Sermon Central
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The Hound Of Heaven Series
Contributed by Duane Wente on Oct 13, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: No matter how far we run or how many times we fall, God’s steadfast love pursues us, rescues us, helps us, anchors us, and never lets us go—and our changed lives become the greatest sermon we can ever preach.
### **Introduction**
Video Ill.: Golf Buddies - The Skit Guys
We’ve been walking together through The Gospel According to Peanuts — discovering how Charles Schulz used the simple, everyday world of Charlie Brown and friends to point to deep spiritual truths.
Each week, we’ve unpacked a piece of the gospel message in a way that’s simple, memorable, and personal:
The Message – We all have a sin problem. We’ve all fallen short.
The Choice – What do we do about our sin? We can run from it or run to Jesus.
The Outcome – When we turn to Jesus, we die to self and find new life.
As we have reviewed parts of the gospel each week, we have also been challenged to discover ways that we can share that same gospel with our family, our friends, co-workers, and neighbors. After all, why wouldn’t we want to share the message of hope that fills our lives each day?
And so today, we come to the fourth part of the gospel story:
Once we surrender our lives to Christ — once we are found — what comes next?
We discover that the God who saves us is also the God who stays with us.
There’s a cartoon:
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Snoopy licks Lucy, and Lucy shouts, “Hey”.
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Lucy then chases Snoopy, saying “Get way from me with your ol’ wet tongue!
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Snoopy then goes up and licks Linus. “Hey cut it out!”
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Linus then yells at Snoopy, “Do you have to be licking people all the time?!”
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Linus continues: “If you’re not licking somebody’s hands, you’re licking somebody’s shoes!”
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Linus turns to walk away, “Stupid dog!”
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Snoopy thinks, “They all resent me because I’m so devoted!”
God is that devoted to us.
He is the One who rescues, helps, anchors, and loves us — always.
https://www.houndofheaven.com/poem
He’s what poet Francis Thompson called “The Hound of Heaven” — the faithful One who pursues us relentlessly with love and grace.
Let’s walk through that truth together.
### **I. God Rescues Us**
As we begin this morning, we’re reminded of a simple yet powerful truth: God rescues us — no matter what we have gotten ourselves into.
Consider this moment from Peanuts:
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Charlie Brown is bundled up in winter coat, gloves and fuzzy hat. He his walking across a frozen pond.
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Charlie Brown falls and slips
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WHUMP! Charlie Brown falls flat on his back.
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He lifts his head, questioning his situation.
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Charlie Brown: Good grief! I’ve got so many clothes on, I can’t move! I CAN’T GET UP!
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He struggles, but is unable to get upright.
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Charlie Brown: * Whew * It’s no use…. I’m doomed…. I’ll never get home. I’ll have to lie here until I freeze to death….
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Snoopy comes up and sees Charlie Brown on his back.
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Snoopy begins to push Charlie Brown across the ice while two other characters look on.
Charlie Brown: This is the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to me!
Isn’t that a picture of you and me?
We are out in this world, thinking we can take it on all on our own. We have this kind of arrogance that keeps telling us we are strong enough to handle whatever the world throws at us. We layer ourselves with self-reliance, pride, and independence. But sooner or later, we slip on the treacherous ice beneath us. We fall. And sometimes, we fall hard.
We continue to struggle, trying to do it on our own. But the more we struggle, the more we realize we cannot save ourselves. We finally succumb to the realization that we cannot fix it. We cannot set ourselves right. We need help.
And when we get to that point, ready to throw in the towel and give up, ready to yield to the elements, God comes alongside — not to shame us. Not to keep us down. But to rescue us.
As we saw earlier in our series, sin never fails to pay its wages. But there’s hope. God rescues those who follow Him, and live according to His righteousness. The Bible is filled with stories of God rescuing His people.
In 2 Peter 2, Peter vividly describes this reminding us that
God rescued Noah and his family from the flood
God rescued Lot from Sodom
And then Peter says in verse 9:
9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. (2 Peter 2, NLT)
You see, God is not distant. He is our rescuer.
