Come Home And Let The Party Begin Series

COME HOME AND LET THE PARTY BEGIN!

(Sept. 2012 – Beausejour Church – Pastor Chris Jordan)

HUMOR: Eight-year-old Nina brought her report card home from school. Her marks were good... mostly A's and a couple of B's. However, her teacher had written across the bottom: "Nina is a smart little girl, but she has one fault. She talks too much in school. I have an idea I am going to try, which I think may break her of the habit." Nina's dad signed her report card, putting a note on the back: "Please let me know if your idea works on Nina because I would like to try it out on her mother."

OPENING TEXT:

“Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such despicable people -- even eating with them!” (Luke 15:1-2, NLT).

• Jesus loved to hang around with sinners, but that got the religious people mad at Him.

THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON: (Luke 15:11-32, NLT).

This is one of the greatest stories ever written – Rembrandt painted it; Shakespeare wrote about it

THE FATHER:

“11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons.” (v.11).

• In this parable, the Father represents God.

• Father is a challenging topic for many people – positive, negative, or no father?

• One author said, “Today I wonder why it is God refers to Himself as “Father” at all. This, to me, in light of the earthly representation of the role, seems a marketing mistake. Why would God want to call Himself Father when so many fathers abandon their children?”

• In this story, Jesus wants to reveal to us something about the heart of God as Father.

1. THE REBELLIOUS SON:

“12 The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

• As a father, if one of my children said this to me, I would have been devastated.

13 A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living.

• He turned his back on the father with no thought of returning (distant land = far away)

• I’m sure the father stood there weeping as he watched him leave.

• The younger son was a fool and soon wasted all of his money on casinos, bars, loose women, strip clubs, nice vacation, bigger toys, fancy clothes, etc.

14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

• The famine = represents an economic crisis.

• Next thing you know, he’s homeless, on the streets, lost weight, maybe strung out

15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. 16 The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

• The only job he can get is working for a pagan pig-farmer. This is the worst possible job for a Jewish boy. Pigs are unclean animals.

17 When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man."'

• He finally came to his senses and decided to GO HOME to the Father’s House.

THE REBELLIOUS SON RETURNS HOME:

20 So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming.

• Here we see the father again, watching and waiting every day for his son to return.

20b Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

• When the father sees him, he runs towards him.

• You don’t often see old men running, unless they’ve committed a crime, or someone is trying to do something bad to them. The father hiked up his robe and ran.

• The father could have punished him, disowned him, or even had him put to death.

• But the father kisses him and embraces him in the stench of his sin.

• Dads – are you affectionate to your children? When was the last time you hugged them?

• The father was filled with love and compassion. He still loved the son!