### **Introduction**
Video Ill.: Cat Funeral — The Skit Guys
This morning, we are continuing our study The Gospel According to Peanuts. Charles Schulz, through something as simple as a comic strip, often pointed to some of life’s deepest spiritual truths — and even the truths of the gospel. That was his way of “preaching” the good news. The question for us is: How do we share the gospel in a way that works for us?
As we ask that question, each week we are breaking down the gospel in to simple chunks, and sharing it in ways that help us understand the gospel, and help us see ways we can share the good news with our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. And, all of that is leading us up to Back to Church Sunday — an opportunity, even an excuse, for us to invite others to church.
So far, we have taken two important steps together:
1. We all have a sin problem. Like Charlie Brown and his friends, we all wrestle with weakness and failure. The Bible reminds us in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
2. We must choose what we do with sin. Do we run from it, cover it up, excuse it, or trust in our own “tourniquets”? Or do we run to Jesus, the only One who offers forgiveness and life? Romans 6:23 reminds us: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Now today, we take the next step: what does that choice really mean for our lives? Once we recognize our sin and decide to follow Jesus, what comes next?
CS Lewis on Repentance - The hole we find ourselves in
By Dr. Fred W. Penney
Copied from Sermon Central
C.S. Lewis asks a similar question! He asks:
Now what was the sort of hole man had got himself into?
He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself.
In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms.
Laying down your arms, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor-- that is the only way out of the hole. This process of surrender -- this movement full speed astern-- is what Christians call repentance.
Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than eating humble pie. It means killing a part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. (Mere Christianity)
Repentance — without it, we can never have the change we need in our lives. Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 7:10:
10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. (2 Corinthians 7, ESV)
That is what talking about today: godly grief. Or, as Charlie Brown would say, “Good grief!” It is grief that wakes us up, grief that calls us to let go of pride, and grief that brings new life.
## I. We All Need an Awakening
So as we begin this morning, we all need an awakening.
Consider Snoopy’s plight in this strip:
**Frame**
Snoopy is lying on his doghouse, covered in snow. A thought balloon shows an exclamation point.
**Frame**
Snoopy thinks, “It snowed last night… I can tell!”
**Frame**
Snoopy: How disgusting! I go to sleep at night and when I wake up, winter has come!
**Frame**
Snoopy: now I won’t be able to find my dog dish or anything! Rats! What does it have to snow for?
**Frame**
Snoopy: At least I THINK this is snow…. I can’t see…. Maybe there’s something wrong with my eyes!!
**Frame**
Snoopy: Maybe I went blind during the night! Maybe I….
**Frame**
Snoopy pops his head up out of the snow.
**Frame**
Snoopy dancing: Ah! Snow! Snow! Beautiful snow!
That is what an awakening looks like. Snoopy’s whole perspective changes in a flash of a moment.
Paul describes this kind of transformation in Ephesians 5:14:
14 Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. (Ephesians 5, NIV)
He echoes this same message to the church in Rome. In Romans 13, Paul says:
11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty || clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. (Romans 13, NLT)
What Paul calls for here is a spiritual awakening — a rising up from the complacency of our world into awareness: an awareness of our own sin — a conviction of our hearts — a recognition of our lost condition — a realization that we need Jesus and His mercy and His grace.
[1]: https://www.barna.com/research/belief-in-jesus-rises "Belief in Jesus Rises, Fueled by Younger Adults"
Many are talking in our country today about a stirring in America — a renewed hunger for God, especially among younger generations. The Barna Group recently reported that commitment to Jesus has risen among adults in the U.S., particularly under age 40.
But here’s the key: revival doesn’t begin in politics, culture, or with movements — it begins where every revival does — in hearts awakened by Jesus.
Sin has a way of burying us, covering us up until we cannot see clearly. We often mistake conviction for condemnation. We confuse God’s call to life with something scary or oppressive. But when Jesus awakens us, the truth breaks through. What felt like death becomes the beginning of life.
**Key thought:** You see, conviction is not meant to crush us — it is meant to wake us up so that Jesus can shine on us.
As Snoopy popped his head through the snow to discover new joy, so may we be awakened today to see God’s light shining, to shake off the frost, and to step into the day.
**Transition**
Snoopy’s awakening reminds us what happens when Jesus shines His light on us — we see clearly for the first time. But waking up is only the beginning.
Once we realize our need for grace, the next step is harder: we have to actually let go of our old ways. And that is where grief comes in. The Bible calls it godly grief — the sorrow that leads us to repentance and life.
### **II. Good Grief Leads to New Life**
So, second, this morning, good grief leads to new life.
In another strip, Charles Schulz illustrates Lucy throwing one dandy of a temper tantrum.
**Frame**?Lucy (throwing a tantrum and banging on the ground): YOU PROMISED ME A BIRTHDAY PARTY, AND NOW YOU SAY I CAN’T HAVE ONE! IT’S NOT FAIR!
**Frame**
Linus: You’re not using the right strategy.
Lucy: What?
**Frame**
Linus: The more you fuss, the worse off you’ll be…. Why not admit it was all your own fault?
**Frame**
Linus: Why not go up to mom, and say to her, “I’m sorry, dear Mother…. I admit I’ve been bad, and you were right to cancel my party…. From now on, I shall try to be good.”
**Frame**
Linus: That’s much better than ranting and raving…. All that does is prove her point.
**Frame**
Lucy, trying to recite Linus’ words: “I’m sorry, dear Mother. I admit I’ve been bad and you were right to cancel my party…. From now on, I shall try to be good!”
**Frame**
Lucy walks away.
**Frame**
Lucy stops, and you can tell she’s thinking.
**Frame**
Lucy screams: I’D RATHER DIE!
For Lucy, apologizing, admitting she was wrong, and changing her ways felt harder than death itself.
But here is the gospel truth: the Bible actually does call us to die — not physically, but spiritually. Paul writes in Romans 6:
6 For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
|| 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. (Romans 6, NIV)
The Christian life is about dying to self — putting to death pride, selfishness, stubbornness, and sin — so that we can rise with Christ.
And yes, that process brings grief. As Paul reminded the Corinthians, there is such a thing as godly grief. It is the sorrow we feel when we let go of pride, confess sin, or surrender our selfish ways. It feels like loss, but it is actually the doorway to repentance, forgiveness, and life.
That is exactly what Jesus meant when He spoke to Nicodemus in John 3. After Nicodemus marveled at Jesus’ teaching, Jesus told him in verse 3:
3 …“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3, NIV)
To be born again requires first letting the old self die.
You cannot get a better illustration of this than baptism. When we are baptized, it symbolizes this dying to self. As we are immersed, we close our eyes. We hold our breath. We go under the water. We are buried. We have died to our old self. But then we come back to life, up out of the water. We start breathing again. We are symbolically washed clean. We have been born again. As the water has covered us, so has the blood of Jesus, making us new.
Lucy was right about one thing — we really do have to die — but she missed the bigger truth. It is only by grieving our sin and selfishness, by letting those things die, that we discover the new life God offers.
Think of it like gardening. If you want new growth in spring, last year’s plants and weeds have to die away in the fall and winter. There is a kind of grief in watching the old fade away — but it is necessary. Without death, there is no new life. Spiritually speaking, our selfish ways and sinful nature must die before the Spirit can bring forth the fruit of new life.
#### Application
So, yes — it feels like “I’d rather die!” to give up our pride. It feels painful to admit we were wrong, to surrender our will, to humble ourselves. But that grief is godly grief — it is the very process that brings freedom. Death to self is not the end — it is the doorway to life.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to this process daily. It is not a one-time decision but an ongoing journey. Every day we put pride to death so that Jesus may live in us.
**Key thought:** The Christian life requires grief — but it is a good grief, because in dying to self we find true life in Christ.
And here’s the good news: We do not have to go through this alone. God places us in a family, the church, where we are reminded of grace, guided toward truth, and celebrated when we take steps of faith.
### **III. The Church: God’s Lost and Found Department**
Because, finally, this morning, the church is God’s lost and found department.
Robert L. Short, in The Gospel According to Peanuts, said that very same thing. He wrote that “the Church is the world’s great lost and found department.” (Pg. 87) That is exactly what we see both in Scripture and even reflected in Peanuts — the joy of being found.
We all know what a lost and found is. Whether it is a school box, a bus station office, or an airport desk, it is the place where lost things are gathered — waiting for someone to come looking.
In London, there is actually an official Lost Property Office. It has been there since 1933, collecting everything left behind on buses, subways, and taxis. Every year, nearly 200,000 items are turned in — from phones and umbrellas to, believe it or not, some of the strangest things imaginable.
Here are just a few of the weirdest lost and found items ever discovered:
A human skull in a Paris train station
A live lobster turned in to the transit office
A prosthetic leg (still wearing a shoe)
A full wedding dress — brand new, left behind
A life-sized stuffed zebra
Even a coffin, abandoned in London’s transport system!
You cannot help but wonder how those things got lost — but we certainly know the joy the owners must have felt when they finally reclaimed their lost items!
The same is true spiritually.
Short explained that the church assumes something about every person: that we are all lost, wandering in the wrong direction, often without even realizing it.
And because we do not see how lost we are, we also do not understand how much it is hurting us.
But once we recognize our lostness, the Church becomes the place where we can be found — where direction changes, new life begins, and joy overflows.
That is the message Jesus gives in Luke 15.
He tells three stories — the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son — and each one ends the same way:
Jesus says “Rejoice with me, for what was lost has been found.”
Heaven itself celebrates when a lost soul is found!
And Schulz captured that truth in a humorous but surprisingly profound way.
**Frame**
Linus is in very deep grass: I can’t find the ball!
**Frame**
Linus: WADDYA MEAN, PICK IT UP?!
**Frame**
Linus: HOW DO YOU EXPECT ANYONE TO FIND A BALL IN WEEDS LIKE THESE? WHAT DID YOU HIT IT OUT HERE FOR?
**Frame**
Linus: IT’S IMPOSSIBLE! OF COURSE, I’M LOOKING! I SAID I CAN’T FIND IT! IF I COULD FIND IT, WOULD I STILL BE OUT HERE?
**Frame**
Linus: THIS IS HOPELESS! NOBODY COULD FIND ANYTHING OUT HERE! YOU COULDN’T FIND A BATTLESHIP OUT HERE IF IT….
**Frame**
Linus: …Wait a minute….
**Frame**
Linus disappears into the weeds.
**Frame**?Linus, holding up the ball: I found it….
What looked hopeless became joyful.
That is what God does for us.
What seemed lost forever — our lives, our hope, our direction — is found in Jesus.
And the church is God’s “lost and found,” where the once-lost are reclaimed and restored.
**Key Thought:** The church is God’s great lost and found — a place where we help one another face our lostness — a place where those who were hopelessly lost are found in Christ — a place where we share the gospel so others might discover the joy of being found by God. And when the lost are found, all of heaven rejoices!
### **Conclusion**
So far in The Gospel According to Peanuts, we have seen three big parts of the gospel:
1. The Message: We all have a sin problem. Like Charlie Brown and his friends, we cannot fix ourselves. Romans reminds us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
2. The Choice: We all must choose what to do with sin. Will we run away, cover it up, or trust in our own “tourniquets”? Or will we run to Jesus, who alone offers forgiveness and life?
3. The Outcome: Following Jesus means dying to self — and finding new life. “Good grief” may hurt, but it is the kind of grief that brings awakening, humility, repentance, and finally, freedom.
I want to draw to a close this morning with this Snoopy moment:
**Frame**
Snoopy, looking at an empty water dish: Empty! And I’m dying of thirst!
**Frame**
Snoopy carrying his bowl.
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Snoopy sits holding his water bowl under a spigot awaiting water to come out.
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Snoopy is still sitting holding his water bowl under a spigot awaiting water to come out.
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Snoopy holding his water dish, looks around.
**Frame**
Snoopy sits holding his water bowl under a spigot awaiting water to come out.
**Frame**
It begins raining, as Snoopy sits holding his water bowl under a spigot awaiting water to come out.
**Frame**
It begins raining harder, as Snoopy sits holding his water bowl under a spigot awaiting water to come out.
**Frame**
It’s still raining, but Snoopy begins to walk away.
**Frame**
It’s still raining, but Snoopy begins to drink rain water from his bowl.
**Frame**
After drinking, the rain ends, and Snoopy sits there looking at his bowl.
**Frame**
Snoopy is reclining on the roof of his house and thinks: That’s one I’m going to have to think about for awhile!
Isn’t that us? We look to the wrong spigots — the wrong sources — expecting life and satisfaction. But all along, God is pouring out grace. We just need to lift our eyes, open our hands, and receive it. God’s grace is a free gift — available to all who are thirsty.
That is what Jesus said in Revelation 22:17:
17 …Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. (Revelation 22, NIV)
This is where Charles Schulz helps us so much. He found his way to point people to grace — a comic strip, of all things! The question is: What’s our way? How do we share the good news of Jesus?
Maybe it is through our story, our testimony, our relationships, our service, or simply our kindness. But we cannot keep this good news to ourselves.
The world is full of people who are still buried under the snow, still clinging to their pride, still wandering in the weeds, who are dying of thirst, waiting under the wrong spigots. You and I have the commission, the obligation to say: “There is a Savior. There is forgiveness. There is life giving water. His name is Jesus.”
That is the gospel. That is what we share. That is what we celebrate together.
### **Call to Action**
When we leave here today, I challenge you to remember this:
Our awakening is our testimony. Our process of dying to self and finding new life is our witness. Our story of being lost and then found is our living gospel message.
We don’t have to preach like Charles Schulz drew, or like I preach from this pulpit. Just tell your story. Share how Jesus woke you up, changed you, and found you. That is the gospel — alive in you.
So let us be bold. Let us be faithful. And let us share the gospel — in our words, in our actions, in our lives.
“The world is thirsty. Don’t leave them under an empty spigot — point them to the living water of Jesus.”
