Forgiveness and Other Difficult Things…

The scripture reading this morning comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17.

Luke 17 · chapter mention

Please follow along in your bulletin.

He said to his disciples,

It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come,

but woe to him through whom they come.

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck

and he were thrown into the sea

than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.

Be on your guard.

If your brother sins, rebuke him.

And if he repents, forgive him.

And if he sins against you seven times a day

and returns to you seven times saying,

I repent, forgive him.

The apostle said to the Lord,

Increase our faith.

And the Lord said,

If you had faith like a mustard seed,

you would say to this mulberry tree,

Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,

and it would obey you.

Which of you, having a slave, plowing or tending sheep,

will say to him when he has come in from the field,

Come immediately and sit down to eat.

But will he not say to him,

Prepare something for me to eat,

and properly clothe yourself,

and serve me while I eat and drink.

And afterward, you may eat and drink.

He does not thank the slave

because he did the things which were commanded,

does he?

So you too.

When you do all the things which are commanded you,

say,

We are unworthy slaves.

We have done only that which we ought to have done.

This is God's word.

How you guys doing?

Wow, that was the worst one ever.

How you guys doing?

Okay.

Wow.

So, if you're here for the first time,

my name is Tobin.

I'm one of the pastors here at Watermark.

Two quick announcements, very quickly,

just to dispel any rumors.

Yes, my wife is gone.

She went to visit her family in California this weekend

because someone came in and said to me,

Christina must be gone.

And I'm like, well, why?

And she goes, well, look at how the kids are dressed.

You must have dressed them.

Yes, I was responsible for dressing my kids today.

So, thank you very much.

It's great having a lot of moms.

Also, the other, just to spell anything,

you came in and there was a rock on your chair.

We talked about hell last week.

So, these rocks aren't for you to throw at me

when you dislike something I say, okay?

So, they're not ammunition or things like that,

but they're just things.

We'll use those later on,

keep a hold of those,

and we're going to talk.

Okay, we're on a journey.

We use that word a lot.

We're on a journey through the book of Luke.

We've been doing Luke for two years now.

I figured that we'll finish Luke in next fall.

We picked the Gospels because we figured

if we looked at Jesus, we couldn't go wrong, right?

We picked the Gospels because we looked at Jesus' life,

and we realized that in his story is our story.

Our story fits into his story,

and everything that we need to hear and know

is in his life.

And so, we've been going through Luke for two years now,

off and on with other things added in there.

And so, we're on that journey with Luke.

We also talk about we're on a journey in life.

And one of the things you need to know

about journeying through life

is that the journey in life

is all about relationships.

Relationships.

It's all about relationships

as we go on this journey.

There's two main ones.

I kind of think of them

because I'm not an engineer.

I'm studying medicine,

but I kind of think of them

as vertically and horizontally.

And first, we have that vertical relationship

in our world,

and that's with the Lord, with God.

And that we all go on this journey with God.

And it's important to remember

that when we go on this journey with God,

that we should be growing

in a couple different ways.

We should be growing

in our awareness of God's holiness.

And we should be growing

in our awareness of my flesh,

my sinfulness.

Those things should always be growing in our life.

It's why we study the Word of God.

It's why we are in church.

It's why we're in a community group

because people help us

understand about God's holiness.

God's Word helps us to understand

about God's holiness.

And being in community

helps us to understand

about our brokenness,

our fallenness.

And whenever one of those isn't happening,

we misplace grace.

We don't understand grace.

We don't understand the cross.

And so we live lives

that are bifurcated

or not what God meant for them to be.

Also, in this journey,

we have a horizontal component.

And that component is with people,

relationships, community,

your spouse,

anybody that you're with there.

And as you go on that journey,

there's two things

we can never forget also.

It's really important.

And on that journey,

we always got to be growing

in our understanding

that every person

is made in the image of God.

Every person is made

in the image of God.

Every person has

God's fingerprint on them.

Every person has

God's watermark on them.

That's why we call this church

a watermark

because we feel like

God has called us

to help bring out

that watermark.

And so everybody is made

in the image of God,

even your worst enemy.

And the second thing

you need to remember

in that journey

as individuals

with other people

in community

is that we're all broken

and sinful.

We're all broken

and sinful.

I mean,

if you ever catch yourself

saying,

oh, I can't believe

they did that,

what you're saying is,

I'm not like that.

If you ever catch yourself

saying,

well, I can't believe

this happened this way

and that really freaked me out,

you're saying,

I'm not broken

and I'm not sinful

or I'm not as broken

as they are

or I'm not as sinful

as they are.

And if you do that,

you'll never live life.

You'll never enjoy

the journey

that God meant for you

to enjoy.

Never.

We're on a journey

in Luke,

Luke 17.

It's important

to remember

in Luke 17

that as Jesus

is teaching,

he's going

to Jerusalem,

he's going

to the cross.

He's going

to die

a terrible,

terrible death.

It's about one week

away from this passage.

So we're going

to get to it

next fall,

but in chronological time

it's one week away.

And as he's going

on this journey,

he's pulling

his disciples aside

and he wants

to talk to them

about what it means

to be a follower

of Christ.

What does it look

like to follow Christ?

He's going

to talk about

four things

in this passage.

He's going

to talk about

accountability.

He's going

to talk about

forgiveness.

He's going

to talk about

walking in faith.

And most importantly,

he's going

to talk about

service.

All four of these

things he's going

to say,

if you are my follower,

this is what you do.

This is who you are.

It's not something

special that you do.

It's not something

that you get a high five

for after you score

the touchdown.

It's just something

that you do.

It's who you are.

Accountability,

forgiveness,

faith,

service.

Those are just things

that we do

as Christ followers.

And so as we look

at this passage,

I want to bring out

a couple of those

things.

And I want to talk

about the why,

the how,

and the what,

and what it means

to walk with God

on this journey

and doing those

four things.

things.

Now,

for some of you,

if you're like me,

I grew up in an amazing

church in the States,

but the focus

is always on myself.

So I read a passage

and I said,

what does this mean

for me?

How does this apply

this to my life?

How does this affect

me?

Probably you're

very similar to that.

But the scripture

is very different.

The Bible says

that all of these

passages are meant

not just for you,

but for the family

of God.

That all these

passages are meant

for us to be lived

out in community.

They're written

to a church,

they're written

to a community,

and you live

these things out

in community,

and sometimes

we forget that,

and when we forget

that,

we don't enjoy

the journey

like God

meant for us

to enjoy.

I'm going to try

something today

for the first time

ever.

We'll probably

never try it again

because it will

probably,

but we'll see.

And what I want

to do is I want

to lead us in

some reflective

prayer time.

I'm going to look

at those four points

very briefly,

and then I want

to lead us

into some

confessional

prayer time.

I've had some

prayers written out.

Today's a day

of prayer.

We felt like

as a staff,

and so I'm going

to do that,

and we'll see

how that works

and what goes

with that

as God calls

us to walk

with Him,

and what does

it mean

to walk

with Him?

You ready?

Okay,

so Luke 17,

Luke 17:1

verses 1 and 2,

and He said

to His disciples,

it is inevitable

that it will happen.

It has to happen.

Don't be surprised

when it happens.

It's going to happen

that stumbling blocks

come,

but woe to Him

through whom they come.

It would be better

for Him

if a millstone

were hung around

His neck

and He were thrown

into the sea

than that He would

cause one of these

little ones,

one of these Christians,

one of these Christ followers,

one of my children

to fall away

from the face.

Jesus says here

that sin

coming into

our community

because we're living

as a community

is inevitable.

It's going to happen.

When we talk about sin,

I'm not talking

about personality differences.

I'm not talking

about cultural differences.

I'm not talking

about preferences,

but I'm talking

about sin.

The word in Greek

here is a very interesting

word.

It's skandalon.

It's the word

we get scandal from.

It's this idea

in Greek

of this bird trap.

The bird trap

is like this

and this pole

with the bait on it

is the skandalon.

It's the thing

that attracts people

to the trap.

When the bird

hits that trap,

it hits the scandal.

The trap closes

and kills the bird.

This is the imagery

that Jesus is using

and He's saying

these things

are going to happen.

He's going to say

sometimes you and I

we're going to forget

our obligations to Him.

Sometimes we're going

to forget

these four things

and when these things

we forget them,

sin happens

and His warning

to us as a church

and as individuals

is woe to you.

It's a very strong word

in the Greek.

It means don't do it.

It means it would be

better for you

to be killed

by men

than to cause somebody

to fall away

from the face.

It would be better

for you to be destroyed.

In Jesus' day

they actually killed

criminals

by hanging a millstone

around their neck.

A millstone

was a big piece

of two stones

and you put weed in it

and you grind them up

and there'd be

a little hole

in the center

like a coin

that we have

and you'd rip it around

and sometimes

they would take criminals

and tie a millstone

around His neck

and they would throw Him

into the water.

And Jesus says to us

it would be better

for that to happen to us

than for us

to cause somebody

to stray away

from the faith.

It would be better

for that to happen to us

than if somebody

were to look at their life

and say well that's

what being a Christian

is like.

I don't want to have

anything to do

with that type

of Christianity.

And so the question

we have to ask ourselves

today is

how are we doing?

Is our faith

beautiful?

beautiful?

Is Jesus

beautiful?

When people look at us

do they see

Christ

and all His glory

and do they see

grace

and mercy?

Do they see

beauty?

Or are we

a stumbling block?

Are we a scandal?

Are we a scandal on?

Are we something

that's causing people

to run away

from Christianity

not to take it seriously?

Are we doing harm

to the people of God

instead of good?

As an employee

what would it look like

for you to be a scandal

to those around you?

What would it look like

for you as you went

into your office

this Monday

to turn people away

from Christ?

What would it look like

to live a life

in such a way

that if people

found out

that you were

going to church

they would never

want anything

to do with church?

As an employer

what would it look like

to live every day

in a scandal?

What would it look like

to cheat your employees?

What would it look like

so that you are so

toxic

that your employees

don't want to go

to church

or at least

your church?

As a teacher

do your students

see Christ in you?

When you walk

into the classroom

do they see Jesus

in your words

and in your grace

and in your actions

or are they overwhelmed

and they think

well they must be thinking

about something else?

As a parent

is our faith

beautiful to our children?

When our children

look at our lives

do they see Christ

and beauty

and love

and mercy

and grace?

or do they see

hypocrisy?

Hypocrisy

just last night

I'm sitting at the table

in our dinner

we're talking

I'm trying to make

conversation with everybody

and so we

just set the ground rules

in our house

we have a couple words

we don't say

we don't say shut up

and we don't say stupid

now our kids think

that those are curse words

and so we just don't

say those at all

and there's a lot

of different reasons

behind it

you know

there's just

there are things

and so last night

at the dinner table

Kip looks at me

and he says

how come

when I say stupid

I get in trouble

but when you say stupid

nothing happens?

it's tough man

right?

wow

I'm like

well my first reaction is

well you know

I grew up where stupid

wasn't a bad word

that's what I want to say

I've said that a couple times

I've said

you know

stupid is something

that your mom feels

strongly about

but it's something

that I don't know

I'm kind of on the fence about

that's worse right?

sometimes I just say

I don't know

but what I should say is

you're right

and I'm sorry

because I've sinned against you

and I've sinned against our house

when our kids

I mean dude

it's tough being a pastor

right?

you guys hear the talk

and then you leave

I have to think about this

for months and months

and then my God

just hitting me over the head

showing me

inconsistencies

in my words

in my life

sometimes 10 year olds

are the best x-rays

to inconsistencies

as a pastor

what do I preach?

do I preach something funny

and sexy

and good

and nice to hear

or do I preach the gospel?

do I preach a message

that is a scandal on

to people

and turns them away

from the beauty

and wonder

and mercy

and love

of Christ?

are my words up here

consistent with my words

when I go back home

and act

with my kids

and my family?

or are my words

a scandal

to them?

Christ says

be careful

you don't want to cause

little ones

followers of Christ

to fall away

from the faith

by our actions

I want to lead us

in some prayer time

let's pray

Father

Father

before you

I just repent

we repent

of our selfishness

and our sin

Father

I pray for the fathers

in this household

I pray for those of us

who are selfish

I pray for those of us

who are passive

I pray for those of us

who just think about ourselves

and don't engage our wife

and our kids

when we go home

Lord we need you

help us not to be

a stumbling block

to our kids

help us not to be

a stumbling block

to our wife

and to our neighbors

as they see us interact

Father

help us to know

what it means

to walk with you

Lord

as singles

we

we repent

of stumbling blocks

and of being

stumbling blocks

in our world

do we cause people

to stumble

with our words

do we cause people

to stumble

with our bodies

and how we dress

and how we flaunt them

just to get a little attraction

do we cause people

to stumble

and to walk away

with our lifestyles

Father

as parents

we confess

our inconsistency

in what we say

and how we act

with our kids

please

please

we beg you

please don't allow

our kids

to be trapped

by this

to fall away

from the gospel

to not love your son

like we do

but to hate him

Lord

we realize

even if we give them

a perfect education

and a perfect life

and they get it

to the perfect school

and the perfect jobs

that they could lose

everything perfectly

for eternity

because they didn't see you

lived out in our lives

consistently

Father's wives

we confess

how we are not

Father

how we have not

allowed our husbands

to be the spiritual leaders

in our families

and in our lives

Father

we confess

and we pray

for the sarcasm

and the arrogance

that sometimes we

show

to our husbands

our spouses

in front of our children

Father

we beg your forgiveness

and we pray

that our kids

don't see that

and we pray

that their marriage

doesn't end up being

just like our marriage

Lord

we need you

Lord

come to us now

and show us

how we could

cause people

to fall

show us

how we could

cause people

to fall out of love

with you

and your son

Jesus Christ

the inconsistencies

in our life

Lord

we need you

to show us

these things

we need you

amen

be on your guard

if your brother sins

rebuke him

not

guard your own life

but guard your heart

because that sin

is going to come in there

and that sin

is going to do something

and if your brother sins

rebuke him

and if he repents

forgive him

and if he sins

against you

seven times a day

and returns to you

seven times a day

saying I repent

forgive him

Christ is teaching us

he's teaching the church

he's teaching his disciples

that as the family of God

it's really important

for us

to watch

our hearts

as we're sinned against

he's telling us

that we need to come

against brothers

and sisters

and to admonish them

to correct him

to show them

the errors of their way

and when I'm talking

about sin

I'm not

when I'm not talking

about just a simple

okay he dropped his gum

but we're talking about

things that separate

relationships

because on the journey

the relationship

is a key

and so anything

that comes in there

and separates

that relationship

between us

and God

and between us

and each other

God says

that we need to come

and we need to go

before those brothers

and show them

that sin

the goal

is not to shame them

the goal

is to restore them

the goal

is to keep the family healthy

the goal

is to bring the family together

the goal

is forgiveness

Jesus says

as a church

and as disciples

on this journey

that we

we must

rebuke sin

even when we don't want to

we must forgive

even when we don't want to

you know often

when something happens

and I watch

I look at

somebody's actions

and for me

I just kind of think through

okay something's happening there

has what they've done

affected the relationship

between me

and them

has what they've done

affected the relationship

between them and God

has what they've done

affecting them

has what they've done

affected how Christ

is seen

in the community

around them

has what they've done

a habitual habit

that they keep doing

over

and over

and over

and Jesus says

that those things

are true

that our responsibility

is to go before

our brother

and to rebuke him

to correct him

to show him

what's going on

and to show him

that he shouldn't do that

and the moment

the moment that he

asked for forgiveness

that we're to forgive him

forgiveness is hard

isn't it

I mean I think it's

it's

it's really

really hard

it's like

the Bible says

that when somebody

wrongs you

that you incur

a debt

there's a debt

taken out

and the only way

I can think of it

I've been thinking about this

for a long time

it's like

we're this

okay you can tell

what my family does

we're this big bowl

of ice cream

or this tub

of ice cream

and every time

somebody wrongs you

this scoop comes in

and it digs some of you out

and that wrong

comes again

and they dig you out

and the question

you have to ask yourself

is what do you replace

that digged out ice cream

with

I mean if you're like me

maybe you replace it

with anger

maybe you replace it

with frustration

maybe you

replace it

with sadness

because whenever

sin hits us

like that bowl

of ice cream

being scooped out

it takes something

away from us

it might take something

away from our character

it might take something

away from us

emotionally

it might take something

away from us

in our comfort

it might destroy

our ego

it might be a financial

burden

that's taken away

and Jesus says

in this passage

as the children of God

when we're wronged

by brothers

that we are

to eat the debt

there's always a debt

there's always something

that needs to be paid

last week our car

was waiting for the kids

to be picked up at school

and a guy pushing a cart

older guy

lost control

and the cart

slammed into the side

of our car

and left this huge dent

well fortunately our car

is a 16 year old

minivan

so it's okay

but this huge dent

and all these things

and he was so panicked

what do I do

I have this debt

I have to pay these things

and I said to him

don't worry about it

we'll take care of it

did the debt go away

I mean for him it did

but the debt

still had to be taken care of

right

it still had to be dealt with

it still had to be fixed

and Jesus says

as we go in community

as we're on a journey

with relationships

that when someone wrongs you

and you've come to them

and they've

and that word

seven times seven

he's not saying

come back

okay

forgive me

okay

come back

hey I messed up again

please forgive me

no

there's a passage

where Peter goes

hey if someone forgives us

three times

which was a symbol

of perfection

should we

they wrong us three times

should we forgive them

three times

and what Peter's

expecting Jesus to say

is wow you're great

you're perfect

because the rabbi said

if you forgive somebody

three times

you're perfect

and Jesus says no

he says seven times 70

and what he's saying there

is that's like

the perfect number

that's what passage

what Jesus is saying

in his passage

is if your brother comes

and he sends

the perfect sin

against you

what would that be

get you fired

kill your children

destroy your marriage

lose something

of great value

Jesus says

even if that brother

comes and he does

the perfect sin

against you

you're to eat the debt

you're to take care of it

you're to forgive him

how's that sound

now it's impossible

to do

if we forget

that we're all made

in the image of God

if we forget

that we're all made

in the image of God

we're gonna say

instead of

my sister who sinned

we're gonna say

that sinner

and instead of

if we're all made

in the image of God

if we forget that

we're gonna say

my brother

who cheated me

we're gonna say

cheater

isn't that interesting

I'm just asking

talking about my own wife

when somebody else

lies or cheats to me

they lied and cheat to me

but when I do it

it's complicated

you don't know

what's going on

in my life right now

I grew up

and that wasn't

a swear word

and Jesus says

watch

your hearts

because we're always

gonna have this propensity

to explain away

our sin

and he says

if you do it

you're

you're lost

you're lost

if we forget

that we're all

broken

and sinful

we can't do it

either

because we're gonna

call names

we're gonna say

I wouldn't do that

I would never do that

but what scripture

says here

is that forgiveness

is to all of us

that we're to give

everyone

that we're

forgiven

to the debt

actually it's the idea

of surrendering

what we owe

or what's owed

to us

surrendering

what's owed

to us

how we doing

how you doing

with the debt

I'm sure most of us

have these ice cream

buckets that are

pretty much scooped

out right now

what are we filling

them up with

the passage says

that Jesus wants us

to fill it up

with him

that he wants us

to fill it up

with him

forgiving debt

is always painful

it's always costly

it always costs

somebody

something

debt just does not

go away

except for in the

US government

and economy

but everywhere else

in God's realm

debt has to be paid

the question is

how are you gonna

pay it

and who's gonna

pay it

let's pray

Father we

Father we confess

that we are often

hard hearted people

with a desire

to get even

to be right

to be justified

not to forgive

to keep a score

to rejoice

when something bad

happens to that person

and say well I told you

so they'll get

what they deserve

but your word

says something

so different

that you

you've asked us

to forgive

you've asked us

to eat in the debt

Father would you

show us

your forgiveness

to us

would you show us

what it meant

for you to eat our debt

would you show us

what it meant

for us to

experience

your mercy

and your grace

Father's husbands

I'm sure that many

of us have become

embittered

angry

leery

of our wives

because they don't

do what we need

them to do

or when we want

it done

or they do

things in our

household

so much better

than we can do

them

Father would you

help us

to forgive

those wrongs

help us

to repent

of our selfishness

help us

to lead

our families

by first

going

to our wives

and apologizing

to them

because we

haven't been

the servant

leaders

that they've

called us

to be

that you've

called us

to be

help us

to say I'm

wrong

help us

to say please

forgive me

as wise

if any of us

have anger

or hurt

resentment

towards our

husbands

if any of us

have built

walls

that have not

long been

broached

for a long

time

Father I pray

for the wise

in here

that they would

take the debt

you would help

them to take

that understand

what that means

Father I pray

that they would

stop trying to

make their

husbands pay

for it

because he

deserves it

Father I pray

that you would

help them to be

servant helpers

that you've

called them to be

help them to say

I was wrong

help them to say

forgive me

Father show us

your forgiveness

to us right

now

before all of us

with so many

hurts so many

offenses against

us our parents

our bosses

our workmates

our schoolmates

our best friends

our boyfriends

our girlfriends

people we really

loved and cared

for and scooped

out our life

and hurt us in

ways that we

could never

think about

Father help us

to take that

debt

remind us

that they were

made in your

image

remind us

that we're

all broken

that we're

all broken

in the need

of you

of your

mercy

and your

grace

Lord please

just show us

this forgiveness

we know it's

costly

we know

that we can't

do it on your

own but your

word says that

you will do it

for us

and through us

Lord I pray

for every one

of us in this

sanctuary right now

as we meet

with you

that you would

show us

what it means

to be forgiving

people

but more

importantly Lord

as a community

on a journey

and relationships

is everything

Father show us

what it means

that you forgave

us

Father we need

you and we

thank you

and we pray

all these things

in your son

Jesus name

immediately after

hearing this

the apostle said

to the Lord

increase our

faith and the

Lord said

if you had

faith the size

of a mustard

seed you would

say to the

mulberry tree

be rooted

and be planted

in the sea

and it would

obey you

and what Jesus

is saying is

you don't need

any more faith

Jesus is saying

you already have

all the faith

that you need

that when you

came to me

it took faith

and that faith

that you had

when you came

to me

that's all you

need

the question is

are you going

to appropriate

that faith

are you going

to trust in it

are you going

to live in it

Jesus is saying

with just a little

faith the people

of God can do

amazing things

amazing things

and so what he's

telling his disciples

here is you don't

need more faith

you need to use

the faith

that I've already

given you

don't try

to manufacture

more faith

it won't work

out

what happens

is that we

need to have

a simple faith

in an amazing

God and trust

him to walk

with us

verse 7

through 10

Jesus goes on

and he tells

this story

that everybody

would have

understood

because in

Jesus day

everyone had

slaves

did you know

that

it's not

slaves like

we think

but even

the poorest

people usually

had one

slave

slavery was

usually incurred

by debt

financial debt

and you had

two choices

when you made

a financial debt

either you went

to prison

or you became

somebody's servant

often people

gave their kids

to people

as servants

or slaves

because they

couldn't feed

their kids

my grandparents

tell me of

growing up

in a depression

and where their

kids had

they had a big

family

and they had

to be

pushed off

to the aunts

and uncles

because they

couldn't afford

to feed their

family during

the depression

and so in

Jesus day

when he told

this story

what he's

talking about

within this

community

the how

the why

and the what

it all

centers around

this idea

of service

to serve

everybody would

have understood

the illustration

everybody would

have had a

slave

and everybody

in reading

verses 7

through 9

would have

said well

of course

they would

do those

things first

that's what

slaves do

slaves do

what they're

supposed to

do

they do

all those

things first

there's no

expectation

as a master

my slaves

are always

going to do

what I

expect them

to do

that's just

what's said

and then

verse 10

Jesus turns

the tables

and he goes

okay now

in reality

God's the

master

and you're

the servant

how are you

going to

handle that

because everything

that Jesus

has asked his

disciples to do

in verses 1

through 6

watch out

for sin

rebuke your

brother

forgive

walk in

faith

serve

those aren't

special things

those are just

things the

people of

God do

does that

make sense

it'd be like

you doing your

taxes this week

and you fill out

your tax form

to the government

or to whatever

country you're

for and you

write out your

check and you

mail it in

and after a week

you get really

angry and I say

why are you angry

and you go

well they didn't

send me a

thank you note

you don't expect

a thank you note

when you turn

your taxes in

it's just

something

we do

and Jesus is

saying here

that all of

these things

are just

things

that we do

reprove

correcting

forgiving

being careful

of sin

loving our

neighbors

serving

all of these

things are just

things that we

do as a

family of God

it's nothing

special

but it's

what we do

Jesus is

trying to tell

his disciples

here that if

you and I

if they

understood the

gospel

if we understood

all that Christ

has done for us

if we understood

the massive debt

that God

forgave for us

at the cross

if we understood

that Christ

came from heaven

as the master

and he became

a servant

and he served

us

if we understood

that on the cross

his last words

in John

now my wife

got mad at me

last week

because I yelled

out

Eli Eli

Lama Sabachthani

and I said

oh that's too

loud too loud

okay

his last words

in John

were

just tell us

die

just tell us

die

it means

it's finished

it's completed

every debt

is done

I've paid

every debt

in your life

I'm continuing

to pay the debts

that you do

everything

just tell us

die

it's done

if we understood

that Jesus

on the cross

through his blood

took everything

what he's saying

here in this

passage is

then serving

would be easy

then forgiving

would be easy

then being

careful of sin

and not wanting

to lead people

astray

would be easy

then walking

in a community

on a journey

would be easy

because it's what

God has called

us to do

the four big ones

temptation

accountability

forgiveness

faith

service

Jesus is walking

to the cross

and he wants us

to realize

as his people

that this is

what it looks

like

to walk

with the people

of God

how we doing

does that make

sense

yes no

what do we

learn from this

about Christ

we learn that

Christ makes

our life

possible

we learn that

he

fixes

everything

that he

cancels the debt

he brings us

to the father

he enables us

to walk with

the father

through faith

through his spirit

and he brings us

together in a

community

that's to serve

him

to act

counter-culturally

to do amazing

things

in his kingdom

and the question

is do we want

that

do we trust

him

or do we want

to be God

do we want

to take our

debt

do we want

to sin

do we want

to cause people

to go

astray

father we

just thank you

for this day

we thank you

for this passage

which is

in some ways

a very

interesting

and hard

passage

as we look

at our lives

lord I pray

for those of us

in here who

struggle with

temptations

and sin

lord as a

community

we come

together

help us

to walk

with each

other

father help

us to be

involved in

each other's

lives

more than

just sunday

help us to

think the best

of each other

help us to

realize that

we are all

made in

your image

and that we

are all

broken and

we need

amazing amounts

of grace

and mercy

lord help us

to be a

community

that doesn't

shoot

our broken

brothers and

sisters

but be

a community

that brings

them together

for the

purpose of

restoring

and healing

father teach

us this week

what it means

to forgive

more importantly

lord we just

pray that we

would understand

more what

your son has

done for us

in forgiving

us

i know lord

that there are

some people in

here who have

no idea what

i just said

they could

care less

and they're

ready to go

eat

and lord i

pray for

them now

that whoever

brought them

why ever

they're here

we know that

there's no

mistake that

people are

here that

you would

speak to