Jesus Teaches How To Forgive

Trust the Lord for the ability to be less critical of yourself or others.

Be more forgiving as Christ has shown you great mercy.

Ask the Lord for the serenity to accept the things you cannot change, the courage to change the things you can and the wisdom to know the difference. God is the only one who is a position to judge another.

The Meaning for Our Lives

Ask each person to share how they have failed to forgive another person for some offense.

Ask each person to share how they plan to ask the Lord to help them forgive that person from their heart.

What are some of the consequences of failing to forgive that person?

Ask each person to share some of the problems involved with judging other people and their motives?

What should do when other people try to judge us or fail to forgive us for an offense?

Allow for time to ask God for the forgiveness of their sins of commission, omission, wrong attitudes and faulty assumptions.

Give time to the people to share how the Lord has graciously forgiven all of their past, present and future sins, if they are truly a born again child of the heavenly Father.

Jesus said, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation.” (Matt. 6:12)

Response

Song: “He forgave my sins, in Jesus name. I am born again in Jesus name. And in Jesus name, I come to you. To share God’s love and He told me to. He said, Freely, freely you have received. Freely, freely give.”

Prayer: Lord help me to forgive others and I have been so graciously forgiven and shown mercy. God please help me to avoid judging others. Let me leave all the judging to you who knows everything and has all power to make the final and correct judgement.

Ask the people to share with their friends and family about how they have forgiven someone else for something because of Christ’s forgiveness in their life.

Conclusion:There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.

Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, pp. 13.