Freedom: The Restoration of Family Through Forgiveness

Freedom: The Restoration of Family Through Forgiveness
Genesis 42-50
4-26-20

Luke 11:3-4 – “Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Matthew 18:21-22 – “Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

Ephesians 4:31-32 – “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Colossians 3:12-13 – “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,  bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

“...God's grace and forgiveness, while free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver.... From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was understood that God could not forgive without sacrifice. No one who is seriously wronged can ‘just forgive’ the perpetrator.... But when you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.” - Timothy Keller

John 8:36 – “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

I. God is good…all the time! (Genesis 42:1-6)

Genesis 42:6 – “…And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.”

Genesis 42:21 – “…In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”

Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Philippians 1:21 – “To live is Christ, to die is gain”

II. God forgives…all the time! (Genesis 45:4-8)

III. God has a plan…all the time! (Genesis 50:15-21)

Proverbs 19:21 – “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

3 ways to Honor God and Bless Others Through Forgiveness:
1. Gather with those who are affected.
2. Meet needs.
3. Use kind words.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

April Transformation Verse: Luke 24:46 – “It is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.”

Weekly Transformation Verse: Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Weekly Reading Plan: Genesis 42, 45, 50; Psalm 30; 1 Corinthians 2
 
 
 
Going Deeper This Week

1. What is the Gospel?
2. Where would you put your readiness to forgive and truly reconcile others? (Callous - Guarded - Graciously Eager) How did your childhood or past experiences impact your answer?
3. How does knowing God brings good even from evil give us the ability to forgive and love others when they wrong us? What is the main good that God is bringing us out of?  Psalm 50:15, Romans 8:28-29 and Ephesians 1:7.
4. What are some ways God has used Covid-19 and the disruption to draw you closer to Him? To Others?  To practice the characteristics of Blessing described from this sermon?
5. Ask group members to encourage one another with a scripture or in some active commitment weekly.