Forgiveness

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Malcolm Webber

This was designed by Deb in Asia, for a group of young coworkers who are serving God together.

Purpose:
Character – forgiveness
Community – love and acceptance for each other.

Process:

1. Spiritual

1. Individually meditate on a Bible passage on forgiveness (Matt. 18:21-35). What does God reveal to you through this passage? What do you learn from it? Each participant share in turn to the whole group.
2. Please look back into your life’s experiences. Were you ever offended or hurt by others? How did you respond to them? Please each share with your partner.
3. Examine the life of a biblical person, Joseph, who is a great example on forgiveness (Genesis 37; 39; 40; 45:1-15; 50:15-21). What was the nature of the trauma that Joseph experienced? How did he respond? Why was he able to respond in such a way? Put yourself in his shoes, how would you have responded? Why? What’s the secret that enabled Joseph to forgive?

2. Relational

1. Individually, share your inner wounds, struggles and frustrations with your mentor/pastoral coach.
2. As a group, listen to mature Christians (spiritual parents) share their stories on forgiveness (both failure and success).
3. Having mature Christians (spiritual parents) encourage participants to look at their own experiences through God’s eyes, and to forgive according to the instruction of the Scripture.
4. Individually, pray with mentor/pastoral coach for God’s healing and spiritual strength to forgive.
   

3. Instructional

1. The true meaning of forgiveness.
2. The importance of forgiveness.
3. The example of forgiveness – take Jesus as the example. John 13, He washed the disciples’ feet, include Judas’ feet.
4. The benefits of forgiveness.
5. The consequences of unforgiveness.
   Finish teaching with the whole group singing songs in response to the message, worshipping God, allowing the Holy Spirit to move in their hearts, to convict and to enable their hearts to make right decisions.

4. Experiential

1. Individually, take initiative to reconcile with people who have hurt you or who you have hurt, Matthew 5:23-24.
2. The leader sets an example to start washing feet for others. Participants wash others’ feet as led by the Holy Spirit. Finish with praying for each other.

Background: This is Deb's design on forgiveness. This is based on what she actually did with a group of Asian coworkers who had made the decision to split. She had done some amendment and made it more generally applicable.

In 2005, it took her 3 days to work with that particular team of very hurt coworkers. They had tried eveything possible to work together, but only found themselves too hurt to put up with each other any longer. They made the decision to split up the church into two groups. They invited Deb to step in just so that they could make the split formally recognized. They didn't have any hope in any miracle that Deb could bring to reconcile them to each other.

Deb said the first 2 days were very hard. People were not responding. They had closed their hearts for any change. However, on the last day, after her final teaching, while they started to sing and worship God together, the Holy Spirit moved powerfully in their midst. People started to weep, to repent, and to move ahead to ask for forgiveness. In the evening, Deb started to wash their feet. Many wept and started to ask people to allow them to wash their feet.

The 3 days finished with an unbelievable victory of forgiveness, re-acceptance, reconciliation and unity.