We Are Forgiving 1
Weekly Worship from Chaplain Josh
This week we are exploring our ALIVE value, that ‘We Are Forgiving.’
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Have a chat about the following questions:
- Is forgiveness important to you? Why?
- Do you think forgiveness is important to God? Why?
Forgiveness is a powerful and challenging act that is highly valued in many religions, cultures and livelihoods.
We see two incredible expressions of forgiveness in the Bible.
- Firstly, God has forgiven us.
And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. – Hebrews 8:12 (NLT)
The Christian faith is centred on an act of forgiveness. The central story of Christianity is the death of Jesus, which was His sacrifice so we can have all our sins forgiven and dealt with. Forgiveness is so important to God’s heart – it is an incredible expression of his love for us.
What would you say to God if he told you that he had forgiven all the mistakes you had made?
- Secondly, we’re taught to forgive others.
There is a lot of teaching in the bible about forgiving others. One example is “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
Forgiving others is a way of showing compassion, kindness and love to others. God recognises forgiveness as an incredibly powerful way to love someone, even if we don’t think they deserve it.
I believe also that God commands us to forgive because he knows the good it does for our hearts.
It is much easier to hold onto the pain that has been caused by others, instead of letting it go. However, holding onto pain will often leave us feeling bruised for much longer. What do you think about the quote below?
Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.
Forgiveness is not about pretending nothing ever happened but recognising that we have been hurt and choosing to make peace with what has happened, so we can move on.
Who do you need to forgive?
Challenge:
To finish, I challenge you to take some time thinking about two people. One person who you need to forgive and one person who you need to ask forgiveness from. Can you make that happen this week?