Mark 1:4

During Advent, we will be looking at how John the Baptist prepared people for Jesus' arrival. John proclaims a "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." What is baptism? What does repentance look like in today's world? What exactly is sin and how is it forgiven? And how does all of this prepare us for Jesus? We will be asking those questions and more as we prepare for Jesus' birth on Christmas.

SERMON OUTLINE:

I. John the Baptist

II. What is forgiveness?

III. What are we forgiven of? (What is sin?)
A. "Hamartia"
B. Hebrew terms for sin.

IV. Metaphors for sin in the Bible
A. Old Testament
1. Burden
2. Transaction
3. Path
4. Stain
B. New Testament
1. Physical ailments
2. Sin as bond or indebtedness
3. Almsgiving
4. Sin personified

V. What is sin?
1. Hard to define.
2. What it isn't - the point.

VI. Forgiveness
1. John preached forgiveness.
2. Whatever sin is, we are forgiven of it.
3. Point of Christian faith isn't to avoid sin.
4. Point is to follow Jesus.
5. Forgiveness frees us to follow Jesus.

NEXT STEPS:

1) Pray for forgiveness.

2) Extend forgiveness to someone in need of it.

3) Pray again and thank God for forgiveness.

GROWTH GROUP / PERSONAL REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1) What is sin?

2) Which metaphor for sin presented in Pastor Jon's sermon reflects your thinking on sin?

3) When is a time you have extended or received forgiveness to/for someone else?

4) What does it mean that your sins are forgiven?

5) How does recognizing the forgiveness of sins prepare you for Jesus?

We encourage you to use Facebook, Instagram, and other social media to share images, quotes, links, or what you've learned from this week's message and YouVersion message notes. Social media can also be a great way of inviting your friends to worship and special events.