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FAMILY NEWSOn Monday at OUR PANTRY GIVEAWAY we had 47 vehicles and 133 people served food. THANKS to everyone who showed up at A.C.T.I.O.N. to unload the Feeding America food truck. This is a great way for us to serve the community and we have always met the call to participate. HIGHWAY CLEANUP started yesterday. Our thanks to Denise Cook and Jon for heading this up. If you have a zone assigned to you, please be sure you signed the participation sheet. This is the cheapest publicity we can get, and those of you who are young enough to get all our zones done are greatly appreciated. SPECIAL WORSHIP TIME TONIGHT: John's daughter Wendy and her three sons - Griffin, Colby, and Tanner are visiting this weekend and will be returning home tomorrow. In view of that, our class on the life of Christ will not be held tonight as John will not have time to prepare for it. We will have a time of worship instead. MORE ON TODAY'S SERMON: If you are interested in hearing how the Willmon family was able to forgive the men who murdered their daughter, see Karl Marcussen who has the letter from the Willmon family. TODAY'S LESSON
INTRODUCTION: “When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions”
(Psalm 65:3). A. “Nothing greater can happen to a human being than to be forgiven” (Power for Today for 7/18/25).
B. 1 Timothy 1:13-14 — What motivated Paul to do what he did after his conversion? FORGIVING IS A LIFE SKILL CHRISTIANS MUST HAVE.
A. Jesus made it clear — Matthew 6:12-15.
Do you want forgiveness by God? FORGIVING IS ESSENTIAL IN RELATIONSHIPS.
A. Divorce courts are full of people who could not forgive. Sexual sin is a small percentage of these.
1. Porn is fornication — a major cause.
2. Adultery is breaking a contract. B. Parents need to forgive.
Colossians 3:21 applies to teens and young adults.
C. Church relationships hinge on forgiveness.
What we bring to the church is influenced by our past. Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.
D. 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 — What would be our response today?
1. 2 Corinthians 2:5-8 — What is Paul's instruction. 2. How far do we go? See THE BACK PAGE below. 3. Romans 16:16-17 — What must we do? The story of Samuel Raj WHAT IS THE LIMIT OF FORGIVENESS?
A. What did Jesus say in Matthew 6:14-15? B. Matthews 18:21-22 (KJV) — Peter's question. Jesus’ response 70 x 7, but not 490.
C. Do we want God to put a limit on us?D. 1 John 1:5-10 — verse 9 — “If we freely admit that we have sinned, God can be trusted, in his righteousness to forgive us our sins.”
E. How do you visualize God?
God is not looking for a reason to condemn. THE BACK PAGETHE POWER OF FORGIVENESSWhat can forgiveness do? Many years ago I did a program in Mount Pleasant, Texas. One of the families that I spent time with had a story of forgiveness which shows how much power forgiveness can have, and how strong some Christians are in their ability to forgive. This family had a daughter attending Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas. Their daughter was murdered by several men who were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Twenty years after the men were incarcerated this family wrote a personal letter to each of the men who had killed their daughter telling them that they forgave them, and encouraging them to become Christians. The men who did this horrible murder were touched by the power of forgiveness that this family had expressed. They began Bible studies and eventually were baptized into Christ. Since that time these men have set up worship times and Bible studies in the prisons in which they are incarcerated, and a large number of other prisoners have been converted to Christ. How strong are our convictions as Christians? It is true that time and maturity give us the ability to overcome our bitterness and pain. Unfortunately if we do not cultivate that kind of conviction we can be influenced by Satan to become angry revenge-seeking tools of evil. In this case Harding has a scholarship in the name of this family's daughter, and they have been powers for good in Mount Pleasant. There are a huge variety of forgiveness stories that show how strong forgiveness is and how it can affect the lives of many people. When we go to bed at night, what crosses our minds and makes it hard for us to fall asleep? Romans 12:17-21 tells the disciples of Christ how to find peace with the struggles we face. It concludes with God saying “vengeance is mine, I will repay.” Read these verses and ask God's help in forgiveness. Scripture links/references are from BibleGateway.com. Unhighlighted scriptures can be looked up at their website. www.dowagiaccoc.org |
