Morning: Today was Homecoming. The sermon, "Going Home and Homecomings," looked at Luke 15:11-32. In this passage, Jesus is trying to get the Pharisees to understand how God approaches the "lost."
It has been said, "You can't go home again." But Jesus told us we could, if we would repent and turn to the Father.
When we look at this story, we see three types of people. There are those who, like the younger son before he came to his senses, are running away from God. They see him as an obstacle to better living, so the seek to avoid him. Other are those who, like the older brother, see God as an unfair tyrant always seeking to keep them from enjoying live. They honor him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. The third type of person is the one who has come to their senses and returned to the Father.
Jesus reminds us that we need to come to our senses. Sin is like madness. It causes us to view things incorrectly. We need to see what we have done. We have all committed sin against a holy God, who formed and fashioned us for his purposes. We need to see where we are at. Sin is dragging us toward death, leading us toward ruin. We need to see the way out. The only hope for us is to come to the Father through Jesus Christ the Son.
If we return to the Father we will be welcomed. The Father is waiting and watching. He is ready to embrace us. He is ready to make us his children. He isn't some tyrant who unfairly holds us back. Nor is he an obstacle in the path of the good life. He is the source of the good life.
God finds great joy in the repentance of a sinner, and so should we. You can go home again, through Christ, but you'll be changed. He's waiting.
Evening: No services.
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