Sermon Tone Analysis
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J090918
Lost, Found, Restored
Star Wars (,,)
Indiana Jones
Lord of the Rings
Back to the Future
All wonderful trilogies.
As someone who grew up in Cross Lanes UMC / Received his call to ministry at Baber-Agee UMC / now preaching at Fairview UMC
I feel as if I’ve completed the ultimate Wesleyan Trilogy of Cross Lanes, West Virginia
Thankful for the opportunity to worship with you all this morning.
Several familiar faces, have been here several times over the years - almost always it involved food.
Today doesn’t appear to be any different.
Having served under Pastor Mark Harris before as a lay speaker, youth leader and friend.
I have learned a lot from this man of God and again I am thankful to be here this morning.
He’s taught me how to prepare for a sermon, how to minister to God’s people and how to plan a worship service.
However, this next bit of advice I was given, wasn’t given from him but I’m sure he’d agree.
I was once told that there are two things that I should preach about.
About Jesus Christ….
(Mark do you agree?)
and
About twenty to twenty five minutes….
In Luke Chapter 15, Jesus tells three parables.
- The Parable of the Lost Sheep
- The Parable of the Lost Coin
- The Parable of the Lost Son... or the Prodigal Son.
To keep close to the 20-25 minutes I just mentioned; we’ll not read ALL three of these parables.
But lets look at the last one.
The Prodigal Son.
As someone who grew up in Cross Lanes and having the opportunity to move back years later, I can relate to todays scripture in multiple ways.
The tale of a man who went away and came back.
Spiritually I did that years ago.
Physically I just did that last year as I bought the house I grew up in off of my parents.
Having come home both physically and spiritually, I can relate.
Let us look to God’s word…
11 Jesus said, “A certain man had two sons.
12 The younger son said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the inheritance.’
Then the father divided his estate between them.
13 Soon afterward, the younger son gathered everything together and took a trip to a land far away.
There, he wasted his wealth through extravagant living.
14 “When he had used up his resources, a severe food shortage arose in that country and he began to be in need.
15 He hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to eat his fill from what the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything.
17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have more than enough food, but I’m starving to death!
18 I will get up and go to my father, and say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
19 I no longer deserve to be called your son.
Take me on as one of your hired hands."
’
20 So he got up and went to his father.
“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion.
His father ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him.
21 Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son.’
22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him!
Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet!
23 Fetch the fattened calf and slaughter it.
We must celebrate with feasting
24 because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life!
He was lost and is found!’
And they began to celebrate.
Let us Pray …
How incredible is your love, O God! We have been made new in your love and reconciled to you and to each other in peace and joy.
Be with us this day as we hear your words of comfort and hope.
Guide our lives that we may serve you more fully all of our days.
AMEN.
I always think of the different perspectives that we have here in this story.
- We have the youngest son who leaves, squanders, hits rock bottom, then returns.
- We have the loving father who obliges his son’s absurd request, lets him go, sees him coming back, runs to him in love.
- We also have the stubborn older brother who doesn’t leave, hears older brother is back and father throws a party, gets jealous and doesn’t show up!
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to take in with just one parable.
We have greed and recklessness.
We have unconditional love.
We also have bitterness and jealousy.
Well, this sounds like a daytime Emmy award winning soap opera.
There’s all kinds of issues to deal with in this parable.
But let us look this morning at the main character in this story and that’s the younger son.
But looking at the story, there are two movements in the life of the younger son.
He leaves and he returns.
The leaving starts in Verse 12 when the younger of these two sons says to the father, “Father, give me my share of the inheritance.”
He’s asking for his inheritance... typically, the thing he would not get until his father died.
This would have been shocking to the listeners gathered around Jesus, as it should be to us.
T
he younger son was essentially saying, “Dad, I wish you were dead.
Give me what is mine, and give it to me now.”
How absurd is that?
Have you ever heard of anyone wishing away their parents life?
Wanting their parent to die, so that they could get their insurance money?
I haven’t seen something this crazy since Disney’s The Lion King
Don’t act like you don’t remember young Simba singing this very idea.
“Oh I just can’t wait to be king”…
The only difference is, the younger son didn’t have the entire Animal Kingdom singing along with him about his fathers death wish.
But with the boldness of the son’s request.
What’s even more shocking is that the father complied.
He gave it to him!
In verse 13, we’re told that just a few days later the younger son takes off for a distant land, where he “squandered his property in reckless living.”
He got his inheritance and bolted.
Check out this language: SQUANDERED...RECKLESS.
This is the 1st movement.
The younger son leaves home & essentially, leaves the father.
Any time we try to find our happiness or our identity in anything outside of God, we leave home.
We leave the Father.
We are the prodigal son.
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