** Unlocked은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 원본으로 듣고 싶으신 분들은 홈페이지 Unlocked.org로 들어가시면 <Sep 2, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**
When I Don't Want to Forgive
• READ: MATTHEW 18:21-35
When someone has mistreated or hurt us, it feels like we have a right to hate that person. Even if we know the Bible teaches we should forgive, sometimes we just don’t want to.
One of the ways Jesus taught about forgiveness was by telling a parable where the king represents God and the servants represent us. The king in the story wants to make sure his finances are in order, and he discovers a servant owes him ten thousand talents. A talent is worth six thousand denarii. Since a working man received one denarius a day, one talent was equal to about twenty years’ wages. This servant owes ten thousand of these, a debt of over two hundred thousand years’ wages! It’s obvious the servant cannot pay back such an enormous amount of money. When the servant pleads with the king to be patient with him, what is the king’s response? The king has compassion and cancels the debt! Why would he do that? It is in the king’s character to be compassionate. Love and mercy are who the king is.
Now, this servant whose massive debt has just been forgiven finds a fellow servant who owes him money. How much? A hundred denarii, or a hundred days’ wages. Did you notice that the second servant’s plea is the same as the first servant’s plea to the king? The first servant has the legal right to jail the second servant who can’t pay his debt, but does he have the moral right?
That is the entire point of this parable. We owed a massive debt of sin to God, the holy King of everything. We could never pay back our debt. But God forgave our debt by paying it Himself: Jesus died on the cross for our sin, and He rose from the dead to give us new life! If we’ve put our trust in Jesus and received His forgiveness, He commands and equips us to show fellow sinners the same mercy He showed us. The sin others commit against us is incredibly small in comparison to Jesus’ mercy. And His Holy Spirit is in us, transforming us to become more and more like Jesus, the forgiving King. Once we receive forgiveness from God, we have no right to refuse to forgive others. • Doug Velting
• Are you struggling to forgive someone? God sees your hurt, and it’s a big deal to Him because He loves you. It cost Jesus greatly to forgive you, but it was worth it to Him. How might remembering how Jesus forgave you and relying on His Holy Spirit help you forgive others?
• In some cases, after we forgive someone, we still need to have healthy boundaries with them. Who are trusted Christians you can talk to about when and how to put up loving boundaries?
...forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ. Ephesians 4:32b (CSB)
** Unlocked은 Keys for kids Ministries에서 지원받은 프로그램입니다. 원본으로 듣고 싶으신 분들은 홈페이지 Unlocked.org로 들어가시면 <Sep 6, 2021>에서 다시 들으실 수 있습니다.**
For God So Loved You
• READ: ROMANS 8:38-39
No other love we can experience will ever compare to the love Christ Jesus offers. We may get glimpses of love shown by others, but it will never compare to what Jesus has to offer. His love is so pure, strong, measureless, fulfilling, and satisfying. He completely understands us. He has provided for us when we fail. He always longs for us to be in relationship with Him.
John 3:16 displays a simple yet profound layout of God’s love toward us. The world needed a Rescuer because God’s good creation was broken by sin when the first humans went their own way against God. When we were all hurtling toward death because of sin, God intervened. Because God loved the world He created, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully human. Jesus willingly sacrificed His own life on the cross to forgive sin, and He rose from the dead—defeating all sin, death, and brokenness. Whoever believes in Christ Jesus will be saved and have eternal life—living with God forever. Believing in Jesus means putting our trust in the person of Jesus, with all that He has accomplished in His life, death, and resurrection.
Once we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we are forgiven and free. And we can be sure that nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love, no matter what sin we’ve committed. God’s grace is enough; Jesus took the penalty for all our past, present, and future sins on the cross. And when Jesus returns, He will resurrect us from the dead and renew His creation!
As believers in Jesus, we are forgiven, loved, and redeemed—and this truth affects the way we live. Jesus said in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.” Christians aren’t slaves to sin anymore (Romans 6:15-23). Because Jesus’ Holy Spirit is in us, He empowers us to follow Him, saying no to sin and instead living in God’s good ways as His love overflows from us. But no matter how many times we fail, Jesus’ forgiveness is always enough to guarantee our eternal future with Him. • Rebecca Miner
• The good news of Jesus is a wonderful mystery that God reveals to us through His Word. You can read more about the good news on our "Know Jesus" page.
• When we understand that we need the gospel, this naturally flows into a desire to share the good news with others! What opportunities might God be giving you to share the gospel?
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (CSB)
