September 22 Sermon and Announcements

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CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

September 22, 2024

God Promises Us Forgiveness

1 John 1:9

God has made a promise to forgive our sins. In 1 John 1:9 we see the

first thing that activates this promise is our understanding we have

sinned against a holy and just God and we are asking for forgiveness.

When you and I do this, God is obligated to act on the promise he made

to his people thousands of years earlier.

Let us look at a couple of examples found in the Old Testament that

show that very thing. In Jeremiah 31:33 we read, “This the covenant I

will make with the house of Israel, after that time, declares the Lord. I

will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their

God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his

neighbor or a man his brother, saying know the Lord because they will

all know me, from the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord.

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no

more.” These verses in Jeremiah talk of the relationship God is

promising to His people.

Jesus said much the same thing in John 16:13-14. There we read, “But

when he, the spirit of truth, comes he will guide you into all truth. He

will not speak on his own, he will speak only what he hears, and he will

tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from

what is mine and making it known to you.” Jesus is telling his disciples

basically the same thing Jeremiah was inspired to say to the Israelites.

God will write his word on the hearts of the believers. Jesus said the

Holy Spirit will accomplish this on the behalf of believers.

To cite one more example of God’s promises of forgiveness from the

Old Testament, I would like to share with you from Micah 7:18-19. Here

we read, “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the

transgressions of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry

forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on

us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the

depts of the sea.” Here we not only see how God will forgive his

peoples sins, but we also see how completely he does it. We are told he

will tread our sins underfoot and hurl our iniquities into the depth of

the sea. God is making a point of letting us know when our sins are

forgiven. it is over, they are done in the eyes of God.

Jesus did make a point of telling us since the Holy Spirit is leading us

into God’s truth and forgiveness, we are expected to do what God has

first done for us. Just as God has promised forgiveness for us, we also

should be willing to share this promise with others who might need our

forgiveness. So, God is asking us to share this promise with others who

may have sinned against us.

In Ephesians 4:32 we are encouraged to do this very thing, “Be kind and

compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ

God forgave you.” So, we can see this promise of forgiveness is one we

are to join with God in sharing. Through the power of the Holy Spirit,

we can not only know we are forgiven that God is making the promise

real to you and me, but we also have the power and ability to join with

God sharing this promise with others as well.

We know God is a loving compassionate God that is able to forgive us.

We want to believe that the promise of forgiveness is available to us

because of what Jesus did on our behalf. But sometimes it is not as easy

for us to forgive those who have done things to us or our loved ones.

Even though we may realize we should be able to forgive by the power

of the Holy Spirit, it is hard. We may be willing to admit the obvious, “I

am not God, I don’t know if I can forgive as you do God.” And yet God is

telling us, “Yes you can.” Jesus even went as far as saying the promise

of forgiveness of sins for you has one additional condition, the first

confess our sins.

As we close out our time considering God’s promise of forgiveness, the

Lord is going to leave this very direct statement about forgiveness for

you and me to think about.

In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus says this, “For if you forgive men when they

sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do

not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Don’t

you just hate it when you are hearing something really good and then a

“but” gets thrown in there? Yes, God promises forgiveness to us. We

are even told these sins we are forgiven for are stomped on by God and

cast into the sea. But we are told if God will forgive us to really access

this promise, we need to be willing to forgive also. As we wrap up our

time together this morning, the question for you and me is, “How are

we doing?” The promise of forgiveness is for you and me but God

expects us to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

Sunday School 9:00

Tuesday 9:30 Bible Study

Sunday, October 6 6:00 p.m. Love Feast

--Who would like to be a delegate to District Conference at the

York Center church on November 1 and 2? Please let Carol or

Pastor Larry know of your interest asap. Registration has

already begun.

--We need volunteers for the children’s message during worship

and for story lessons in the nursery. Please sign up.

Pastor Larry Traxler (217) 454-2362

Donation Box for September: utilities

First Sundays: Food Bank donations

Keep in Your Prayers

Elliott (Evelyn Eads’ great-grandson); Alan Baker; Ruth Siburt;

Sharon Traughber; Dorthea Wood; Mike and Kathy Gentry;

Steve Needham; Larry Traxler; Nancy Fansler; Stacie Warren;

Nancy Gorrell; Nora Hanaver; Ron and Kathleen Petersen;

Doug Larrick; Shirley Clarkson; David and Jan Bower; Debbie

Garvey Leibrock; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker; Adiline Young;

Mayo and Darlene Hanaver; many unspoken requests; victims

of shootings and of natural disasters; shut-ins; the Nigerian

church; the Haitian church; those in the middle of war and

violence; military and other services and their families; Brethren

Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for the Romine congregation and

for the Office of Peacebuilding and Policy in Washington, D.C.