It's Good To Be Home - A Homecoming Service Sermon

Introduction

Video Ill.: The Prodigal (Abridged) - The Skit Guys

The Dream Home Is Dead

Source: Adapted from Julie Kilcur, “The Dream Home Is Dead,” CT magazine (September, 2020), pp. 33-40

https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2022/november/dream-home-is-dead.html

Copied from Preaching Today

U.S. cities were shedding people steadily even before the pandemic. According to Postal Service data, 15.9 million Americans filed a change-of-address request between February and July of 2020. Roughly one in five Americans either changed residences or know someone who did in just the first few months of the pandemic, according to Pew Research. Many of them were spurred—or enabled—by COVID-19 lockdowns, seeking more breathing room as homes morphed into places where work, school, meals, and rest all unfolded under one roof.

Though median U.S. home prices rose relatively steadily over the past decade, they soared during the pandemic, climbing 30 percent from early-2020 to early-2022. It seems we have collectively awakened to the fact that home really does matter. Except, it is harder than it has been in generations to actually find a home.

But for Christians, the broken housing market is more than just an opportunity to practice the virtue of contentment. With a dream home out of reach for so many, it may well be time for us, followers of the man who had no place to lay his head (Matt. 8:20), to reimagine what home truly is.

The best homes—the ones that feel most like a home—are almost never the biggest, prettiest, cleanest, or most well organized. They are those that seem to envelop you upon crossing the threshold with signs of real, actual life: dishes in the sink and toys all over the floor, a stack of yet-to-be read books on a side table, furniture arranged to foster conversation, tea on the stove, and a “let me dig around and see what we have in the fridge” attitude that is neither fussy nor sterile. These homes are infused with an earnest Galatians 6:10, do-good-to-all-people mindset, and it shows. Homes are a place of growth and connection with ourselves, our spouses, our friends, and our communities.

And as we watch the world quiver under the weight of war and political discord and injustice, let’s be reminded that home isn’t found in the perfect house, but in the people that enter, the reflection of eternity it offers, the shelter it provides, and the growth and connection it creates. No matter the location, no matter the size, these things remain.

I think the same thing can be said of the church as well today.

They say home is where the heart is. Scripture says our hearts are where our treasure is — which should be laid up for us in Heaven.

But until we get there, our hearts are here — in the body of Christ — in the church — as the bride of Christ.

And you know, it’s truly good to be home. You know, when you’re traveling, it’s nice to be away, to have a change of scenery on vacation, to experience things we cannot do at home. But after a while, we long to go home. I always get excited when we come down 42 to the lookout and you can see the town of New Castle. We’re almost home. And then pulling into the yard one of the first things that gets said is, “it’s good to be home!” It’s good to be back where we belong — to sleep in our own beds — to be surrounded by everything that makes it our home. It’s good to be home.

I think we can see that it was good for the prodigal son to be home too.

I think the Skit Guys did a fantastic retelling of that story in a way that really captures the emotions and thoughts of the boy and his father.

And in that story, it becomes clear that it is good to be home. Looking at that story this morning, we can see how the same is true for our spiritual home on earth — the church.

You see, home is a place of support for each other.

In our family, we make it a priority to have dinner every evening together. Breakfast may be hurried. Lunch is eaten at different times and in different locations. But supper — well, that is eaten together as often as humanly possible.

We gather around the dining room table at supper to not only eat, but to talk about our day — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Amanda and I ask Isaiah how boring his school day was — which according to him, every day is boring.

Amanda and I talk about our work days — the good of the day — and the bad.

In all of this, we support each other — we encourage each other — we help each other in any way we can.