Forgive Us

Sermon Notes

[Matthew 6:9-12 NIV] "This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, [10] your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. [11] Give us today our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

We all have a debt of SIN that we cannot pay.

[Romans 3:23] For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

We tend to REJOICE when our sins are forgiven but RESIST when we have to forgive others.

[Matthew 6:14-15] "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. [15] But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

God's forgiveness DEPENDS on your willingness to forgive others.

God wants us to be slow to be OFFENDED and quick to FORGIVE.

[Matthew 18:32-35] Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. [33] Shouldn't you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?' [34] Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. [35] "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart."

It's hard for us to forgive until we understand the SEVERITY of our sin 

[Romans 13:8] Owe nothing to anyone--except for your obligation to love one another.

Forgiveness has the power to MAKE or BREAK every relationship in your life.