“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you." (Eph 4:32)

What is the shortest sermon that you have ever heard? I believe that the shortest sermon that I have ever preached was only five minutes! (Don’t get too excited. I am not planning on doing that anytime again soon!) Jesus preached some short sermons too. Jesus’ first sermon in the Gospel of Mark is VERY short.  Here is the ENTIRE sermon. Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15) That’s it! Basically, Jesus is saying, “Times, up! Here I am to bring you the Good News of God’s kingdom! Change your life and believe!”

In this week of the Red Letter Challenge, we are talking about FORGIVING. Sometimes, forgiving someone else is HARD! Especially if they have done something that has really hurt you! But as hard as forgiving someone ELSE may be, the first step towards forgiveness is even harder! The first step towards forgiving someone else is to look in the mirror and repenting of YOUR sins! That is what Jesus is talking about in Mark 1:15. Jesus says, “Do you want to experience the joy of the Good News of my love and forgiveness?  The first thing that you need to do is to turn away from YOUR sin!”

Forgiving others begins with recognizing that YOU are a sinner and that You need to turn away from your sins. When you realize that Jesus died for YOU while you were still a sinner, you may just be inspired to share His love and forgiveness with others. Remember, “We love because He (Jesus) first loved us!” (1 John 4:19) Or to say it another way, “We forgive because Jesus first forgave us!”

Forgiven by Jesus,

Pastor Maske