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Forgiveness

Hi there, friends,

                 I hope you are having a great week!

 

                I want to take a moment to remind you again that when Jesus died to pay for your sins, He paid for all of them.  1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Our part is to confess, His part is to forgive.

 

                First, this means that you can’t do anything to earn His forgiveness. You can’t pay for your own sins. You can’t do enough penance or beat yourself up enough or wait a long enough time. Your only hope is that Jesus will forgive you. And that hope is well-founded because He loves to forgive.

 

                I think about when there is a breakdown in my relationship with any of my kids. I long for that relationship to be restored. When that son or daughter comes back to me to reconcile, my heart is already wide open and eager to reunite. Christ’s forgiveness is ready to be poured out on you, if only you would admit your sin and rely on His forgiveness.

 

                Second, this means that we do not need to carry any of our sins anymore. Maybe you have been carrying a sin in your life for a long time because you can’t imagine that Jesus would forgive it. It is just too terrible, too shameful. Jesus already knows what it is, and He has already determined to forgive it. That is why the cross was such a horrific and terrible event; Jesus took every one of your sins on Himself, even the very worst.

 

                Third, this means that today you can live shame and guilt-free. I know that it is almost unfathomable that that should be a possibility, but it is true. You can take on the righteousness of Christ.

 

                Paul said, “That I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (Philippians 3:9)

 

                When God looks at you, He sees the righteousness, the perfection of Christ. And the glory of Christ is so overwhelming that we are enfolded in it. Our sins have been washed away and, because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we will shine just as bright!

 

                So, do not hang on to any sin anymore. Confess it to Jesus. Receive freedom and release today; this is why Jesus came!

 

                This weekend we will start our Holy Week. I will be preaching this Sundaty on the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made. He gave up His heavenly position, His earthly stature and even His physical life. All for His love for us. What would be too much for Him to ask of us?

 

                Then we will have a special service on Thursday evening at 7pm at the Church called the Maundy Thursday Service. This will focus on the last supper before Jesus is betrayed. We will share communion together as well as spend a lot of time in worship and praise.

 

                On Friday, I want to invite you to join me and the rest of the believers in Sylvan Lake for a community Good Friday Service. That will take place at Emerge Church at 11am. There will be a Cross March that will start at City Hall at 9:45am and make its way up to Emerge Church. On that walk there will be several stations of prayer for the city.

 

                Finally, on Easter Sunday, we will kick of a brand-new series called IMPACT! In this series we will look at how Jesus’ resurrection impacted the spiritual realm as well as the physical realm and how it is still impacting the worlds today. There will be personal testimonies of people who have been impacted by Christ. I am really excited about that series.

 

                I hope you have a great weekend and we will see you on Sunday either in person or on video!

 

                I love being your pastor.

 

Pastor Tim