Silence
1. Put on your “brakes” and stop for a moment of silence
2. Wait for God. Breathe deep for God's peace. Exhale your worries.Praise and Thanksgiving
1. Think through your day, all the times that made you smile
2. Thank God for all those moments, and for all those people3. Open your heart to praise the Lord
I love you, O Lord, my strength. Psalm 18:1
Confession and repentance
1. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in you:
“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
“Dear Holy Spirit, shine your light into the places of darkness in my life. Show me my sins, everything that blocks me from encountering God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.”
2. Through the Holy Spirit, examine yourself for a short silence and then pray:
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
"Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for our sins and being victorious over death and sin. I confess my sin to you(pause, to tell Jesus what the Holy Spirit has shown you). Forgive my sins by your blood and help me follow you. Holy Spirit, fill me that I may be able to receive your gift to love God and His people. In Jesus Name I pray, Amen."
The Word
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"
My Listening
Jesus teaches us to pray for forgiveness in the Lord's prayer. He then repeats the message of forgiveness in a deeper way after that. If we forgive, our heavenly Father will also forgive us. If we do not forgive, our Father will not forgive us. It all starts with our forgiveness. Why?
The heart that will not open to forgive others will remain closed when God's own forgiveness is offered.
N.T. Wright. Matthew for Everyone, Part 1. Louisville,KY:Westminster John Knox Press, 2004, p.60.
Do you have some people that you can never forgive? How does that affect you? How can you forgive them? Are you willing to forgive them now by the help of Jesus?
What I received from Jesus today is the key to give us freedom. I have seen many people living in bitterness, anger and depression because they have some people they can never forgive. I know a lady who believed that her sins was something even Jesus could not forgive and she lived her whole life in agony, darkness and depression. It was quite sad talking with her, because she felt trapped by her bitterness and unwillingness to forgive.
When I wrote to this point, I thought that I do not have anyone I can't forgive and I do not have anyone I need to ask for forgiveness. But, I just received a message from Jesus that I have someone I need to ask for forgiveness and I need to do it today. Pray for me now that I can do it today and that reconciliation can happen today. And, I have another person that I need to ask for forgiveness, and another...
If you have some people you can't forgive, you better forgive them right now. How? You pray with me now:
Dear Lord Jesus,
Please forgive me that I cannot forgive ____ until now. I forgive ____ for hurting me and doing things against me. Pour down your blood to cleanse my sin of not being willing to forgive. Help me to have an opportunity to ask ___ for forgiveness so that reconciliation can happen in your good time. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Reflect on these questions:
1. Why does forgiveness start with our own initiative to forgive someone? What have you got from Bishop Wright's saying about "The heart that will not open to forgive others will remain closed when God's own forgiveness is offered."?
2. Do you have some people that you can never forgive? How is that affecting you? What's the struggle? Tell God all your hurt and fears, and ask him to speak to you.
3. Is there any way you can move forward in forgiveness? Or, can you ask someone or your small group to pray with you?
Family Corner:1. In your family, do you ask for each others' forgiveness? Why or why not?2. Has anything happened in your family that requires forgiveness?