If I were a pastor in a church that follows the lectionary. I would preach on the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) once every three years. Which means if I really wanted to, once very three years I could recycle an old message that the congregation had not heard in a while. Even if I wrote a brand new sermon every three years, after nine years I would have only preached on the text three times.
What may have taken nine years in another church I've had to do in three weeks! Three different sermons in three weeks on the same text. Which I confess ... I thought we would be impossible. I was wrong. The beauty of going through this story is that each week God reveals another layer of the human condition.
The first week we talked about how the human condition sometimes results in us getting lost. Sometimes we lose sight of God because because we had no choice (the coin). Sometimes we get lost because we had no idea we were wandering away from God (the sheep). And sometime we intentionally get lost because we believe we do not need God (the younger son).
The second week we explored how the human condition fights to be right and avoids being wrong. Being right does not increase God’s love for you. Being wrong does not decrease God’s love for you. Discovering God’s love is not about being right or wrong, but about discovering the humility that leads us home to God who loves us regardless of we’re right or wrong.
And this week we explored how the human condition makes it hard to be grateful. I challenged everyone to intentionally work towards cultivating a grateful heart by naming what they are grateful for. Saying thank you to someone (especially God) out loud. And learning to be grateful for the imperfect things, like your spouse or your body.
This sermons series has blessed me and challenged me to go deeper into God's word. I hope it has done the same for you.
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