Biblical Reference:
Psalm 78.38; 1 Samuel 18.6-16, 23.6-14
Purpose of the meeting:
Teach teenagers that forgiveness bring us closer to God.
Key verse:
“Yet God was merciful; He forgave their iniquities and did not destroy them.” (Psalm 78.38)
Initiating the meeting:
Take to the meeting images of soccer players in a “hard play” (penalty or free kick). Ask: what would you do if a friend hit you in a hard play (show the pictures)? Or if you discovered that a colleague spread in a social networking site (Twitter, Facebook, etc...), some rumors about you? (Wait for them to respond). Sometimes people take thoughtless actions that make their neighbor sad. In today’s meeting we will talk about the importance of forgiveness and what happens to those who cannot forgive.
Message that edifies:
Forgiveness
Many people wish to follow the Lord Jesus without putting themselves into the most sublime of all moral laws, forgiveness. Many even ask: ‘Why do I have to forgive if I didn’t do any evil against the person whom I have resentment?’ We must forgive because the Lord Jesus said: “Forgive and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6.37). If we don’t forgive the offenses people do against us, how can God forgive us?
There would be no sense in the coming of the Lord Jesus if the spirit of forgiveness did not act in the human heart. When we don’t forgive, we practice injustice against ourselves because we all make mistakes and failures.
When we cultivate resentment against another person we allow the devil to plant inside our hearts his seed; the more this seed stays the harder it is to get rid of. Saul gave way to hate and revenge because he had envy in his heart against David; he began to pursue David to the point of even trying to take his life. Because of these feelings Saul faced daily torment and the envy he had of David made him a cruel and wicked man. Saul started to live according to the revenge he had in his heart.
Forgiveness, besides being a virtue, is a great necessity to all human beings. The Lord Jesus left us several examples of how we should behave to each other. The same way He treats us is how we must treat our neighbor. If we want to be forgiven of our mistakes and failures we also must forgive.
When the Lord Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer mentions forgiving our enemies as a condition to also be forgiven of our mistakes.
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6.14-15). When we cultivate a sense of vengeance we are saying that the death of Jesus was not enough for the person who harmed us, or for us. We must not relive past hurts.
Conclusion:
Real forgiveness includes forgetting about our past offense because if we continue to remember them with bitterness in the soul, then true forgiveness certainly didn’t happen. Teenager, do as David did, cultivate inside your heart the virtue of forgiveness and throw away the hurt, hate and resentment.
God bless you!
Activity of the 2º Meeting
Alone With God
Read Matthew 6.14-15 and explain what you understand
Are you easy to forgive? Justify.
Have you been mistreated by someone and kept inside your heart resentment against this person? What do you think is missing to forgive him/her?
What does God want to teach us with the following verse: “Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent” (Psalm 4.4)?
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