This month I am preaching a series of messages from the parable of the prodigal son found in Luke 15. As always I find more information from my study than I am able to put into the message, so here are a few thoughts from this parable that I will not be sharing Sunday, but are still meaningful...
As the son returns to the father we learn There's a throne of grace where we can go and obtain mercy. God gives forgiving grace that is lavish. God replaces the filthy stinking rags of the sinner with His own robe of righteousness. As the prophet Isaiah said, "He covers us with a robe of righteousness."
One of the outlines for Luke 15:18-24 is simply, A shameless request, shameless rebellion, a shameful repentance, and a shameful reception by that father in their minds, led to a shameless reconciliation. BTW that is not the outline I am using Sunday.
Every sinner who comes back takes full responsibility for that sin and sees it as an offense that rises as high as heaven. Every sinner who comes back sets his course or her course toward God to come back
You want to know how eager God is to receive a sinner? He will run through the dirt and bear the shame, He will embrace the sinner with all His strength and plant kisses all over the sinner's head. Some people think that God is a reluctant Savior. No, He's not.
Grace, triumphs over sin at its worse. The story isn't saying that every sinner reaches the level he did, but when sinners do, grace still triumphs. This is a completely new idea, you have to understand, right? Completely new idea...undeserved forgiveness, undeserved sonship, undeserved salvation, undeserved honor, respect, responsibility, fully vested son without any restitution, without any works. This kind of lavish love, this kind of grace bestowed upon a penitent trusting sinner is a bizarre idea in a legalistic mind.
See you Sunday.
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