A woman played a couple of songs on the organ while people were coming in. One of the songs she played was “Won't Feel At Home In This World Anymore”. A few people shook my hand and welcomed me as well as the other ABS visitors. The song leader said good morning to us and we started worship. We sang “My Life Is In You, Lord” and “Bless the Lord, O My Soul”. There was a baptism of a boy, I believe his name was Brandon Jones. The Pastor, Johnathan Fitzgerald, greeted everyone after baptizing Brandon and a member of the church gave the opening prayer. We sang “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and “God Is So Good”. We had a prayer for the offering and a offering plate was passed around. Next came the ABS special. Shack thanked the church for their support of the ABS and said that some of the students wanted to speak to thank the church and tell what the ABS has meant to them.
I spoke first and said that I always feel welcome at the ABS, have grown some strong friendships there, and it is a great place for studying or taking a break from classes. I mentioned “checking in” which I mentioned before in my church journal over the ABS. Brady spoke next. He was a member of this church growing up and thanked them. He said that he grew up in the church and the ABS means a lot to him. Joyce spoke next and mentioned that she got engaged while at the ABS. She said that she transferred to SFA from ETBU because they did not offer the major she wanted. She was looking for fellow Christians and was afraid she was not going to find a place to go. She found the ABS and loves going there. She thanked the church for their support. Finally Sarah got up and talked about the Monday night Dinner and Bible Studies and how we use their church funds for trips such as the one we were on visiting the church. Shack got back up and said that we (ABS) need their support financial and their prayers and thanked them again. Our group (ABS group) then sang “Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone”.
The Preacher said that the lesson would be from Matthew 18. He asked how many people have ever got their feelings hurt. How many people have ever had somebody steal from them. Those sins we commit against God cost Jesus his life on the Cross. In life, we are going to have conflicts. He said that sometimes we can get “stuckidis”. This is where people refuse to forgive. He said that we should let the church be the church. There is a sign on the back with this message on it, and it is also on the church sign outside the church. He said that church as to be the most forgiving of everyone in the world. The preacher read from Matthew 18:21-35 and said that we must forgive people who wrong us from the heart. He then prayed.
He said that one of the very things that holds Christians in bondage today is non-forgiveness. If we don't overcome our unforgiveness it can create bitterness that owns us. We can become very expressive to others. That can lead to bold forgetfulness. He mentioned how in Kentucky a kid shot at some students who repeatedly prayed in a circle at the school. One girl in the group who survived was named Melissa Jenkins. When she was interviewed she said that she wanted to tell the person who did this that she forgave him. The pastor asked what are we doing to someone because of the hurt that they cause us? It is a choice that God has to forgive us from our sins. He does not have to forgive us, however he has forgiven us so he asks us to forgive others. Our unforgiveness can also lead to “bold forgetfulness of our debt”. He read verses 23-24 of Matthew 18. He said that the one person in the story who owed ten thousand talents, owed the equivalent of 52 million dollars. He was broke and the king demanded that he be sold and his family be sold as well. The servant was desperate and couldn't stand the thought of his family being sold for his debt. Therefore he begged and pleaded with the king and was shown mercy.
The pastor read Romans 6:23 which says that we are debted to God. The king forgave the man from his entire debt. He was moved with compassion and canceled the debt. He wiped the slate clean even though the servant didn't deserve it. In the same way, God gives us a new lease on life. He read Collosians 2:14 and said that a problem with our unforgiveness is that we boldly forget how God forgave our debt. We have no right to hold grudges. The unforgetfullness leads to foley and showing disregard for God's forgiveness. The servant mentioned earlier found a fellow servant who owed him money and would not show compassion on this servant for the money owed him. The amount only equaled about 44 dollars compared to the 55 million he owed the king. The servant ordered that his fellow servant who owed him money be thrown into jail until he could pay it off. When we do not show forgiveness it hinders our relationship with God. The pastor then read verses 31-32 of Matthew 8. The 1st servant made such a critical mistake and the king was shocked. By refusing to forgive the 2nd servant, the 1st servant disgraced the king. The pastor mentioned a quote by K. Lindsay about how we can't afford to be unforgiving.
When we are unforgiving it brings displeasure from God's forgiveness. We have the same problem today with unforgiveness that the 1st servant had. If we don't have a humble and repentive heart it can result in chastening in this life by the hand of God until we decide to forgive. The pastor asked how can we overcome “stuckidness” and this idea of getting even. He gives an example of a boy and girl who are sister and brother. The boy is crying and the mother comes in to find the girl punching him. The mother scolded the girl and told the boy that she didn't know that it hurt him. She left and he yelled again. She returned and they boy said “She knows now!”. The pastor said that we should leave the ultimate vengeance up to God and to honor God. We should also search for the real person beneath the mask. We sometime treat people like cartoons and are quick to accuse their every motive. We should begin to find reasons to love them from our hearts instead of our minds.
The pastor said that we should start desiring good things to happen to ones who hurt us. We should pray for good things to happen for them. The Bible says to pray for our enemies. We should change our hearts. He asked “What's your motivation?” He said that us doing for them what God does for us is not a suggestion but a command. He said we should ask ourselves “Do I need to ask forgiveness from them?”. He said that maybe one of us has wronged someone and may need to eat crow. He said that it doesn't matter if we are wrong or not, that if there is conflict there we need to forgive them. He asked if we needed to forgive someone. He said that one way we can get rid of the bitterness and unforgiveness is to write a letter to God and burn it as an offering to God. He said that the devil likes to dig up bones and we should admit our sins to God and receive his forgiveness. He said that God is ready and willing to forgive us of our sins. He then had a time where anyone who wanted to receive Christ or rededicate their lives could come forward.
We sang the song “Jesus Is Calling.” The pastor said that Jesus will convict us if we are doing wrong and we have a tendency to want to do things our way, but God wants things done his way. After the time of invitation, the pastor mentions the time change next week and takes prayer requests. He read a thank you letter written to the church and mentions that prayer needs to be offered for the closing of the front entrance to the church. A member of the church gave the closing prayer and we were dismissed.
No comments:
Post a Comment