Road Trip: Lesson 2 - U Turns

Hook

Tonights lesson is the second part of our series called Road Trip.

Over the course of this term - we are heading out on a road trip of sorts: a trip to help us be more like Jesus!

Our subtitle of this series is called “Destination: Holiness” and we are studying the topic of sanctification.

Dont let that word scare you! [Show the PowerPoint slide with the definition of the word “sanctification.”]

We are going to learn that in order to reach our destination of holiness we must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives to help us change and grow to be more like Christ. Since holiness is our destination, this road trip will be a life-long journey, but this series is designed to get us moving in the right direction.

Isn’t it true that getting to your destination is only possible if you are actually headed in the right direction? In your everyday activity of life, how many of you have ever found yourself going in the wrong direction? We all have, haven’t we?

Maybe you were walking through a store or the market with your parents when you found yourself searching for something you had already passed, which meant you had to turn around to go get it.

Maybe in your school when you were walking from class to class you are supposed to walk on one side of the hallway. But you weren’t really paying attention and walked on the wrong side which caused you to run into a group of students. Going the wrong way can cause trouble or at the very least cause confusion and frustration.

Maybe it wasn’t you who was going the wrong way. Have you ever come across someone else who was going the wrong way? [Allow for several responses.]

Going the wrong way on foot is one thing, but have you ever found yourself going in the wrong direction while you were in the car? Whether you turned down a one-way street in a downtown area or, even worse, found yourself going the wrong way on the highway, that can be a pretty scary ordeal. Hopefully, you never have to experience this in your life.

[Play Video]

Can you imagine driving or riding down the highway at 60 or 70 miles per hour and a car flies by you going in the opposite direction? That would be a scary situation. But it would be even scarier if you were in the car headed in the wrong direction!

You may not have ever traveled the wrong way in a car on a highway, but, more than likely, if we were to play a video of your life on the big screen showing every conversation, every thought, and every secret action, there would be “wrong way” moments that you would not want to be seen because of embarrassment or shame. We all have those moments, don’t we?

That is true because there is one thing that every single person who has ever walked on Planet Earth has done (except Jesus, of course). Does anyone want to guess what that is? [Let the students respond.]

The answer, of course, is sin. We may not all like the same flavor of ice cream or the same fast-food restaurant, but we all have one thing in common: we all have sinned because we are all born into sin. Jesus is the only One Who never sinned.

When we sin, we are sinning against a holy God. Since God is without sin, any time we sin we are going against God; we are going in the wrong direction.

When it comes to traveling in the wrong direction, what is the best thing to do? [Wait briefly as if expecting a response.] The best thing to do is turn around!

Tonight, we are going to see that in our spiritual journey, when we find ourselves going in the wrong direction, we need to turn around as well! If we are living in a way that displeases God, we need to make a U-turn!

The Bible uses a very specific word when it talks about making a U-turn in life. It is the word “repent.” [Show the PowerPoint slide with the definition of the word “repent.”] To “repent” or the act of repentance simply means “to change one’s mind or purpose.”

You could say it’s a change in one’s direction. All throughout Scripture we read about how we are called to repent. [Show the PowerPoint slide with the Sticky Statement.] So, tonight, we will say it this way, “When you are headed in the wrong direction, repent to make a U-turn.”

Lesson Content

An Old Testament prophet by the name of Joel once delivered God’s message to a group of people who were headed in the wrong direction. Listen to what he wrote. [Read Joel 2:12-13.]

“ Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.”Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and he relents from sending calamity”.

Joel told the people that God was calling them to turn back to Him. He said that they should return to God because God is both gracious and merciful. But the call to repentance is not just found in the Old Testament.

The same theme of repentance carries over into the New Testament portion of the Bible. Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached a message of repentance. Later, when the Apostle Paul wrote his letters to various churches, repentance was a theme in many of those letters as well.

In Paul's second letter to the church at Corinth, he addresses various issues among the believers there. He begins by pointing out their sinful behavior and the need for them to turn away from it. Despite having spent time with them previously and having written to them before, he still finds it necessary to address their ongoing struggles with sin. Paul calls them to live lives of holiness, urging them to repent and change their ways.

The People’s Sin ( 2 Corinthians 2:4)

Listen to what Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:4.

“For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you”

Paul said that he hurt and cried tears over the church because of their actions, but he still loved them. He knew about their sin, knew they were headed in the wrong direction, and he loved them enough to tell them to make a U- turn! He called them to repentance! He wasn’t being mean; in fact, the most loving thing he could have done was to point it out.

If you were riding in a car with your dad and he was driving in the wrong direction, wouldn’t you let him know? Think about it! Wouldn’t the most loving thing to do be to call him out on his mistake? If you were the driver, wouldn’t you want someone to let you know you were headed in the wrong direction?

Remember, repentance happens when we make that change of direction in our mind or purpose. [Show the PowerPoint slide with the Sticky Statement.] We repent to make a U-turn. But we need to know that we are going the wrong way before we can repent. Sometimes we need someone to lovingly let us know that we are headed in the wrong direction.

We don’t just need to be told that we are headed in the wrong direction; we need to do something about it. It is when we are going in the wrong direction (sinning) that we need to turn around (repent). This is a call to holiness - the standard that we should be striving for.

2. The Call to Holiness ( 2 Corinthians 7:1)

[Show the PowerPoint slide with the definition of the word “holiness.”] “Holiness” is “moral and ethical perfection; the absence of any evil.”

[Read 2 Corinthians 7:1.]

“ Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of revernece for God”.

Paul said we are to cleanse ourselves from anything that defiles or pollutes our body and spirit. He is essentially telling us to make a U-turn.

Think about doing the task of washing dishes for a moment. If you do not have a dishwasher that works the way it should, you spend your time with soap and water scrubbing and scrubbing the leftover food particles off the plates, bowls, and silverware, right? The last thing you want is some dried-out, leftover spaghetti on your plate when you fix your next meal.

In essence, what Paul was telling us to do is to scrub anything that is filthy out of our lives. The phrase, “body and spirit,” refers to the whole person—the things we can see on the outside like our actions or words (flesh), and what we cannot see on the inside like our thoughts or desires (spirit).

Someone remind us, what is it that defiles the flesh or the spirit? [Let someone respond.] Sin is what defiles us; sin is the reason why we need a call to holiness. Maybe an illustration will help.

Is there anyone here who is really hungry and would like to have some cereal? We have some [Insert the name of the cereal brand.]. Who likes [Insert the name of the cereal brand.]? Would anyone like to eat some cereal? [Choose a volunteer.] Come on up! Now, how much do you like [Insert the name of the cereal brand.]? [Wait for a response.]

It is good that you like [Insert the name of the cereal brand.]. We have the cereal. [Hold up the box of cereal.] We have the milk. [Hold up the carton of milk.] We have the spoon and the bowl. [Hold up the spoon and bowl without allowing anyone to see the inside of the bowl.]

Before we pour your cereal for you, what do you think of the bowl we have? It is a pretty nice bowl, isn’t it? Now, just so you know, the bowl is a little dirty on the inside. [Show the inside of the bowl.] Is that going to be a problem for you? Are you still hungry? Do you still want some cereal from this bowl? Really, no one in their right mind would want to eat out of a nasty bowl like this. Thank you! You can have a seat.

Paul challenged his readers to be clean or holy on the outside and the inside. When we are holy, we separate ourselves from sin and worldly desires.

So, you might be asking, “Why are we talking about holiness? Isn’t this lesson about repentance?” Yes, it is; you are exactly right! Holiness is the destination that we are to be heading toward in our journey with God. Repentance is how we move toward holiness when we find ourselves headed in the wrong direction.

So, if at any moment we find ourselves going in the opposite direction of holiness, we must repent to make a U-turn! If we don’t, we will continue to get farther from our destination!

Paul said there is one thing that helped bring about repentance in the lives of the Corinthians. As we read verses 8-11, see if you can catch what led the Corinthians to their repentance. [Read 2 Corinthians 7:8-11.]

“Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it - I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while- yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow lead to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but world sorrow brings death”.

What did Paul say led the people of Corinth to repentance? [Let students respond. Answer: felt sorry, sorrow.] Yes! Sorrow or they felt sorry. Eight times in just those four verses, Paul used some form of the word “sorrow.” These people felt sadness and regret. They had a sense of guilt because they had sinned. It was their sorrow that led to their repentance; their sorrow caused them to repent to make a U-turn.

3. The Sorrow They Felt (2 Corinthians 7:8-10)

The kind of sorrow the Corinthians felt was because of the guilt they had from their sins. Think back to the earliest time that you can remember disobeying your parents. How did you feel? Most likely you felt some kind of shame and guilt. How do we know that? Because most likely you tried to hide what really happened; didn’t you?

This is exactly what the first humans, Adam and Eve, did when they sinned for the first time in the Garden of Eden. They hid themselves from God because they were ashamed and felt guilt.

Paul was not willing to allow believers in Corinth to continue to run in the wrong direction away from God and away from holiness. He wasn’t being judgmental or arrogant. He wasn’t trying to make them look bad. He had a genuine love for these people and was heartbroken to see them going in the wrong direction. He was okay with the fact that his words caused sorrow because that sorrow led them to make a U-turn! It was a godly sorrow, not a worldly sorrow.

In distinguishing between godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, Paul highlighted the crucial difference in their outcomes. Godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance and a turning back to God, while worldly sorrow often leads to despair and hopelessness. This contrast is exemplified in the lives of Judas and Peter, both of whom betrayed Jesus but reacted differently to their actions.

Judas, consumed by worldly sorrow, succumbed to despair and ultimately took his own life, unable to find redemption. In contrast, Peter, despite denying Jesus, experienced godly sorrow that drove him to repentance. His sorrow led to restoration and a renewed commitment to following Jesus, illustrating the transformative power of godly sorrow.

Let’s revisit what the Apostle Paul wrote about godly sorrow. Listen closely to his wording. [Re-read 2 Corinthians 7:9-10a.] Paul said that when you recognize that you are headed in the wrong direction, God will produce in you the type of sorrow that will lead you to repentance.

But let’s listen one more time to verse 10. [Re-read 2 Corinthians 7:10a.] We shouldn’t regret the fact that we feel guilt or sorry. Feeling bad is not a bad thing if it leads us to make a U-turn. When the sorrow that we feel reminds us that it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross, that is when sorrow can lead us back to God who will always forgive and give us new life.

Connection

Repentance starts with the sorrow you feel about your sin. Do you feel sorry for sinning against God? Do you feel the weight of your sin causing Jesus to die on the cross? This guilt and sorrow will lead you to ask God for forgiveness.

Tell God about your sin. Tell Him how you have been going in the wrong direction and ask Him to forgive you. According to 1 John 1:9, John says that when we confess our sin (in other words, agree with God about our sin), God will do two things: forgive us and cleanse us from that sin. Once God has forgiven and cleansed, you leave that sin behind. Don’t keep carrying it around. Don’t keep driving in that direction. Leave it nailed to the cross.

Develop a hatred for that sin, a healthy fear of that sin, and a desire to do what is right; turn toward holiness. That is possible by falling in love with Jesus. When you love Jesus more than you love your sin, you will find the motivation to not sin. God has given each follower of Jesus His Holy Spirit to enable you to live a life that is holy.

Finally, relish in the joy of knowing that God has forgiven you and that He still loves you just the same as He did before you sinned. There is nothing that you can do that would ever make God turn His back on you. You can live with the hope that God gives you grace and forgiveness.

Choice

Right now, in each area of your life, you are either heading toward holiness or toward sin. There is no middle ground. Is there an area of life where you are headed in the wrong direction? If you are heading toward sin in any area of your life, the choice for you to make is repentance. Will you repent to make a U-turn, or will you continue to travel towards sin?

If you are heading towards holiness, the choice for you is to remain faithful. Will you commit to continue to move forward toward holiness and keep your eyes on Jesus?

Prayer

You could say this, “Take a couple of minutes to talk with God. Be honest with Him. Tell Him which direction you are going. If you are heading toward sin, confess to God what sins you are dealing with. If you are heading toward holiness, ask God to help you keep your eyes on Jesus and to remain faithful to Him.”

We come before you today with open hearts, acknowledging the areas of our lives where we may be heading in the wrong direction. We confess to you the sins we have committed, the mistakes we've made, and the ways we have strayed from your path of holiness. We ask for your forgiveness, knowing that you are merciful and gracious.

Lord, we also ask for your guidance and strength to make a U-turn towards repentance. Help us to turn away from sin and towards you, knowing that your love and forgiveness await us. Grant us the wisdom to recognize when we are veering off course and the courage to make the necessary changes.

For those of us who are walking in the direction of holiness, we pray for the grace to remain faithful. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, and empower us to continue following him with unwavering devotion.

Thank you, God, for your constant presence in our lives and for your unfailing love. May we always seek to align our lives with your will, trusting in your grace to lead us closer to you each day.

In Jesus' name, we pray.