The Outrageous Forgiveness that Jesus Gave Paul

Hey kids! Today we are starting a brand new series called Outrageous. Now, that’s kind of a big word but it’s just an expression for when someone does something really crazy, cool  and unbelievable. In this series we are going to learn about some stories in the Bible that are outrageous. In today’s lesson we are going to talk about a guy named Paul and what he learned about the outrageous power of forgiveness.

Paul Thought He Was All That

Paul was smart, good at his job, and had a lot of money. He thought he had everything he could ever need. In his mind he was the coolest guy to ever live. Not only did he think he was better than everyone else, he was also really mean to Christians. He spent his time hunting down Christians so he could hurt or arrest them. He didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he was doing until one day something crazy happened.

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Paul Met Jesus Face-to-Face

Paul was on his way to hurt more Christians when suddenly Jesus was right in front of him! Jesus showed him how powerful he was and made Paul realize that what he had been doing was wrong and sinful. Paul felt terrible for how he had treated so many people and how he had made God sad. But Jesus’s message to Paul wasn’t to make him feel bad for all the yucky stuff he had done. He told Paul that he forgave him and that he had a job for Paul to do. Did you know that Paul went on to be one of the most famous guys in the Bible? He was! We can learn from Paul’s outrageous experience, too.

We Can Forgive Ourselves When We Do Something Wrong

Paul could have easily thought that he wasn’t good enough to be Jesus’s friend because of all the bad things he had done. But he knew better than that. Let’s take a look at what he said. Memory verse!

Philippians 3:13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…

Paul knew that even though he sinned, Jesus had forgiven him. So Paul needed to forgive himself too. He needed to forget that past and look to the future.

And we have to learn to do the same thing! When we mess up, we might feel like we can’t be friends with God anymore. But Jesus forgives us, no matter what. So, we need to forgive ourselves. Here’s what that looks like: 1. Start by being honest about what you did wrong and tell God and the person you hurt that you’re sorry. 2. Remember what Jesus did for you on the cross. 3. Ask him to help you to do better next time.

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So kids, next time you feel like you don’t deserve forgiveness remember Paul and the outrageous forgiveness Jesus offered him and that he also offers us.