July 19, 2023

There are certain topics that I could address every Sunday and they would touch a nerve every time. Two of those are suffering and forgiveness. Though we are bound together by these deep-water experiences, we nevertheless tend to feel that we endure these alone. There have been so many good things said and written about these that I tend to think that you all have heard this before and you don’t need me to keep pounding that same drum. But then something happens that reminds me of how fresh the issues are.

Such was the case a week ago Sunday. The text that David spoke from in 2 Samuel addressed the issue of forgiveness, and of course this was dealing with this sensitive matter in the messy family of King David. Several of us were discussing the many conversations that we had been part of as a result of the message and it was a good reminder that we will never outlive our need to regularly address this. Providentially…

A fairly new book by Brad Hambrick has come out on this subject entitled, “Making Sense of Forgiveness.” This book is excellent, but not necessarily in the ways we first imagine. This book is so helpful for those of you who have been sinned against and you are trying to understand what does biblical forgiveness really look like in your situation. This book is also very helpful for those of you who have sinned against others and you need some help in understanding what true humility looks like. In other words, this book is for all of us because we have all been sinned against (and will continue to be) and we all sin against others (and sadly, will continue to). For those of you who are teachers there is an excellent section toward the end that gives wise counsel on how to address this in your talks since forgiveness is such an important issue in the Bible. Due to the excellent writing, and relatively short chapters, this would serve couples very well also. Read a chapter together every other day or so. It will address some tough issues, but with grace and hope.

I highly recommend this book to you and wanted you to know that we ordered a bunch and will have them available at the bookstore for $12 this Sunday. If you buy them all, we will get more.

Finally, what a wonderful week we are having with Vacation Bible School (VBS). One of the many thrills for me is to see the very kids who grew up loving attending VBS so excited to serve in it and, in many cases, being able to serve with the adults who taught them not too long ago. The effort that goes into this week is massive, but the opportunities to make Christ known to so many is priceless. By the time you read this, there will be two days left. Please pray right now for these last two days that the gospel will be very clear and that God will be pleased to draw many students to himself.

Grace and Peace,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: 2 Samuel 15.24-16.14