We all carry forms of “leprosy” in our souls—worry, anxiety, bitterness, unforgiveness, or a sense of being excluded or canceled by others or even by ourselves. These are the things that separate us from God and from one another, just as leprosy separated people in Jesus’ day. The first step toward healing is to honestly recognize and admit our brokenness, our need, and the places where we fall short. When we acknowledge our spiritual leprosy, we open ourselves to the possibility of God’s mercy and transformation. [32:42]
Romans 3:23-24 (ESV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you feel “unclean” or separated from God or others? Can you name it honestly before God today?
The ten lepers in the story had the courage to cry out to Jesus for mercy, admitting their need and trusting that He could help them. This act of faith—coming to Jesus with our pain, our failures, and our desperate need—is the kind of prayer that moves His heart. Jesus hears the cries of those who know they need Him, and He never cancels or turns away anyone who comes in humility and hope. [37:43]
Luke 17:12-14 (ESV)
“And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance and lifted up their voices, saying, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.’ When he saw them he said to them, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed.”
Reflection: Where do you need to cry out for Jesus’ mercy today? What would it look like to bring your honest need to Him in prayer?
When Jesus told the lepers to go show themselves to the priests, they obeyed before they saw any evidence of healing. It was as they stepped out in faith, trusting Jesus’ word, that they were made clean. Sometimes God calls us to act in faith even when we don’t see immediate results, trusting that His word and His timing are perfect. Obedience, even in uncertainty, is often the pathway to experiencing God’s healing and provision. [41:13]
James 2:17-18 (ESV)
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Reflection: Is there a step of obedience God is asking you to take today, even if you don’t see the outcome yet? What would it look like to trust Him and move forward?
Only one of the ten lepers returned to thank Jesus, falling at His feet in worship. Gratitude is a spiritual muscle that, when exercised, brings joy, peace, and deeper spiritual strength. When we remember and thank God for His faithfulness—both in big miracles and small mercies—we are drawn into deeper relationship with Him and experience a profound sense of wellness in our souls. [46:58]
Psalm 103:1-5 (ESV)
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Reflection: Take a few minutes to recall specific times God has answered your prayers or shown you mercy. How can you intentionally thank and worship Him for these today?
Jesus told the grateful leper, “Your faith has made you well.” This wellness goes beyond physical healing; it is a deep, inner transformation that brings peace, joy, and a sense of being profoundly loved by God. As we continue to come to Jesus with our needs, obey His word, and return in gratitude, He works in us a wholeness that the world cannot give. Even in ongoing struggles or unanswered prayers, His presence brings a wellness to our souls that endures. [52:27]
Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Reflection: In what area of your life do you long to be made well? How might you invite Jesus to bring His deep healing and peace to that place today?
This morning, we gathered to remember God’s faithfulness through generations, to give thanks for the legacy of worship and grace that has shaped our community, and to open our hearts to the transforming work of Christ. We reflected on the story of the ten lepers, a story that invites us to see ourselves not as the already “cleaned up,” but as those in need of mercy, healing, and restoration. Leprosy in the biblical sense is more than a physical disease—it’s a metaphor for the ways we are separated from God and one another: through worry, anxiety, bitterness, unforgiveness, and the experience of being “canceled” by others or even by ourselves.
We considered how easy it is to identify with the lepers—isolated, shamed, and desperate for hope. Yet, the remarkable thing about these ten is not just their suffering, but their courage to cry out to Jesus for mercy. This act of honest confession and appeal is itself an act of faith. Jesus hears the cry of the needy, not the self-sufficient, and responds with compassion and power. He calls the lepers to step out in faith, to obey even before they see the evidence of healing. As they go, they are cleansed.
But the story doesn’t end with physical healing. Only one returns to give thanks, to worship at Jesus’ feet, and in that act, he is made truly well—healed not just in body, but in soul. This is the deeper invitation: to cultivate a life of thankfulness, to remember and recount the ways God has intervened, and to let gratitude draw us into deeper communion and joy. When we return to Jesus with thanksgiving, we encounter his presence in a way that brings profound transformation, washing away shame and filling us with peace and joy.
We are reminded that healing may not always look like a miracle cure; sometimes it is the peace and love that hold us through suffering. Yet, the pathway is clear: honest confession, faith-filled obedience, and a return to gratitude. This is the way to be made well, to find our home in the love and grace of Christ, and to live as a community marked by worship, generosity, and hope.
Luke 17:11-19 (ESV) — 11 On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.
12 And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance
13 and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”
14 When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.
15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;
16 and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.
17 Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?
18 Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”
19 And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
And as you exercise thankfulness and praise, all of a sudden, inside, you become happier and happier. And there's more and more joy, and more and more life. And just like you get physically strong, we call it spiritually strong, that your spirit is strong, and you're full of life and joy and peace. [00:20:34] (24 seconds) #JoyThroughThankfulness
And so we have these ten lepers who are on the side way of life looking for hope. And we find one is healed. But more than healed, Jesus would declare he's made well. That the trauma of being a leper, the trauma of all of those dark days, is somehow swallowed up and within his soul, he is well. And so the promise of this scripture is that we too can be made well. [00:26:37] (41 seconds) #MadeWellInSoul
Sometimes leprosy isn't just what people do to us and how they exclude us from community. Sometimes leprosy actually gets into our very soul and we cancel ourselves. That, that we begin to believe the internal criticisms about ourselves and we no longer engage in community. We start to withdraw and become more and more lonely. [00:31:42] (24 seconds) #LeprosyWithinIsolation
You ever try to fix your anxiety or worry, the thing that's destroying your life? You can try, there's all these band-aids and you can think your way through and you can use all of the world's answers. But I'll tell you, they're all gonna fail you. Death will win. And so there is one in whom you can appeal in your leprosy who has the power over death. [00:36:42] (33 seconds) #OnlyJesusOvercomesDeath
``See, when you come as a leper, when you come as a person with needs, when you come as a person who needs to be made well, and you say, master, have mercy on me. When you actually take the faith to call out to Jesus, in that moment, Jesus stops what he does. And he listens to you. Because he has a heart for you he loves you the world may have canceled you you may cancel yourself he has never canceled you nor will ever cancel you. [00:38:25] (31 seconds) #UncancelledByGrace
When we go back to those moments where we've cried out for his mercy, and for his help, when we review the file of our prayers, and look at the ways in which he's time and time again has showed himself faithful, to always bring the highest good into our lives, to work out good when we didn't think any good could come from it. When we go back to those files and we begin to recount them and we go back to him and we say, thank you, Jesus, you intervened here and you saved me time and time again. Thank you for who you are and what you've done. And you are good and you're worthy of worship and I love you, Jesus. [00:46:33] (42 seconds) #FaithfulInEveryAnswer
And sometimes that healing, in the case of my brother, in the case of many other people, it may not be a miraculous healing in the sense of his body being returned to a perfect state. It may be that in his dying, he has incredible peace. The sense of this incredible love, holds him these difficult, dark days. But nevertheless, when we cry out for help, Jesus' response is, I will help you. [00:54:51] (39 seconds) #PeaceInDyingGrace
Deep, deep healing happens in your soul. And then, you know the remedy. Next time you're in trouble, you can call for his help. He's going to lead you with his word. You're going to come back with thanksgiving, made well. The pathway's been defined for you. The pathway home, marked by grace, for the love of Christ. [00:56:17] (27 seconds) #HealingPathwayHome
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