3.14.21 HUDDLE

Zach Below   -   March 14, 2021

3.14.21 HUDDLE – RESTORE w/ Paul Linge

 

INTRO QUESTION

  1. This past weekend marked the 1 Year Anniversary of when COVID shut the world down. What do you remember about that weekend? What were your thoughts/expectations for how it would play out?

 

 

LESSON INTRO

We are still in our RESTORE series. This week, Pastor Bret sat down with Paul Linge of the Crossroads Counseling Center to talk through the idea of restoration. Where the conversation went was surprising and helpful. If you haven’t had a chance to watch the message yet, I suggest you do that this week.

 

  1. Pastor Bret asked Paul, “Based on all of your education and experience, if you could just talk about 1 subject with people when it comes to restoration, what would you talk about?” Much to his surprise, Paul said that he would talk about forgiveness.

 

At first glance, does it surprise you that forgiveness is such an important topic when it comes to restoration?

 

  1. Why do you think forgiveness is so important for restoration?

 

 

DEFINING FORGIVENESS

  1. When it comes to defining forgiveness, it helps to look at what forgiveness is NOT. Look at the following list of what forgiveness is NOT. When it comes to this list, which item do you think people mistake as a part of forgiveness the most? Which have you struggled with yourself?

 

FORGIVENESS IS NOT

  • Allowing the offender to hurt again
  • Restoring the relationship
  • Freeing the offender, or excusing wrongdoing
  • Forgetting and ignoring pain and devastation
  • Always one and done.

 

  1. Paul also provided us with a list of what forgiveness consists of. Of these items, which do you think is the hardest part of offering forgiveness those that have wronged you?

 

FORGIVENESS IS

  • Allowing God to deal with the offender Himself
  • Releasing ourselves from bondage from the past
  • An act of the will, and eventually an act from the heart
  • Releasing them from the debts they owe you
  • Something we return to often, as we realize additional ways we have been hurt.

 

 

BIBLE ENGAGMENT—MATTHEW 18:21-35

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.”

 

 

BIBLE ENGAGMENT QUESTIONS

  1. What stands out to you from the text?

 

  1. What message do you think Jesus is trying to relay to his listeners here? What does Jesus want us to know?

 

  1. Peter asked Jesus if we should forgive someone 7 times, to which Jesus replied that forgiveness should be extended 70 x 7 times. What do you think it mean to forgive someone 70 x 7 times?

 

  1. In this parable, Jesus uses economic language to describe our relational dynamics. He speaks of forgiveness like a debt. Therefore, at the most basic level, forgiveness is forgiving someone the debt that they owed you. Going back to the list of what “forgiveness is not,” how is this idea of forgiveness different?

 

 

APPLICAITON

  1. Paul mentioned that when it comes to forgiving others, it helps to get granular. Thinking back over the times you have been wronged wronged, what are some examples of a “debt” that was owed? (Examples include: kindness, curtesy, a listening ear, etc.)

 

  1. Respond to the following two quotes: “Unforgiveness is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” And . . . “We can spend the rest of our lives as debt collectors trying to collect our pound of flesh instead of releasing that person and ultimately freeing ourselves.”

 

  1. There are times in our lives where others may forgive us, but we have a hard time forgiving ourselves. Speaking to this, Paul Linge highlighted that at the very beginning of Jesus ministry, he walked into a synagogue and declared himself the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-2. Look at the text, what two types of people do Jesus allude to? (Answer: Captives and Prisoners)

 

61 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

 

  1. What is the difference between a captive and a prisoner and how does Jesus’s inclusion of both speak to self-forgiveness? (captives= victims and prisoners = guilty)

 

 

CLOSING ACTIVITY

If comfortable, lead your group through this closing activity from Paul Linge. Tell your group not to answer out loud but to simply visualize to themselves. This is known as the Forgiveness Formula.

 

  1. Picture the person and situation where you need to forgive. Call to mind the persons’ name and define the relationship.

 

  1. In your mind say, “I’m thankful for our relationship but recently you upset me. I believe there were some things you owed me. In this situation you owed me ___________, ____________, ____________.

 

  1. But today, I choose to forgive you and I cancel the debts that you owed me of ____________ and I now bless you to be the man/woman of God that He has designed you to be.

 

  1. I pray Lord please forgive me for any grudge or bitterness I’ve held.

 

 

CLOSE IN PRAYER