God is Forgiving

Psalm 86:5

Central Theme:   God forgives everyone, even me.

Introduction–If I have a cup of water and I pour it on to this rag, what will happen?  The rag will get wet.  (If appropriate pour the water on to the floor.  If not pour it into a saucer or rag.)  This rag is wet and it will be wet for a long time; but it will dry.  If I slap Sam in the face, will it hurt?  Yes.  I can’t instantly make this rag dry again.  If I hit Sam, I can‘t take it back ever.  Folks, we find ourselves in a mess.  Because we sin and we can’t take the bad things back.  We can’t make the rag dry instantly.  And we cannot make the slap not hurt.  But there is one thing we have.  We can get God’s forgiveness when we sin.

               Have a member read Psalm 86:5.

I.     Tell the story of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11 and 2 Samuel 12.

1.  David slept with Bathsheba; then he killed her husband.

2.  God told David that he was a sinner.

II.     David asked God to forgive him.

A. God did forgive David.

1.  God says that David was a man whose heart was like God‘s more than 200 years after this incident.

2.  But David had sinned and even God’s forgiveness did not take away the results of those sins.

B.  David‘s little son died and many other bad things happened to David’s family after that.

III.     God forgives but he does not always take away the bad effects of those sins.  –ex There was a woman who became a Christian after she had killed someone.  She was sentenced to death.  Even though she was a Christian, she still had to die.

Conclusion–God forgives everyone who asks for forgiveness.