Sermon: "When God Says Come Home" Series: Imperfect People: Unstoppable Grace
Pastor: Abdiel Fuentes. First Christian Church Arcadia. August 13, 2026
Play Bumper Video (Today's text is Genesis 35, NASB).
Here at FCCA, we are a praying church. We believe that God is real and that He’s actively involved in our lives, and that He loves to hear from us—at all times, about all things. In fact, the Bible says we are to pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17), so please join me for prayer.
Pastoral Prayer (Reminder: Sermon notes are found by using the Tap Tag)
Well, hello everyone! If we haven’t met, my name is Abdiel, and it’s an honor to serve as your lead pastor and as one of the Elders here at FCCA. If this is your first time joining us, I want you to know that we are a Bible church. This means we see the Word of God as normative in all matters of faith and practice. And our mission is simple. We are here to: Love God. Love people. And the way we accomplish our mission is to fulfill our purpose, which is just as clear. It is: to honor God, equip believers, and reach the lost. That’s our DNA.
Let me begin this week by simply saying that I am so very glad y’all are back. I have to admit last Sunday was a hard subject to cover, but we don’t shy away from that. I suppose that was a test of faithfulness, and your return means y’all passed. Don’t tell those who are absent today. They failed—it'll be our little secret.
Today’s message is titled “When God Says Come Home.” And boy, that’s an ominous title, isn’t it? After Genesis 34, you might think we are headed straight toward judgment—especially after Jacob’s sons overstepped so egregiously and took vengeance into their own hands. You might expect God to “call them home” for a personal eye-to-eye conversation-and let me tell you, that would not go so well for them. But that is not what happens. We are not discussing their death today. We’re talking about reconciliation. Remember: Imperfect People, Unstoppable Grace.
And here’s the bottom line this morning:
God calls you home to heal what drift has damaged.
Genesis 35 is a chapter of renewal. Here we see God interrupt drift, confront spiritual clutter, restore worship, and call His people back to Himself. So, really, the narrative here is uplifting, encouraging, and moving—not because the people are clean or sinless—they’re not [by any means]—but because God is merciful.
And maybe—just maybe—what you see in this chapter is that God is calling you home as well. I hope that’s true for you.
Now, before we walk into Genesis 35, I want to summarize where we were last week. Genesis 34 was heavy—painful, disturbing, sobering. It forced us to face the difference between justice and revenge. And we saw what happens when anger is not surrendered and when pain is not governed by holiness.
Jacob’s household ended that episode in fear of a counterattack. His sons’ revenge for the rape of their sister Dinah left the entire family vulnerable, and Jacob worried about retaliation. Here’s where we ended last week (Genesis 34:30-31 NASB):
“Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me by making me repulsive among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since my men are few in number, they will band together against me and attack me, and I will be destroyed, I and my household!” But they said, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
I’m not sure them boys understood the gravity of the situation. They still seemed focused on the offense, on Dinah’s rape rather than their sinful reaction. But Jacob could already see the fallout.
So, the movement from Genesis 34 to Genesis 35 matters, right? Genesis 34 is about the damage revenge can do when anger runs ahead of holiness. And Genesis 35 is about what grace does next. And it’s certainly not what you’d expect. God does not leave Jacob’s household in the wreckage—to suffer the consequences of their actions, their sin. No, right there—right in the middle of that mess, of that fear and impending fallout—God speaks. He calls them back to worship, back to obedience, back to Himself. Genesis 35:1 (NASB):
“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.’”
Check that out: God steps in. God keeps him safe. God says, “Jacob, come home.” Come back to the place where I met you. Come back to the place where you heard My voice. Come back to the place where you made a vow, a promise to Me.
You see, Bethel is more than just a location. Yes, it’s a spiritual landmark for Jacob; that’s true. It’s the place where he first encountered God (Gen 28:10-22), where he saw the ladder going into heaven and angels going up and coming down. It’s where he heard the promise bestowed upon him by God himself. And where he said, “This is the house of God.”
But now Jacob has drifted. His entire household is adrift. Let’s be honest here: Jacob has failed to lead properly. Remember, this is a patriarch of our faith we're talking about. And yet, his worship has wandered. Imperfect, messy people for sure. And God now says, “It’s time to come home.”
So, Genesis 35 is about renewal. Here, Jacob leads his household to put away foreign gods [which should seem very odd to you—how is it that anyone in this household has any foreign idols in their possession?] That’s messy. It's sin, actually—it's an affront against God, which is why they must purify themselves and prepare for worship (Gen 35:2). [Pause].
This is why Jacob must build an altar, remembering God’s faithfulness again. And he must receive reaffirmation of the covenant promise God had made to him (Gen 35:9-12). After everything they’ve just been through, they must reconcile their lives with God.
But there is also so much happening in this chapter, interwoven with grief—Deborah dies, Rachel dies, Isaac dies (Gen 35:8, 19, 29). Yet through all of it, God remains steadfast (Lam 3:22–23). Look, renewal is not just remembering God—it’s returning to Him (Zech 1:3; Jas 4:8). Full Stop. [Pause]. So, let's get into it. Let’s talk about renewal [or reconciliation].
First, it’s repentance (Acts 3:19). It’s reordering your life—your priorities, your habits, your rhythms, your loyalties (Rom 12:1-2; Matt 6:33). It’s removing idols—and let’s not kid ourselves, there are idols in your life right now (1 John 5:21).
I know that to be true just as clearly as I know there is air to breathe in here. We don’t need a long diagnostic test to figure that out. An idol can be anything you put ahead of God (Exod. 20:3). Anything that steals your affection, your attention, your obedience away from God. Anything that shapes your decisions more than Scripture (Ps 119:105). Anything that gets your “yes” faster than God. Anything that matters more to you than God.
And let’s be honest: idols rarely look like carved statues anymore. It’s more like a matter of comfort, of convenience, or control (Luke 12:15; Prov 3:5-6)—you know, things of that nature.
Maybe, for you, idols look like money [maybe money is more important to you than trusting God] (Matt 6:24; 1 Tim 6:10). Or maybe it’s entertainment—you keep watching things you know you shouldn’t put in your mind (Ps 101:3; Phil 4:8), and I’m not just talking about pornography here—but hey, God understands, right?
Or maybe it’s relationships, secret habits, personal ambitions, or the need to be liked (Gal 1:10; Col 3:5). Maybe it’s chasing clicks, likes, shares, and approval from others on whatever social media platform has your attention this week.
Idols are things you defend when you shouldn’t, the things you excuse, the things you refuse to surrender (Isa 44:20). Idols are the quiet rulers of your heart—the things that keep you from obeying God fully or truly worshiping God wholeheartedly (Ezek. 14:3; Matt 22:37). The reasons you hesitate. The reasons you delay obedience (Heb 3:15). It’s why you say, “Not yet, Lord.” So, you remain spiritually stuck... adrift (Heb 2:1).
So, you need to be uber careful here. Idols don’t just sit in your life—on a shelf to be ignored (that’s old school). No, modern idols shape your life, and that’s worse. They affect your schedule, your choices, your emotions, your priorities (Prov 4:23). And if you’re honest, they shape your resistance to God (Rom 1:25).
You and I both know there are things you need to remove from your life right now. Areas you need to purify (2 Cor 7:1; 1 Pet 1:15-16): thoughts, behaviors, values, and principles. Because idols always demand loyalty—and they always demand it at God’s expense. So don’t judge Jacob and his family too harshly here (Gen 35:2-4). We’re all in the same boat.
When God says, “Come home,” He is not just inviting you to find comfort by His side (Matt 11:28). And yes, you can come as you are—but you cannot stay as you are. You come as you are so He can change who you are. [Pause].
Look, God is holy, so sin cannot be treated casually in His presence. His holiness is morally incompatible with impurity. You need to know this. And this is who God is—He does not bend, He does not soften, He does not negotiate His nature. And that is exactly why grace is so necessary and why He has made it available to you. We do not cleanse ourselves to earn His presence [that’s not possible]. We respond to His call by surrendering what cannot remain in His presence. Scripture is very clear on this:
God’s presence exposes impurity, and no impurity can stand before Him. His grace calls you to cleansing.
But don’t take my word for it. Isaiah 1:18 says.
“Come now, and let us debate your case,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall become as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.”
This is why the call to repentance and cleansing is never optional. It is the only way a sinful people can stand before our holy God. [Pause].
So, listen very carefully here: God is calling you to be cleansed—to draw near, surrender what cannot remain, and let His grace reorder your heart (Jas 4:8). You need to lay down all that competes with Him—things that quietly take His place in your heart and in your mind so that you can restructure your life around God again (Deut. 6:5; Col 3:1-2). In other words, you need to repent.
And repentance is not just saying, “I’m sorry, God” (2 Cor 7:10). Repentance is saying, “This no longer gets to rule over me” (Rom 6:12-14). It’s saying, “This idol doesn’t get my devotion anymore” (1 John 5:21). No. It’s “God, You get the throne back. You’re my savior and my Lord” (Luke 6:46; Rom 10:9).
Because you can’t return to “Bethel” while carrying “Shechem’s idols” (Gen 35:2–4), you can’t walk in renewal while still holding on to the things God wants removed from you(Eph 4:22-24). You can’t reorder your life around worship while clinging to the things that steal your worship to begin with (Matt 6:24). You must make God your top priority (Matt 6:33).
So yes—there are idols in your life (Ezek. 14:3). And yes—God is calling you to put them away (Josh 24:14), to get rid of them. He’s asking you to do this because He wants to heal you (Hos 6:1; Rom 8:1).
Drift is the slow, unintentional movement of the heart away from God, and drift does not heal itself (Heb 2:1). It’s not always open rebellion or loud defiance, if that’s what you think. Sometimes it is the quiet slide that happens when we stop paying attention to our walk with God (Prov 4:23). Drift happens through distractions and neglect. Small compromises and spiritual passivity (Heb 3:12–13). It’s when you are too busy to join a small group, too tired to attend church, or too distracted to study the Word (Heb 10:24-25; Ps 119:11) and spend time in prayer. Too hungry to fast.
You don’t notice it at first—until one day you realize you’re standing farther from God than you ever meant to be (Rev 2:4-5). [Pause]. Drift is what happens when we stop tending the altar (Gen 35:7). It’s the opposite of intentional discipleship (Luke 9:23).
Look, idols don’t remove themselves (Col 3:5). Priorities don’t reorder themselves (Rom 12:1-2). And renewal [or reconciliation] doesn’t begin until you stop pretending everything is fine and start surrendering (Ps 139:23-24; Jas 4:8-10). God is saying, “Come home. But leave the idols behind” (Gen 35:1-4).
Coming home is rebuilding worship (Gen 35:7). It’s responding to grace with obedience (Titus 2:11-12; John 14:15). And church, here’s the emotional draw:
Comfort—because God meets you with grace (Matt 11:28), which is always true and uplifting. Cleansing—because God calls you to put away what doesn’t belong (2 Cor 7:1; Jas 4:8).
So, let’s walk through four lessons that rise from this chapter—truths that are powerful, challenging, and practical because they speak directly to the places where our hearts are adrift today (Gen 35:1-15).
Genesis 35 gives us a simple pattern for renewal. Are you ready for this? Here it is: God calls us home, we leave our idols behind, we rebuild worship, and we depend on God’s faithfulness—not our own strength. Now let's get into it.
So here is Lesson Point No. 1:
That’s right. God initiates renewal. Not you. God starts the conversation. God says, “Arise, go up to Bethel.” Jacob didn’t wake up one morning and say, “You know what? I should probably get my spiritual groove back on.” No. God called him. And that’s grace. Grace always moves first. Grace always speaks first. Grace always invites first. Grace always says, “Come home.”
Some of you may think that renewal begins with your effort, by your one hand—your discipline, your willpower, your spiritual performance. But Scripture shows otherwise again and again. Renewal begins with God’s voice, not your strength.
God called Abraham (Gen 12:1). God called Moses (Exod. 3:4). God called Samuel (1 Sam 3:10). God called David (1 Sam 16:12-13). God called the disciples (Matt 4:19). God calls sinners to repentance (Acts 2:38). God calls the weary to rest (Matt 11:28) and the brokenhearted to healing (Ps 147:3). Renewal begins when God says, “Come home.”
And here’s the intellectual challenge for you to wrestle with:
Think about that. You have free will—absolutely. So, when God calls, and you say no—are you making an idol of something else?
Jacob drifted because he delayed the obedience Bethel represented. He stopped short in Shechem when he should have returned fully to the place where God had met him and where Jacob had vowed to worship (Gen 28:20–22).
But Pastor, what are you talking about? God is just now calling him back to Bethel.
That’s a fair question, but remember when Jacob returned to the land, he stopped short. He settled in Shechem (Gen 33:18-20), even though Bethel represented the place where God had met him and where Jacob had vowed worship. [What?]
Yes, God had met Jacob at Bethel in Genesis 28, promised to bring him back, and Jacob vowed that this place would be God’s house. But when he returned to the land, he stopped short and settled in Shechem. So, when God says, “Arise, go up to Bethel,” it’s a direct call to return to the vow Jacob made and to the place where God had met him in grace.
Jacob drifted because he delayed obedience, and anywhere short of obedience becomes the starting point of spiritual drift—it’s a miss. And in time, Jacob tolerated idols in his home when he should have led his family right in all matters of faith (Gen 35:2–4). He allowed drift to settle in.
So, let me ask you—where has drift settled in your life? Where has comfort replaced obedience? Where has convenience replaced holiness? Where has delay replaced your surrender? God is calling you home from all of that.
Lesson Point No. 2:
Jacob doesn’t just say, “Let’s go to Bethel.” He says, “Put away the foreign gods which are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments.” This is huge. Jacob’s household had idols. They had objects of devotion that competed with God—that offended God. They had rival allegiances. They had spiritual clutter. And now Jacob says, “If we’re going home, the idols must go.”
I want to make something clear here. Renewal is not sentimentalism. It’s surgical. It cuts away everything that doesn’t belong. In fact, here is some intellectual insight for you. Renewal requires 2 things:
You can’t turn toward God while holding on to things that compete with Him. You can’t return to Bethel while carrying Shechem’s idols. That won't work.
And look, idols are not always evil things. Sometimes they’re good things that become ultimate things. [Remember, that’s why God tested Abraham and asked him to offer Isaac, his own son, in sacrifice (Gen 22:1-2)].
Now Jacob says, “Purify yourselves.” Meaning: renewal requires cleansing. Jacob says, “Change your garments.” Meaning: renewal requires transformation. Jacob says, “Put away the foreign gods.” Meaning: renewal requires repentance. So, let’s be real today. Maybe coming home to God includes cleansing you didn’t know you needed.
Some of you may be adrift not because you hate God by any means. [I mean, here you are, after all, at church]. But you’ve tolerated idols. You’ve allowed rival allegiances to settle in your heart. You’ve allowed spiritual clutter to accumulate. And God is saying, “It’s time to clean house.”
Lesson Point No. 3:
Jacob says, “Let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God…” Now, Jacob isn’t just returning to Bethel—he’s returning to worship. He builds an altar, yes. He leads his family, yes. He remembers God’s faithfulness, yes. But most of all, he responds to grace with obedience. Why? Because Worship is not an event. It’s a reorientation.
So let me be clear. Worship is not a song. Worship is not a service. Worship is not a moment or even a feeling. Worship is the reordering of priorities around God (Rom 12:1). Jacob had allowed worship to drift. He had allowed convenience to shape his decisions. He had allowed fear to shape his leadership. But now he reorders everything. He puts worship back at the center. And church, hear this:
Bethel is about remembering that God’s past faithfulness should lead you to present obedience. If God has been faithful before, He deserves your trust and obedience now because you know He will be faithful again.
Lesson Point No. 4:
After Jacob obeys, God appears again, and He blesses him. God reaffirms the covenant. God repeats the promises and assures him of His presence. Why? Because Renewal is sustained by God’s faithfulness, not your perfection.
Look, these are messy people, same as you and me. Jacob is not perfect. His family is not perfect. His leadership is not perfect. His past is messy. But God is always faithful. God is the one who brings him back again and blesses him again. God is the one who speaks again, who restores. And this is the way it always is: God’s grace leads you back to faithful worship—even after you drift, even after you fail.
Renewal does not remove grief, no. Renewal does not erase loss, either. Renewal does not eliminate hardship; I don’t want you to be confused here. But renewal does anchor you in God’s faithfulness through it all. So don’t give up. [Pause]. Trust that in the end, it will all be okay—in this life or the next.
So, what do we do with this? Well, we repent: we remove idols and reorder our lives. We renew: we recommit to worship rhythms. We ask God to reveal the idols we must get rid of, to expose the drift, cleanse the heart, restore our worship, and reorder our lives around Him again.
So here’s your challenge this week: De‑idolize your life. Start with one habit. One pattern. One distraction. One allegiance. One thing that competes with God. Remove it and replace it with worship. Surrender to God and ask His forgiveness. And here’s your takeaway: Come back and be restored — God is calling you home. [Pause].
Now, before we close, I want to speak to anyone here who feels the weight of being adrift. Maybe you’ve wandered for some time now. Maybe you’ve delayed obeying Him. Maybe idols have settled in your heart. Maybe you’ve been living in Shechem when God has been calling you to Bethel. Hear this: God is calling you home.
And if you’ve never trusted Jesus—if you’ve never surrendered your life to Him—let today be the day (2 Cor 6:2). You don’t need religion. You don’t need performance. You need a Savior (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the One who took your sin on the cross, who rose from the dead, who now offers forgiveness, healing, and eternal life (1 Cor 15:3-4). Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16).
So, if you’re ready to turn from sin, trust Jesus, confess Him as Lord, and be united with Him in baptism, come forward after service. Our response team will be here. I’ll be here. We would love to walk with you as you take the next step of faith. God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. As Ananias said to Paul (Acts 22:16):
“Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized and wash away your sins by calling on His name.’”
Let today be the day. The water is ready. And church—if you’re carrying drift, idols, or spiritual clutter—this is your invitation too. Bring it to Jesus. Just come home and let us pray for you.
Let’s pray. Father, thank You for calling us home. Thank You for grace that interrupts drift, for mercy that heals wounds, and for faithfulness that never fails. Help us remove idols, reorder our lives, and return to worship. Teach us obedience. Teach us holiness. Teach us to hear Your voice and respond with courage. Renew our hearts this week. In Jesus’ name, Amen.