The story from Sunday's sermon

This past Sunday I preached a sermon entitled "Everything You Know About Forgiveness is Wrong" and in it I told the amazing story of Mary Johnson and Oshea Israel.  Johnson's son was killed in 1993 by Israel and because of her Christian faith, Johnson eventually sought out her son's killer in prison and forgave him.  Since that initial meeting in 2005, the two developed a relationship where Israel grew to consider Johnson a second mother and Johnson considers Israel to be like a son.  Upon release from prison, Israel moved in next door to Johnson and together they now work with victims of violent crime.

To hear and read the story in their own words, check out the following links:

• Storycorps interview of Johnson and Israel on NPR
• From Death to Life--the non-profit Johnson started to work with families who have had loved ones killed as a result of violent crime
• CBS news story about Johnson and Israel
• article in St. Paul Pioneer Press about Johnson, Israel and Israel's mother sharing Christmas dinner together after Israel's release from prison