Scripture
“For I tell you that if you forgive when others sin against you, then your heavenly Father will forgive you.” – Matthew 6:14
Today, we study three parables that Jesus uses to emphasize the importance of forgiving others. His focus is not just about forgiving those who owe us something, but also about how we treat those who have debts to God.
Jesus calls His disciples to go and offer God’s mercy and forgiveness to the sinful. Think about where Jesus would be if He were here with us today and who He would be hanging out with.
Question: How do you treat people who have a debt to God? How do you actively seek opportunities to interact with people who don’t know Jesus?
Prayer Starter: Jesus, please forgive me for holding others to a standard of perfection that I can’t keep. I receive Your forgiveness, and I ask that, because of Your mercy, You help me love others the way You do—especially those who don’t know You or who don’t have the hope in You that You have graciously shown me. Use me to share with others Your love for them.
Family Chat: Do you know someone who used to be a friend but isn’t a friend anymore? If so, what happened?
Take Action: Meet with your life group and talk through both the questions you’ve answered this week and the challenges you have faced (or are still facing!) as you follow Jesus. Be honest about what’s worked for you, as well as areas where you may have missed the mark.
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Scripture
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
At this, the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he should pay back all he owed.
This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” – Matthew 18:23-35
Main Scripture: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” – Matthew 18:35
Pastor Jason Kimbrow reminds us that the essence of this passage is that grace is the rhythm of the story of God. Grace received is the undeserved favor of God. And if God extends grace to us, He, in turn, expects us to extend the same grace towards others.
If you have a hard time giving people grace, there is a good chance you don’t understand the grace God has given you.
Question: If you notice a lack of grace in how you respond to your world, could there be a voice from your past you need to silence? Can you ask God for His grace-filled perspective?
Family Chat: How do you respond when friends start saying bad things about other kids behind their backs?
Take Action: This week, lower your expectations for how you believe others should treat you. When they fail, choose to show grace towards them. Journal about it, and talk to your life group about your experiences.
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Scripture
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. – Matthew 5:7
This week, Pastor Marcus and Brook Brown encourage us with this passage of Scripture, where Jesus is telling us two things. First, when you are merciful, you are going to be happy! Joy comes to you when you show mercy to others, when you remember that you’ve been shown mercy in the past, and you keep in mind that you will probably need it again in the future! You are blessed when you show mercy.
As God had a smile on His face when He was pouring out love, grace, and mercy on us,
keep a smile on your face when you’re extending love, grace, and mercy to others. The Word of God reminds us that, “It is the glory of man to overlook an offense.”
Question: As you have walked through the Life of Christ, has there been someone in your life that you have thought about forgiving and showing mercy, but you haven’t come to grips with it yet?
Family Chat: Talk with your kids through some examples of what “being merciful” looks like in your relationships with friends and family.
Take Action: There will likely be someone in your life this week that the Holy Spirit will impress on you about. Don’t hang them; hang onto them! Give them a second chance because God has given you a second chance. Continue to take the issue to God and pray about what God says about being merciful. Let God bless you in this area!
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Scripture
Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’
“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’
“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
“‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.
“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’
“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’
“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. – Luke 16:1-9
The purpose of this parable is all about how we treat those who have debts to God. Though Jesus hung out with people who didn’t behave the way He did, He never let their behavior change Him; but He saw His presence as an opportunity to bring God’s mercy and love into their spheres.
If we are only hanging out with people who think like us, are we being the conduits of God’s mercy to those outside of our sphere? It may be that the reason why a person has walked away from faith has nothing to do with God and more to do with their encounters with those who say they follow God.
Question: Who are you taking the moral high ground with? What would it look like for you to leave the high ground and extend compassion to that person this week?
Family Chat: When we are young we have to be careful that most of our time is spent with people who will make us more like Jesus, but we still need to spend time with people who need to know Jesus. Who do you hang out with? Do you spend time only with those who are like you, or only those who aren’t?
Take Action: Talk with your group about an adjustment you will make to be a better conduit of God’s mercy to others, especially those who don’t know Him.
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Scripture
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. – Matthew 6:14-15
Today, Pastor Caleb Pagley challenges that Jesus’ teaching is a compelling statement—not a request, but a command! We have to get this right because unforgiveness in any form separates us from God.
True forgiveness is not about forgetting, but letting go of the pain and hurt that comes when people make mistakes or do things to hurt us. Jesus is asking us to let go of the hurt because He understands that it can be destructive to us if we don’t.
The goal in Life of Christ is for us to live a life of freedom, keeping company with Jesus, walking with Him, and maintaining a healthy relationship with Him. However, when we refuse to forgive others, it’s like hitting the “pause” button in our relationship with God.
Question: Is there anybody in your life—whether currently or in your past—who, when you think of them, you think negatively about, or you even now feel pain? What if Jesus refused to forgive you for the things you’ve done? What if we forgive people the way that Jesus has forgiven us?
Family Chat: Do you have any friends who have hurt you, but you haven’t forgiven them yet?
Take Action: Choose forgiveness towards others today, even speaking aloud, “Jesus, just like You choose to forgive me, I choose to forgive [name the person] for [state the reason], and Jesus, I release them to Your hands. I invite You to heal the pain in my heart from this.”
Please know that if your safety is at risk, we aren’t suggesting that you remain in an unsafe environment! If your safety is at stake, please call the Domestic Abuse Hotline at (800) 332-4443.
If you would like someone to pray with you as you walk through forgiving others, text CONNECT to 88000.
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Scripture
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
– Luke 15:11-32
Today, Marc walks us through the parable of The Prodigal Son from the father’s perspective. Here the son essentially tells his dad, “Drop dead and give me my money!” But after blowing his inheritance, he returns in humility. Yet, the father runs to him when he returns and celebrates lavishly!
One of the hardest things to do is be merciful to those who painfully offend us, but that is what the father in this story does. In contrast, one of the easiest things to do is judge those who have made foolish mistakes, taking a self-righteous high road. But that’s not what God does! He chooses mercy. That’s what God does for us; and, He desires that we also be merciful and kind.
Question: Who needs you to seek them, find them, and love them home?
Family Chat: Are you dealing with a hurtful situation that you need to share with your family?
Take Action: Be merciful to others today, as your Father is merciful to you. Be on the lookout for the lost brother or friend who needs mercy extended to them.
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