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Prodigal
Do you remember the parable of the prodigal son?
The younger son decides that he knows all about life, and takes his inheritance from his dad. He strikes out on his own, throwing away all his money on parties, flat screen t.v.s, drugs, expensive cars, and women. Well, maybe not flat screen t.v.s.
He ends up destitute, and is forced to take a job minding pigs. Remember - he's Jewish. Not many jobs could be worse.
As he sits watching the pigs eat garbage, and considers doing the same himself, he thinks, 'Why am I sitting here wishing I was eating garbage? My dad has lots of employees who are treated better than this. Maybe he will forgive me enough to hire me as the toilet cleaner at his office building...I should go back and apply for a menial job in his company. It would beat sitting here starving in the mud.'
He goes back to his dad's estate, and trudges up the long path. As he approaches the house, he sees a man standing, waiting, on the veranda. The man sees the son, and starts to run towards him, arms open, smile on his face. It is his dad.
The son is not hired back as a menial worker. Instead, he is welcomed back with a big celebration, new clothes, and full restoration to his place as son. Wow.
'Hah!', you say. 'Sounds pretty unrealistic to me! What father would react that way to a son who stole his money and ran off?'
Major Clay reminded us of our seventh doctrine on Sunday:
We believe that repentance towards God,
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
and regneration by the Holy Spirit, are necessary to salvation.
When the prodigal son realized what a mess he had made of his life, he was sorry. Really sorry. (This is the repentance part). In the back of his mind, all along, was a small thought that his father wouldn't turn him away. ( Faith...you see where this is going?) When the son got home, the father helped erase the memory of those past actions, giving him fresh clothing, a warm welcome, and...(regeneration, right?).
The truth is that the story of the prodigal son really happens. Our heavenly Father is waiting on the veranda, hoping to see us walk down the path towards the house. He's even holding a new set of clothes just for us.
If you were at the meeting on Sunday, you would have heard the Band playing a beautiful arrangement of Stracathro, the Songsters singing a choral benediction, and best of all, our own Major Clay back in the pulpit teaching after a well-deserved vacation.
If you weren't there, you missed seeing pictures of the Majors' vacation! We hope to see you next week.
The younger son decides that he knows all about life, and takes his inheritance from his dad. He strikes out on his own, throwing away all his money on parties, flat screen t.v.s, drugs, expensive cars, and women. Well, maybe not flat screen t.v.s.
He ends up destitute, and is forced to take a job minding pigs. Remember - he's Jewish. Not many jobs could be worse.
As he sits watching the pigs eat garbage, and considers doing the same himself, he thinks, 'Why am I sitting here wishing I was eating garbage? My dad has lots of employees who are treated better than this. Maybe he will forgive me enough to hire me as the toilet cleaner at his office building...I should go back and apply for a menial job in his company. It would beat sitting here starving in the mud.'
He goes back to his dad's estate, and trudges up the long path. As he approaches the house, he sees a man standing, waiting, on the veranda. The man sees the son, and starts to run towards him, arms open, smile on his face. It is his dad.
The son is not hired back as a menial worker. Instead, he is welcomed back with a big celebration, new clothes, and full restoration to his place as son. Wow.
'Hah!', you say. 'Sounds pretty unrealistic to me! What father would react that way to a son who stole his money and ran off?'
Major Clay reminded us of our seventh doctrine on Sunday:
We believe that repentance towards God,
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,
and regneration by the Holy Spirit, are necessary to salvation.
When the prodigal son realized what a mess he had made of his life, he was sorry. Really sorry. (This is the repentance part). In the back of his mind, all along, was a small thought that his father wouldn't turn him away. ( Faith...you see where this is going?) When the son got home, the father helped erase the memory of those past actions, giving him fresh clothing, a warm welcome, and...(regeneration, right?).
The truth is that the story of the prodigal son really happens. Our heavenly Father is waiting on the veranda, hoping to see us walk down the path towards the house. He's even holding a new set of clothes just for us.
If you were at the meeting on Sunday, you would have heard the Band playing a beautiful arrangement of Stracathro, the Songsters singing a choral benediction, and best of all, our own Major Clay back in the pulpit teaching after a well-deserved vacation.
If you weren't there, you missed seeing pictures of the Majors' vacation! We hope to see you next week.