14. Growing through Forgiveness

FLASHBACK

What did you experience with God this week?
In the last few days, did you have the opportunity to share an experience with God with someone close to you that doesn’t know Jesus yet? Or could you pray for them or help them practically?
Do you need God‘s help in an area of your life?

■ Pray together: Give thanks for your experiences, ask God for help where you need it.

■ Pray together to learn new things about God and that your relationship with God deepens and gets stronger.

BIBLE STUDY

Read the passage silently. What words or phrases stick out?
One person reads the passage out loud.
One person retells the passage in his/her own words (Bibles closed).
If necessary, the others complement what was said (Bibles closed).

2 Timothy 4:9-17

⁹Do your best to come to me quickly,¹⁰for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.¹¹Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.¹²I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.¹³When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.

¹⁴Alexander the metalworker did me a great deal of harm. The Lord will repay him for what he has done.¹⁵You too should be on your guard against him, because he strongly opposed our message.

¹⁶At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them.¹⁷But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.

Ephesians 4:31-32

³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.³²Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Everyone by themselves:
- What words or phrases stick out now? Are there any differences to what you noticed before?
- Why do you feel drawn to those words or phrases?
- What can you learn about people?
- What could God be telling you?
Share in the group.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS & ACTION STEPS

Do you remember a situation, where you were left behind? Or where someone treated you in a way you didn’t deserve? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you situations (everyone by themselves).
What is the “fruit” in our lives, if we don’t forgive people who sinned against us? (Ephesians 4:31)
Can you observe such fruit in your life?
How did Paul deal with people who did him wrong? Read the scripture comments after talking about this question.

Practical steps how you can grow through forgiveness:

■ Identify: Take time to note on a piece of paper the names of a few people who have hurt you. Also list what kind of reaction/emotions (anger, fear, retreat, and so on) you had as a result of their actions. Now you can read these notes to God in a prayer. You can pray like this: “Heavenly father, I confess now what ___________ did to me.” (call out the name and the injury). It is important that we first identify what happened to us before we move on to the next step.

■Forgive: Then you can forgive this person. You can pray like this: “Heavenly father, I forgive ___________ (enter name). I give him/her into Your hand. I bless him/her and decide to hold no grudge against him/her.”

■ Receive: Let yourself be filled anew with God’s love: Pray according to Ephesians 3:17-19 – in groups of two or three – that God will fill you anew with His love and the Holy Spirit.

SCRIPTURE COMMENTS

Forgive people who sinned against you. This step is important, because we are not made to deal with guilt and sin. It does not matter whether it is our own sin, or situations where people sinned against us.
When we forgive, it doesn’t mean we approve of what has been done and say that it was “OK”. Rather, we hand over the right for redemption to Jesus.

Sin always needs to be brought to the cross! Unforgiveness will always bind us to a person. Only forgiveness cuts that bond and will make you truly free! Forgiveness opens the gates of heaven over you so that you can be blessed. It disrupts destructive influences and frees you to live a life in the power and authority of the Lord. Also, don’t forget that forgiveness starts in the will, not emotions. So you don’t have to “feel like” you want to forgive. Just forgive. Emotions often follow later.

OTHER LANGUAGES