Forgiveness

​How can we forgive if someone isn’t sorry for the hurt and pain that they may
have caused us?

Call to Worship
Come and find peace in the Lord.
Put behind you the troubles you bring with you.
Empty your mind of anger and regret.
Focus on God’s love for you,
and for all your sisters and brothers,
and be ready for worship.

Stf 8 God with us; Creatot, Father

Prayers of Adoration
Creator God, living Saviour, enlivening Spirit,
your generosity far outweighs our deserving.
Your grace is far more beautiful than our imagining.
Your forgiveness far exceeds our understanding.
So, we bow our heads and open our hearts,
as we offer you our lives in adoration and thankfulness. Amen
Prayer of confession
Incredible God, forgive us we pray when we are reluctant to let
go of the things that have been done to us that hurt.
Help us to understand more fully what it is to forgive,
and heal us.
Forgive us when we justify our own mistakes but are harsh in
our judgements of others. Help us to understand them better
from the way that you treat us.
Help us to understand more fully what it is to forgive,
and heal us.
Forgive us when we could offer forgiveness but withhold it.
Help us to understand more fully what it is to forgive,
and heal us.
Forgive us, heal us and help us grow into the likeness of your Son
Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray.
Amen.
Gracious God,
there are debts to you and to others that we cannot pay.
There are mistakes that we cannot undo.
There are words that we cannot unsay.
But because you forgive us, we can take another step,
face another day with confidence,
and rejoice at your love for us and for all creation.
Amen.​

Genesis 50:15-21 New International Version
Joseph Reassures His Brothers15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if
Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” 16 So they sent word
to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I
ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now
please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but
God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be
​afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

StF​70 Always remember, never forget

Matthew 18:21-35 New International Version
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant21 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.
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 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. 
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.”

Matthew West : “Forgiveness”

Message 
What happens to us when we are unforgiving, when we fail to forgive others
both for trivial things and the big things that really hurt us?
What would have happened to Joseph if he had not forgiven his brothers?
How can we forgive if someone isn’t sorry for the hurt and pain that they may
have caused us?
Let’s look at the idea of ‘sinning against’ another. The powerful slave didn’t
think that he was wrong or sinning against his master by building up a massive
debt, but he did feel ‘sinned against’ by the lowly slave doing the same thing
on a smaller scale. Does this story make us uncomfortable about our own
sense of ‘entitlement’? Do we feel ourselves to be wrong or ‘sinners’, needing
to be forgiven, as we cling to an unfair share of the world’s wealth? How good
are we at being generous about the demands others make on us – those who
need traveller sites, emergency housing, facilities for asylum seekers, those
who cross the channel in small, unsafe, inflatable boats looking for peace,
stability, freedom from war and terror and better lives. Do their needs for
school places, hospital appointments, jobs and much more – make our lives
just a little more difficult? If you think that then just imagine yourself in their
situation – would you not do the same thing?
As we look at global warming progressing, are we more likely to resent the
‘sin’ of less-developed nations whose chimneys still belch smoke, and whose
chemical run-off poisons waterways, than we are about putting our own house
in order, recognising the developed nations’ unfair share of the world’s wealth,
know-how, infrastructure and valuable skills? What might our role as Christians
individually and as church communities be in asking that the blame-game stops
and that real generosity replaces grudging promises to pay the least that will
get the less-developed world off our collective backs?
There is a story that when John Wesley was travelling by boat to America, he
was unfortunate enough to witness a sailor being Keel-hauled as a punishment
for wrong-doing. (That meant being tied to a rope, thrown into the sea,
dragged underneath the boat and pulled out on the other side - with a very
good chance that that you could drown or be very seriously injured). The
captain of the boat told John Wesley “You see, Mr Wesley, I never forgive.”
Wesley’s response (perhaps thinking about he words of the parable we read
today) was “then, Sir, I hope that you never sin”.

That Gospel parable tells the story of a growing cycle of violence – powerful
slave threatening the underdog slave with violence and outraged fellow
servants. Then the vindictive anger felt by the king resulting in savage justice.
The king in this story is not acting in God’s image – I would say just the
opposite. The events that took place suggest an uncomfortable and volatile
household ruled over by an angry and unpredictable man.
The parable tells goes on to tell us that we need to forgive and do so
repeatedly. A truly God-like king would have taken the harder path when easy
forgiveness didn’t work. He would have forgiven again, explaining his reasons
and demanding forgiveness of everyone else involved as the price of their
debts being paid. Forgiveness is only achieved when it is accepted by the
wrong-doer who, as a result, expresses sorrow and starts to behave very
differently. It sometimes needs to be repeated until the wrong-doer does
begin to see the hurt pain and anguish that they are causing and starts to
change their ways, and this is, or can be, very costly.
A final question - how good am I, are you, are we in the two-way act of
forgiving others and receiving forgiveness? Each time we say the Lord’s Prayer
we ask God to “forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us”. Do
we even think about those words when we say them? More importantly – do
we put them into practice in our daily lives?
Freedom of spirit comes to us only when we find the capacity to forgive one
another, sharing compassion, forgiveness and God’s grace, as Jesus his son
did.
With God’s grace and love we know that we can forgive, we can put hatred,
bitterness, resentment and anger aside, and we know that as a result of Jesus’
suffering and death on the cross, followed by his resurrection, ascension and
the gift of his Holy Spirit we can turn to him in sorrow, and seek and find his
forgiveness. Amen

Prayers of Intercession 
The world. As we contemplate our planet, especially created by You to maintain life,
we are conscious of those disasters which blight it aspect. We view with a mixture of
horror and dismay the scenes of destruction in both Morocco and Libya. Survivors try
forlornly to recover victims who are family or friends. We pray that they may find some degree of healing as they search. We pray too fir the aid agency and rescue workers,
that they may be given strength to carry out their grim tasks in both countries.
Forgiving God Hear our prayers

We continue to prayer for those who are suffering of the war in Ukraine, especially those
who live in the borderlands where there is active fighting. We prayer to for those who
have been obliged to become refugees in other countries, and prayer that they receive a
warm welcome,
We pray too for the continuing friction between Israelis and Palestinians, where again
there again has been bloodshed. We pray for a softening of hard lines and a peaceful
solution in Your Holy Land.
Forgiving God Hear our prayers

The Nation We pray for an increased sense of what is right and what is wrong in our
work places, domestic life and times of leisure. We pray for people of all ages who are
the victims of deceit, scams, harassment and abuse. Grant to us all, O Father, a
deepened sense of respect for every individual in public or private life.
Forgiving God Hear our prayers.

Kingswood We prayer for our church here at Kingswood. As we go forward into our
new church year, give us a sense of new beginnings in our spiritual life. We ask a blessing
on our new minister, Rev Tony Malcolm as he begins his ministry here and in the Trent Valley Circuit. We pray that he and his family will soon feel at home among us.
We remember those unable to attend worship: the lonely, the disabled the sick, both in
hospital and at home. In a moment of silence we name in our hearts those known to us.

Grant healing, O Lord administered by gentle, caring hands.
Forgiving God Hear our prayer

Ourselves We pray that we may look to the future with optimism in our hearts, and
that we do our best to accept challenges to our way of thinking. May we all know the
presence of the Holy Spirit of God. Unchanging in our changing world,
Forgiving God Hear our prayers

The Lord hears our prayers. Thanks be to God. Amen ​

Blessing
Go out as forgiven people, as true disciples of Jesus.
He calls us to be generous, loving, merciful and forgiving
and blesses us with grace and truth and courage,
So go in the name of Christ - thankfully, faithfully and joyfully.
Amen.