Ongoing
Forgiveness – Part 4
October 23-24, 2021
Dr. Jeffrey Allen Love
John 8:3-11
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14–15 (p.737)
- I’ll Need Forgiveness Again.
- Practice compassion with confrontation.
“’Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ They were trying to trap him…” John 8:4-6 (p.816)
“Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.” Ephesians 4:15 (p.897)
- Concentrate on my own heart.
“They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.” John 8:7-8 (p.816)
“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth…If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.” 1 John 1:8, 10 (p.941)
- Cling to freedom.
“Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’” John 8:10-11 (p.816)
“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:9 (p.941)
Series Key Verse: Colossians 3:13 “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
My Next Step This Week: _____ I recognize I will need to be forgiven again. The necessity I need to put into practice most this week is # _______.
Discussion/Groups Guide
Weekend Talk of October 23-24, 2021
Forgiven – Part 4: Ongoing
Life Groups use this guide in their discussion and study of the Weekend Talk. Use this also as a discussion guide with your family and friends.
Find out more about Groups (in person and online) at alivechurch.com/groups.
Conversation Starters
- What are some things drivers do that really annoy you?
- Have you called out someone over a minor issue to score points? Was it worth it?
- Have you ever been called out publicly to make a decision and felt trapped by the way the question was framed? (“The classic: “Do you still beat your dog?”)
Quick Review
Looking back at your Talk Notes, was there anything you heard in the service that stood out, challenged, or maybe even confused you?
Discussion Starters from the Weekend Talk
Refer to the Talk Notes and Bible verses from the Talk Notes.
This week’s One Thing: The key principle that Pastor Jeff Love emphasized is:
I’ll Need Forgiveness Again.
- Series Key Verse: Colossians 3:13 (p.904)
- See John 8:3-11 (p.816) and Matthew 6:14-15 (p.737)
- The story of the woman caught in adultery is very familiar if you’ve been a follower of Jesus for very long. Did anything about the story pop out as being different or new this time?
- When Jeff held up the rock or drank the “poison” did any real-life examples come to mind from your own experiences?
- Like the men with the rocks, why is it so hard to admit our sin? Why is it so easy to point to the sins of others?
Jeff encouraged us to focus on 3 Necessities we need to put into practice because we will need to be forgiven again:
- Practice compassion with confrontation. (John 8:4-6 (p.816); Ephesians 4:15 (p.897))
- From this story, give your perspective of what the woman, the accusers, and Jesus were feeling during this encounter.
- John says there was a crowd watching. They got to witness Jesus’ compassionate forgiving. What do you think their feelings were as they had initially come to witness a “stoning”?
- What does it really mean, in practical terms, to speak the truth in love?
- Concentrate on my own heart. (John 8:7-8 (p.816); 1 John 1:8, 10 (p.941))
- Have you ever judged someone quickly without examining your own heart first? Maybe it was a homeless person begging for food, a political comment on social media, or someone driving slowly on the road. Did you catch yourself?
- What helps you examine your own heart?
- Talk about a time when you “drank the poison and expected the other person to die.”
- Cling to freedom. (John 8:10-11 (p.816); 1 John 1:9, 10 (p.941))
- What do you think of when you hear the word “cling”?
- Share a time where you had to ask others for forgiveness for the same thing more than once. Have you ever had to forgive others more than once for the same thing?
Digging Deeper (usually to study on your own)
Here is a good definition of forgiveness: The release, on the part of the creditor or offended party, of any expectation that a debt will be repaid or that an offender will receive punishment for an offense. When describing the removal of an inappropriate offense in this way, the removal does not condone the behavior or suggest approval for the offense.
Below are some passages from the Bible regarding forgiveness. Read through them. Pray through them (just read them back to God and say what comes to mind as you read). Make notes on what jumps out to you in each passage.
- 2 Chronicles 7:14 (p.338)
- Psalm 103 (p.460)
- Mark 2:5-7 (p.762)
- Luke 24:44-48 (p.808)
- Colossians 2:13-15 (p.903)
My Next Step This Week: ___ I recognize I will need to be forgiven again. The necessity I need to put into practice most this week is # _______.
Use the app link or go to your Connection Card at www.alivechurch.com/card
Note: Page numbers are from the Alive Church Life Transformation Bible. It is the New Living Translation of the Bible, with many useful tools to help you better understand God’s Word, including our own Alive Church Life Transformation Discipleship Plan. They are available FREE. Let us know if you’d like to have one. We also have a Spanish and Kids Edition of the Bible.