CHURCH AS FAMILY: Church as a forgiving family 5-10-26
INTRODUCTION
Church is family.
Church is a family of faith.
Church is a faithful family.
Church is a loving family.
Church is a forgiving family.
Everyone has need for forgiveness
“Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing. The important thing is that a discord has been resolved.”
C.S. Lewis
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”
Alexander Pope
Let us start here this morning.
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
““This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’”
Matthew 6:9-13 NIV
I. FORGIVENESS IS OUR HALLMARK
Lowell Wood - inventor with 1085 patents passed Thomas Edison with his invention to hallmark objects with gamma rays
A. We all begin this journey as sinners.
Ephesians 1:7 NIV
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace”
Ephesians 1:7 NIV
1 John 1:9-10 NIV
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.”
1 John 1:9-10 NIV
B. The proof of our provenance is the display of our hallmark.
Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:14-15 NIV
A pastor finished his message early one Sunday, (and that pastor was not me) and he wanted to check his congregation’s understanding. So he asked, "Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?"
There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up, "You have to sin."
I suspect we don’t have a problem fulfilling that prerequisite. But Jesus reveals that another prerequisite for God to forgive is our willingness to forgive others.
Dana Chau, Sermon Central, June 25, 2002.
II. FORGIVENESS IS MORE ART THAN SCIENCE
Matthew 18:21-35 NIV
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed 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 or sister from your heart.””
Matthew 18:21-35 NIV
A. 490 times is not enough.
B. Personal forgiveness is demonstrated in personal forgiving.
Dr. Mark Eckart tells this story.
I once invited a guest lecturer to speak to a counseling class I was teaching and ask him to specifically discuss the topic forgiveness. He told a powerful story from his own life that day to illustrate his point that we should forgive.
His brother had many struggles, and one day there was a conflict that arose and someone shot and killed my friend’s brother. The whole family was sad of course and grieved very much about this sudden and unfortunate loss. Our guest that day said he struggled initially forgiving the man that killed his brother. After awhile though, God helped him process the tragedy and forgive the murderer.
This was the neat part. For years, my friend had a prayer list with his brother’s name on it, and he prayed for him often. After his death, he eventually got to the point where he erased his brother’s name and inserted the murderer's name in his brother's place on the prayer list, and now he prays for him often.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is forgiveness.
Dr. Mark Eckart, Sermon Central, July 6, 2009.
III. FORGIVENESS IS OUR LEGACY
A. Our first prayers
Matthew 6:9-15 NIV
“This, then, is how you should pray: “ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’””
Matthew 6:9-15 NIV
B. The message of the Gospel
Luke 24:45-47 NIV
“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
Luke 24:45-47 NIV
C. The heart of the mission
John 20:19-23 NIV
“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.””
John 20:19-23 NIV
Martin Dale tells this story.
One of my heroes of the faith is the late Richard Wurmbrand who died in February 2001. Wurmbrand was born in Romania in 1920 as a Jew and became a Christian when he encountered Christ at an early age.
He shared his faith with the occupying troops in the 1940’s and the Germans threw him in prison for it. When the Russians threw the Germans out at the end of the war, he shared his faith with the Russians. Eventually the Communists threw him in prison for his faith too and he served 14 years in prison, 2 1/2 of which were in solitary confinement for being a Christian.
I recall one incident that he wrote about in his book “In God’s Underground”. His wife, Sabrina’s family was killed by a man called Borila at a place called Golta in Romania. Wurmbrand met Borila one day and brought him to faith in Christ.
Wurmbrand went into his wife’s bedroom and woke her up. He said “There is a man here who you must meet. We believe he murdered your family, but he has repented and now he is our brother.”
She came out in her dressing gown and put her arms around him and embraced him. They both began to weep and console each other.
And then Sabrina went into the kitchen and made him something to eat.
Martin Dale, Sermon Central, October 24, 2025.
CONCLUSION
“A forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note, torn in two and burned up, sos that it can never be shown against the man.”
Henry Ward Beecher
Forgiveness is our hallmark. Forgiveness is more art than science. Forgiveness is our legacy.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.
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