Jan. 08, 2023

More Things to Forget

January 7 & 8, 2023

Primary Text:  Proverbs 13:1        

Previous Teaching: Time to Forget

1)  Begin Again – A New Thing

Isaiah 43:18:  "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

DQ 1) What should we remember from the past?  What should we forget?

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2)  Your Past Sin 

1 John 1:8-9:  If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

DQ 2) Do you embrace and accept God’s complete forgiveness of your sin?

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3)  Your Past Failures 

Philippians 3:13-14:  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

DQ 3) Do you accept your failures as learning experiences through which God has brought redemption in your life?

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4)  Your Past Bitterness 

Matthew 6:14-15:  For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

DQ 4) Do you need to extend forgiveness to any person?

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5)  Your Past Successes 

Luke 9:61-62:  Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."  Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." 

DQ 5) How can focusing too much on past successes inhibit your current outlook?

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This Week’s Teaching

1)  Your Past Lies

2 Corinthians 5:16-17:  So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 

DQ 1) What lies have you most deeply believed about yourself?

DQ 2) What lies have you believed about God?

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2)  Your Past Dreams 

Proverbs 13:12:  Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. 

DQ 3) Have you held any unrealistic dreams that have limited your joy?

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3)  Your Past Control 

Galatians 2:20:  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

DQ 4) Do you daily surrender your life to the will of God?

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