Today's story is called,

"Seventy times seven."

The memory verse is from Matthew 18:35.

"Forgive your brother from your heart."

Today's message is,

"God wants me to forgive others

from my heart."

Have you ever been so angry at someone,

that it was hard to forgive them?

One day, Peter asked Jesus,

"How many times shall I forgive

someone who sins against me?

Seven times?"

In Jesus' time,

the priests and rabbies taught that

people only had to forgive a person

three times!

So Peter thought he was being generous,

by suggesting the number seven.

"Not seven times,"

Jesus said.

"But seventy times seven."

Jesus meant that we should not

count the times that we forgive someone.

We should be willing

and ready to forgive.

Then Jesus told a story

to make his point.

"A certain man worked for a king,

managing the king's money.

One day, the king sat down

to look at his accounts.

He disovered, this man's account

was millions in debt!

Far more than the man could ever repay.

The king ordered the man,

his wife,

and his children

to be sold.

And everything he owned,

was to be sold.

All the money

would help to repay the debt.

The man fell on his knees

and begged for mercy!

"Give me time!" he said.

"And I will repay everything I owe!"

The king knew

the man could never repay so much money.

But the king felt sorry for the man.

So he cancelled the debt,

and let his servant go.

The king's servant was so relieved

he rushed away.

On his way out,

he met another servant,

one who owed him money.

It was just a little bit,

about a day's wages.

The king's servant grabbed the second man by the neck,

and he began choking him.

"Pay me back the money you owe me!"

he demanded.

"Please be patient with me!"

begged the second man.

"Give me time,

and I will repay back everything I owe you!"

But the king's servant refused.

He had the second man thrown in prison

until he could repay the debt!

Other servants of the king

saw the whole thing.

The immediately reported it to the king.

The king called the first servant back.

"You wicked servant!"

he stormed.

"I cancelled millions you owed me!

Shouldn't you have had the same

mercy on someone else?

Someone who owed you so little?"

The king had his servant

taken away to prison.

We are like the king's servant.

He owed more than he could ever repay.

We can never be good enough.

But just as the king forgave his servant,

God has forgiven our sins!

And since God has forgiven us,

He asks us to treat others

with mercy and kindness and forgiveness.

www.gracelink.net

Close captions by Bernice Leong.