Because Jesus (Part 3): Forgiveness

#1 Watch or Listen To "Because Jesus: Forgiveness"

Consider this Sunday morning’s lesson. You can listen here: http://bit.ly/1gCDfNL

Or watch here [video will be posted by Monday each week]: www.vimeo.com/rrcoc

What stuck out to you as interesting?

Did you encounter any challenging or re-orienting truth?

 

#2 Can I Get A Witness?

Do you remember the day you were baptized? Tell the story...

If you're willing, tell your group your testimony in a nutshell--What did God forgive you of? What are you free from now?

 

#3 Not guilty

In Christ we're forgiven. What does that mean to you? What does it change?

  • How does knowing God is a forgiving God shape the way you understand and relate to Him?

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by guilt? Do you feel forgiven? Why or why not? If not, what do you think the problem is?

Read Hebrews 10:1-22.

The Hebrew writer says, "let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."

Why do Christians--the people who're supposed to live guilt-free--still sometimes struggle with guilt?

  • Should we?
  • How, practically, can we feel less guilty?

 

#4 Confessional

Confession is hard but essential in helping us access forgiveness and eliminate guilt.

John writes: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9)

Tonight, pass around index cards and encourage group members to write down their confession. Those who would like to share are encouraged to do that. After sharing, break up and allow each member to pray for a moment alone, confessing and seeking God's always-available forgiveness.

 

#5 Considering...

Take a look at the following quotes and choose one to discuss. Ask yourselves,

  • Is it true? Have you personally experienced the truth in this quote (or personally experienced something that causes you to question it)?
  • How does it make you feel?
  • Where does your brain wander when you meditate on those words?
  • What questions do you have when you read it?

"It is impossible for a man to be freed from the habit of sin before he hates it, just as it is impossible to receive forgiveness before confessing his trespasses..."  –Ignatius

"We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin. But mere time does nothing either to the fact or to the guilt of a sin." --CS Lewis

"Sin is not to be ignored, nor minimised. It is the most patent fact in life, the darkest experience in the history of the race. It is the root of all the world's tragedies. It is that which makes "conscience a thousand swords," "the torture of an inward hell," "the worm that doth begnaw the soul."" --James M. Campbell

 

#6 Amazing Grace

Interested in a short-ish documentary on the song Amazing Grace? This is a 15 minute history of how and why the song got written (http://yhoo.it/1D0XOcu).

 

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