sunday September 13 th, 2026

Fruitland United Methodist Church
September 13, 2026

*(Please stand if you are comfortably able.)

Prelude: “El Shaddai” by Michael Card & John Thompson

Welcoming the Light of Christ and inviting the neighborhood to worship.
Welcome and Announcements Pastor Jorge & Jay W.

Call to Worship Jay W.
Leader: God makes a way where there seems to be no way.
People: God leads us from fear into freedom.
Leader: God meets us with mercy greater than our failures.
People: And calls us to share that mercy with others.
Leader: We come as people who have received grace.
People: Teach us to live with grace, to forgive, and to seek peace.
All: Let us worship God together!

*Passing of The Peace Jay W.

*Opening Hymn: “Let’s Sing Unto The Lord” UMH 149

Pastoral Prayer: God of mercy, you know our hearts and our
relationships. You know where there is hurt, anger, division, and
disappointment. Give us courage to seek reconciliation, wisdom to
establish healthy boundaries and grace to forgive. Be with those who are
suffering, those carrying heavy burdens, and those longing for freedom and
hope. Teach us not only to receive your grace, but to share it. In the name of
Jesus Christ we pray Amen.

First Reading: Exodus 14:19-31 Liturgist
Reader: The Word of God for the people of God People: Thanks be to God.

Time With Young Christians Pastor Jorge

Community Expressions Pastor Jorge & Jay W.
      *Hymn: “Holy, Holy, Holy/ Santo, Santo, Santo” TFWS 2007
      Thanksgiving and Celebration.
      Prayers for healing and wholeness.
      Prayers for our community and the world. Let us pray.
      The Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven...”

Invitation to Generosity Pastor Jorge
God has given to us with generosity and grace. As we bring our gifts today,
may our generosity become part of God’s work of mercy, hope, and
restoration in our community and in the world.

Offertory: “Wade in the Water” African American Spiritual
*Doxology: “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow . . .” UMH 95
*Prayer of Dedication: God of grace, receive these gifts and use them to
bring hope, healing, and mercy to others. May our giving reflect the
generosity we have received from you. In Christ’s name. Amen.

Hymn: “Grace Alone” TFWS 2162

Second Reading: Matthew 18:21-35 Liturgist

Sermon: When Forgiveness No Longer Works Rev. Jorge Rodgriguez
Matthew 18:21–35

Last Sunday we talked about conversations. Those conversations we have over and over again... but only in our heads. While we are driving. While we are trying to sleep. While we are doing something else. We think about what we are going to say. We prepare our arguments. We defend our position. And, interestingly enough... in those imaginary conversations... we almost always win.

But Jesus told us: Go. Talk to the person. Listen. Seek reconciliation. Do not just talk
about the person. Talk with the person. Do everything you can to restore the relationship. And apparently Peter was listening. Because when Jesus finishes speaking, Peter steps forward. And I can almost imagine him feeling pretty good about himself. “Lord, how many times do I have to forgive someone who sins against me? As many as seven times?” Seven times!

Peter probably thought he was being extraordinarily generous. Maybe he expected Jesus to say: “Peter, calm down. Don't overdo it. Four times is enough.” But Jesus does not slow him down. Jesus accelerates. “Seven? No. Seventy-seven times.” Or, depending on the translation: seventy times seven. But Jesus is not giving Peter a math problem. He is not saying: “Peter, get yourself a notebook.” One. Two. Three. Seventy-six. Seventy-seven... That's it! No more grace! No.

Jesus is saying: Stop counting. Because forgiveness is not bookkeeping. Grace does not keep accounts. Mercy does not save receipts. Jesus is saying: Begin with forgiveness. Lead with grace. And that sounds beautiful... until we have to live it. Because grace is wonderful when we receive it. Mercy is beautiful when we need it. Forgiveness is wonderful when we are the ones who need to be forgiven. But when someone hurts us... when someone disappoints us... when someone talks about us... when someone makes the same mistake again... then grace becomes much more complicated. And we begin to wonder: Does this really still work?

I heard a story about a pastor who preached on the Sermon on the Mount. After worship, a
church member came up to him, visibly upset. “Pastor, where did you get all that progressive nonsense?” The pastor looked at him calmly and said: “From Jesus.” And the man responded: “Well, that doesn't work anymore!” Think about that. “Blessed are the peacemakers.” That doesn't work anymore. “Blessed are the meek.” That doesn't work anymore. “Love your enemies.” That doesn't work anymore. “Forgive seventy-seven times.” That doesn't work anymore. And maybe that is one of the hardest questions the church needs to ask today: Do we still believe that the way of Jesus works? Or have we decided that Jesus works very well... on Sunday morning... inside the church... while we are singing... while we are praying... but not on Monday morning?

Jesus answers Peter by telling a story. There was a man who owed ten thousand talents. An absurd amount of money. One talent could represent roughly twenty years of a worker's wages. So we are talking about something like... two hundred thousand years of work. Two hundred thousand years! That is not simply a debt. That is an impossibility. He could work his entire life. His children could work their entire lives. His grandchildren could work their entire lives. Generation... after generation... after generation...and the debt would still be there. But the man falls to his knees and says: “Have patience with me... and I will pay you everything.” Really? How? How much patience do you need? Two hundred thousand years? And then something extraordinary happens. The master looks at the man. He sees his desperation. He sees a debt that he knows this man will never be able to pay.And he has compassion. He does not give him another twenty years. He does not refinance the debt. He does not lower the interest rate. He does not put him on a new payment plan. He forgives it. All of it. The debt disappears. Imagine that man walking out of the room. Imagine how he could finally breathe. Imagine walking away after discovering that the burden you could
never remove from your shoulders... is no longer there. You would expect him to walk
differently. To see people differently. To treat people differently. You would expect... grace
received to become grace given. But then he meets another man. And this man owes him one hundred denarii. That is not an insignificant amount. It represents about one hundred days of work. It is a real debt.

And I want to stop here. Because this matters. Jesus is not saying that our wounds do not matter. Pain matters. Injustice matters. What people do to us matters. Forgiveness does not mean pretending that nothing happened. Forgiveness does not mean returning to an abusive
relationship. Forgiveness does not mean allowing someone to continue hurting us. Sometimes we need boundaries. Sometimes we need distance. Sometimes safety must come before restoration. But this man has just received unimaginable mercy. So we expect him to look at his fellow servant and say: “I know what that feels like.” “I owed something too.” “I was desperate too.” “I needed mercy too.” But he doesn't. He grabs him. And says: “Pay me what you owe me!” And when the man cannot pay... he throws him into prison.

And there is the tragedy of this story: He received grace... but he did not allow grace to
transform him. He wanted mercy for himself... and justice for everybody else. He wanted God to close his account... while he kept everybody else's account open. And here... the parable stops talking only about that man. And it begins talking about us.

Because we can do exactly the same thing. We love singing about grace. We love preaching
about grace. We love receiving grace. But when it comes to other people... we become
accountants. We remember what they said. We remember what they did. We remember when they did it. We remember how many times they did it. And sometimes... we even charge interest. Jesus says: Stop counting. Because the Kingdom of God cannot be built by people who receive grace... but refuse to give it. And maybe our world says: Forgiveness doesn't work anymore. Mercy doesn't work anymore. Peacemaking doesn't work anymore. Loving your enemy doesn't work anymore. The way of Jesus doesn't work anymore. But then we have to decide something.

Are we going to change the gospel to accommodate the world? Or are we going to allow
the gospel to change the way we live in the world?

Because if the gospel no longer works in our world... maybe the gospel is not what needs to
change. Maybe the world needs to change. And maybe... we need to change first. Because
this is not only about our personal disagreements. It is about the kind of community we are
building. What do we do with people carrying debts that seem impossible? What do we do with families trapped in poverty generation after generation? What do we do with people pushed to the margins because of their accent... the color of their skin... their country of origin... or simply because they do not have enough? Do we simply say: “I'll pray for you”?

Or do we allow compassion... to move our feet too? Jesus calls us to build a different kind of community. A community where dignity matters more than status. Where people matter more than systems.

Where mercy is not considered weakness. Where forgiveness is not considered foolishness. And where we still believe... that reconciliation is possible. Last Sunday Jesus taught us how to begin the difficult conversation. Today Peter asks: “And how long do we keep trying?” And Jesus answers: Longer than you expected. More times than you counted. With more grace than seems reasonable. Not because the hurt doesn't matter. Not because justice doesn't matter. Not because boundaries don't matter. But because... grace has already found us. We are that servant walking out of the room. We are the ones who have received a mercy we could never purchase. So maybe the wrong question is: “Lord, how many times do I have to forgive?”

Maybe the question is: “What kind of person am I becoming because God has forgiven
me?” Church... the world may say: Forgiveness doesn't work anymore. Mercy doesn't work
anymore. The way of Jesus doesn't work anymore. But our response is not to abandon the
gospel. Our calling is to live it. Again. And again. And again. Seventy-seven times. Seventy
times seven. Until one day... we finally stop counting. Because we have not been called to keep score. We have been called to lead with grace. And maybe... just maybe... when a church begins to live that way... the world begins to discover that the way of Jesus still works.
Amen.

Affirmation: Jorge R.
Leader: We believe that grace still works.
People: We will lead with grace
Leader: We believe that mercy is not weakness.
People: We will practice mercy.
Leader: We believe that forgiveness can break the cycle of anger and resentment.
People: We will stop keeping score.
Leader: We believe that the way of Jesus still works.
All: And with God’s help, we will live it. Amen.

*Closing Hymn: “Freely, Freely” UMH 389

Blessing: Go into the world as people who have received grace.
When the world tells you that forgiveness no longer works, live
forgiveness. When the world tells you that mercy is weakness,
show mercy. When reconciliation seems impossible, keep
walking in the way of Jesus. Do not keep score. Do not count.
Lead with grace. And may the grace of Jesus Christ, the love of
God, and the presence of the Holy Spirit be with you today and
always. Amen.

Song Of Blessing: “ Go Now in Peace” UMH #665

Postlude: “Make me a Channel of your Peace”

Pastor Jorge Rodriguez [email protected]