This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti
Week 9: Sandy's Rescue and the Reality of Spiritual Bondage
Read the sections dealing with Sandy Hogan's deeper entanglement in the New Age network and the efforts to reach and rescue her. Key Scripture: Luke 15:11-32; John 8:31-36; Galatians 5:1; 2 Timothy 2:24-26.
Previewing Week 9 of This Present Darkness
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
Sandy's story is a story about captivity — and about what it actually takes to see someone set free.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.By this point in the novel, Sandy's entanglement has become a form of spiritual bondage — she genuinely cannot see the deception she is in and resists help from those who love her most. How does Peretti depict the relationship between demonic influence and human freedom? Is Sandy responsible for her choices? Is she a victim? How do both things stay true simultaneously?
2.Read John 8:31-36: 'If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.' What kind of freedom is Jesus talking about here? How is it different from — and deeper than — the 'freedom' that the New Age philosophy in the novel promises to Sandy?
3.Marshall's attempts to reach Sandy through argument, authority, and parental pressure all fail. It is prayer — specific, persistent, anguished intercessory prayer — that begins to break through. What does this say about the limits of human strategies for reaching people in spiritual bondage? What does it invite us to do differently for the people we love who are far from God?