Sanctuary

Singing the Redemption Song – Psalm 25

“In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.

No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths. 

Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.

Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 

He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. 

For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.

They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.

The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.

My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.

Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.

Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.

See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

Guard my life and rescue me;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness protect me,
    because my hope, Lord, is in you.

Deliver Israel, O God,
    from all their troubles!”

Celebrating Redemption 

Each Saturday, we’ll celebrate a redemption story of someone in our Faith Family. Today we celebrate God’s redemption in the life of Stephen Photianos. You can watch his story here. 

Reflection

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

Resting in His Redemption

Stephen prays the Serenity Prayer over our Faith Family. Spend a few moments praying this prayer together. 

God, give me grace to accept with serenity

the things that cannot be changed,

Courage to change the things

which should be changed,

and the Wisdom to distinguish

the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,

Enjoying one moment at a time,

Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,

Taking, as Jesus did,

This sinful world as it is,

Not as I would have it,

Trusting that You will make all things right,

If I surrender to Your will,

So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,

And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reclaiming the Truth 

“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1.13-14 

Redeeming the Time

Love enters the darkness. Love doesn’t wait for you to emerge from your darkness and shame. Love enters into it. 

It has been said that, “sin seeks hiddenness.” Sin certainly does. It loves to separate and alienate. It’s why there is such an aloneness in sin. It’s why we often hide our sin and hide in our sin. Sin seeks hiddenness. 

And so does love. 

Love seeks hiddenness. Love seeks out those hiding in the dark. Love enters into the most broken and desperate places. Love is willing to leave the heavenly realms and descend into the darkest of hell. 

You may be familiar with the Apostles Creed. Notice the words we proclaim in the middle stanza. 

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

Love seeks to expose hiddenness and aloneness and even our darkest hell to bring about our true redemption. He rescues us and redeems us and then brings us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.  

Reflection

• What darkness, what hell did He redeem you from? 
• What is life like today in the “kingdom of the Son he loves?” 
• In what ways does love compel you to enter into the darkness of another?

Resting in His Redemption 

Much of Colossians chapter 1 is a prayer. It’s a prayer for the church at Colossae, and it’s a prayer for you. Rest in His redemption today. Rest and Receive.

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” – Colossians 1.9-14

Reclaiming the Truth 

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20.25-28

Redeeming the Time

Redemption is the purchase back of something that had been lost, by the payment of a ransom.  The Greek word so rendered is apolutrosis, a word occurring nine times in Scripture and always with the idea of a ransom or price paid.

Christ’s suffering is our ransom. Christ Himself became our ransom, and in Him we have redemption. We have been redeemed by Christ’s shed blood on the cross. Our debt because of sin is not just canceled, but it is fully paid. Every sin of the past, every sin of the future, every sin of the present is redeemed, “paid in full.”

Many of us in Lenten seasons past wallowed in our ashes and have been tempted to work harder, or try better, or be less sinful in order to earn our redemption. How crazy is that? That’s a spiritual cul-de-sac at its best! 

“Christ saves us neither by the mere exercise of power, nor by his doctrine, nor by his example, nor by the moral influence which he exerted, nor by any subjective influence on his people, whether natural or mystical, but as a satisfaction to divine justice, as an expiation for sin, and as a ransom from the curse and authority of the law, thus reconciling us to God by making it consistent with his perfection to exercise mercy toward sinners.” – Charles Hodge.

Reflection

• Describe a time when you were tempted to try and earn your redemption.
• In your own words, define the totality of Christ’s redemption.
• What would change in your home if you fully received and lived in His redemptive work? 

Resting in His Redemption 

David declares the goodness and grace of our God in Psalm 103. Rest in His redemption today. Rest and Receive.

“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…” Psalm 103.1-4

Reclaiming the Truth

“ ‘And yet even now,’ says the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart…’” Joel 2.12

Redeeming the Time 

The cry the prophet speaks conveys the deep heart of our God. “And yet even now.” Just as you are, right where you are, in this very moment, our God invites you to return to Him. Notice the invitation. He’s not waiting for you to figure it out. He’s not waiting for you to get it all together. He’s not waiting for you to even come to Him. He’s coming to you with this incredible invitation, “Return to me.” 

Traditionally, Ash Wednesday is a day of returning. It often times has the overtone of confession and repentance. Ash Wednesday reminds us that from dust we are made and from dust we will return. All of that is true, and all of that has its place, even for us, especially for us. 

This year, in this season, in this moment, we want to invite you to look at Ash Wednesday differently. We want to invite you to see this day differently, to approach this day differently, to respond in this day differently. If confession and repentance are needed, please engage in those responses, but this Ash Wednesday we want to invite you to “redeem the time.” We want to invite you not to give up something, but to reclaim what has already been given. To reclaim our identity as beloved children of the Most High God. 

Reflection 

• Where are the places in your own life where you feel distant from God?
• What has distracted you from cultivating your relationship with God more intentionally?
• How might you begin to believe and receive in the goodness and grace of His redemptive work? 

Resting in His Redemption 

In his prayer book, “Guerillas of Grace”, Ted Loder offers this prayer entitled, “My Heart in My Mouth.” Allow it to be your prayer. Rest in His redemption today. Rest and Receive.

“O God of such truth as sweeps away all lies,

of such grace as shrivels all excuses, 

come now to find us

for we have lost our selves 

in a shuffle of disguises

and in the rattle of empty words.

We have been careless

of our days,

our loves,

our gifts, 

our chances…

Our prayer is to change, O God, 

not out of despair of self

but for love of you, 

and for the selves we long to become

before we simply waste away.

Let your mercy move in and through us now…Amen.”