Episode 071 – The Lord’s Prayer Pt 7: Forgiveness Has a Sourcei.fb-icon-element.fontawesome-icon.fb-icon-element-177{ color: #515151;}i.fb-icon-element.fontawesome-icon.fb-icon-element-177:hover { color: #e00400;}i.fontawesome-icon.fb-icon-element-177.icon-hover-animation-pulsate:after {-webkit-box-shadow:0 0 0 2px rgba(255,255,255,0.1), 0 0 10px 10px #333333, 0 0 0 10px rgba(255,255,255,0.5);-moz-box-shadow:0 0 0 2px rgba(255,255,255,0.1), 0 0 10px 10px #333333, 0 0 0 10px rgba(255,255,255,0.5);box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px rgba(255,255,255,0.1), 0 0 10px 10px #333333, 0 0 0 10px rgba(255,255,255,0.5);}Key Passage(s): Matthew 6:12; Matthew 6:14-15Jesus told us to pray, “Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.” Jesus’s assumption is that we would be forgiving others in the manner in which God has forgiven us. But what happens when we’ve been wronged by someone and we’re struggling to forgive them? What do we do when the pain is so real that we can’t stomach the thought of forgiveness? That’s what we tackle in this episode as we seek to understand the nature of forgiveness. And in doing so, we learn how to forgive others well so that we can not only experience the power and freedom of forgiveness, but faithfully live out this command of Jesus from the Lord’s Prayer.

Discussion Questions

What was your biggest takeaway from the teaching?

How does our awareness of how much we’ve been forgiven by God help us in forgiving others? Why is this awareness still not enough for many people?

What are some of the things you learned about what forgiveness is not? Where do you personally find comfort in these?

What are some of the things you learned about what forgiveness is? How will this alter your ability or desire to forgive more effectively?

Forgiving can be very hard work. After hearing this teaching, what do you believe is your primary roadblock to forgiving others well?

Is there anyone you need to forgive? And in what way do you need to ask God – the source of forgiveness – to help you do this?

How will you begin living out the truths of this teaching this week?

For Further Study

Make Your Mark by Brad Gray – Chapter 3 deals specifically with forgiveness. 

As We Forgive by Catherine Claire Larson 

Teaching Series Episode 015 – Loving God By Loving Others 

The Lord and His Prayer by N.T. Wright 

LORD, Teach Us by William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas 

The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard – Chapter 7 deals specifically with the Lord’s Prayer