Coming Home

Coming Home

Intro

So good to have everyone together again for the last time this side of Heaven.  Times like these make you wonder where the Lord will be leading each of us in our lives.  What will things look like in 20 years, should the Lord not return by then?  Will people be living connected to the Lord and His plan for their lives?  Will they be connected in healthy relationships personally and in the church?  Will we still be living by faith and dreaming God-sized dreams, or will we have given up hope? 

Ill.  There was a guy who came to do some work on our house.  This guy was a mess.  It was obvious that sin was all over this dude.  In the course of talking he asked what I did, and I told him I am a youth pastor.  He perks up and says “hey that’s great.  I was in a youth group a long time ago.  We traveled around with a youth choir, etc.  Those were some of the best times of my life.  I just want you to know that what you do is so important and thank you!”

It broke my heart.  Here is some guy who’s spiritual life was a distant memory.  While he has fond memories of what happened of his youth pastor and what happened in youth, he is dead spiritually and living a life separated from the Father.

I want to talk about coming home tonight.  Many of you have come tonight because this is my last night here, and there are people visiting us tonight that we haven’t seen in a while, and it is great to see you!  I know that just because someone isn’t coming here that doesn’t mean that they aren’t serving the Lord elsewhere.  But I know that there will be times in all of our lives where we will stray.  There will be times when it seems like we’ve become trapped by our own choices. 

Luke 15:11-24 (NLT) "To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.” ’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began."

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings”

Every thing he had was given to him by His Father.  Not just the money, but his talents, his gifts, everything…and he took them and went away.  He applied everything he had towards pursuing what he thought he wanted.  Did he have fun?  Ya I bet he did, but whenever you choose to live for the moment; whenever you put your way ahead of the father’s way it always ends up the same way.  You standing in your mess, wondering how things could have gotten so bad.

“When he finally came to his senses”  what was it that brought him to his senses? 

What it wasn’t: 

a knowledge that he was “better than this”

The shame of the choices he had been making

What it was:  A remembrance of the love and goodness of his father.

Though he didn’t think very highly of himself, he knew that his father was merciful. 

“And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming.”

One of my favorite verses in the Bible and my favorite part of this story.  The father was watching for him.  Everyday he would scan the road that his son had walked down when he left, hoping to see him, but knowing he had to let his son make his own choices. 

As soon as he spotted his child turning towards home, he rushed out to meet him.

You see the son underestimated his father.  He thought that he would just be a servant.  Instead he was completely restored.  God is a God of surprises and abundance.  He loves to do more than you can imagine. 

You must make the choice to come home.

Closing

I wrote a letter to our seniors this year, now I want to read to you all what I wrote to them:

I wanted to write to you to let you know how proud I am of you.  Most of you have been with me for a long time.  In youth ministry I am always encouraging teens to not wait, but to press in and be who you are called to be now.  But in truth you are about to enter a phase in life, where you will face the biggest choices of your life.  Rest in the confidence of the truth you have learned: 

*God will always be with you. 

*He has provided every ounce of grace that you will ever need.

*There is Someone who knows you from your first heartbeat to your last and everything in between…and He is crazy about you!

*Remember that no matter how old you get…you have a youth pastor that believes in you and is rooting you on!

Pray over Robbie!