Gift of Forgiveness (Women of the Word Bible Study Series) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Eva Gibson

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98 pages

English

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How can you forgive those who have hurt you? How can you know that God has forgiven you? In this new addition to the Women of the Word Bible study series, readers learn how to accept God's forgiveness for their sins and to extend forgiveness to others. Through personal stories any woman can relate to--about family, career, and church--The Gift of Forgiveness deals honestly and compassionately with this tough yet necessary choice: the choice to forgive. Eight sessions of Bible study cover topics such as "Experiencing God's Forgiveness," "Why Forgiveness Is Hard," "Loving Your Enemies," and "The Power of the Cross." Readers will examine the challenges of accepting and offering forgiveness, dig into the teachings of Scripture, and reflect on their own relationships. Each session wraps up with action steps for applying to their everyday lives what readers learn from God's Word. Plus, a brand-new Leader's Guide is included to facilitate meaningful group study.

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	20 janvier 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441269232
Langue	English

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© 2010 Aglow International
Published by Chosen Books 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438 chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan. www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Chosen edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6923-2
Previously published by Gospel Light
Originally published in 1998 in the Aglow Bible Study series as Forgiveness
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ® . Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
AMP —Scripture taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright © 1958, 1987 by the Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
KJV — King James Version . Authorized King James Version.
NASB —Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible , © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NKJV —From the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Phillips — The New Testament in Modern English , Revised Edition, J. B. Phillips, Translator. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., 866 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10022.
Aglow International is an interdenominational organization of Christian women and men. Our mission is to lead the lost to Jesus Christ and provide opportunity for believers to grow in their faith and minister to others. Our publications are used to help women and men find a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, to enhance growth in their Christian experience, and to help them recognize their roles and relationships according to Scripture. For more information about our organization, please write to Aglow International, P.O. Box 1749, Edmonds, WA 98020-1749, U.S.A., or call (425) 775-7282. For ordering or information about the Aglow studies and other resources, visit the Aglow e-store at www.aglow.org .
Dedicated to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His faithful servants of the Women’s Bible Study at the Tualatin Hills Christian Church. Without their prayerful support this study would not have been possible .
A grateful acknowledgment to Jill Honodel and Pam Weston, editors at Gospel Light. Jill Honodel asked the questions that helped shape this study and Pam Weston smoothed out my rough places. What a team!
My heartfelt appreciation to the adult class that meets the second hour on Sunday mornings. This group of men and women gave me the opportunity to teach this study for the first time. Thank you, Lynn Bruce, Don and Diane Burton, Hugh and Jan Findlay, Randy Fosse, Carol Grantom, Sally Lavell, Jeff and Kristi Promitas, Katie Rose, Stacy Singledecker and Ellen Whited. Your input was more valuable than you will ever know .
I would also like to thank my daughter Beth Niquette, my special friend Esther Friemark, and my pastor, Loren Doty. They are encouragers! Special thanks to Scott Rainsberry’s high school class, particularly Nate Hazard and Michaela and Michael Wanberg, for their input on chapter 2 .
Finally, thanks to my husband, Bud, our grandson Jonathon and our adult children, Dow, Darren and Roberta—all who patiently put up with the hours I spent holed up in my office. Two-year-old Jon-Jon often came in and kept me company .
What a family I have! What a support group! I thank God for each and every one of you .
Eva
C ONTENTS
Foreword
Introduction
How to Start and Lead a Small Group
1. Experiencing God’s Forgiveness
2. Cultivating a Forgiving Heart
3. Why Forgiveness Is Hard
4. Pride vs. Humility
5. Loving Your Enemies
6. Grace to Forgive
7. The Power of the Cross
8. Restored to Serve
The Gift of Forgiveness Leader’s Guide
F OREWORD
When the apostle Paul poured out his heart in letters to the young churches in Asia, he was responding to his apostolic call to shepherd those tender flocks. They needed encouragement in their new life in Jesus. They needed solid doctrine. They needed truth from someone who had an intimate relationship with God and with them.
Did Paul know as he was writing that these simple letters would form the bulk of the New Testament? We can be confident that the Holy Spirit did! How like God to use Paul’s relationship with these churches to cement His plan and purpose in their lives, and, generations later, in ours.
We in Aglow can relate to Paul’s desire to bond those young churches together in the faith. After 1967, when Aglow fellowships began bubbling up across the United States and in other countries, they needed encouragement. They needed to know the fullness of who they were in Christ. They needed relationship. Like Paul, our desire to reach out and nurture from far away birthed a series of Bible studies that have fed thousands since 1973 when our first study, Genesis , was published. Our studies share heart to heart, giving Christians new insights about themselves and their relationship with and in God.
In 1998, God’s generous nature provided us a rewarding new relationship with Gospel Light. Together we published our Aglow classics as well as a selection of exciting new studies. Gospel Light began as a publishing ministry much in the same way Aglow began publishing Bible studies. Henrietta Mears formed Gospel Light in response to requests from churches across America for the Sunday School materials she had written. Gospel Light remains a strong ministry-minded witness for the gospel around the world.
Our heart’s desire is that these studies will continue to kindle the minds of women and men, touch their hearts, and refresh their spirits with the light and life a loving Savior abundantly supplies.
This study, The Gift of Forgiveness by Eva Gibson, uncovers the difference between merely giving lip service to forgiveness and truly forgiving through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I know its contents will richly reward you.
Jane Hansen Hoyt International President Aglow International
I NTRODUCTION
Perhaps there is no truth that has had a greater impact on my thoughts and actions these past few years than that of grace—God doing for me what I can’t do for myself. At the end of my book Called to Spiritual Maturity , I wrote, “I understand a little more now—the entire movement of the Christian life from beginning to end is grace. Grace comes from God to man. When we receive it, we’re empowered to give to others. We become links in the chain of grace, a chain that goes on and on.” 1
What I didn’t realize when I wrote those words is how closely grace and forgiveness are interwoven. Change the word “grace” in the above quote to “forgiveness” and what do you have? A chain of love that encircles the world. Awesome truth.
Yet the more I thought about it, the more my own heart convicted me. Old resentments dressed in new clothes popped up to trip me. People in my past that I thought I had forgiven came back to haunt me. “But, Lord, I have forgiven them, haven’t I?”
“Yes, but what about those in your present? Those who persist in hurting you again and again—and they aren’t even your enemies; they’re members of your own family.”
There’s so much I don’t know about forgiveness, and yet there is much I do know. What takes hostility and transforms it into love? What is the secret of happy families and peace between individuals? What brings joy to our heavenly Father? Why, it’s forgiveness. Those who have experienced God’s forgiveness for their own sins and have then extended this same kind of forgiveness toward others are the most joyous people in the world.
But if this is true, why do we harbor old hates in our hearts? Why do we allow resentment to rankle underneath the surface? Why do we allow bitterness and hostility to poison our personalities and cause our relationships with others to wither and die?
This study was developed as the result of my own struggles in learning to forgive. It discusses such questions as: What is forgiveness? How do I know if I am forgiven by God? What are obstacles to forgiveness? How does unworthiness play a role in receiving forgiveness? Do I hold forgiveness for ransom in my relationships, or do I use my need to forgive someone else as a pedestal to stand on? Questions like these dig deep. They help us open our innermost being to our Lord and to one another.
The goal of this study is that each of us will uncover the difference between giving lip service to forgiveness and experiencing and extending true forgiveness by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I know now that real forgiveness is impossible without the cross. And what is the message of the cross but God’s grace and forgiveness spilling down to undeserving man? When I meet my Savior at the cross, I long to make His words a reality in my own life. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32).
A N O VERVIEW OF THE S TUDY
This Bible study is divided into four sections:
1. A Closer Look at the Problem defines the problem and the goal of the lesson.
2. A Closer Look at God’s Truth gets you into God’s Word. What does God have to say about the problem? How can