Jesus can redeem what's wrong.

Have you ever seen the show Wipeout? It's a show where brave people compete for the chance to win $50,000 by getting mildly injured in embarrassing ways on national television.

Wipeout Video

Question | Have you ever recieved an embarrassing injury?

Have you ever received an embarrassing injury?

I don’t think anyone in this room has ever injured themselves on national TV, but I’m guessing at least a few of us have injured ourselves in embarrassing ways before.

Have you ever received an embarrassing injury?

Story | Embarrassing story about a time you injured yourself.

That hurt - like, really hurt. But I have to be honest. I've had even more painful moments (and I'm not talking about physical injuries). There have been times when I've experienced some really painful failure, and hurt, and loss, and pain. Maybe you know what that's like.

Story | Tell a story about a time you experienced failure, hurt, loss, or pain.

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell a story from your life (or ask a volunteer or student to tell a story) about a time when you experienced failure, loss, hurt, or pain. Be sure to focus on how that experience felt in the moment, and don't try to add any meaning or lessons learned just yet. You'll come back to this story later.

Failure and loss is unavoidable. If you haven't already experienced this, there will be a day when you'll encounter hard times and unfortunate circumstances. I don't say that to scare you or to be a downer. I say it because, when it happens, I want to help you be prepared.

Sometimes the pain we experience happens because of something we do, or something we fail to do. Maybe you . . .

Fail a grade.

Don't make the team.

Lose a friend because of something you said or did.

Get your phone taken away because you were a jerk to your parent.

Or maybe it's something worse.

Sometimes the pain we experience happens because of something that's not our fault. Maybe . . .

Someone you love dies.

You get sick or injured.

Your parents get a divorce.

You have to move away from all of your friends.

.Something traumatic happens.Whether it's because of us, or because of someone else, or because of no reason at all, sometimes life goes wrong.

Something traumatic happens.

Whether it's because of us, or because of someone else, or because of no reason at all, sometimes life goes wrong.

Discussion

What are some ways we might cause ourselves pain because of our own actions?

What are some ways we might experience pain through no fault of our own?

Question | Has life ever gone wrong for you?

With a show of hands, tell me: has life ever gone wrong for you? Has it ever been hard, or painful, or disappointing?

Discussion

Have you ever experienced failure, hurt, loss, or pain? Would anyone like to share?

Whether the hurt and pain we experience is something we do to ourselves or something that happens to us, hurt and pain are always difficult to deal with.

For the next few weeks, we're going to talk about what to do when life starts to hurt, and about the joy we can find even in the midst of pain.

We'll talk about how God can use the hardest moments of our lives to make us stronger, to make our faith stronger, and to show us that God is stronger than anything life throws at us.

SO WHAT?

But before we talk about what God has to say about life going wrong, let's talk about what life looks like when it goes right.

In the very beginning, God created everything, and everything God created was good.

Genesis 1:31 ESV

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

In the beginning, life was good. There was no conflict. There was no suffering. There was no death. Life was exactly how God intended it to be. It was right.

But everything changed when Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and sin entered the world. For the first time, there was conflict, death, and suffering. Things had gone wrong.

Genesis 3:17–18 ESV

17 And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.

Sin created consequences that we can’t escape. We carry the effects of sin in our own heart, and the world we live in carries its effects as well. Because of sin . . .

We make choices we're not proud of.

It's difficult to do what's good.

It's easy to do what's destructive.

Our relationships with others are complicated.

Our relationship with God is strained.

The world we live in is broken.

As long as we live on this earth, in these bodies, there will be failure, and pain, and loss.

Although failure, pain, and loss are unavoidable because of sin, that’s not the end of the story.

Video

Sin has caused so much hurt and pain, but Jesus redeems what's gone wrong. That means He . . .

Turns wrongs into rights.

Exchanges evil for good.

Takes back control.

Breathes life into what was dead.

Makes old things new.

When we experience pain because of our own sin and mistakes, Jesus says, "I can redeem you. You're never too far gone to be rescued."

Colossians 1:13–14 ESV

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In our sin we’ve done wrong and the wrong we do causes hurt and pain, both for us and others. But Jesus came to rescue and redeem us from our own wrongs. And that’s not all.

Colossians 1:15–20 ESV

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Jesus came to redeem you and me, but He also came to redeem everything. Every wrong, every pain, every situation — He can redeem it all.

When we experience pain because we live in a broken world full of suffering and loss, Jesus says, "Someday I'll redeem everything. I'll restore the whole world and right every wrong."

When we experience pain for any reason at all, Jesus says, "I can redeem what's gone wrong. In my hands, any pain you've suffered can take on new life."

Because Jesus is a Redeemer, both now and forever, our hurt can always become hope. We can trust that Jesus will redeem the whole world someday, and that He can redeem any situation right now.

Whatever it is, Jesus can redeem what's gone wrong.

Now What?

JESUS CAN REDEEM YOU

That might sound good, but what does it mean exactly? When we're in the middle of our pain and hurt, how can Jesus help?

First, let's talk about you because (like we just read), Jesus came to redeem you from darkness and death. If you've never decided to follow Jesus and let Him begin to transform you from the inside out, today is a great day to begin that journey.

So much of our pain and hurt is caused by our own sin. If we want real transformation, we need Jesus to redeem us before we ask Him to redeem our situations.

Discussion

What do you think it means for Jesus to “redeem” someone?

If you’ve asked Jesus to redeem you, how has your life changed sine then?

Is there a painful situation in your life right now that you need Jesus to redeem? How do you want Him to redeem it?

Psalm 13:1–2 ESV

1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2 How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Have you ever felt like saying something like that to God? Why do you think passages like this are included in Scripture?

JESUS CAN REDEEM WHAT’S GONE WRONG

It's easy to let pain and hurt control you, but when you choose to trust that Jesus can redeem what's gone wrong, it changes everything.

Instead of lashing out at others, you could let your pain bring you closer to the people who love you.

nstead of feeling sorry for yourself, you could be thankful for your opportunity to grow through this difficulty.Instead of focusing on worst-case scenarios, you could focus on what God is doing in and through you.Instead of getting angry at God, you could trust that Jesus can redeem your hurt.I don't know what is causing you hurt or pain right now. I don't know how you've failed, or how life has failed you. But I know Jesus sees what has gone wrong, and He desperately wants to show you what His power to redeem really looks like.If you need Jesus to redeem you because you know your sin is the biggest cause of your own hurt and pain, He can do that. He can redeem you.If you need Jesus to redeem your circumstances because life is really hard right now, He can do that too. He can redeem any difficulty for good.I know life can be difficult and painful sometimes, but I hope you'll remember that none of it is beyond God's ability to redeem. No matter what you're going through, remember, Jesus can redeem what's gone wrong.

Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, you could be thankful for your opportunity to grow through this difficulty.

Instead of focusing on worst-case scenarios, you could focus on what God is doing in and through you.

Instead of getting angry at God, you could trust that Jesus can redeem your hurt.

I don't know what is causing you hurt or pain right now. I don't know how you've failed, or how life has failed you. But I know Jesus sees what has gone wrong, and He desperately wants to show you what His power to redeem really looks like.

If you need Jesus to redeem you because you know your sin is the biggest cause of your own hurt and pain, He can do that. He can redeem you.If you need Jesus to redeem your circumstances because life is really hard right now, He can do that too. He can redeem any difficulty for good.

I know life can be difficult and painful sometimes, but I hope you'll remember that none of it is beyond God's ability to redeem. No matter what you're going through, remember, Jesus can redeem what's gone wrong.