"The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior!" - Psalm 18:46
Play
Bible Passages: Acts 4:12-13; Mark 16:15-16; 1 Peter 2:9. If the world is going to change, God is going to change it by using ordinary people like us! In order for this to happen we need to take Jesus PERSONALLY.
We have to celebrate - the lost is found! We can all relate to coming home and gathering around a meal as family. It is an opportunity to laugh and share life. There is an intimacy in that gathering. The Lord's Supper is a foretaste of the eternal feast in heaven, and provides intimacy with Christ Jesus.
Everything God has is ours, in Christ Jesus. The parable of the two lost sons is missing a true elder brother that is willing to reconcile and restore the family, no matter what the personal cost. Jesus is that True elder brother for us.
Forgiveness is God absorbing our debt. With any debt, someone has to pay. Either you inflict the pain of repayment on your debtor, or you sacrifice personally in order to free the offender. Can we overcome our sense of superiority and have the compassion to forgive others as God has forgiven us?
Obedience doesn't earn God's acceptance. When the elder brother refuses to join the celebration, we gain a deeper understanding of lostness which includes those of us that seek to gain acceptance through joyless, mechanical obedience. The Gospel message is that God accepts us, and now it is our joy to obey Him.
Repentance is the beginning of restoration. We also find that a repenting community welcomes accountability. The difference between the world's view of repentance and the Biblical view of repentance is discussed, as well as the nature of true repentance.
Idolatry assults the family. Both the younger brother and elder brother want the father's things and not the father. We too have put "things" above our Heavenly Father. The good news is that our Father divided His life for the possibility of redemption, so that family can be restored.
Sheep are helpless and need to be rescued. Shepherds, on the other hand, control the life of their sheep and provide everything for the sheep. We are lost sheep and our Shepherd frees us sinners so we can admit we are sinners.