God Has Forgiven Us, So We Should Forgive Others

In one paragraph

This message, preached while Pastor Ray was away with family, centered on forgiveness as both a command and a gift. Starting from Peter's question to Jesus in Matthew 18, the sermon worked through the parable of the unforgiving servant and the story of a real mother named Renee who chose to forgive the drunk driver who killed her daughter. Peter came to Jesus asking how many times he was obligated...

Read together

1. Psalm 77 Opening verse: 'Oh God, your ways are holy. Is there any god as mighty as you?'
2. Colossians 3:16 Read before the hymn segment: 'let the message about Christ in all its richness fill your lives...'
3. Matthew 18:21-35 Main passage: Peter's question about forgiveness and the parable of the unforgiving servant
4. Romans 5:8 Cited as a personal favorite verse: 'God showed his great love by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners'
5. 1 John 1:9 Cited to show God stands ready to forgive: 'if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness'
6. Ephesians 4:32 Supporting verse on forgiving one another as God through Christ has forgiven you
7. Colossians 3:13 Supporting verse: 'make allowances for each other's faults and forgive anyone who offends you'
8. Matthew 6:15 Warning cited: 'if you refuse to forgive others, your father will not forgive your sins'
9. Ephesians 3:20 Closing benediction: 'now all glory to God who is able through his mighty power at work within us to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think'

Talk about it

1. Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him, and Jesus answered 'seventy times seven.' What do you think Jesus meant by that answer, and what does it look like practically to forgive without keeping count?
2. Renee Napier said that even though Eric was the one behind bars, she was the one being held prisoner. Have you ever experienced that kind of imprisonment through unforgiveness, and what did it feel like?
3. The sermon described a moment of recognizing 'you are that man' - seeing the unforgiveness in your own heart even after receiving God's forgiveness. When have you had a moment like that, where you realized you were acting like the servant who was forgiven millions but choked his fellow servant over a small debt?
4. The sermon quoted C.S. Lewis: 'To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.' What makes that kind of forgiveness feel so hard, and what difference does it make to start from the place of what God has already forgiven in you?
5. The sermon closed with the idea that the same power that raised Christ from the dead is the power that lives in believers, and that this is why forgiveness is possible. How does that truth change the way you think about a situation in your own life where forgiveness still feels out of reach?