Sermon Title:
Granting Forgiveness
Text:
Ephesians 4:31-32
Message Notes:
- Bitterness binds
- Forgiveness frees
Deeper Dive:
- QUESTION 1 – Do you find it easy to forgive and let go of an offense, or do you tend to hold a grudge?
- QUESTION 2 – Why do you think forgiveness is so hard for us to practice?
- QUESTION 3 – In Ephesians 4: 26-27, Paul warns that allowing anger to simmer in our hearts leads to binding bitterness and gives the devil a foothold in our lives. Can you relate to this? How?
- QUESTION 4 – In Ephesians 4:31-32, Paul offers kindness, compassion, and forgiveness as the antidote to bitterness. Is there a time when someone offered these to you in response to your offense? How did it change your relationship?
- QUESTION 5 – The supreme example and motive for all Christian forgiveness is God who puts away our sins as far as the east is from the west and holds them against us no more. What does this mean to you and your own practice of forgiveness?
- QUESTION 6 – Forgiveness doesn’t just free us. It also frees those around us, and reveals the heart of Jesus to them. Where is God calling you to forgive and let go of anger and bitterness? What steps will you take this week to forgive?
- PRAYER – God may have brought up some bitterness and forgiveness from your past. Choose today not to push it back
