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SPOTTER, LESSON 1: GOD IS FAITHFUL TO FORGIVE

Confess – “to say the same thing about.” (Greek – homologéō) and “to make known, declare, tell.” (Hebrew – Yada)

To confess a sin is to uncover it and call it exactly what God calls it. Effective confession must be accompanied by the willingness and desire to turn away from it. Having a “change of mind” about the sin (repentance).

Case Study In Confession

The pattern we see with King David in his sin against God with Bathsheba, the murder of Uriah, the attempt at hiding those sins, the physical results of that attempt, and his subsequent confession in Psalm 51, serves as a case study for God’s promise of forgiveness.

Over the next several weeks we will walk with our students through the hard truth that even David, a “man after God’s own heart,” failed the test and sinned against heaven. Were it not for God’s promise of forgiveness, this reality could cause us to lose all hope of ever being useful in the hands of our Lord. But the truth is that our God is faithful to forgive for the sake of his own Name and, because He is, we can say to God, just as David did, “Let me hear you say, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Psalm 51:8)

BIG IDEA: God will forgive us when we confess our sins.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
1 John 1:5-10
Romans 7:7-25
Psalm 51

SECTION VERSE:
But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, He will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure. – 1 John 1:9

LESSON VERSE:
Suppose we claim we are without sin. Then we are fooling ourselves. The truth is not in us. – 1 John 1:8

PRAYER:
Thank God that He is faithful to forgive us when we choose sin instead of Him. Ask Him to forgive you today for where you have fallen short of His standard.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Do real Christians still sin?
• Why do you think this is true if we are a “new creation”? (Clue: position in Christ at salvation vs. sanctification process)
• What solution does God provide?
• What else is promised along with forgiveness?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Practice your memory verse (1 John 1:9).
• Think of someone who has done something to you that you didn’t like. Forgive them in your heart and, if it is OK with mom and dad, let them know.

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ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.