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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Forgiveness Written in Stone</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>A story is told of two friends who were walking through
the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one
friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but
without saying anything, wrote in the sand, “Today my best friends
slapped me in the face.” </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they
decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and
started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from nearly
drowning, he wrote on a stone, “Today my best friend saved my
life.” </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>His friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote
in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied
“When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of
forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we
must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>So real forgiveness keeps on leaving the sins of others
and our hurts in the past. Yet Jesus understands the difficulty of such
forgiveness. To keep on forgiving is a God-like characteristic. It is contrary
to human nature. So He gives a parable beginning in v.23 which will help us
obey His commandment to keep on forgiving.</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Stephen Felker, How Often Should I Forgive?</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_______________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Forgiveness Is an Every Day Reality</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Some while back I visited an online greeting card website
to send an electronic anniversary card to some friends. As I was glancing
through this website's menu of choices, I noticed they had a separate category
of cards devoted to "Forgiveness." Since that is a pretty vital
theological category, I naturally was drawn to check out those cards. Mostly
they were humorous intended to be used for relatively minor hurts. "Forget
about it," "Don't worry about it" were the sentiments of two
cards. Another expressed forgiveness by saying, "Everybody is a work in
progress." </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>Strikingly, however, on this
website, as probably in most Hallmark stores, forgiveness cards were
categorized right along with birthday and get well cards. That is, they were
what could be called "Occasional Cards." You don't send a "Get
Well" card just any old time, but occasionally you need such a sentiment
and that's when you purchase and send just such a card. So also you may not
need a forgiveness card very often, but once in a while such a thing may be
handy. Seen this way, forgiveness becomes a "now and then" matter.
No doubt this reflects the way a lot of people think. But it cuts against
the grain of the New Testament and of a passage like Matthew 18 where the
assumption of Jesus seems to be that forgiveness is an ongoing, daily reality
for each one of us. Not only are we ourselves forgiven on a regular basis
by God and by others, we must then turn around and forgive those who have hurt
us. It’s not an occasional reality. It’s every day.<br>
<br>
Scott Hoezee, Comments and Observations <br>
__________________________________</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The Danger within Us</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>French author Victor Hugo has a short story titled,
"93." In the midst of this tale a ship at sea is caught in a terrific
storm. Buffeted by the waves, the boat rocks to and fro, when suddenly the crew
hears an awesome crashing sound below deck. They know what it is. A cannon they
are carrying has broken loose and is smashing into the ship's sides with every
list of the ship. Two brave sailors, at the risk of their lives, manage to go
below and fasten it again, for they know that the heavy cannon on the inside of
their ship is more dangerous to them than the storm on the outside. So it is
with people. Problems within are often much more destructive to us than the
problems without. Today, God's word would take us "below decks" to
look inside ourselves concerning the whole matter of forgiveness.</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Stephen M. Crotts / George L. Murphy, Sermons For Sundays:
After Pentecost (Middle Third): The Incomparable Christ, , CSS Publishing
Company, Inc. </span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>_______________________________________</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Debts in Roman Society</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>In the ancient world cruel treatment was practiced against
debtors, often without regard to the debtor’s ability or intention to
repay. In <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Athens</st1:City></st1:place>
prior to the establishment of democratic rights, a creditor could demand slave
labor of his debtor or of members of the debtor’s family as surety of
payment.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Roman law provided punishment by imprisonment to the
debtors. The reason for imprisonment and cruel treatment was to force the
debtor to sell whatever property he might secretly own, or to have the
debtor’s relatives pay his debt.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The creditor would demand slave labor of the entire family
so that the debt might be worked off. There were legal restrictions to prevent
extreme cruelty, but in spite of the laws the entire system of debts and
sureties was recklessly abused in the ancient world.</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The prophets frequently condemned violations of the laws.</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>James R. Davis, The Unmerciful Servant </span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>__________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Saved by Forgiveness</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Since nothing we intend is ever faultless, and nothing we
attempt ever without error, and nothing we achieve without some measure of
finitude and fallibility we call humanness, we are saved by forgiveness.</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>David Augsburger</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>___________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Forgiveness Is Not Innate</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>William Willimon writes: "The human animal is not
supposed to be good at forgiveness. Forgiveness is not some innate, natural
human emotion.</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Vengeance, retribution, violence, these are natural human
qualities. It is natural for the human animal to defend itself, to snarl and
crouch into a defensive position when attacked, to howl when wronged, to bite
back when bitten. Forgiveness is not natural. It is not a universal human
virtue."</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Will Willimon</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span
style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>___________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Two Million Dollar Mistake</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>John D. Rockefeller built the great Standard Oil empire.
Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man who demanded high performance from his
executives. One day, one of those executives made a two million dollar mistake.
Word of the man’s enormous error quickly spread throughout the executive
offices, and the other men began to make themselves scarce, not wanting to
cross his path. One man didn’t have any choice, however, since he had an
appointment with the boss. So he straightened his shoulders and walked into Rockefeller’s
office. As he approached Rockefeller’s desk, he looked up from the piece
of paper on which he was writing. “I guess you’ve heard about the
two million dollar mistake our friend made,” he said abruptly. “Yes,”
the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to explode. “Well, I’ve
been sitting here listing all of our friend’s good qualities, and
I’ve discovered that in the past he has made us many more times the
amount he lost for us today by his one mistake. His good points far outweigh
this one human error. So I think we ought to forgive him, don’t
you?”</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Dale Galloway, You Can Win with Love, in The Tale of the
Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll, Word Pub., p. 215.</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>___________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>What God Can Do with Forgiveness</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>By the grace of God we can use forgiveness as a positive,
creative force bringing light into a darkened world. Nobody does that kind of
thing better, of course, than God. Who could imagine 2,000 years ago that the
symbol of the Christian church would be a hangman's noose, an electric chair, a
guillotine? Those analogies may be necessary for us to keep from being too
sentimental about "the old, rugged cross." A cross is a terrible
thing. It was indeed a symbol of suffering and shame. Humanity nailed God's own
Son on a cross. What barbarity! What unspeakable evil! Yet God turned that
cross into the means by which you and I may find our salvation. That is what
God can do with forgiveness. What can you do?</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>King Duncan, Collected Sermons, <a
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8CAwQKCwZRRAMCBEsDAABWWg%3D%3D">www.Sermons.com</a></span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>___________________________</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>Forgiven: Too Poor to Pay</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>(A good sermon closer)</span></font><font size=1
face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>When the books of a certain Scottish doctor were examined
after his death, it was found that a number of accounts were crossed through
with a note: "Forgiven--too poor to pay." But the physician's wife
later decided that these accounts must be paid in full and she proceeded to sue
for money. When the case came to court the judge asked but one question. Is
this your husband's handwriting? When she replied that it was he
responded…</span></font><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Verdana'>The conclusion to this list and for many additional
illustrations and sermons for this week, including material addressing 9/11,
can be accessed at <a
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8CAwQKCwZRRAMCBEsDAABWWg%3D%3D">www.Sermons.com</a>.</span></font><font
size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 face=Verdana><span style='font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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