The more you confess your sins the more you are forgiven. The more you are forgiven the more you love God.
OUTLINE
The obstacles to confession
- catholic impression
- while you are being watched.
- create their own standards
- We judge others by their actions and we judge ourself by our intentions.
Why confession is important – the joy of confession.
What exactly is confession?
- 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
- Confession means we say the same word about our sins that God says. If we see our sin as God sees it.
- continuity of confession
The difference between people who confess their sins and people who don’t
Luke 7:41-47 – “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
- Honest confession melts away the mirage that certain people are “better Christians.”
How do I know what to confess?
- Jiminy cricket said, “always let your conscience be your guide.”
- You’ve got to have a straight edge. Sermon mount. Fruit spirit. 1 cor 13.
- An example of a prayer of confession
What do we want to see in our church?
- As Dietrich Bonhoeffer observes in Life Together, our sins are too great for us to bear alone.
- Remember to say confess to one another you need to be together.
- We’re called to care for one another as if we’re caring for parts of our own physical body. Where the world seeks to humiliate and expose, believers in Christ “confess [our] sins to each other and pray for each other so that [we] may be healed” (James 5:16).
God has a unique plan for every small group
- We are all helping each other get to heaven.
- Through confession we come again to live under the mercy of God.
- Put post it notes on the cross and table to close out the service.