The Story that Forgives

What if forgiveness isn’t about forgetting, but about reframing? In one of the most powerful stories in Scripture, Jesus meets Peter in the very place of his failure—and offers not just pardon, but restoration. This sermon explores how true forgiveness works, why counterfeit versions fall short, and how the cross gives us the power to forgive as we’ve been forgiven.

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Scripture: Matthew 18.21-35

(Additional Reading: John 21.9-19; 20.23; Matthew 6.14-15; Hebrews 4.15)

Warm-Up:

What’s harder for you: to forgive someone else – or to believe you’ve been forgiven?

“We forgive, we mortify our resentment; a week later some chain of thought carries us back to the original offence and we discover the old resentment blazing away as if nothing had been done about it at all. We need to forgive our brother seventy times seven not only for 490 offences but for one.”

C.S. Lewis