StoneBridge Community Church
Senior Pastor Jon Saur
Matthew 18:21-35 NRSV
Sermon Outline
I. Two Parts
A. Punishment
B. Forgiveness
II. Matthew and Punishment
A. Facts from last week about Matthew and punishment.
B. How best to interpret.
C. Other examples in Matthew
D. Jesus in Matthew is intense about mercy.
III. The Point is Forgiveness
A. What is forgiveness?
B. Why do we forgive?
C. What does forgiveness look like?
IV. South Africa TRC Story
A. Difficulty in forgiveness.
B. Forgiveness in small things.
V. Jesus's forgiveness is the foundation for our forgiveness.
VI. Motivation
A. Forgive from your heart
B. Forgive to avoid consequence
C. Whatever the motivation is, set yourself on the path to forgiveness.
NEXT STEPS:
1. Pray that God would bring to mind someone that you need to forgive.
2. Reach out to someone whose judgment you trust and tell them the story from #1. Ask them what the best way forward is.
3. Forgive the person God brought to mind for you, in the way you have determined from the conversation in #2.
GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS
1. How do you interpret the passages on punishment in Matthew?
2. What do you think forgiveness is?
3. Why is it important to forgive?
4. What obstacles are there in your life to forgiving people?
5. How can those obstacles be overcome?
6. How can Jesus' example specifically help you overcome those obstacles?
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