CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART
Now what? Our forgiveness journey is only complete when it does not stop with being forgiven. We also need to be able to let go of guilty feelings. How well do you do that? Why is it hard to let go of feeling guilty even when we are no longer guilty in God’s eyes?
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ What role does forgiving ourselves play in getting past feelings of guilt? What are some things you feel challenged to work on based on David’s story and Psalm 51? How can you keep growing in the journey from guilt to full forgiveness?
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________
WN 3 - 2015
CREATE IN ME A
PRAYER
CLEAN HEART
Lord God, You know all things and you forgive all things when we come to you with contrite hearts. Teach us to ask for forgiveness and to be able to let go of feelings of guilt that prevent us from living the life you have created for us – we want to live life to the full and be full participants in your glorious kingdom. May we come to you in the full confidence that you call us your sons and daughters after your own heart. Amen
.
David committed adultery and then tried to cover his sin through deceit and eventually murder and yet God called him ‘a man after His own heart.’ How can this be? Can God forgive really forgive us all our sins and can we really live free as His Sons and Daughters after His own heart? I
2. David teaches us that feelings of guilt based on our sin can call us to repent and ask God for forgiveness. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:1-2
WORD 2 Samuel: 11 and 12 (Read this in your bible as it is too long to include in this reflection sheet) David is on a rooftop and he sees a woman bathing on another rooftop. He asks someone who she is and finds out her name is Bathsheba and she is married. He has her come over, sleeps with her and gets her pregnant. She tells him and David goes to great lengths to have this pregnancy hidden and even has her husband killed. After a brief time of mourning the loss of her husband, David takes Bathsheba to be his wife. Later, a prophet named Nathan calls David out on his sin. David finally sees the error of his ways and sees his sin. He writes Psalm 51 in response to realizing the gravity of his sin
Psalm 51 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
What?
3. David teaches us that God removes our guilt by forgiving us of that sin. “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7 • Note: At this point, we are no longer guilty but may still feel guilty. 4. David teaches us that God restores joy through the removal of our guilt feelings. “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” Psalm 51:8 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12 Applying David’s Lessons means doing the work of moving from guilt to forgiveness. 1. Have I acknowledged my sin and repented? 2. Do I believe that God has fully forgiven me? 3. Do I feel forgiven? • A key part of feeling forgiven happens when I also forgive myself. 4. Do I move on?
Now what? What does the Word say?
Question: Where in your life do you feel guilty? David’s Path from Guilt to Forgiveness 1. David teaches us that we commit real sin against God. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” Psalm 51:3-4 • Note: At this point, we can be guilty without feeling guilty.
Spend some time reflecting on how this pathway works in your life. Are there places in your life where you are stuck in some kind of an ongoing sin pattern or stuck with some significant sin that you have not dealt with? Have you repented of that sin? If not, are you willing to do it now? What words might you use to repent?
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ When you repent, what is your level of confidence that God fully forgives you?
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ What role does forgiving ourselves play in getting past feelings of guilt? What are some things you feel challenged to work on based on David’s story and Psalm 51? How can you keep growing in the journey from guilt to full forgiveness?
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________
WN 3 - 2015
CREATE IN ME A
PRAYER
CLEAN HEART
Lord God, You know all things and you forgive all things when we come to you with contrite hearts. Teach us to ask for forgiveness and to be able to let go of feelings of guilt that prevent us from living the life you have created for us – we want to live life to the full and be full participants in your glorious kingdom. May we come to you in the full confidence that you call us your sons and daughters after your own heart. Amen
.
David committed adultery and then tried to cover his sin through deceit and eventually murder and yet God called him ‘a man after His own heart.’ How can this be? Can God forgive really forgive us all our sins and can we really live free as His Sons and Daughters after His own heart? I
2. David teaches us that feelings of guilt based on our sin can call us to repent and ask God for forgiveness. “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:1-2
WORD 2 Samuel: 11 and 12 (Read this in your bible as it is too long to include in this reflection sheet) David is on a rooftop and he sees a woman bathing on another rooftop. He asks someone who she is and finds out her name is Bathsheba and she is married. He has her come over, sleeps with her and gets her pregnant. She tells him and David goes to great lengths to have this pregnancy hidden and even has her husband killed. After a brief time of mourning the loss of her husband, David takes Bathsheba to be his wife. Later, a prophet named Nathan calls David out on his sin. David finally sees the error of his ways and sees his sin. He writes Psalm 51 in response to realizing the gravity of his sin
Psalm 51 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
What?
3. David teaches us that God removes our guilt by forgiving us of that sin. “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7 • Note: At this point, we are no longer guilty but may still feel guilty. 4. David teaches us that God restores joy through the removal of our guilt feelings. “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.” Psalm 51:8 “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12 Applying David’s Lessons means doing the work of moving from guilt to forgiveness. 1. Have I acknowledged my sin and repented? 2. Do I believe that God has fully forgiven me? 3. Do I feel forgiven? • A key part of feeling forgiven happens when I also forgive myself. 4. Do I move on?
Now what? What does the Word say?
Question: Where in your life do you feel guilty? David’s Path from Guilt to Forgiveness 1. David teaches us that we commit real sin against God. “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.” Psalm 51:3-4 • Note: At this point, we can be guilty without feeling guilty.
Spend some time reflecting on how this pathway works in your life. Are there places in your life where you are stuck in some kind of an ongoing sin pattern or stuck with some significant sin that you have not dealt with? Have you repented of that sin? If not, are you willing to do it now? What words might you use to repent?
_____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ When you repent, what is your level of confidence that God fully forgives you?
