The Scarlet Cord From The Window of Heaven | Jonathan Pickens | Sermon Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

The Scarlet Cord From The Window of Heaven

Jonathan Pickens

Passion City Church • Mar 31, 2026 • 35 min

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Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this message from Joshua 2 and 6, Jonathan Pickens illustrates how Rahab's story points directly to the ultimate redemption found in Jesus Christ. Just as Rahab and her family were saved from destruction by taking refuge in a house marked by a scarlet cord, believers are rescued from judgment through faith in the shed blood of Christ. God delights in transforming outsiders with broken pasts into beloved members of His family, inviting us to live with bold faith and share His saving mercy with others.

Themes

Faith and ObedienceRedemption and SalvationThe Blood of JesusGod's Mercy and GraceTransformation and Identity

Pastor's Points

1.

Faith is costly.

2.

Knowing God's character is what gives our faith confidence.

3.

It is not the size of your faith, but the object of your faith that saves.

4.

When you have been saved by grace, you are sent with a burden.

5.

God is in the business of turning broken pasts into bright futures.

6.

God's plan since day one has always been to make outsiders insiders.

7.

Jesus' blood is the scarlet cord that runs throughout the whole Scripture narrative.

Key Points

1.
Faith is costly because living by faith often requires standing against cultural pressures and worldly authority.
2.
Knowing God's character—both His almighty power and His deep mercy—is what gives our faith confidence to ask and act boldly.
3.
Salvation does not depend on the size or strength of our faith, but on the strength of the object in which we place our trust.
4.
When we have been saved by God's grace, we are sent into the world with a heart and burden to share His rescue with others.
5.
God delights in turning broken pasts into bright futures, taking outsiders and welcoming them into His royal family.
6.
The entire story of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is bound together by the scarlet thread of blood sacrifice fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
7.
We are saved from God's righteous judgment against sin solely through God's mercy provided in the shed blood of His Son on the cross.

Sermon Moments

“There is a significant difference in being in the presence of something and seeing a picture of something. What if God wants to move us from a picture of the gospel to the presence of the gospel?”

“What you lose is nothing compared to what you gain in Him. Be faithful. Go against the current. Stay with what your faith is leading you to do.”

“Knowing God's character is what gives our faith confidence.”

“It is not the size of your faith, but the object of your faith that saves.”

“When you have been saved by grace, you are sent with a burden.”

“It will not be our morality or religiosity that saves us. What it will be is are you underneath the house with the scarlet cord? Are you under the blood of Jesus?”

“God is in the business of turning broken pasts into bright futures. God took an outsider and made her an insider.”

“Jesus' blood is the scarlet cord that runs throughout the whole scripture narrative. If there is no blood, there is no gospel.”

This Week

Examine areas in your life where cultural expectations conflict with biblical obedience, choosing to stay faithful to God even when it costs you.

Meditate on God's character and past faithfulness when facing overwhelming challenges, trusting that He is both powerful enough and willing to act on your behalf.

Shift your confidence away from your own moral performance or religious background and rest completely in the finished work of Jesus' blood.

Identify friends, family members, or colleagues who need God's rescue and prayerfully invite them into the refuge of Christ.

Reject shame over your past failures, trusting that God delights in redeeming broken stories and giving believers a bright future in His kingdom.

Spend time reading through Scripture this week to trace God's overarching plan of redemption through Jesus Christ.

Express daily gratitude to God for His grace and mercy, remembering that you are fully accepted as a beloved child in His royal family.

Remember This

Believers are saved and transformed not by their own merits, but by taking refuge under the blood of Jesus Christ, the true scarlet cord sent down from heaven.

A Challenge for You

As those who have received grace, we must be sent with a burden. Let us be a people who stand in awe of the scarlet cord, thankful by faith for the strength of the object that it's in, and dependent on His blood and His blood alone.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.