The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Lighthouse)
Weekly Reading
Monday: Leviticus 16, John 2
Tuesday: Leviticus 17, John 3
Wednesday: Leviticus 18
Thursday: Leviticus 19, John 4
Friday: Leviticus 20, John 5
Saturday: Psalm 57-59, Proverbs 13
Sunday: 1 Chronicles 16-27
Tuesday: Leviticus 17, John 3
Wednesday: Leviticus 18
Thursday: Leviticus 19, John 4
Friday: Leviticus 20, John 5
Saturday: Psalm 57-59, Proverbs 13
Sunday: 1 Chronicles 16-27
Sermon Notes
Key Passage: Matthew 18:21-35
Matthew 18:15-17
Matthew 6:12
Matthew 9:36
Ephesians 2:4-5
1. Identify with the wrongdoer
2. Name the debt (sin)
3. Absorb the debt
4. Will for the good of the person that wronged you
Patience - μακροθυμέω makrothumeo (old English: longsuffering)
σπλαγχνίζομαι splanchnizomai - have pity; have compassion
“Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community of humans even as I exclude myself from the community of sinners. But no one can be in the presence of the God of the crucified Messiah for long without overcoming this double exclusion … " - Miroslav Volf
"Forgiveness is the willingness to bear suffering rather than to give it. To forgive someones debt is to absorb the debt yourself. … [it] means the cost of the wrong moves from the perpetrator to you, and you bear it. Forgiveness, then, is a form of voluntary suffering. In forgiving, you make the choice to bear the cost." - Timothy Keller, Forgive
"Whether we have been sinned against or have sinned ourselves into misery, the Bible says God is not tightfisted with mercy but openhanded, not frugal but lavish, not poor but rich.
That God is rich in mercy means …the things about you that make you cringe most, make him hug hardest. It means his mercy is not calculating and cautious like ours. It is unrestrained, flood-like, [and] sweeping. It means our haunting shame is not a problem for him, but the very thing he loves most to work with. It means our sins do not cause his love to take a hit. Our sins cause his love to surge forward all the more." - Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
"And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling." And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. "I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then." - Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place
Matthew 18:15-17
Matthew 6:12
Matthew 9:36
Ephesians 2:4-5
1. Identify with the wrongdoer
2. Name the debt (sin)
3. Absorb the debt
4. Will for the good of the person that wronged you
Patience - μακροθυμέω makrothumeo (old English: longsuffering)
σπλαγχνίζομαι splanchnizomai - have pity; have compassion
“Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community of humans even as I exclude myself from the community of sinners. But no one can be in the presence of the God of the crucified Messiah for long without overcoming this double exclusion … " - Miroslav Volf
"Forgiveness is the willingness to bear suffering rather than to give it. To forgive someones debt is to absorb the debt yourself. … [it] means the cost of the wrong moves from the perpetrator to you, and you bear it. Forgiveness, then, is a form of voluntary suffering. In forgiving, you make the choice to bear the cost." - Timothy Keller, Forgive
"Whether we have been sinned against or have sinned ourselves into misery, the Bible says God is not tightfisted with mercy but openhanded, not frugal but lavish, not poor but rich.
That God is rich in mercy means …the things about you that make you cringe most, make him hug hardest. It means his mercy is not calculating and cautious like ours. It is unrestrained, flood-like, [and] sweeping. It means our haunting shame is not a problem for him, but the very thing he loves most to work with. It means our sins do not cause his love to take a hit. Our sins cause his love to surge forward all the more." - Dane C. Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
"And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion — I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand, I can do that much. You supply the feeling." And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. "I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" For a long moment we grasped each other's hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God's love so intensely as I did then." - Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place
Discussion Questions
3DQ - 3 discipleship questions to ask each other: What is God saying to you? What are you going to do about it? How can I help?
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