Thick Skin, Soft Heart (Week 1)

Join with us as we kick off our "Thick Skin, Soft Heart " sermon series. This series will be all about learning how to live above offense and hurt, while still showing love, forgiveness, and empathy—just like Jesus did. It’s based around Colossians 3:12–14, which calls believers to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, and loving—basically, to have a thick skin but a soft heart. The message uses the following to break down four kinds of people: Thin Skin/Hard Heart (easily offended and bitter) Thin Skin/Soft Heart (loving but constantly hurt) Thick Skin/Hard Heart (strong but emotionally distant) Thick Skin/Soft Heart—someone who’s resilient but still loving, forgiving, and kind. The reality is, we all face offenses—both small (like pet peeves) and big (like betrayal or abuse). But holding onto them only shrinks our lives and distracts us from our bigger purpose. The main takeaway is: “Your life is too short and your calling is too big to live thin-skinned.” We need to be intentional about not living in offense. The Bible tells us to make allowance for each other’s faults and to forgive just as God forgave us. Forgiveness isn’t pretending nothing happened—it’s choosing not to let it control or define us. That’s what it means to live with thick skin.