Session 7: Forgiving from the Heart
Click on underlined videos to run them.
FOCUS VERSE: Matthew 18:34–35: In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.
OBJECTIVE: To recognize what forgiveness is and what it is not, and to learn how to forgive from the heart.
FOCUS TRUTH: In order to experience our freedom in Christ, we need to relate to other people in the same way that God relates to us — on the basis of complete forgiveness and acceptance.
- Freedom day is June 24, so we want a confirmed list of who’s attending so we can arrange rides
- We won’t have our regular Freedom in Christ meeting time next week (June 20–22) since instead we’ll have Freedom day on Saturday June 24. The Thursday group will still meet on June 22 since they previously missed a week.
| 7:00 | Welcome/Announcements: Freedom day |
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| 7:15 | Prayer/Worship (suggestion: Amazing Love - “I’m Forgiven, Because You were Forsaken”) |
| 7:20 | [14:25] Video 1 |
| 7:35 | Discussion 1 |
- Why are people (including Christians) often unwilling to forgive?
- In order to understand how important it is to forgive others, we need to understand how much we ourselves have been forgiven. Discuss this idea.
- Look at the definitions of justice, mercy, and grace. How does God come to us when we go wrong? How can we go to other people in the same way?
| 7:55 | [09:51] Video 2 |
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| 8:05 | Discussion 2 - see below |
- What is your reaction to the idea that unforgiveness opens the door to the enemy’s influence in your life?
- “The longer you leave the hook in, the more pain it will cause you.” Discuss.
- What do you think about this statement: “When it comes to forgiveness, the real issue is not so much between us and the other person, it’s between us and God”?
| 8:25 | [15:43] Video 3 |
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| 8:40 | Reflection - see below |
- Spend some time praying together for those who have indicated they are ready and willing to forgive others when we go through The Steps To Freedom In Christ. (There is no need to share anything — just pray.)
- Note: This time of prayer can be done as one big group or in smaller groups depending on what works best for your group. It may be beneficial as well to have a couple minutes beforehand for people to individually identify if there’s someone they need to forgive.
- Then discuss the following statements (optional discussion, if there’s time at the end):
- “Forgiving has little to do with the person who hurt you.”
- “Forgiving is not forgetting.”
- “God will ensure justice is done.”