Week 4 / 4
Reconciliation
This final session focuses on an essential part of forgiveness: reconciliation. Through this process healing happens and community can grow again. Complete what has grown over the past weeks!
Choose a version
Forgiveness
Reconciliation
Come together as a group and open up the time in prayer.
Reflect on the goodness of God in this last week. Where did you see him working in your life? How is he helping you move forward in your relationships? (It could be that he just made you more aware of things that need attention or to be changed.) Praise him for his goodness.
- How was last week’s practice?
- Does anyone have a breakthrough story to share?
Steps
This week we are focusing on reconciliation. Reconciliation has 5 steps to it and it is very important to take each step seriously. Often we want to jump from confession to reconciliation. Or we don’t really want to talk about what happened and just ask if we are okay in the relationship. We cover it up so it seems like everything is okay again but it truly hasn’t been dealt with. This leaves potential for a deeper and more detrimental wound to occur in the future.
The steps of reconciliation.
- Conviction
- Confession
- Repentance
- Restitution
- Reconciliation
Conviction
Conviction is the beginning of the process. It is the place that God reveals the wrong we have done and opens our eyes to see the harm we have caused.
Confession
Confession – this has two phases to it. First we confess to God what we have done. We bring it to him so we can experience his forgiveness and be led by him in confessing to the one who we have wronged. Second, going to the one we have wronged and confessing what we have done.
Note: This is the place that pride has to die. This is not about making yourself look good or salvaging your reputation. This is about confessing what you did to this person. There are no buts or passing blame on to the one you are confessing to. This is not the place for that. It is strictly acknowledging the wrong thing you did.
Repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling the depth of the wrong that was caused, which is accompanied by making a commitment to correct and take action steps to change. If there is no repentance there can be no reconciliation. This is the point where trust can begin to be built again. It is the defining step to see if reconciliation is even a possibility.
Restitution
Restitution is righting your wrong. Do you owe them money? Pay them back with interest. Did you break something? Replace it. Did you gossip about someone and cause people to think wrongly about someone? Go back to those people and tell them you were wrong to do that and try to correct the damage you did to their name.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation – this is the point where you both have come to a place of forgiving and receiving forgiveness, and acknowledging that the relationship can move forward in a healthy way. This does not mean it will be exactly as it was before the break in the relationship but it means you are in the process of moving forward in the relationship with one another.
Group Discussion Questions
- How have you tried to reconcile with others in the past?
- How do these steps help you with the process?
- Are there steps that are new to you?
- What steps might be difficult for you and why?
Now read together:
Luke 22:54-62
John 21:1-19
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Now continue with John 21:1-19
Group Discussion Questions
- What did Peter do to Jesus?
- How did this affect Peter?
- How did it affect Jesus?
- How did Jesus treat Peter?
- How did Jesus and Peter walk through the steps of reconciliation in this passage?
The Practice
Talk about this week’s practice:
Day One
Read Genesis 42
What step of reconciliation has happened in this chapter?
Which brother spoke out about it?
Which brother offered restitution to his father?
Prayer
“God, reveal to me the people I have hurt and what steps I need to take in order to start the reconciliation process with them. Examine my heart, God.”
Take a time of stillness before the Lord to hear what he is speaking to you.
- Journal: What is God revealing to you?
Day Two
Read Genesis 43-44
- Which brother confesses the past to Joseph? // Vs 44:14-16
- What role did he play in Joseph being sold into slavery? // Genesis 37:26-28
Confess to God the hurt you caused in the relationship.
Prayer: God, show me the way to confess my sin to the one I hurt. God, reveal my pride and any fear that stands in the way of me being willing to make this step. God, give me hope of a reconciled relationship.
- Journal: What step is God guiding you to take?
Day Three
Read Genesis 44:14-34
- How does Joseph’s brother reveal his repentant heart?
- What does restitution look like in this story?
To repent means we have acknowledged our wrongdoing and have made a commitment to stop our wrongdoing with God’s help.
Reminder – Restitution means we pay back, give back, right the wrong we have done. If it is money we have taken, then we give it back with interest. If we broke something, we buy them a new one to replace it. If it is gossip, then we go back to the people we gossiped to and repent and tell the truth about the person and try to repair the damage done to their reputation.
Prayer
“God, show me how I can live out true repentance for the harm I caused in this relationship and rebuild the trust that is needed for us to reconcile. How can I show that I am repentant of what I did and that I am changed by the work you have done in my life? God, show me how I can restore what I harmed. What do I need to fix in order to give restitution?”
Journal:
- What is God speaking to you about what true repentance looks like in this relationship?
- What did God show you about giving restitution in this relationship?
Day Four
Read Genesis 45
- How does this affect Joseph?
- Reflect – how has God prepared Joseph for this moment?
- How does his brother’s repentant heart help in the process of reconciliation?
The story continues in Genesis 46 – 49:1-27. Feel free to read as much of it as you can.
Read Genesis 49:28-33 – Genesis 50
- How has reconciliation come to completion at the end of this story?
- How long has it taken for complete reconciliation to take place in these relationships?
- How does this help you have hope for reconciliation in the broken relationships in your life?
- How does this give you patience during the process?
- How does the story of Joseph speak to you about the hurts you have experienced?
Prayer: “God, show me where I need to have patience in the reconciliation process. Help me to rely on your timing and not on my own. Give me peace to live in the middle of the process and allow you to work on my heart and on their heart.”
Journal:
- What did God reveal to you about where you are at in the process of reconciliation?
- What is God calling you to wait on?
- Where is God calling you to move forward in the relationship?
Praise
Take time to praise God for his goodness and faithfulness in this journey of reconciliation. Acknowledge all the things he has spoken to you. Rejoice where he has brought healing into your heart and in your relationships.
Discussion Questions
- What might be difficult for you in this week’s practice?
- How can the group encourage you to press in and move forward in this area?
Pray for each other. Find a prayer partner in your group for the week. Pray for each other and encourage each other throughout the week.
© Copyright 2024 – Copyright notice
All photographs and graphics as well as the design of this online-document are protected by copyright. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright lies with generations church Leipzig e.V. Please ask Tyler Charvat (Legal Notice generationschurch.de) if you would like to use the mentioned contents of this document.
Texts of this document are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. This means you may distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only and you are required to give credit to the creator.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Forgiveness
Reconciliation
This week we are focusing on reconciliation. Reconciliation has 5 steps to it and it is very important to take each step seriously. Often we want to jump from confession to reconciliation. Or we don’t really want to talk about what happened and just ask if we are okay in the relationship. We cover it up so it seems like everything is okay again but it truly hasn’t been dealt with. This leaves potential for a deeper and more detrimental wound to occur in the future.
The steps of reconciliation.
- Conviction
- Confession
- Repentance
- Restitution
- Reconciliation
Conviction
Conviction is the beginning of the process. It is the place that God reveals the wrong we have done and opens our eyes to see the harm we have caused.
Confession
Confession – this has two phases to it. First we confess to God what we have done. We bring it to him so we can experience his forgiveness and be led by him in confessing to the one who we have wronged. Second, going to the one we have wronged and confessing what we have done.
Note: This is the place that pride has to die. This is not about making yourself look good or salvaging your reputation. This is about confessing what you did to this person. There are no buts or passing blame on to the one you are confessing to. This is not the place for that. It is strictly acknowledging the wrong thing you did.
Repentance
Repentance – Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling the depth of the wrong that was caused, which is accompanied by making a commitment to correct and take action steps to change. If there is no repentance there can be no reconciliation. This is the point where trust can begin to be built again. It is the defining step to see if reconciliation is even a possibility.
Restitution
Restitution is righting your wrong. Do you owe them money? Pay them back with interest. Did you break something? Replace it. Did you gossip about someone and cause people to think wrongly about someone? Go back to those people and tell them you were wrong to do that and try to correct the damage you did to their name.
Reconciliation
Reconciliation – this is the point where you both have come to a place of forgiving and receiving forgiveness, and acknowledging that the relationship can move forward in a healthy way. This does not mean it will be exactly as it was before the break in the relationship but it means you are in the process of moving forward in the relationship with one another.
Questions
- How have you tried to reconcile with others in the past?
- How do these steps help you with the process?
- Are there steps that are new to you?
- What steps might be difficult for you and why?
Now read:
Luke 22:54-62
John 21:1-19
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
Now continue with John 21:1-19
Questions
- What did Peter do to Jesus?
- How did this affect Peter?
- How did it affect Jesus?
- How did Jesus treat Peter?
- How did Jesus and Peter walk through the steps of reconciliation in this passage?
The Practice
Day One
Read Genesis 42
What step of reconciliation has happened in this chapter?
Which brother spoke out about it?
Which brother offered restitution to his father?
Prayer
“God, reveal to me the people I have hurt and what steps I need to take in order to start the reconciliation process with them. Examine my heart, God.”
Take a time of stillness before the Lord to hear what he is speaking to you.
- Journal: What is God revealing to you?
Day Two
Read Genesis 43-44
- Which brother confesses the past to Joseph? // Vs 44:14-16
- What role did he play in Joseph being sold into slavery? // Genesis 37:26-28
Confess to God the hurt you caused in the relationship.
Prayer: God, show me the way to confess my sin to the one I hurt. God, reveal my pride and any fear that stands in the way of me being willing to make this step. God, give me hope of a reconciled relationship.
- Journal: What step is God guiding you to take?
Day Three
Read Genesis 44:14-34
- How does Joseph’s brother reveal his repentant heart?
- What does restitution look like in this story?
To repent means we have acknowledged our wrongdoing and have made a commitment to stop our wrongdoing with God’s help.
Reminder – Restitution means we pay back, give back, right the wrong we have done. If it is money we have taken, then we give it back with interest. If we broke something, we buy them a new one to replace it. If it is gossip, then we go back to the people we gossiped to and repent and tell the truth about the person and try to repair the damage done to their reputation.
Prayer
“God, show me how I can live out true repentance for the harm I caused in this relationship and rebuild the trust that is needed for us to reconcile. How can I show that I am repentant of what I did and that I am changed by the work you have done in my life? God, show me how I can restore what I harmed. What do I need to fix in order to give restitution?”
Journal:
- What is God speaking to you about what true repentance looks like in this relationship?
- What did God show you about giving restitution in this relationship?
Day Four
Read Genesis 45
- How does this affect Joseph?
- Reflect – how has God prepared Joseph for this moment?
- How does his brother’s repentant heart help in the process of reconciliation?
The story continues in Genesis 46 – 49:1-27. Feel free to read as much of it as you can.
Read Genesis 49:28-33 – Genesis 50
- How has reconciliation come to completion at the end of this story?
- How long has it taken for complete reconciliation to take place in these relationships?
- How does this help you have hope for reconciliation in the broken relationships in your life?
- How does this give you patience during the process?
- How does the story of Joseph speak to you about the hurts you have experienced?
Prayer: “God, show me where I need to have patience in the reconciliation process. Help me to rely on your timing and not on my own. Give me peace to live in the middle of the process and allow you to work on my heart and on their heart.”
Journal:
- What did God reveal to you about where you are at in the process of reconciliation?
- What is God calling you to wait on?
- Where is God calling you to move forward in the relationship?
Praise
Take time to praise God for his goodness and faithfulness in this journey of reconciliation. Acknowledge all the things he has spoken to you. Rejoice where he has brought healing into your heart and in your relationships.
© Copyright 2024 – Copyright notice
All photographs and graphics as well as the design of this online-document are protected by copyright. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright lies with generations church Leipzig e.V. Please ask Tyler Charvat (Legal Notice generationschurch.de) if you would like to use the mentioned contents of this document.
Texts of this document are licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. This means you may distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only and you are required to give credit to the creator.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are taken from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Downloads
In your language: English
Other language: German