Parables of the Kingdom: Forgiveness

Forgiveness Accessible talk

Take a loo roll and run through the story again.

We need the master, and the two servants

The first servant owed him ten thousands bags of gold but he couldn’t pay it - get the volunteer to have his hands wrapped round and round with loo roll until it looks hard to break.

The Master ordered that this man and his whole family should be locked in jail until the man can pay ten thousand bags of gold back to him.

But the man begs at his feet and said “I promise to pay you, but please don’t lock me up”

And the master smiles, and let’s him off - break the loo roll

Then the servant who has been forgiven, who has been set free, finds another servant who owes him a little bit of money. - roll the loo roll

And he demands the money back, and throws him into prison

Now the first one who has been set free is wrapped up in a mess. He was free, but because he wouldn’t forgive this other servant, because he wouldn’t set him free, he wrapped himself up in a mess and then the master threw him into jail

Kid’s response

Kay - please could you take the kids out to explore the concepts on the attached sheet. I’ll print some more parable treasure colouring too.

Maybe get them wrapping each others hands in toilet paper and breaking it.

Can you get them thinking about who they want to forgive. Someone who has made them sad, or hurt them. Someone they want to “set free”

After the 7-10 minutes talk (below) I’d love the kids to come in and be a part of the marking of rocks and dropping them in the water as a mark of forgiveness

Cheers

Main talk

Why do we hold grudges?

Someone has hurt us, perhaps they meant it, perhaps they didn’t

We all know our own weakness and how easy it is to hurt someone without meaning too, and of course we’re aware that as broken humans, we all make mistakes, and we all cause harm

But why do we hold onto this grief?

Why is it so hard to forgive?

I think it’s because if I’m angry with someone, it’s like I hold power over them. They hurt me and now I have power over them.

By not forgiving them, I am not setting them free, because they don’t deserve it

I’m the judge and jury, and I have decided that what they did to me is unforgivable

And the bitterness that churns within me gives me a sense of power over that person

However, think of it this way

Unforgiveness, or hating someone who’s hurt me, is like me drinking poison and hoping that they’ll die

I’ve inflicted the pain on myself, the pain that’s giving me sleepless nights, the pain which is twisting my heart.

Hear me, trauma is different, but I know forgiveness is a part of dealing with trauma too.

But you get what I’m saying. Like we saw in the my silly demonstration, after being set free, the first servant who owed a lot didn’t the set the second servant free, the one who owed a little. And in not forgiving him, he wrapped himself in a complete mess.

The person most hurt by our unforgiveness is ourselves, not the one who initially hurt us

So what do we do?

We pray. Jesus so clearly tells us that we need to forgive. Just like the Master who forgives the first servant, and then throws him in jail because he won’t forgive, God as the perfect judge, the only one who can restore the broken, seeks our forgiveness on others. And if we don’t then we can’t be reconciled with him, we can’t be fully close to him. The implication is that when we don’t turn back to God, even when it’s tough, then we put a barrier between us and him. That’s why we confess our sins to him every week.

Faithfulness to God looks like forgiveness in the face of those who have hurt us.

We might not want to, we might not like it, but we know we have to.

And we have the creator with us to help us do it

In the crucifixion we know that Jesus broke every barrier between us and God. In that moment heaven God’s space and earth our space were once again able to meet for every believer.

Luke 23:34 NIV

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

In the crucifixion we know that Jesus broke every barrier between us and God. In that moment heaven God’s space and earth our space were once again able to meet for every believer.

It’s through the blood of Jesus that you and I are forgiven

We took the place of judge in the beginning when we told him we knew best, and we’d do it our way

But on the cross the judge was judged in our place. And he took the punishment for our sin. And as he died on the cross

Jesus put it this way -

Luke 23:34 NIV

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

You and I have been forgiven. Of everything we know that we are guilty of. And he says do as I do, follow my example, be my hands and my feet. We are the body of Christ on earth, we are children of God, citizen’s of his kingdom.

And we have him with us when we don’t want to do what we know we have to do.

Joyce Mayer suffered much harm at the hands of her Father. She spent years learning to forgive her Father and she says this

"We can't get to where we need to be, before we face the fact of where we're at"

We have to be real about where we’re at with God, and ask him to help us move forward.

We don’t have to feel like forgiving, to forgive

Like love, it’s a choice.

It’s not an emotion, it’s not something we often feel

But we make the choice to forgive, and then we stop talking about it.

And instead of heaping curses on them Paul tells us to change our approach

In he put is this way

Romans 12:14 NIV

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

We may not want to pray for them, but prayer changes our reality. Our mind is changed by the prayers we pray, and God works through our prayers.

So when I pray “Lord will you bless them today, will you shine your face upon them, will they know you more, and hear your voice”

I might still feel all the hurt and the pain, the anguish and the sorrow, but by praying blessings over them our heart starts to change. I give up my rights over them, my right which I don’t really have, to harbour anger in my heart toward them

And I give it to God

He often starts his blessings over them by revelation, revelation of what they’ve done.

But regardless of whether we get the justice this side of eternity that we want, we know that God is at work in them, and judgment is for him

Paul finishes with

Romans 12:17–21 NIV

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Friends, let’s take a moment of quiet to bring before the Lord all those who we want to forgive