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The Upside Down World, Week 4, Day 4

by David Joynt on October 04, 2017


MATTHEW 18:31-35

 

This parable also raises, directly, a provocative question. What if God were to judge us in the same way we judge each other? What if God never let go, fully and finally, of our mistakes and evil actions? What if he continually reminded us of our “never to be forgiven” misdeeds? Think of the crushing spiritual and emotional burden we would bear! The one from whom no secret is hidden, and who is aware of all our deeds and thoughts. What if every careless word, every manipulation, every selfish act, every ugly moment, lived forever? How awful that would be! What scars it would leave! What fear it would provoke!

 

How wonderful is the grace of God.

  

Do you have a deep sense of being forgiven?

 

Do you know someone who does not? Pray for them.

 

FAMILY TIME—

Talk about why you are grateful for God’s forgiveness.

Discuss the excitement of finding Jesus.

 

Tags: forgiven, grace, judgement

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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