We live in a world constantly bombarding us with messages about who we are, what the good life looks like, and how we can obtain it. In a culture carried by the whims of personal desire and comfort, we hear values like “follow your heart;” in a culture where we are constantly divided from one another, we start to believe that our spite is justified; in a culture that is constantly blaming others, we jump into the blame game. Yet each of these notions lead us not to life, freedom, or peace, but further into death, captivity, and anxiety. In Jesus’ ministry, He regularly spoke against all sorts of notions that we consider commonplace today, and in listening and applying His words together, we will find a lasting, peaceful, joyous life in the midst of a culture mired in anxiety, division, and hatred.
Listen as Gabby Gustafson explores the challenging teaching of forgiveness from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount and how this notion runs so counter to a culture that is often insistent on maintaining grudges, and insisting self-righteousness.
Sermon Resources:
1. “Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive.” -C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity"
2. Justo Gonzalaez, "The Apostle's Creed For Today"
3. Desmond Tutu, "The Book of Forgiving" - Four Steps to Forgiveness:
a. Tell The Story
b. Name the Hurt
c. Extend Forgivness
d. Restore or Release the Relationship
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