"The Forgiveness of Sins"

Gay marriage became legal in Oregon a couple days before we talked about this.  It was a great chance for us to talk about forgiveness and how we can begin to proclaim God's forgiveness to those who need to hear a life-giving message.  While the focus was on us offering forgiveness to those who have hurt us because God offers us forgiveness freely, it was still a great chance to discuss this politically charged topic.  Afterwards, one girl brought her mother in so the three of us could pray together for forgiveness and peace in their relationship.  It was a beautiful thing to see a 16 year old girl take the initiative to ask her mother for forgiveness.  (Side Note: It also helps that her parents are great intentional disciplers of their children).Recite Apostles’ Creed

"The Forgiveness of Sins"

Read the Apostles' Creed

"I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended to the dead.  On the Third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.”

Review

What do you guys think forgiveness is?

Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve had to ask for forgiveness?

We are a community of forgiven people
This phrase falls right after the part about the Church

And yet, the community of God can be one of the least forgiving people in the world.

Have you guys ever held a grudge before? (ask someone to define “grudge”)

Where does it get you?  Where does revenge get you?  How do you feel after you made that person feel something similar to what they did to you?

Share a personal story about getting even
It didn’t make me feel any better, it only made him feel worse about himself

We are supposed to be the most forgiving people, calling others to repentance and offering God’s forgiveness freely.

Yet so often we fail to offer the same grace and forgiveness that God has given us.

Read the Story of Jonah (I used the Jesus Storybook Bible because its concise and to the point - its our infant son's Bible).  But another short version will do if you have it.

I love this rendition of Jonah because it so pointedly describes what it means for us to offer acceptance and forgiveness to sinners.  When we don’t, we are running away from God.  We are failing to be the people God wants us to be.

Split up into small groups.
1) Describe a time in your life when you needed to ask for forgiveness?

2) Is there something in your life for which you need to ask forgiveness now?

3)  Read Romans 5:8.  What do you think about God dying for us so that we can be forgiven even when we were still sinners?

4)  Who are people (or, what kinds of people) that it is really easy for us, like Jonah, to hate or for us to hold back our forgiveness?

5)  What would it look like to offer these people forgiveness? (First, it would require a relationship.  We couldn’t run away from all sinners.  Second, it would require us to know that but for the grace of God, we would still be living in sin and death.  Third, it would require us to intentionally proclaim the Gospel to others with our words and actions in such a way they see the call to repentance and life in Christ Jesus).

Regather:

I’m interested in question 4.  Who are people that it is easy for us to hate?
Write down answers on large paper

What are ways that we can offer these people forgiveness?

I love the story of Jonah because he has to offer forgiveness to those people he hates.  Yet they are absolutely ready for it.  They all quickly turn to Jesus.

It’s easy for us in this town to look at other people outside of our bubble and pray for God’s condemnation on them.
When Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein dies, we celebrate, instead of mourning that they never came to know and love Jesus.
When Portland (our local liberal city) does something we think is crazy, we talk amongst ourselves about how this world is going to hell in a handbasket, instead of praying for our Christian brothers and sisters their who are faithfully and steadfastly participating in God’s mission in Portland.

Even here in our town, we have people who we won’t offer forgiveness to.
When someone gossips about us, we refuse to talk to them and starting gossiping about them.
When a gay teen comes to our school, we avoid them, instead of befriending them and proclaiming God’s love.
When someone hurts us, our natural, human reaction is to hurt them back.

But this is not how we are called to live.

There’s a phrase that I really like.
“There but for the grace of God, God I.”
You see, but for the grace of God, for God’s forgiveness in our lives, for God’s life and Spirit working in our lives before we were even aware of God’s presence, we would be that terrorist, we would be that crazy hippy liberal, we would be that poor girl going to get an abortion because she doesn’t see another option, we would be that gay or girl confused about who they are, we would be that one who lashes out at others because of so much hurt inside us.
“There but for the grace of God, God I.”

I want to end in a time of prayer.  Will everybody close your eyes and quiet your minds.  I want you to do some introspection - look within yourself.

Perhaps some of you don’t know God’s forgiveness.  You have been a little confused by this entire lesson because you haven’t experienced God’s life yet.  Perhaps you have done something that you just don’t see how anybody could ever forgive you for.  Perhaps you are hurting inside, or confused, or you don’t know who you are.  All you know is that you need to be released from some things and you need God’s forgiveness.  So if you want God’s forgiveness, if you want God’s life-giving presence, if you want Jesus to be in control of you life and actions, pray with me.

Pray.

For others, perhaps you need to be reminded that “There but for the grace of God, God I.” We need to be reminded that we need to forgive others because God has forgiven us first.  Perhaps you have been holding a grudge against someone.  You have sought after revenge instead of forgiveness.  You have tried to hurt someone else because they hurt you first.  Or perhaps their is an entire group of people you have hated and avoided simply because they are sinners.  And you need to be reminded that “There but for the grace of God, God I.”  If you want to need to offer God’s forgiveness to somebody today, if you need to offer life instead of hatred, joy instead of pain, pray with me.

Pray

End in Lord’s Prayer with everybody reading from the screen.

If anybody wants to talk about things tonight, we’re here.  If there is anybody you need to forgive or anybody from whom you need to ask forgiveness, do it tonight.  Don’t dawdle, don’t say I’ll do it tomorrow.  Tonight.  Wake up whom you need to wake up.  Call whom you need to call.  Pray with whom you need to pray.  And ask God to bring life to previously dead relationships.