We’re a little past midway in our late-summer series called ‘Christian’ … where we’ve been talking about what that word means and what it doesn’t mean. We’ve discovered that ‘Christian’ is a word used by those outside the faith … to describe those inside—not a nice word either. But, Jesus’ followers didn’t call themselves ‘Christian’ and Jesus never called his followers that. He had a very specific, very technical word he used to describe those who followed him: disciple. And, folks, unlike the word ‘Christian’—mentioned only 3 times in the...
On this Easter morning, we’re beginning a new worship series called: “Forgiveness: The Real F Word.” We just finished a series called “Christ on the Cross: Love Personified”—digging into Jesus’ final words from the cross and after. And today, as I said, we’re starting a new series on the topic of forgiveness ... and we’re going to do that with the parable or story of the Prodigal Son. For years, it’s been called ‘the greatest Short Story ever told’ and for good reasons. So, let’s begin in Luke, Chapter 15,...
As Charles Dickens said, this is the greatest short story every written! In 22 short verses, we can see ourselves and the ins and outs of our life with God pretty clearly … through the characters in particular. While this story is usually referred to as The Parable of the Prodigal Son, I want to suggest that it’s the FATHER who is the main character—not the son … or sons! The FATHER is mentioned at least 12 times in the span of these 22 verses. While entire books have been...
