A Welcoming God

Topic: How God Welcomes Us

My topic is really simple and well known

But with familiarity comes indifference

Like many simple truths of the faith, over time with familiarity, things become cliche

An Imaginative Practice

So this morning we are going to do something a little different

Instead of me teaching you all how God welcomes us, with 3 points and clear take away application...

I want to do something fun and interesting, I want to lead you guys in an imaginative practice

Before we start I want to give some brief reasons why I find this important

Why?

Knowledge/Wisdom

Information overload

In the Past - knowledge affected how you live

Now - knowledge is depersonalized

Farmer crisis - News Crisis

If we really want to live our lives with wisdom (Biblical Wisdom)...

We must learn to re-personalize information

This isn’t just truth, but this has deep implications for how I live my life

Native American Philosophy Class Milkweed

So what we are doing today definitely won’t feel like a normal ‘bible study’ or ‘sermon’ with take away points because this morning I’m not concerned with teaching you new things but helping you take what you already know in your head and accept it in your heart

Re-enchantment

What we are going to do requires imagination

We live in a world that has almost thoroughly choked out imagination and creativity

We live in a disenchanted world

Science has explained everything

Its dull and drab

Skeptical of imagination (materialism)

Christianity is about placing ourselves in a larger story

The greatest story ever told

And it requires faith… it requires imagination...

Actually placing ourselves in the storyline of scripture

Somewhere between Acts and the end of Revelation

The same God is at work

So my goal today is to help you exercise your imagination and faith

This is one of the reasons why Jesus taught in parables

So with all of that being said,

The topic we are going through today is How We are Welcomed by God.

Practice

Now this story should be familiar to you all...

The Story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.

This is a story we have heard a lot, perhaps heard teachings of on many occasions...

But I’m going to ask you all to put yourselves into this story, not just know the story, but personalize its meaning to you.

Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths...

God I pray that you will release our imagination and help us to hear you speak to us during this time together. We open our hearts to you.

Pause

Come, Holy Spirit.

With your eyes closed, imagine with me that you are part of a very wealthy family. You live in one of those nicest homes just along the beach. You have everything you could possibly need or want. Your family is very rich.

You are the younger of two children, it’s just you and your older brother. You and your brother both work in the family business, and your father has built the family business over many years, and your family is well-known and very successful.

Pause

Imagine one day your father is talking about what will happen in the future when he can no longer manage the business. You and your brother will divide the business between you two. Your brother will get part of the business and you will take another part. It is a large business with a great deal of employees and wealth involved.

What would it be like to know that you will inherit a great deal of wealth someday?

Pause

How does this make you feel?

Pause

Now imagine that something happens.

There is a conflict that arises between you and your older brother and you and your father. It seems like no one is on your side.

This tension builds and something happens that makes you want to run away from home. It seems better to first get the money that is coming to you before you leave home

Imagine going to your father and asking him for your share of the inheritance. You tell your father that you want your portion of the inheritance right now.

Pause

Your father is a very kind and reasonable man.

After giving it some thought, he agrees that you should leave. Your father sells part of his business in order to give you the portion of the inheritance he has promised to you.

You also notice that some of the things your family owns are now gone. Some property, some cars, other luxuries… Your father sold them in order to keep his promise to you.

Your father is busy for weeks in order to gather up enough money for your inheritance.

Pause

Now your father comes to you one morning and hands you an envelope.

You open in an inside is a check written to you. It’s a lot of money. More zeroes than you’ve ever seen in your bank account. Hundreds of million dollars.

Pause

Your father gives you a hug and lets you know that he loves you and that you are free to go out into the world. This is what you wished for.

How does it feel to have this new freedom?

Where would you like to go first?

What would you want to do with all of this money?

Pause

You pack up a small bag with some clothes and get an airplane ticket to New York City, you’ve always wanted to live in the city. You don’t bother taking all of your belongings, you have enough money to buy new things once you arrive.

You arrive and it feels like the world is yours to possess. You stay in the nicest hotel for a week while you scope out apartments. You find the nicest apartment with multiple bedrooms overlooking Central Park. The price of rent is truly outrageous, months ago if you saw that number you would’ve imagined that nobody could afford it, but now with your inheritance, it definitely seems manageable.

Life is good.

You start eating at the best restaurants, you become a regular that the chef recognizes. You make new friends at art galleries and parties. You host people at your new apartment and have enough money to hire caterers, cleaners, entertainment.

You meet people from all over the world, each with their own unique stories.

You don’t work, everyday you wake up, you can decide with complete freedom what you want to do for the day, the sky is the limit.

What does the freedom feel like?

What does it feel like to be able to have anything you could possibly want?

Pause

Imagine you live like this for quite some time.

Not only in New York, but you travel far and wide, Europe, Asia, Pacific Islands.

You see the most beautiful sites in the world, eat the most delicious meals, meet the most interesting people. Taking your inheritance early was the best decision you could’ve made.

So it seems...

Pause

Back in your apartment, in the back of your mind, you know money is running out.

You know that you don’t work, you don’t have any money coming in but you just think of the millions of dollars still in your bank account.

You live this this, with these thoughts in the back of your mind for a long time.

Sometimes you miss home. Sometimes you miss your mom and dad. And yes, sometimes you even miss your older brother. With all of the interesting and lovely people you’ve met and befriended, none of them are like your family.

But you have having too much fun to let that bother you for too long.

You buy everything you could possibly want and go anywhere you could possibly want to go.

But then everything changes.

The money runs out.

You did not expect this to happen.

Even the stocks and investments you had as a back up plan were poorly managed and theres no money left there either.

You receive an eviction notice.

Your ‘friends’ leave you.

You are far away from home.

What does this feel like?

You hardly have money to eat.

Pause

It sinks in suddenly, you realize you’ve made many terrible mistakes.

You’re staying in a homeless shelter for the time being, you can’t even afford the cheapest apartments.

You stay up at night beating up yourself for all of the mistakes you’ve made.

You are completely out of money. There is no one to turn to. You are far from home.

Imagine you find a job. It was difficult since you didn’t have anything on your resume. You are working minimum wage at McDonald's.

You went from eating some of the best meals in the world, to relying on your free meals that work gives you on your breaks.

One night as you sleep in a cramped room, you remember what it was like to sleep in your bed at home. You remember what it was like to eat breakfast with your family. You remember playing with your older brother, board game nights with the family, movie nights with friends.

You realize that your life would be better if you went home.

Maybe your dad could offer you a job in his business...

But how could you possibly tell your father that you spent all of the money?

Surely even if he is angry at you, he will hire you to work for him out of pity.

Pause

Imagine you save up enough money at your job to buy a plane ticket back home.

This time you also only pack a small bag with clothes, not because you aren’t worried because you can always buy more, but because these are the only clothes you have.

You leave the city and all the memories of it behind

You see the plane take off and you start tearing up as the city grows smaller and smaller in the distance

How do you feel? Sad? Angry? Embarassed?

The whole six hour flight you are drafting and rehearsing the speech you will give to your dad

You know you must apologize. You try to figure out what to say so that your father might take you back and not be angry with you.

You admit your mistakes, you tell him how you’ve wasted your inheritance, you tell him how your life turned upside-down and how you need his help. You plan on having to beg your father to take you back in after what you’ve done.

Pause

The plane lands. Call an Uber to your home with your remaining money. You begin the journey home. The closer you get to home the more your stomach is turning and you are filled with anxiety and fear. You keep rehearsing your speech that has been on your mind nonstop.

You arrive. You take your small bag and get out of the Uber. You look up toward your old home...

and you see your father standing at the door.

For a moment time stops...

What will he do with me…?

Time suddenly resumes and he begins running towards you.

Hes running toward you and he is crying. He is crying and laughing at the same time.

You watch your Father run towards you. He runs right up to you and you are met with the warmest embrace you have felt in years.

He wraps his arms around you and picks you up and begins to dance with joy.

You don’t even have a chance to deliver your speech.

You no longer feel embarrassed or angry or sad.

You feel wanted, loved, forgiven. You feel at home.

Your father comes and carries you into your home on his shoulders. You walk into your home and there is a great feast that is being set up last minute just for you.

Someone brings out some of your favorite clothes and shoes that you had forgotten about as you left them in your old room.

Knocks at the door start and your old friends and family members start coming in one-by-one.

Your family prepared you favorite meal, better than any of the dishes from the renowned restaurants you visited.

Now your father raises a glass and the room grows quiet...

Pause

Through tears and laughter your father says,

“I am overcome with joy today. My child who was lost has been found. My child was dead is now alive again. Let us all celebrate and rejoice in this great blessing.”

Pause

This is what happens when we make a mistake in the kingdom of God.

This is God’s heart toward you when you wander.

God loves you.

When you are lost, he will look for you.

When you are sick, he wants to heal you.

And when you make mistakes, he will always have grace for you.

God welcomes us

This is a story that I use frequently when I feel like I’ve ran away from God

God running toward me

A warm embrace

Celebration

God welcomes us to welcome others

We wont do the entire exercise again but you can place yourself in the older brothers shoes.

You stayed with your dad

Things were sold/lost so your brother could receive his inheritance

He wasn’t there for all of the hardships

He finally comes back, wasting all of his money

Your father throws an extravagant party for him

Luke 15:28 (CSB)

“Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.

And this is what Anaiah will be talking about tomorrow

How we aren’t just welcomed by God

But deep down, if we internalize this glorious gift of God

It changes the way we live

We are called to welcome others like we have been welcomed.

So want to leave you with this verse:

Isaiah 30:18 (NLT)

So the LORD must wait for you to come to him

so he can show you his love and compassion.

For the LORD is a faithful God.

Blessed are those who wait for his help.

Lets Pray.