Forgiveness

Super Life Lesson: “Forgiveness”

Matthew 18: 21-35

I grew up with a lot of brothers and sisters. All of them were older than me except my best friend, Jimmy. My little brother Jimmy was a little more than a year younger than me.

We were together all the time. When we were little we even slept in the same bed. I guess you could say we were together all the time. We were family and I loved my little brother.

There was a problem. It was me! I was bigger than him and I often picked on him, maybe even bullied him. Most of the time we played and had a great time, but sometimes I was mean to him.

He did something that I will never forget. Because of what he did, we are still great friends. What did he do?

He forgave me.

How many times?

More than I can count.

How many times can you forgive someone who hurts you or says mean things to you?

What if they don’t say that they are sorry?

Matthew 18: 21-35 "The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant"

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

· IF WE DON’T FORGIVE OTHERS, CAN WE EXPECT OTHERS TO FORGIVE US?

· Will God forgive us if we have hatred in our hearts for others?

***MOVE YOUR FOOT PRINCIPLE

If some one is hurting you and saying and doing hurtful things, do you forgive them?

What if they keep doing it?

When someone hurts you and says they are sorry, you forgive them. If they do the same thing and say they’re sorry, you still should forgive them. The third time, I forgive them, but I may avoid being around them because their behavior hasn’t changed. This is called, “Move your foot.” Don’t hate them, still forgive them, but don’t spend time with them, unless their behavior changes.