The Session: Forgiveness versus Unforgiveness, from Dr. Paul Tripp

(Ephesians 4:31-5:2) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

First, an introduction. Dr. Paul David Tripp was born in Toledo. He is a pastor, international event speaker, and author of more than 30 books and video series. He defines forgiveness in a single, simple sentence: Forgiveness is a vertical commitment followed by a horizontal transaction. What we are going to share is a summary of several articles and videos Dr. Tripp has done on forgiveness. His website is Paul Tripp dot com.

The Beautiful Power of Relational Debt

• Holding on to someone else’s wrongs gives us the upper hand
• Holding a record of a person’s wrongs gives us the upper hand in that relationship

The Dark Unhealthy Benefits of Unforgiveness

• Debt is power. It protects us in an unhealthy way.
• Debt is identity. It helps us feel more righteous and mature than the person we’re angry at.
• Debt is entitlement holding another person. Send against them makes us feel entitled.
• We can weaponize unforgiveness and use it for our advantage

Unforgiveness makes us equal with God

• It is not our job to dispense consequences to those who have hurt us

The Ugly Selfishness of Relational Unforgiveness

It has nothing to do with God and loving others

The Beauty of Forgiveness

The beauty of leading a life of forgiveness shows us how much we have embraced our forgiveness of our sins.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

After pleading with his his master for forgiveness and being granted forgiveness, he goes out and demands repayment from people who owed him. Matthew 18:21-35

A devotional podcast for parents on the go! Encouragement, Scripture, & prayer in just 7 minutes. Join the journey!

To reach Tom Russell, go to https://www.heritagechristiancounselingofmansfield.com.

The Session: Children of Divorce

Psalm 27:10, "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me"

Key Statistics and Findings Relational Wisdom 360

• Religious Impact: Children of divorced parents are more likely to become nonreligious; 35% of children from divorced families are nonreligious compared to their peers.
• Adult Faith: Divorce can cause children to feel isolated from their religious community
• Relationship Challenges: Children from divorced homes often struggle with fear of failure, abandonment, and conflict.
• Social & Academic Effects: Children of divorce are more likely to experience lower academic performance, and increased instances of delinquency and substance use.
• Long-Term Consequences: A 2025 study found that children of divorce had a higher likelihood of teen pregnancy and increased mortality rates compared to children from continuously married parents.

Dr. Judith Wallerstein Study

In a landmark study, psychologist Judith Wallerstein followed a group of children of divorce from the 1970s into the 1990s. She interviewed them at eighteen months, five, ten, fifteen, and twenty-five years after the divorce. The results were:

• Continued experiencing fear of failure,
• Fear of loss
• change
• Fear of conflict

Study Data

The Center for Economic Studies released the findings of a research project, where they surveyed 5 million children of divorce. Data shows that children of divorced parents have an elevated risk of jail time (40% increase), elevated risk of mortality (45% increase), increased risk of teen birth (60% increase) 9-13% less income

Other Important Implications

• Without two parents and one of the parents working, children are often times left alone. Their answer to that is to go on social media and other screens for attention and relationship
• Children of divorce are often unable to participate in after school activities

What do you want your children to learn about marriage and family?

A devotional podcast for parents on the go! Encouragement, Scripture, & prayer in just 7 minutes. Join the journey!

To reach Tom Russell, go to https://www.heritagechristiancounselingofmansfield.com.

The Session – What is Schizophrenia?

1 John 4:1

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Livingwithschizophreniauk.org

• Schizophrenia is an illness affecting the brain and rooted within the biological functions of the brain cells.
• At some time during their life about 1 in 100 people will suffer an episode of schizophrenia.
  Schizophrenia occurs in all countries and societies of the world.
  Schizophrenia affects men and women alike and sufferers come from all walks of life and social backgrounds.
• It is not multiple personality disorder. That is known as dissociative disorder. (let’s do quick definitions here for both)
• Onset: It tends to strike most often in late teens and early twenties, slightly earlier in men than in women, although late onset illness can occur as late as the 70s. Schizophrenia before puberty is very rare.
• The word schizophrenia literally means a “fragmented mind”.
• It is caused by an abnormality in the brain cell of dopamine.
• This hormone is responsible for thought processes and an excess or shortage can cause thinking to become disturbed.
• What the evidence shows us is that people with schizophrenia are at considerably higher risk of death by suicide than the general population and are also more at risk of violent behavior and sexually disinhibited behavior. However provided that adequate psychiatric care is provided and good supervision of those in crisis is carried out these risks can be reduced to levels no higher than the general population.
• The cause of schizophrenia is often times thought to be genetic predisposition and potential complications a childbirth.
• Schizophrenia is a severe condition in which the sufferer may completely lose touch with reality, become socially withdrawn, be unable to work or study and stop looking after themselves. Their behavior may become bizarre or sometimes dangerous.
• Other symptoms include delusions (a false) and hallucinations (perception of something not there)

(National Institute of Health) Religious Delusions: People with schizophrenia often experience hallucinations or false beliefs with religious content, such as believing they are God, a saint, or being punished by demons.

A devotional podcast for parents on the go! Encouragement, Scripture, & prayer in just 7 minutes. Join the journey!

To reach Tom Russell, go to https://www.heritagechristiancounselingofmansfield.com.