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Introduction Adoption papers as Christmas gifts. Why so exciting? Just a piece of paper? Theirs is the huiothesia ; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah,…

Theme Question: Why is God’s Word a good gift? We love the Bible because of its’ power. “This is my Bible. I am what it says I am, I have what it says I have, I can do what it says I can do. Today I’ll be taught the Word of God. I boldly confess my mind is alert, my heart is receptive, I’ll never be…

What happens after the feast? We don’t know, because it depends on the choices of the brothers. We can speculate about what will happen to each son, but what is the ideal that the story is pointing toward? What would be a happy ending? Joyful reunion of the entire family Moving forward rooted in the…

Big idea: anxious minds miss the good. Prodigal minds can see the good.??? What does a renewed mind look like? Introduction Big idea: anxious minds miss the good. Prodigal minds can see the good.??? Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you…

Introduction Now we come to the other brother. This may seem like a needless epilogue, but it is actually the most important part of the story. The older brother represents the Pharisees, for whom the story is told. Luke 15:25-32 V. 28-30: What is the older brother’s problem? According to the old story,…

Introduction In this series we’ve been lookin at the story of a prodigal father who is always generous, never judges. It sure seems like there is no condition under which the father would turn away the son. Does that mean there’s not judgment? Not quite. There is a moment in this story that is a bit…

Introduction Now we come to the most important part of the story: the reconciliation. The son responds to his suffering, which sets in motion a series of events that results in reconciliation with the father. This is how we get saved. Here is where the story of the Prodigal Son most challenges our story.…

Suffering is the gap between what WE WANT and what WE GET . ( Luke 15:29 ) Why must we Suffer? In the story we have been telling, suffering plays an important function. It proves to the son that he is not as independent as he thinks he is. When we suffer, we experience the difference between the story…

Introduction In this series we are reading the story of the prodigal son as The Wrong Story: God is generous as long as I meet his expectations. He expects me to be perfect, and I failed. Now I am a failure, I am depraved, and God cannot bear my presence in this condition. The only way I can be reconciled…

Why do we reject God’s generosity? We would rather own MINE than share GOD’S . ( Luke 15:1-3 ) Have my own stuff. Go my own way. Do my own thing. Be my own man. We are always choosing less that we could have had. But we think that’s better. [The mind] Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.... Here…