The Joy of Repentance

I just spoke at Vintage Faith Church and the message was on "repentance". I spoke about how as disciples of Jesus, we should be living lives of "repentance" as part of who we are.

   Normally, when I think of when someone says "repent", I have bad images in my head of people carrying signs where the word "repent" is in red letters, quite often with flames somewhere on the sign.

I see these types of signs or else see the word "repent" on tracts that people give out. The same imagery is usually on them - where negative imagery and a negative force of horrible consequences is always present. I am wondering if these signs and images and in my opinion, cheap ways of communicating about repentance in our culture today where the word is for the most part unknown - is repelling people from repenting, rather than drawing people into repentance.

When I studied the word and the way Jesus used it, it is a strong word. The primary words in the Greek New Testament for repentance are the noun metanoia ("repentance") and the verb metanoeo ("to repent"). The Greek words meant to "change one's mind". But when you study it, the word more is about not just changing the "mind", but changing the heart and to turn from what may be out of God's will.

I chose to focus on how if God loves His children, then He leaves us guidelines and direction through Scriptures, through His Spirit - and how we can respond to that direction for our good. I shared how "repenting" is not negative, but positive.

I read from Acts Acts 3:19 where Peter was speaking and said "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

We took the approach how "repenting" is actually a refreshing thing - not just a word in red on a sign with flames. Repenting is serious, as it means to not only change your mind, but I was reading how it means "to turn away" from in a physical sense.

It was a communion Sunday - and we are still in the restrictive tiny pews everyone is squished in and can barely move. The morning gathering still has some room but the evening one is so crowded you can't slip out of the seats or do anything. We greatly look forward to when we can remove them and set up a more flexible seating arrangement where we can feel more like a "family" than a law court with benches all facing the front.

In speaking of repentance that night - I used the illustration from the scene in Shawshank Redemption where Andy Dufresne, the lead character, escapes from prison. He was in prison for a crime he claimed innocence to. But his escape consisted of him crawling through a sewage pipe for 500 yards filled with the excrement of all the prisoners. When he gets out of the pipe, he rips off his shirt, gasps for air, dives into the river and as it is raining - he throws his arms wide back allowing the rain to wash all the horrible stuff that he picked up from that sewage pipe.

I explained how repentance is like that - and as Jesus cleanses us from sin - it is like this. Unbelievably refreshing as crud is washed off as we repent. Like it was explained in the book of Acts where it was said to "Repent...so that times of refreshing may come from the Lord". Perhaps if some of those "repent" signs would focus on water and cleansing - rather than fire and listing sins, more people would be attracted to want to "repent" when they understand it better.

Because we are in those restrictive pews and can't move around, we set up outdoor communion stations. I asked people to instead of coming forward for communion, they "turn around" and walk out the back door symbolizing a heart and life "turning" and repenting. So everyone walked out the rear door of the sanctuary and into a courtyard. We had a bowl of water there where people could symbolically wash their hands as a sign of their hearts through repenting being "clean" and and "refreshed" and we had several communion tables set up.

It was a joy as a pastor to watch  people "repent" and wash their hands symbolically, some stayed in the sanctuary longer to pray and probably confess sin, and then take communion in remembrance of Jesus and the cross.

So this was a day in the life of Vintage Faith Church - repenting, yet joyful. Some other joyful news was that Shannon Marie who became a Christian last year, asked to be baptized this night. So that was thrilling to hear and we will schedule it soon.

Below are photos of the courtyard before people came outside from the rear of the sanctuary through the communion tables at the evening gathering.