Celebrating Grace & Mercy The LORD passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34)

Money Talent = 15 years of minimum wage 10,000 Talents approx = £1bn Denarius = 1 day’s minimum wage 100 Denarii = £5,000

The Kingdom of heaven is like.. KingYou owe me £1bn 1 st ManI can’t pay! KingI’ll sell you & your family to pay it off. 1 st ManPlease! Please! Please! Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything. KingPatient? You don’t know the ½ of it. And, actually I like you. I’ll cancel your debt. (King exits, 2 nd Man enters) 1 st ManYou owe me £5k 2 nd ManI can’t pay! 1 st ManI’ll sell you & your family to pay it off. 2 nd ManPlease! Please! Please! Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything. 1 st ManNo way. I don’t believe in debts being cancelled. Off to prison for you. (King Enters) KingOh dear. Well if you don’t believe in debts being cancelled, it’s off to prison for you.

Debts and Gifts Something is given in both cases Debt = The full cost is bourn by the recipient Gift = The full cost is bourn by the giver Grace is not cheap – it’s just a matter of who pays for it. Writing off debts = changing to a system of Gift (Grace)

Do you expect something back from your friendships? A.A lot more than I give B.A little more than I give C.The same as I give D.A little less then I give E.A lot less than I give F.Nothing

What to do when your friend doesn’t give you what you expect A.Stop the friendship B.Give a lot less than they give C.Give a little less than they give D.Give the same as they give E.Give a little more then they give F.Give a lot more than they give G.Give regardless

Living in Grace Christmas: Exchange/give presents Health, education, welfare: My/your rights Friendships: Taken for granted / Gift Parents: After all we/you've done for you/us Work: Live to Work / Work to Live

Saving Private Ryan “… learn this way of living”

Invitation We are invited to come together as those who belong to the household of Christ, brothers and sisters, who in our baptized lives live out the death and resurrection of Jesus. The family of the reborn and the reconciled, who inhabit a universe of grace.

Matthew 18: Living in Grace 21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.

28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow- servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 "His fellow-servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' 30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow-servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Living in Grace (or not) Thank God for his written Word to us