Redemptive Community: Part 1
Opening Prayer:
Lord God,
You love us and You call us. We are Your Redemptive Community.
We are imperfect, we are broken, we struggle - but we are Yours and You are with us,
Transforming us into a people that, through Your power, can love the world back into Your embrace.
Lead us in Your holy task.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Key Scripture:
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
Luke 15:11-31
This week we are looking at the parable of the prodigal son, as both a summation of our Summer Series on the Parables and a segue into our new Redemptive Community series.
Discussion Guide:
Rather than viewing the story of the prodigal son solely through the lens of individual salvation, we’re focusing on how we live together as a people of love and grace — a Redemptive Community.
Part 1: A Community Story
Context: Luke chapter 15 begins with religious leaders "muttering" because Jesus welcomed and ate with "sinners". This parable is Jesus' answer to those complaints, describing the nature of the community He was building.
Questions:
Does viewing this story as a "community story" rather than just an "individual story" change how you see the Father or the two sons?
Jesus says our love for one another is how the world will know we are His disciples. How does this "newly forming community" challenge the way we typically treat outsiders?
Part 2: Three Pillars of Redemptive Community
1. Betrayal
The term “redemptive” community assumes that at some point there will be something — a relationship or a trust — that needs to be redeemed or repaired.
The Reality: We will experience betrayal in the church because we are "weak, broken, and sinners".
The Warning: We are often surprised when sin "raises its ugly head" in our midst, yet we must stay and not run away when it happens.
Discussion question: Why are we tempted to run away/leave when we feel betrayed? Why is it important that we not do this? What can we do?
2. Adopting a Posture of Forgiveness
The father saw his son while the son was still a long way off and ran to his son and embraced him before the son even had a chance to repent and ask for forgiveness.
The Initiative: Forgiveness is always our initiative, whether we are the ones who sinned or the ones sinned against.
The Cost: Forgiveness is not easy; it requires us to remember the price Jesus paid on the cross so that we don't just focus on our own hurt.
Discussion question: What is your experience of receiving forgiveness from others or forgiving others? Who took the initiative? What was the result? What was the cost?
3. Radical Celebration
Redemptive communities must be known for celebrating, both when life is good, and when it is hard.
Combating Hardship: The harder life gets, the more we should celebrate to ensure we remain "God's joyful people".
Finding the Good: We must deliberately choose to look for the "seed of good" in people rather than "cancelling" them at the first hint of badness.
Discussion question: Where have you found or seen ‘the good’ in action in someone who had been written off as beyond redemption? How did this change your perspective?
Part 3: Moving Into the World
We often think we must get our community "perfect" before we can reach out to others. However, Jesus' command in Acts 1:8 uses the word "and," not "then".
The Imperfect Mission: We go out to the whole world as "imperfect redemptive communities", offering love and forgiveness while we are still learning it ourselves.
The Learning Curve: Contact with the "poor and unreached" is actually the best way for a community to learn these lessons of betrayal, forgiveness, and celebration.
Discussion question: How can our imperfection, rather than being an impediment, be an incentive spurring us on?
Practices:
Individual Practice: Reflect on a time you felt poked in a "sensitive spot" and bit back. How can identifying your own weaknesses help you stay when others fail you?
Community Practice: As a group, discuss what it looks like to have a "starting point" of being ready and willing to forgive, even before a process of consequences begins.
Group Activity: Share one "seed of good" you see in a person or situation that is currently difficult for you.
Additional Resources:
Further Study Resources:
Bible Project - What is Redemption
Daily Bible Reading Plan - https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/60325
For a printable version of this guide click here