Forgiveness Is Not Optional

In one paragraph

Michael Demetrius, the youth director at First B Jackson, brought the message on February 10, 2019, preaching on forgiveness. He opened by leading the congregation through the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6 and then walked through what forgiveness is, what it is not, and why God calls believers to it without exception. Michael started in Matthew 6:9-13, where Jesus teaches the disciples to pray...

Read together

1. Matthew 6:9-13 The Lord's Prayer, prayed together and then read aloud as the basis for the sermon on forgiveness
2. Matthew 6:14-15 Read to show the link between forgiving others and being forgiven by the heavenly Father
3. Matthew 22:34-40 Referenced as the greatest commandment, loving God and neighbor, used to show how unforgiveness hinders loving others
4. Genesis 3:22 Quoted to establish that humans know good and evil, providing the framework for understanding wrong and the need for forgiveness
5. James 4:1 Quoted to explain how conflict arises from competing desires, which creates the opportunity for forgiveness
6. Matthew 7:2 Quoted to show that the measure we use to judge others will be used against us
7. Matthew 18:21-35 The parable of the unmerciful servant, read in full to illustrate how much we have been forgiven and why we must forgive others
8. James 1:5 Quoted at the close as a benediction about asking God for wisdom

Talk about it

1. Michael said that unforgiveness will stop our spiritual growth, hinder our relationship with God, and take us off the path God has for us. Have you seen any of those effects show up in your own life, and if so, which one hit you hardest?
2. Michael described a range where his own forgiveness actually works, saying things that are too small he just forgets, and things that feel too big he boxes up and holds indefinitely. Where do you find your own range, and what tends to land outside it?
3. Michael listed several things forgiveness is not, including forgetting, approval, and trust. Which of those three has caused the most confusion for you personally, and why?
4. In the parable from Matthew 18, the servant who was forgiven an enormous debt immediately went and refused to forgive a much smaller one. Michael said he found that convicting because he remembered his own ten thousand bags of gold that got forgiven. What helps you stay connected to the memory of what you yourself have been forgiven?
5. Michael suggested a practical sequence for forgiving someone: look honestly at the wrong, grieve it, bring it before God, and then make a choice not to hold it against the person anymore, repeating the process if it comes back up. Does that sequence match your experience, and is there a step in it that you find particularly hard?