The Sermon Story

Confession is one of the hardest and most healing things a person can do. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins" ( 1 John 1:9 ). Yet confession can also be twisted, either by being delayed until it is forced out of us, or by turning it into public shaming. These two stories about confession, retold in our own words, come from very different centuries. One is the true story of a twentieth-century art forger who confessed only when he had to, and then could not get anyone to believe him. The other is about how early Irish Christianity, often linked with St Patrick, changed the way the church heard confession. Each ends with a takeaway for preaching or reflection. Stories in this post: The Confession Nobody Believed: Han van Meegeren St Patrick and the Mercy of Private Confession ──────── ✝ ──────── The Confession Nobody Believed: Han van Meegeren In the 1930s, the Dutch painter Han van Meegeren felt humiliated by critics who said he had...

Forgiveness is easy to admire and very hard to practise. It costs the person who forgives, and it often makes no sense to anyone watching. Yet again and again, people who forgive find that they are the ones set free. These eight stories about forgiveness, retold in our own words, include true accounts of extraordinary courage and a few simple parables that preachers have used for generations. Each ends with a short takeaway. Stories in this collection: "This Is My Revenge": Tomás Borge Meets His Torturer "He Said, 'I Don't Remember'" Going Fishing: A Child's Lesson on Forgiveness George Harrison and His Sister: A Reconciliation Almost Too Late Forgiving the Dead Man Walking: Debbie Morris's Story Bud Welch and the Survivor Tree of Oklahoma City The Red Jelly Stain on the Mauve Sofa Building Bridges: The Carpenter and Two Brothers ──────── ✝ ──────── "This Is My Revenge": Tomás Borge Meets His Torturer Tomás Borge was one of the...