Pastor Dale: "Forgiveness" (June 6th, 2010)
Monday, June 7, 2010 at 01:15AM Matthew "Sermon on the Mount" is the 1st place where the idea of "forgiveness" occurs
Matthew 6:14-15 for if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
A lot of people carry around a lot of garbage. Do you really believe that God has forgiven you of all your sins? Complete forgiveness means complete freedom from all your fears.
Being hard on others = not willing to forgive others
A person who is very demanding of themselves is usually hard on others as well.
New Christians are often the best at winning souls because of the striking contrast between what they used to be and what they became after being reborn. Old Christians often face a problem: 2nd and 3rd generation Christians start to take their blessedness for granted (I never sin, so God always blesses me).
Matthew 18:24-35 (Parable of the Unmerciful Servant) whose 10,000 talent debt is forgiven, but refuses to forgive another servant's 10 talent debt. The master changes his mind and throws the unmerciful one in prison.
When people learn to forgive, inner peace comes.
Be specific about what you forgive people for. When you can not even remember the sin, you can truly be said to have forgiven. The inability to forgive keeps Christians in perpetual weakness.
God is the God of Judgement, but he gives us 2nd, 3rd chances.
People love to blame rather than praising God for "saving a wretch like me."
Reader Comments (2)
My name is Scott Powell and along with my wife Carol, daughter Amy, and son Matt are what you might call charter members of HIC. As I check the web from time to time for current listings regarding HIC, how wonderful it is to find today's sermon and the upcoming baptisms.
I have long stopped relying on my memory but between the letters mentioned above and the "Brief History" book put together by Scott Dreyer in 1993, I can tell that your 20th anniversary is fast approaching as we met for the first time Oct 7 1990.
So let us offer our early praise to the Lord for sustaining you these 20 years !! One of my best memories of that first night was as I printed the bulletin. Should I make 20 or 30 ? I settled on about 25 and as is the case whenever we limit God he sent more than 30 people !
Carol and I have been married now for 27 years, Amy and Matt are seniors in college and Matt is engaged to be married in 2011....and HIC is about to turn 20,
Praise God from whom all blessings flow !
The Powells