiveness in his heart. It is important that he forgives his father so that he can stop being angry. Juan knows that something has to change and that he needs to learn how to have forgiveness in his heart, but it is not easy.

ACTIVITIES

  1. Review the Vocabulary Words .
  2. Listen to Audio 1  as you read the story.
  3. Listen to Audio 2 – Story with Questions as you read the story and answer the questions.
  4. Think about the main theme, and write answers to the following questions in your notebook:
    1. Who is someone who has hurt you? 
    2. Have you forgiven them?
    3. How can we forgive others?
    4. Why is it important to forgive others?
    5. What can unforgiveness cause?
  5. Write in your notebook about a time in their life when you felt hurt. Ask God to take away your pain.
  6. End the class in prayer.