ST. JOHN'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
ESSEX, IOWA

Worship Services are Sunday at 10:45am - Come Worship With Us!​

A Word from Pastor Ed....

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And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

                                             Matthew 6:12

Forgiveness is one of the most fundamental acts of Christian love. Most of the time it comes fairly easy but occasionally forgiving is the most difficult thing we can do. When the wound is so deep and painful, being a forgiving person can seem like the most impossible thing we can imagine.

We know that Jesus forgives us all our sins. In the Lord’s Prayer we seek to be as forgiving as Jesus is. The question is how can we achieve that goal. The short answer is only when we are empowered by the Holy Spirit is the impossible made possible but that is easier said (prayed) than done.

During the month of January, I will use the sermon time to explore Christian forgiveness in depth. Here are the themes for the coming weeks:

January 9th – “Choosing to be forgiving”

January 16th – “Seeing ourselves as part of the story of forgiveness”

January 23rd – “How does the Bible understand forgiveness”

January 30th – “How can we achieve a forgiving heart”

During these weeks I will tackle such issues as the difference between forgiving and

forgetting, why forgive a person who does not deserve it and who benefits most from forgiving.

One goal in preaching this series on about the subject. The primary reason is for us forgiveness is so that we would learn more all to become more forgiving people.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Ed