Forgiveness begins with acknowledging that something we or others have done is truly wrong. Then we choose to trust God to make the guilty person pay (or not). Then God forgives us. Then we are free.
Series: Others First: Recalculating ...
Speaker: John Pryor
Notes:
We must forgive to be forgiven. As we re-sync ourselves daily with our Heavenly Father, we must daily make sure that nothing is separating us from Him. We must confess and repent of our own sins, forgive others, and choose love and unity daily.
Matthew 6:9-15, Colossians 3:12-13, Luke 6:37
Admit that what's wrong is wrong. Forgiveness is NOT defensiveness, denial, or apathy. When we confess our sins, we surrender to God's unique authority to define, punish, and forgive. Repentance realigns us with His will in every way.
1 John 1:8-10, Psalm 51, 2 Chronicles 7:14
Trust God to do the right thing. The principles of forgiveness are the same when we sin against God, we sin against others, when others sin against us, and when God's people try to fix something that sin broke.
Ephesians 4:31-32, Romans 5:1-11,
Do the right thing. Jesus gave us step by step instructions on how to restore Christian relationships, and He gave us a perfect example of how to reach out in love to everyone—even those who hate us for any reason.
Matthew 18, Philippians 2:1-11, Matthew 28:18-20
Lord, I will…