The parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18) - some headings

 I don't always use sermon headings, and I might actually just walk though the story on Sunday. But I have been playing around with different headings and how this might be preached. I'd love to hear what you have or have heard, improvements, suggestions and comments always welcome. 

Do you know your net worth?

 

(1) You owe a huge debt to God which you cannot possibly repay

 

(2) God graciously forgives you your huge debt if you asked him for mercy

 

(3) Are you ready, in response to God’s grace, to forgive the lesser debts which others owe you?

 

(4) If you are not prepared to show mercy to others, you can’t expect mercy from God

 

* * *

 

(1) We owe God huge debt

 

(2) God offers us a huge mercy

 

(3) We are capable of huge inconsistency

 

(4) We need a huge mercy-judgement rethink

 

(a) A huge re-think of God, his mercy and judgement. We must seek mercy but we mustn’t expect mercy if we will not offer mercy.

 

(b) A huge re-think of ourselves and our relationships. We must seek and offer mercy, not stand on our supposed rights.

 

* * *

One useful way to read the Bible can be to give particular attention to things that we find surprising or strange.

Maybe in this passage we can pick out some surprises

(1) We are to endlessly offer forgiveness, not reasonably or even generously, keep score

(2) We owe a huge debt we can’t repay, not “well, of course, nobody’s perfect and I include myself in that”

(3) God is completely and extravagantly merciful, not “yes, you can perhaps work off your debt eventually”

(4) God will judge those who have not really accepted mercy, not automatic universal forgiveness