Psalm 25:21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. Prodigal Son & Repentance March 2011 Saint Pishoy College Fellowship

Introduction The prodigal son left his father and chose to spend all his money like we repeatedly chose to leave god and let our guards down… Likewise, the prodigal son returned to his father like we repent from sin and find our way back to God

He began to feel the need to go back to his father Feeling helpless is the first step in repentance Feeling the need of Jesus Christ to enter our lives is an evident sign of a repentant sinner Fact: Where is the source of comfort? – “Nobody Gave him anything” (Luke 15: 16) The First Step

SELF CONFRONTATION. – He sat with himself and realized something must be done – Pope Shenouda III The closer you get to God, the more you feel like you’re closer to the least of his hired servants The feeling of getting closer to God is comforting to an immeasurable extent – You just have to experience it – Father Pakhomius Ava Moses Second Step

Blessed Grief Watch the fine line you may reach before repentance! What do your sins drive you to do?  Consider your actions now  What options has the devil left you with after he made you fall into sin (Letting your guard down) “Rejoice not over me, o my enemy, when I fall, I shall rise.” (Micah 7:8) What kind of Energy did his sins give him??

The Third Step The action The decision A point where a lot of us stop 2 Important requirements 1. Complete confidence in the love of God. 2. A strong hatred to the sin that separated you from God

He confessed to his father… Notice the steps that came before his confession “Father I have sinned against heaven and before you…” (Luke 15:18) The Fourth Step

Confession It is declaring our sins to the priest in the presence of God A true confession is when you sit with the priest and blame yourself for every sin you commit  Tears of repentance  The one that never blames himself covers all the defects in his personality and masks them. Therefore his defects never end up getting fixed The priest is given the power of loosening the bonds of sin like the apostles were likewise given that power from Christ A brief question answer session could be useful after confession

Review 4 STEPS OF REPENTANCE 1.Feel the need to go back to God 2.Have a blessed grief about sin and regret doing it 3.The decision to never sin again 4.Confession

The Church  It doesn’t matter how big and how beautiful your church is if Christ is not willingly dwelling in your hearts  Attending to the physical building is not a necessity but the tools are all here… Why look elsewhere?  Examine every action, every place, every habit, every decision and see if it puts you on a road leading to repentance or away from repentance Conclusion