Luke 15:1-10

1Timothy 1:12-17
Exodus 32.7-14
Psalm 51.1-10

When you realize that you have made a mistake there is only one thing to do - go back and try again. But that's not easy. It means admitting that you made a mistake. That means you might lose face.  However unless you admit it you'll never get out of the mess. But you cannot undo what you did.  Its consequences live on. Then it's like that with life.  When you realize that you have missed the mark, lived something less than what God wanted for you, less than what you at you best could have done, there is only one thing to do - admit it, acknowledge your mistake, start again. And that is exactly what God in Christ offers us - the chance to start again. We admit our mistake in confession, we turn around in repentance and we receive forgiveness. It's no use blundering on pretending that we have not lost our way.  The only way forward is to go back and start again, but the only way we can do that is through repentance, repentance that opens the way for divine forgiveness. We may not be able to undo the consequences of our sinful, selfish, greedy actions, although we should do all we can to ameliorate them, but we can know acceptance and forgiveness.  This enables us to change direction and start again.  Over and over again if necessary, provided we mean it. God is ever seeking to bring the lost sheep home, rejoicing over the lost coin that is found.

•·       How important is repentance for a full, free, positive human life?

•·       Why is repentance necessary for a full, free, positive relationship with God?

•·       Spiritual pride and self-satisfied religion are the enemies of repentance. Why is this so?

•·       What does this mean for you: "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"? (1 Timothy 1:15)

It's natural for us to seek comfort rather than discomfort, acceptance rather than rejection, pleasure rather than pain, health rather than disease, success rather than failure, wealth rather than poverty, power rather than powerlessness, security rather than insecurity. Our advertisers and politicians know that and exploit it. So, too, do some Christian evangelists. They present the Gospel as offering comfort, acceptance, pleasure, health, success, wealth, power and security.  It comes then as a shock to realize that Jesus didn't make that sort of appeal when he invited people to follow him. He spoke about the costliness of discipleship.  Not that he was calling people to deliberately choose discomfort, pain, disease, failure, poverty, powerlessness and insecurity.  But he was saying that following him is not all a bed of roses.  It's not easy, nor is it natural. It involves choices, hard choices, deliberate choices. We might be called upon to choose between the claims of family and his claims upon us. We will be called upon to place our money and possessions under his direction. It's a tough call. No wonder we try to water it down. We feel forces pulling us in opposite directions. Even as a Church we have difficulty making a clear-cut decision in his favour. We are not prepared to meet the costs involved in true discipleship, but that is our calling.

•·       What has Christian discipleship cost you?

•·       What costs might the church be called upon to bear at this present time?

•·       What do you think Jesus means when he said, "Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple"?

•·       How do you read Deuteronomy 30:15-20 in the light of Luke 14:25-33?

If asked, we would probably all agree that spiritual pride is a sin, something that should not be present in a sincere Christian's life. But this form of pride is so subtle that it creeps in unawares.  We note it in others more readily that we see it in ourselves. It shows up in a patronizing attitude, paternalism, treating others as inferior, doing all the talking rather than listening to others. We subconsciously look down on less educated people or those that we regard as less civilized. We think that God takes more notice of us than of others. Now Jesus showed us that this attitude has no place in God's sphere of influence.  He told a parable that, at first sight, looks like a bit of advice on social etiquette, but on closer examination turns out to be a criticism of people who push themselves forward as God's VIP elite and despise others who are not as religious as they are.  The banquet in the story suggests the great banquet of God's kingdom.  Jesus tells the religious leaders not to imagine that they are the superior ones who have a right to the top places at the great feast. It they are genuine they will realize that they too are sinners in need of God's grace and will take the lowly places at table.  The whole point of the story is summed up in the saying, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."