Have a Bible with you.
In today’s Psalm (which is a prayer and the words to a song), the writer is talking to God about being afraid. He might be a soldier, because he asks God not to let him be defeated and he talks about having enemies. He might be just a regular person, though, who is afraid. There are people who do not like him, and he is afraid of them. Maybe he is afraid of a bully. Have you ever been afraid of a bully? [Accept all answers. Ask the children not to give names].
The (Psalm writer) is afraid of something else, too. There are bad things he has done in the past and he is afraid that the remembering of those bad things will make him so sad that he cannot have a happy life. He is afraid that the remembering of those bad things will always be with him and make him feel bad. He’s having a really bad day, isn’t he?
Can you remember a time that you did something wrong and then felt bad about it? Maybe you lost your temper with your mom or dad and said something mean that you really wish you hadn’t said. Or maybe you took something that wasn’t yours; or you cheated your brother or sister, or told a lie to a friend. Raise you hand if you have ever done something like that [Let them raise hands, but do not encourage them to tell what happened. Raise your hand, too].
I have my hand up, too. We’ve all done things like that. What is one word that you could use to tell what it feels like inside when you feel bad about what you have done. [Accept all answers; give one of your own].
Well, the writer of Psalm 25 found a way of feeling better about those things. He is still sorry that he did them, but he remembers that God is good; that God loves him, and––here is the biggie—that God forgives him. That means that when God looks at him, he does not think about the bad things that the psalmist has done. God no longer remembers those things.
The psalmist says, “Don’t remember the sins of my youth” (v. 7). He then asks God to always remember him. He says to God, “Please God, when you look at me don’t think about the bad things; instead remember me––remember the person I am inside.” The psalmist knows that God is so good that he will forgive, and will remember only the real person inside. We don’t have to feel bad about ourselves.
Because God loves us and forgives us, God wants us to walk with him so that God can show us the right things to do. Now how do we walk with God? We can’t see God; we can’t hear God the way we hear each other. Can anyone think of a way? [Accept all answers].
We can walk with God by listening to the things God tells us to do in the Bible. What are some of those things? How does God want us to act? [Accept all answers; ask questions that help the children think of things such as being kind, being fair, not hurting other people; not hurting their feelings; helping people who need assistance, not lying, encouraging others, being helpful to children younger than they are. Make it a long list].
When we do those things; the things God has shown us, will any of those things make us feel ashamed or feel bad about ourselves? [Yes or no?]. No? God never leads us in the wrong direction and that’s the truth. We can always, always, always trust what God tells us.
Can you repeat that after me? [Have the children repeat after you, one phrase at a time. Have the congregation do it, as well]. Verse 10 promises that god will lead those who stay close to him––and who obey his commands.
What a great thing to know! God forgives us. God always leads us in the right direction. God remembers us. We trust God. Now those are some very important things to know about God! I’m glad that you were here to find out about them!