There is a man we would rather not think about. Jesus said it would have been better for him if he had never been born. That's right, it's Judas. We don't want to imagine that we could resemble him in any way, but we need to see one way that is a great Judas-like temptation that even the most holy person can struggle with: the struggle to forgive yourself. Judas couldn't do it, and he hanged himself. In Dan Meyer's sermon "Hung Up," he gives four steps that help us to forgive the person in the mirror. Dan finishes his sermon with these hopeful words: "Go out to live as one over whom God, the ultimate authority in this whole universe, has written this liberating, this new possibility-creating, this life-beginning-again word: 'You are forgiven!'"

This week we also feature:

• Sermon Series: Living Free
• Illustration: Fire Ants Float by Becoming One Super-organism

Preaching Christ,

Brian Larson
Editor, PreachingToday.com
blarson@christianitytoday.com

Craig Brian Larson is the pastor of Lake Shore Church in Chicago and author and editor of numerous books, including The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching (Zondervan). He blogs on Knowing God and His Ways at craigbrianlarson.com.