Sermon Central
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A Big Party Is Waiting For You At Home! (The Modern Prodigal Daughter)
Contributed by Dr. Larry Petton on Mar 15, 2022 (message contributor)
I think you are all familiar with the parable that we call the “Story of the Prodigal Son.” Well, I want us to consider it again with a little different twist. Listen to the story in a modern setting as told by Philip Yancey in his book “What’s so Amazing about Grace?”
Yancey tells of a prodigal daughter who grows up in Traverse City, MI. Disgusted with her old fashioned parents whom she believes overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, & the length of her skirts, she runs away. She ends up in Detroit where she meets a man who drives the biggest car she’s ever seen.
The man with the big car – she calls him “Boss” – recognizes that since she’s underage, men would pay premium for her. So she goes to work for him. Things seem good for a while – at least no one is trying to get her to change.
But then she gets sick for a few days, & it amazes her how quickly the boss turns mean. Before she knows it, she’s out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, & all the money goes to support her drug habit.
One night while sleeping on the metal grates of the city, she began to feel less like a woman of the world & more like a little girl. She begins to whimper. “God, why did I leave? My dog back home eats better than I do now.” She realizes that more than anything in the world, she wants to go home.
Three straight calls home get three straight connections with the answering machine. Finally she leaves a message. “Mom, dad, its me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, & it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, I‘ll understand.”
During the 7-hour bus ride, she’s preparing a speech for her father. And when the bus comes to a stop in the Traverse City station, the driver announces a 15-minute stop - 15 minutes to decide her life.
She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect. But not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepares her for what she sees. There in the bus terminal stands a group of 40 brothers & sisters, aunts & uncles, cousins & a grandmother, & a great-grandmother to boot.
They’re all wearing party hats & blowing noise-makers, & taped across the wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads – “Welcome Home!”
Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She stares out through the tears in her eyes & begins her memorized speech. He interrupts her, “Hush, child. We’ve no time for that. No time for apologies. We’ll be late. A big party is waiting for you at home.”
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