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May 31, 2022 18:00pm

Faith TALK: Jesus Redeems

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(The following is a family devotional guide with suggested scriptures and questions.)

T-Talk About It Topic

Tell me some sins you can think of. I am going to write down all your ideas. When you are done, we are going to look at our list and talk about it.

Sin is sin – it doesn’t matter how big or small it is, and the bad thing is this: it separates us from a holy God. Because sin builds a barrier between God and us, it keeps us from going to Heaven when we die, and we are separated from God forever. But the Good News is this: Jesus’ death on the cross redeemed us. According to Webster’s Dictionary, that means He “frees us from the consequences of sin”. Only when we are willing to admit we are a sinner and ask Jesus into our hearts as our Lord and Savior do we go to Heaven upon our spiritual deaths.

But, redemption isn’t just a one-time deal. Jesus can redeem us every day, too. Another form of the word redeem means “to change for the better, to repair, to restore.” That means, with Jesus living in our hearts, He has the power to help us not only overcome our mistakes but grow stronger from our mistakes. He can help change our hearts so that we don’t want to continue sinning. That is hope and encouragement for all of us!

A-Anchor To The Bible

The Bible is full of people who sinned. Sometimes, they turned away from God when they have sinned; other times, they turned to God for help dealing with the consequences of it. We are going to look at two of them, who both happen to be disciples of Jesus: Judas and Peter. One turned away from God and one turned to God and sought redemption…and when he did, Jesus turned his sin into a powerful ministry.

The first disciple’s name is Judas Iscariot. Let’s look at a few facts about his life:

He left everything to follow Jesus.
He heard Jesus preach and witnessed His miracles.
He had preached on behalf of Jesus and perhaps even healed in Jesus’ name.

Sounds pretty good, right? Well, there was one secret Judas had that the others didn’t know about: Judas was in charge of the disciples’ money, like a treasurer. He had been stealing from their money without them knowing. That is sin. There was something wrong in his heart that made him want to steal from Jesus and his disciples. Instead of admitting his wrong, he kept it hidden and secretive. That is how sin is…it wants to stay hidden, out of the light, and wants us to keep on sinning. And that is exactly what Judas did next.

Turn to Matthew 6:14-15 and read what Judas did.

Judas went to the chief priests (who were jealous of Jesus and were trying to plot ways to get rid of him). He asked them how much they would give to him if he handed over Jesus. They told him he would get 30 pieces of silver, so they made a deal. Judas led the authorities to where Jesus was. Not only that, but he kissed Jesus upon meeting him. This greeting let the authorities know who Jesus was; upon that gesture, Jesus was arrested. This decision was lethal – it led to Jesus’ persecution and death on the cross.

How do you imagine Judas felt afterward? What could he have done to made this situation hopeful?

Judas’ situation can all be changed with one word: redemption. Before I tell you the end of his story, let’s look at one more disciple named Peter, who also sinned.

Here are a few facts about Peter:

Peter (originally named Simon before Jesus renamed him) was a fisherman.
Peter and his brother, Andrew, were among the first disciples to be called by Jesus. (Jesus said “follow me” and Peter and Andrew simply left their boats to follow Him!)
He verbally declared that Jesus was the Son of God, witnessing many of His miracles.
He was bold, they only man who walked on water besides Jesus.

Before Judas’ betrayal and Jesus’ death on the cross, Jesus talked with His disciples and warned them of things to come. He told them that they would all reject Him and scatter before he would be persecuted. Peter said something profound.

Turn to Mark 14:29 and let’s read what he said.

Peter said, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will”. This is quite a weighty statement. In essence, Peter is vowing that he will not leave Jesus, turn against Him in any way, or lose his faith. If you think about it, we can all make this statement in our lives, too. And yet, when our faith gets tested, so many times, we forget. Peter did, too.

Turn to Luke 22:54-62 and let’s read what happened a short time after Peter said this.

By this time, Jesus had been arrested and was being taken to the high priest’s house for questioning. Peter, having fled at the time of the arrest, was following Jesus at a distance and was waiting to see what would happen to him when people around him recognized him. Three times he was asked about being a follower of Jesus, and each time he denied knowing Him. After three denials, a rooster crows reminding him what Jesus predicted.

Two men. Two betrayals. Two very serious sins.

Judas, realizing his sin, went back to the high priests, throwing his 30 silver coins back at them, and said, “I have sinned, for I have betrayed innocent blood.” At this moment, he could have asked forgiveness and received redemption…yet, he turned away from God and Jesus; sadly, sometime later, he ended his life. (Matthew 27:4-5)

Peter was also weighted down with the realization of his sin, betraying the very person he vowed to love. But, the Good News was that three days later, Jesus rose from the grave. Not only that, but the risen Jesus and Peter had a private moment in which Jesus forgave Peter and commissioned him to do ministry: to go out and teach His people. No doubt, Peter left that day a changed man, on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His redemption.

So, what is the difference between these two guys? Simply put, one sought redemption and the other didn’t. Peter sought redemption by having a repentant heart, one that was truly sorry he had made this mistake. Judas felt remorse about what he had done but never sought redemption through forgiveness and a changed life.

L-Learn God’s Word

Jesus’ death redeems us from an eternal life being separated from Him; this is a powerful, life-altering decision. And the beautiful part of His redemption is this: He continues to redeem us every time we mess up, make mistakes, or downright sin.

Anytime we say something or do something that betrays Him or our faith.
Anytime we make a terrible decision.
Anytime we have done something so shameful we don’t like to think about it.

His redemption is available anytime, anyplace. We only need a repentant heart, a heart that is willing to confess it’s wrong and seek His help to get better.

That is why 1 John 1:9 (ICB) will be our memory verse this week:

But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. We can trust God. He does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrongs we have done.

Redemption cleanses us. Redemption turns our mistakes into ministries. Redemption allows us to lift our heads up and not live ashamed. Redemption gives us hope. So, this week, let’s be quick to be thankful and grateful to Jesus, our Redeemer.

K-Keep Each Other Accountable

This is the most valuable step of any Faith TALK! It’s focused on keeping everyone accountable in this week’s Faith TALK, as well as the memory verse.

Here are a few ideas to keep everyone in check with this week’s TALK:

*Motivate each other to memorize our focus verse this week. Write the memory verse on a chalkboard and display it by the door. Have them say the verse each morning and initial they did so.