FINDING YOUR WAY BACK HOME

 

When a person becomes a Christian they are typically very excited and ready to serve their Lord. However, there are many struggles that a Christian will go through and some will fall away.  Even some of the most faithful Christians can allow worldly things to slowly cause them to drift away from God and the church.  This lesson is designed to show how important each person is to God and to his church. Please read each scripture in its entirety and answer the questions.

 

THE LOVE OF GOD

 

Romans 8:38-39 Can anything separate us from the love of God? _____________________

 

Joshua 24:15 Can we choose not to love God by not serving him? _________________

Do you want to serve God? ____________

 

John 14:15 Jesus says that if we __________ him we will ___________ his commands.

Do you love Jesus?________

Have you been obeying his commands?_________ If your answer is no, what is hindering you from obeying his commands? ____________________________________________________________

 

EXAMPLES OF REPENTANCE

 

Luke 15:11-32 The prodigal son left his fathers house to live life on his own terms.  It doesn’t take long for the son to hit rock bottom.  He remembers how comforting it was to be in his father’s house. He decides to go back home but he did not feel worthy (vrs 19). Do you feel like the prodigal son? _______

Did the father forgive the son? _______ Will God forgive you if you repent? _________ This Parable teaches us how important each child of God is and how God wants all his children to come home no matter what path they have been down.

 

Luke 15:4-7 There will be more joy in ____________ over one sinner who repents. Isn’t it comforting to know that when we repent and come back home that all of heaven rejoices? ________

 

Judges 10:10-16 God was growing tired of the Jews disobedience. When the Jews truly repented from the heart did God have compassion on them once again? ___________ If God could have compassion on these disobedient Jews, don’t you believe that He will have compassion on you as well? _________

 

2 Peter 3:9 Does God want us to perish? ______ Are you ready to repent? _____________

 

YOU’RE  IMPORTANT TO THE CHURCH

 

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 This a wonderful section of scripture that shows how important every member is to the body of Christ which is the church.  Notice how each person serves a different function within the church. Paul tells us that there should be no ___________ in the body (vrs 25). He goes on to say if one member suffers, all the ___________ suffer with it; or if one member is honored all the members _____________ with it(vrs 26). If you neglect the church have you caused a division in the body?________ Can you know when the other members of the body of Christ are suffering or need to be honored if you neglect the church? ___________

 

Ephesians 4: 15-16 Can you do you share which causes growth in the body for the edifying of itself in love if you neglect the church? ___________

 

Acts 20:28 Jesus purchased the church with his own ___________ This is the same blood that he shed for our sins. Don’t you think that it is important to be a part of Jesus church that he purchased with his own blood? __________

 

Hebrews 10:23-29 We are not to ____________ the assembling of ourselves together. If we continue to sin willfully there no longer remains a ______________ for sins. If we choose to willfully sin it like trampling the _______________ underfoot and counting the blood of the covenant a _______________

 

Now that you see how important you are to the church and how much God loves you don’t you think its time that you come back home?___________

 

Matthew 6:33 We are to seek _________ the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

 

Haggai 1:1-15 We learn that the Jews were neglecting the temple of the Lord.  They were busy building their own houses and living life for themselves.  They kept on having thing go wrong because God was punishing them for their neglect of his temple. We can learn a valuable lesson from these Jews. When they found out that God wanted his temple build, they obeyed his word. They were putting him first in their lives. Are you ready to start putting God first in your life again? ________________

 

We learn from the Bible that we are to sing Ephesians 5:19, partake of the Lord’s Supper Luke 22:14-23; Acts  20:7, and give of our means 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 on the first day of the week. Can you obey these commands if you stay at home on the first day of the week? ___________

 

THE CONSEQUENCES OF NEGLECTING GOD

 

Hebrews 2:1-3 Have you drifted away from God and neglected your salvation? __________

 

2 Peter 2:20-22 Peter tells us that those who have fallen away after knowing the truth are worse off than in the ____________

 

Matthew 25:14-30 What happened to the third servant who hid his talent in the ground and was not productive for his master? _______________________________ Was the first and second servant pleasing to their master? ___________ Do you want to be pleasing to God or do you want to follow in the footsteps of the third servant? ___________

 

CONCLUSION

We have learned in this lesson that God truly loves all of mankind and wants them all to repent. It doesn’t matter what you have done in the past your sins are no match for the cleansing power of Jesus blood. Every person is important to the church and every person has a function they can perform to help the church grow. Sometimes we allow our work, worldly desires, or a person to cause us to fall away from the church. Are any of these truly valid reasons to neglect the body of Christ? Of course not, they are just excuses. We also learned the Jesus purchased the church with his own blood and if we love him we will want to be apart of his body every time the saints assemble. There are dire consequences in neglecting God and his church. I hope that this study has encouraged you to make a change in your life and to repent to God. He is patiently waiting for you to find your way home.