Like the stains we become accustomed to in our homes, sometimes we let our sin become the backdrop of our lives. We convince ourselves we’re comfortable with that, but sin will always keep dragging us down. The Apostle John describes a deep clean for the soul that only happens through the blood of Christ when we open up and confess. This week we’ll explore the steps of true confession and delight in God’s promise that “the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”
At first glance we sometimes get the impression that the God of the Old Testament is an angry God, and then Jesus shows up in the New Testament to provide a much kinder and gentler face of God. A closer reading shows an unchanging God whose wrath remains real against whatever seeks to destroy his kingdom and his people, and who also generously showers love and grace on his flawed people through Jesus. Propitiation by the blood of Jesus makes that possible for us. If propitiation is a new word for you, be sure to join us this week!
We often think about Jesus’ work in individual lives, but Jesus himself emphasized God’s redeeming work through the church. The New Testament writers called the church Christ’s bride and his body. This week we look at what it means that Jesus bought the church with his own blood, and we’ll do that through the lenses of church as Christ’s treasure, church with Christ’s task, and church in Christ’s timeline.
Redemption means to buy something back or to set it free, usually by paying a price. God is our redeemer, and redemption is his specialty throughout the Bible. The fullest and most beautiful redemption story ever told is given to us when we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. As we focus on the blessings that Nothing but the Blood of Jesus can give to us, today we focus on freedom from sin and shame because by Christ’s blood we have been “redeemed from the empty way of life” handed down to us (1 Peter 1:18-19).