Family Feud! :
Family Feud! 2 Top Barriers to Forgiveness Lack of time to deal with the emotion of it
Lack of trust that the partner won’t hurt me again
Don’t want to feel pain again
Takes a lot of effort
Pride
Guilt or Shame
Fear
Distractions or busyness
Past unresolved pain from childhood
Marriage Inevitably Involves Conflict … :
3 Marriage Inevitably Involves Conflict … “Because marriage, more than any other relationship, reflects God’s involvement with us and bears more potential to draw our hearts to heaven, it can more readily give us a taste of hell.”
Dan Allender and Tremper Longman III
Marriage is a practice of self-sacrifice.
Addressing our difficulties through confession and apology allows us to grow closer to God.
An Apology Is Not… :
An Apology Is Not… "A stiff apology is a second insult.... The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt."- G. K. Chesterton
Confessing Out of Shame or Poor Self-Perception
Coerced
Insincere 4
Then What Is It…Really? :
Then What Is It…Really? Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
- James 5:16 (NIV)
Good Timing
A Reminder of the Covenant Relationship
Clear & Direct
Taking Responsibility
Tender
A Behavioral Demonstration of Repentance
A New Beginning in Accumulating Trustworthy Post-Hurt Interactions 5
A Good Confession… :
A Good Confession… 6
Grace in Receiving Apology … :
Grace in Receiving Apology … Grace is required to hear an apology.
Ask your partner if he or she is ready to hear your apology:
“I would like to apologize if you’re ready to hear it.”
It requires self-awareness on the part of the person hearing the apology to realize whether he or she is truly ready. 7
Slide 8:
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