Let me just say that it’s great to be in the house of the Lord this morning and I am so glad to be the Pastor here at Coy, great things are going on here and the spirit is moving. This community of faith that all of you are a part of is still alive and well making a difference in people’s lives as we work diligently for the Kingdom of God. Some of you here today have moved away to other towns and other places but I know that when you get here you take a deep breath of this clean country air and say to yourself “boy it’s good to be here, there’s no place like home”, some of you may still live close by but stopped coming to church here at Coy for whatever reason and wonder if it still feels like home to you, and I hope it does.
We are so glad you’re here and hope that it still feels like home to you and I would like to say to all of you Welcome Home.
When I hear or say the words “There’s no place like home” the first thing I think of is Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz clicking the heel of those ruby red slippers together and saying “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home” and then being transported back to the farm in Kansas along with her little dog Toto.
It also brings to mind the story of the prodigal Son, this young man has moved away from home and taken his inheritance and finds himself down on his luck, washed up and washed out. We are told that one day he is out feeding the hogs and looks at that trough full of slop and thinks how filling it would be just to eat some of it. But when he came to his senses he said I am going to my father and plead for mercy, even his servants are better off than me. If I repent, if I tell him I have realized the error of my ways, maybe I can get my job back. That young man realized the same thing that Dorothy realized, there really is no place like home.
When we say things like there’s no place like home we need to look at what we really mean by home. Now a lot of us that move away from where we were raised still call that geographical location home. A lot of us think there is no place on earth like it and that’s all well and good but the truth is once we move away it isn’t really home anymore but sometimes it takes a little while to realize it.
I used to think when I would go down for a visit back home in Jonesville that man there was no place on earth like home. After driving through Natchez and crossing that big river I would start reminiscing about my childhood days. Soon after taking a left turn on Hwy 84 heading out of Ferriday I would start to smell that delta dirt and see that flatland and think “Man there’s no place like home.” Until one time I was in Natchez for three days teaching a “Mayday” course to the Natchez Fire Dept. and drove down home each evening to spend time with family and I realized this wasn’t home anymore. My home was where my heart was and my heart was with my wife and family, my home was in a community where I had friends and a church family that I was involved in, my home was where I lay my head down each night and watched the sun rise each morning. After a couple of days back home I realized that there really was no place like home, the home where my heart was.
So you see there really is no place like home but we must realize where home is. Now right now in this physical realm Home is the town or community where you live, home is where your spouse and your children are, the place you work and go to church, and participate in schools and recreation with other people in the community. Home is where your heart is and there is no other place you would rather be. The funny thing is sometimes we don’t really realize that there’s no place like home until we are on vacation or out of town for work a few days and then we realize that there is truly “No place like Home.”
But even though on this earth we may have a few different homes in our lives and they all may be a great place to be we should all be looking forward to our home that has been prepared for us. Jesus tells us in John 14:2 In my Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. Friends Jesus has already got the home ready that we should be moving toward and believe me there is going to be no place on earth like it. Scripture tells us that God has prepared things which the eye has not seen and the ear has not heard for those who love Him (1st Corinthians 2:9) Let me tell you There’s No place like Home and it’s been prepared already. If Christ is your Lord and Savior you already have the key, you don’t need a passport because your citizenship has already been established. Our Scripture for today tells us our citizenship is in heaven, and we are eagerly waiting for a Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ. We may feel like this is home but nothing in this world can compare to the Home that we are headed to. Hebrews 13:14 says “For here we do not have a lasting City, but we are seeking the City which is to come. In plain English it means this world is not my home I’m just a passin through. Church we should be clicking our heels together shouting there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.
When we get home we are told that God will be there and that He will wipe every tear from our eye, there will be no mourning, no crying and no pain. What a day that will be. Now I know you want to know how I get my ticket to ride that train into glory. How do I get my citizenship in this Kingdom that my Home is in? Well I’m gonna tell you, Jesus has already paid for your ticket and we are told how we can get it. Jesus told Nicademus, “You must be born again” and we do that by our faith in Jesus, accepting Him as our Lord and Savior. We get our citizenship through Jesus who said I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father but through me.
The truth is there really is no place like Home and someday soon we will all gather in that glorious City of God. There’s no place like home, there’s no place like Home, and there’s no place like home.
