1. The lost art of forgiveness
John 8: 31-38

2. Is forgiveness a lost art?
We are already forgiven but we need to keep it fresh
We forget how forgiveness works
We get tangled up in sin and need release

3. David Parker Ray 53 year old sexual sadist in New Mexico
Drugged women … toy box … 2,3 days
Torture, abuse, videos, murder?
More than 37 women

4. Came to Police attention
A prostitute escaped his attention
A video of a woman with a tattoo on her leg
First court trial inconclusive
Second trial – convicted, 224 years

5. Final scene - reflections
Nightmares
No longer the woman I was
No more going out
Not the happy person I was
Can not trust people
Wishes Parker Ray was still alive

6. Do you have closure?
Not the person you used to be because of someone else’s actions?
Behaviour determined by past experiences?
Not free – carrying a huge weight of resentment, pain, anger?

7. How do you know? John 8:31-33 Jesus struck a nerve
Want to justify ourselves, declare our innocence
Unexpected fits of rage, despair (the emotional wave)
Ungodly aggression (willing to kill)

8. We need release John 8:34-36
Sin enslaves us (when we commit it; when others commit it against us)
Need to be set free by someone bigger than the ‘spider’

9. Have to admit it I John 1:5-10
Cannot hide behind “I am a Christian”
It’s revealed in our behaviour e.g. deceiving one another, breaking trust, abusing one another, hurting one another
Confess = admit, acknowledge (not avoid, work around, conceal, deny, excuse)

10. If we walk in the light I John 1:5-10
We have fellowship with one another
We are cleansed
We are purified from all unrighteousness

11. Parker Ray’s victim Scarred for life Will need to be careful
But she also needs to forgive
Eric Brady

12. What about us? We have been forgiven
But we need to keep the ‘contrition’ fresh
Let’s ask God to cleanse our hearts, thoughts, forgive our actions
Maybe we need to speak to someone