Stories Part 3 Deep Well of Forgiveness
Todays Sermon Notes
“Stories” Part 3
The Deep Well of Forgiveness
A parable is an _______________ story with a _________________ meaning.
Jesus talked about real life _______________ to teach real life ________________ for His listeners ___________ and _________.
In studying parables the ________________ is _______________.
The context of this parable revolves around ___________________.
Matthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[a]
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[b] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins.[c] He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.
29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’
30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Big Idea: From the __________ _________ of God’s forgiveness given to me I will ___________ _________ forgiveness for others.
There is a ___________ price to pay when we forgive.
A “clever” strategy is to attempt to ____________ the price of forgiveness.
The word “ten thousand” in the Greek is analogous to “______________” today.
The master paid a price by being _______________ with compassion, ______________ the servant and ________________ the debt.
Like this servant, we have an _______________ debt to pay that we cannot pay.
God paid a _____________ price for our sin.
When God calls us to forgive, He does not ask us to ________________ the pain we feel but rather to __________________ the price He paid.
There is a ___________ ___________ of forgiveness given to us. (vs 32-34)
For the master, the emphasis was that the forgiveness was not ___________________.
Why then is it so difficult to forgive others?
Is it possible that children just simply ______________ that they should forgive and so they do?
As adults do we put an ________________ bottom in the well of forgiveness given to us?
Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12-13
Ephesians 4:32
New International Version (NIV)
32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Colossians 3:12-13
New International Version (NIV)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
There is a ________________ price to pay if we don’t forgive. (vs 35)
Out of love, God will allow you to be ________________ by bitterness, anger, resentment, fear, etc…
I will forgive ____________________________