Sanctuary

Reclaiming the Truth 

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

When he came to his senses, he said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.” So he got up and went to his father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.”

But the father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. “Your brother has come,” he replied, “and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.” The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

“My son,” the father said, “you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.”  Luke 15.11-32

Redeeming the Time

If you are like me, you can find yourself all over this story. It is a familiar parable to most of us and usually centers around the two sons and the mistakes they make. We all can likely relate to them on some level. This week, however, we will focus on the father. The father in this story reflects the character and nature of our Heavenly Father, and we are created to reflect and bear His image.

The story of the prodigal son reminds us of our God who doesn’t just forgive but loves us so extravagantly and lavishly. No matter how far we have strayed, no matter how long we have strayed. It is a love that He is inviting us to rest in and receive. It is also a love that He is inviting us to respond to. 

When we are able to move our focus from being one of the sons in the story to become like the father, redemption takes on a whole new meaning. There, we are able to move from being the victim of our past sins and failures to living as a victor of who we are in Him…fully redeemed and completely beloved. Once we are able to make that move, we find deeper the love of Christ in us and it can’t help but to spill out to those around us.

 Reflection               

• What does this text show me about the loveliness of God?
• What is it about God in this text that calls for your love for him?
• What does this text show you about people and what love requires of you on their behalf?
• As one what has been shown mercy and love from God, what empowerment from Him do you need to overcome your obstacles to love?
• What about the love of God in Jesus gives you hope and provision for your own lovelessness?
• What does it look like to rest and receive His redemptive love today? 

Resting in His Redemption

Write a prayer of thanksgiving in response to His redemptive love.

Singing the Redemption Song – Psalm 25

“Praise the Lord, my soul;    

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul,
    

and forget not all his benefits—

who forgives all your sins
    

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
    

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things
    

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
    

and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
    

his deeds to the people of Israel:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    

slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,
    

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    

so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,
    

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
    

so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

for he knows how we are formed,
    

he remembers that we are dust.

The life of mortals is like grass,
    

they flourish like a flower of the field;

the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    

and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting
    

the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    

and his righteousness with their children’s children—

with those who keep his covenant
    

and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
    

and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    

you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    

who obey his word.

Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    

you his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord, all his works
    

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.”

Celebrating Redemption

Each Saturday, we celebrate a redemption story of someone in our Faith Family. Today we celebrate God’s redemption in the life of Genesis & Destiny Cabassa along with their mom and dad, Sarah and Jason. You can watch their story here.

Reflection

• Where specifically do you see God at work in the Cabassa’s story?
• How do you see God at work in your story today?
• Where are you currently celebrating redemption?

Resting in His Redemption

Jason and Sarah bless their children with the following truth. Spend a few moments receiving His truth today.

“The God we serve is forgiving. He restores. He is loving, beautiful, real, and powerful. My prayer is that you know that you and the situations that come before may not always line up perfectly. We too have an example of Christ to follow…You are a part of a testimony that shows God’s grace and mercy, and you are a blessing. Know who stands with you and walk forward in boldness…I thank God that His mercy is sufficient.”

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4.12

Reclaiming the Truth

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15.4-7

Redeeming the Time

Luke 15 is a series of parables Jesus tells in response to the complaints of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They didn’t like the way Jesus was “welcoming sinners and eating with them.” (Luke 15.3) One writer entitles these parables, “The Searching Shepherd,” “The Searching Woman” and “The Seeking Father.” Shepherds, unmarried women, and rebellious sons were all examples of disenfranchised people who were usually excluded by the religious establishment of Jesus’ day.

Jesus wants to revolutionize the religious establishment by putting redemption of the lost as His primary focus. Lost children, lost marriages, lost people, lost souls. In another exchange after the Pharisees complained about Jesus eating with sinners, Jesus replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2.17

In this parable of The Searching Shepherd, Jesus our Good Shepherd finds the one sheep who is lost and gives cause for great rejoicing. The joy of the secure condition of the sheep is one of the primary facets of the parable. Not only the joy of the shepherd, but the invitation for those in the community to also rejoice. “Rejoice with me.”

The Church was called into being for the purpose of redemption. It was to be a place for the marginalized, cast out, unwanted, un-welcomed people of society to find healing and wholeness and holiness. And yet many Sundays, even our church sits empty of such people.

In Luke 14, just a few verses prior to the telling of these parables, Jesus tells another parable. Historically, we refer to this parable in Luke 14 as “The Parable of the Great Wedding Banquet.”

At the end of the parable, Jesus says these words, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.” 

Our Good Shepherd, just like Hosea, takes the Divine Initiative to go out and seek and save the lost. And He invites us to partner with Him in reaching those who are hurting and lonely and those enslaved in anxiety and riddled with fear.

Reflection

• Share the story of how Jesus found you, rescued you and redeemed you.
• When was the last time you partnered with Jesus to “compel” a lost friend to come in?
• How are you currently celebrating and rejoicing in the lost being found?

Resting in His Redemption 

“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,


he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.


He guides me along the right paths
    

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk
    

through the darkest valley,


I will fear no evil,
    

for you are with me;


your rod and your staff,
    

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
    

in the presence of my enemies.


You anoint my head with oil;
   

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    

all the days of my life,


and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    

forever.” – Psalm 23

Reclaiming the Truth

“But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the LORD their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the LORD and of his goodness.” Hosea 3.4-5

Redeeming the Time

The Israelites were afraid of God. They were afraid of His punishment, His judgment, His wrath. That much seems obvious. Instead of moving toward God, they moved further from Him. Sin does that. Sin separates.

Sin separates us from God. Sin separates us from others. Sin separates us from our truest selves. The more we sin, the more we find ourselves in deeper spaces of separation. In that darkness, we can even find ourselves more afraid, not of God’s judgment, but maybe more afraid of His love. What if He really does love us, love me? What would that mean for the way I live my life, for the way I love in this life?

There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out all fear. It would take a long time for the Israelites to realize that. It would take about 750 years for them to realize that truth. Can you imagine the cost? Can you imagine the pain? Can you imagine the suffering of being afraid of love for 750 years?

Eventually, the Israelites would return. And notice their posture in their return. It wasn’t fear, it wasn’t cowardice. “In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the LORD and of his goodness.”

Did you catch it? They couldn’t believe just how good their God is. How good our God is. How good your God is.

Can you believe it?

Reflection

• Describe a time when you viewed God as only a God of judgment and wrath.
• How has God’s goodness penetrated your heart?
• What’s the greatest challenge in learning to love and be loved without fear?

Resting in His Redemption 

John the Beloved writes to the church to remember the essence of the Gospel. God is the Gospel. In Him is freedom from fear, freedom from judgment, freedom from guilt and shame. Rest and receive His truth in these verses of life. 

“God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment…” 1 John 4.16-18.