The Lord’s Prayer – 04.02.23

Connect: What does forgiveness historically look like for you or your family? How have you struggled with forgiveness?

Engage: Zach made a statement that Matthew 6:12 that is the war cry of the human heart/ world. That we hold grudges, anger, and we want in our soul to have justice.  When you hear that, what stirs in your heart?

We often want justice. How does that look for you in your life?

#1 Pray to see our sins and joyfully receive forgiveness.

Do you pray to have Jesus show you your sin, if not why?  Where have you invited God to look at your heart?   Psalm 139  

Zach said, He wants to give you grace to forgive if we don’t receive forgiveness – we cannot forgive.  What do you think of that statement?

Luke 7:36

#2 As we have been forgiven we pray for strength to forgive.

OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS, anger is possibly the most fun. To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back—in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you.   Fredrick Buechner

How have you seen this quote in your life?

Read Matthew 18:21-35, What strikes you in this passage? Christ is holding debt like a bank – What does that look like for you?

Dan Allandar from his book Bold Love says – To forgive someone who wronged you does not mean you have to immediately trust him or her. Trust has to be re-earned. To forgive is to reject vengeance or payback for the wrong—it is not to act as if the wrong never happened. If the wrongdoer hasn’t repented, then you shouldn’t make it easy for her to sin against you again. (It is never loving to someone to make it easy for her to sin against you.) And yet you must be open to rebuilding trust slowly if the wrongdoer shows what looks like genuine repentance.

What do you think of this statement? Have you experienced this in this life ?

#3 We absorb the debt and work to bring an offering of praise.  

 How does this statement play out in your life?

Apply:  What is the Lord inviting you to do with this message this week?

Do you struggle with forgiveness if yes, Where is the Lord asking you to press into this message? Do you have someone who is going to hold you accountable?

I would encourage you to really ponder this sermon this week –