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Service Sheet Outline & Questions

Awesome Redeemer (Ephesians 1:7; Luke 15:1-2, 11-32)

I've Got A Song About That - Part 5

Jesus is our awesome Redeemer: he paid the cost to bring us home forgiven.

Introduction

We are more than a bit stuck: by nature we are guilty sinners who cannot bring ourselves back to God, so the great question is who can bring us home.

1. We are stuck and cannot bring ourselves home (Ephesians 1:7)

Our deepest problem is sin and guilt, and we cannot fix ourselves, so we need a Redeemer to rescue us.

2. God welcomes sinners home (Luke 15:1-2, 11-32)

In Jesus' story, the younger son shows our wandering hearts, the older brother shows our proud hearts, and the father shows God's gracious welcome to sinners who come home.

3. Jesus paid the cost to bring us home forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)

Redemption means rescue at a cost, and that cost was Jesus' own blood, so forgiveness is free to us because Christ gave his life for us.

Conclusion

So do not stay far away, and do not trust in your own goodness: come to Jesus, trust him, and rejoice that he brings sinners home forgiven.

Questions to think about...

1. What do we learn about our real problem before God? Why is it important to see that we cannot bring ourselves home? What kinds of things do people trust to fix their sin and guilt instead of coming to Jesus?

2. How do the two brothers show different ways of being far from God? Which brother are you more naturally like: the one who runs away, or the one who stays near but does not love the father?

3. What does Ephesians 1:7 show us about Jesus, and why was his death necessary to bring us home forgiven? If Jesus has brought us home forgiven, what should we do with that this week?

4. Which danger do you find more tempting in your own life: running from God, or staying outwardly respectable while depending on your own goodness? How does the gospel speak to that?

Manuscript

Awesome Redeemer (Ephesians 1:7; Luke 15:1-2, 11-32)

Jesus is our awesome Redeemer: he paid the cost to bring us home forgiven.

Get Going

We all know what it is to feel stuck. Sometimes we get stuck in small ways, but the Bible says there is a much bigger kind of stuck. We can be stuck in sin, in guilt, and in not being able to fix ourselves.

That is much more serious than getting stuck in a lift. The Bible says we have wandered away from God, we have done wrong against God, and we cannot simply tidy it up and walk back as though nothing happened.

So here is the big question for today: who can bring guilty people home to God?

Ephesians 1:7: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins..."

That is a rescue sentence. That is a forgiveness sentence. That is really the whole theme of today.

Keep three questions in your mind as we go. Who can bring us home to God? What did it cost? What should we do about it?

Bible Story

Jesus told this story to a big crowd. Some people knew they needed him and were glad that he welcomed sinners. Other people looked down on them and thought they were too good for all that. So Jesus told a story about two sons and a father.

The younger son wanted his father's stuff, but not his father. He wanted life away from home. So he took what he could get and went far away. He spent everything, ran out of money, ran out of food, and ended up ruined.

This boy thought he was throwing off chains. He thought leaving home would make him free. But really he was putting chains on himself. That is what sin does. It promises freedom, but it gives slavery.

Then came the turning point. The Bible says he came to his senses. He realised that he had sinned, that he needed to go home, and that he needed to say sorry.

So he made his way home with his confession ready:

"Father, I've sinned. I'm not worthy to be your son."

At that point you might expect the father to fold his arms and say, "Too late." But that is not what happens. While he was still a long way off, the father saw him, because he was looking for him. The father felt compassion, ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him.

The father did not say, "We will see if you have improved." He welcomed him home with joy. "This son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found." That is grace. That is home.

But there is also an older brother. He stayed near home, but his heart was still far from his father. He thought like a worker, not a son. He wanted reward, not relationship. So both brothers are wrong: one ran away, and one stayed home without loving the father.

Jesus is not only speaking to obvious runaways. He is also speaking to good, respectable people who think they do not need mercy. So here is the picture from Luke 15: we wander, we get lost, we cannot fix ourselves, and God welcomes sinners home.

But that leads to the next question: how can God welcome sinners like that and still be holy and right? That is where Ephesians 1:7 comes in.

Teaching Time

Ephesians 1:7: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."

There are three simple things to notice.

1. The rescue is in Jesus

The verse starts with the words "in him". That means in Jesus.

Not in us. Not in trying harder. Not in us promising to do better. If anyone is going to bring us home to God, it has to be Jesus.

2. Redemption means rescue at a cost

Redeemer is a rescue word. It means someone pays the cost to set another person free and bring them back.

So when we sing "Awesome Redeemer", we are saying that Jesus paid the cost to bring us back to God and forgive us. This is more than a nice story about coming home. This is a rescue story, and it cost Jesus everything.

3. The cost was Jesus' own life

The verse says, "through his blood". That means through Jesus giving his life for us at the cross.

We do not need to make that gruesome, but we must not make it fuzzy either. Forgiveness is not cheap. Forgiveness is free to us because Jesus paid for it himself.

So put the two passages together. Luke 15 shows the father running to welcome the son. Ephesians 1:7 tells us why that welcome is possible. Jesus paid the cost.

And notice the words "we have redemption". If we belong to Jesus, we have forgiveness now. Sin says, "Stay far away." Guilt says, "You cannot come back." Pride says, "You do not need grace." Jesus says, "I have paid the cost. Come home forgiven."

That is why Jesus is our Redeemer.

Brain Break & Conclusion

Luke 15 gives us the picture, and Ephesians 1:7 gives us the reason. If Jesus is our Redeemer, we do not keep quiet about him.

So here are our three questions again. Who can bring us home to God? Jesus, our Redeemer. What did it cost? His own life. His blood. What should we do? Come to him, trust him, and let everyone know.

Here is the whole message in one sentence: Jesus is our awesome Redeemer; he paid the cost to bring us home forgiven.

That is why he is awesome. That is why we sing. That is why everyone should know.