40 Days 2022 – Part 4

There is a fear in all of us that we don’t want to be rejected. We want someone to validate who we are and that we are really loved and accepted. This week we are going to talk about how Jesus put an end to rejection.

How did you do with last week’s memory verse? (Colossians 1:21-22)

This week’s memory verse: To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12.

1. Read Luke 15:11-25.

• How do you think the father felt when the son asked for his inheritance?
• Why do think the son wanted to go off and do things his own way?
• Can you relate to the son’s desires in any way?
• The son didn’t feel worthy to be a son anymore, but he felt he could prove his remorse by being a servant. Can you share a time when you tried to prove yourself to God?
• What was the father doing when the son came back to him?
• What does the parable reveal about our own character?
• What does this parable tell us about God’s character?
• Verse 24 says, “So they began to celebrate.” What does this verse say about God when those who are lost come to Him as a Father?

2. Read John 16:27 and John 17:23. God your Father accepts you as a child. What do these verses say about the scope of God’s love for us?

3. Read 1 John 3:1. Jesus makes a way for you to become a child of God. What does it mean to be a child of God?

4. Read Galatians 4:4-5 and Romans 8:15. Jesus bought our freedom so that we never have to earn our way back to God. What could you have done to buy your own freedom? How would you expect someone to act after being given such an amazing gift? How well do you express your gratitude for what you’ve been given?

5. Read Luke 15:19 again. Seeing yourself as a servant makes you miss God as a Father. Why do we often feel like we have to work our way into God’s good graces?

6. Pastor James said, “Children are defined by the relationship and motivated by love.” When we sin, we ask to be forgiven not because God will forsake us, but because our confession of sin restores our intimate relationship with God. Share a time when you confessed a sin, and it restored the relationship.

7. Pastor James said, “God your Father sees you as His child.” When we see ourselves as God sees us, it changes us. When we see that we are a child of God, it is our position in Christ that fuels our passion to pursue Christ even when we fail. How does our position in Christ give us the security to deal with our sin and struggles; to confess and repent of our sins; and continue to pursue God?

As Christ-followers we can proclaim; I am a child of God. I am not a servant. I am no longer a slave. My days of rejection are over. I am secure in the love and acceptance of my Father who sees me as His son or daughter.