Slide 2 Luke 15:1-3a, 11-32 Now the tax collectors and sinners
were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats
with them." Then Jesus told them this parable: Slide 3 "There was a
man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father,
give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between
them. "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he
had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth
in wild living. Slide 4 After he had spent everything, there was a
severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So
he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who
sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach
with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him
anything. Slide 5 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many
of my father's hired servants have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say
to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am
no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your
hired servants.' Slide 6 So he got up and went to his father. "But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was
filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms
around him and kissed him. "The son said to him, 'Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be
called your son.' Slide 7 "But the father said to his servants,
'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his
finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill
it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead
and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to
celebrate. Slide 8 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When
he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called
one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 'Your brother
has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened
calf because he has him back safe and sound.' Slide 9 "The older
brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out
and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these
years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders.
Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with
my friends. Slide 10 But when this son of yours who has squandered
your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened
calf for him!' " 'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with
me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be
glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he
was lost and is found.' " Slide 11 Leader: This is the Word of the
Lord. People: Thanks be to God! Slide 12 Slide 13 Slide 14 Slide 15
Slide 16 Slide 17 Slide 18 Slide 19 Leaving home is much more than
an historical event bound to time and place. It is a denial of the
spiritual reality that I belong to God with every part of my being,
that God holds me safe in an eternal embrace, that I am indeed
carved in the palms of Gods hands and hidden in their
shadowsLeaving home is living as though I do not yet have a home
and must look far and wide to find one. Slide 20 Slide 21 Slide 22
There is something in us humans that keeps us clinging to our sins
and prevents us from letting God erase our past and offer us a
completely new beginning. Sometimes it even seems as though I want
to prove to God that my darkness is too great to overcome. While
God wants to restore me to the full dignity of sonship, I keep
insisting that I will settle for being a hired servant. But do I
truly want to be restored to the full responsibility of the son? Do
I truly want to be so totally forgiven that a completely new way of
living becomes possible?...Receiving forgiveness requires a total
willingness to let God be God and do all the healing, restoring,
and renewing. As long as I want to do even a part of that myself, I
end up with partial solutions, such as becoming a hired servant.
Slide 23 Slide 24 Responsive Prayer of Confession Leader: People:
God, there are times when we lose our way on the journey of life.
Days when we simply get confused which way we should go and make a
poor choice. Slide 25 Leader: People: God there are times when we
intentionally leave the Way you would have us follow. Days when we
turn our back on the wisdom you offer. Days when we demand our
entitlement and use it for our own selfish pleasures and purposes.
Slide 26 Leader: People: God, there are times when find ourselves
hiding in a corner somewhere. Days when we are convinced that we
are not worth finding. Days when we wonder why you would look for
us. Slide 27 Leader: People: God, for all the times we get lost,
when we take the wrong turn in life, Forgive us and draw us back to
The Way. Slide 28 Assurance of Pardon Leader: People: The Psalmist
writes Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven. The Gospel
reminds us that God is always happy to find the lost, that God is
always welcoming us back home with open arms. We are forgiven and
loved. Thanks be to God! Amen. Slide 29 Majesty Smith / Garrard
Here I am, humbled by your majesty, Covered by your grace so free.
Here I am, knowing Im the sinful one Covered by the blood of the
Lamb. Slide 30 Now Ive found The greatest love of all is mine Since
you laid down your life, The greatest sacrifice. Majesty, majesty;
Your grace has found me just as I am: Empty handed, but alive in
your hands. Slide 31 Here I am, humbled by the love that you give,
Forgiven so that I can forgive. Here I stand, knowing that Im your
desire, Sanctified by glory and fire. Slide 32 Now Ive found The
greatest love of all is mine Since you laid down your life, The
greatest sacrifice. Majesty, majesty; Your grace has found me just
as I am: Empty handed, but alive in your hands. Slide 33 Majesty,
majesty; Your grace has found me just as I am: Empty handed, but
alive in your hands. Majesty, majesty; Forever I am changed by your
love, In the presence of your majesty, In the presence of your
majesty, Majesty. 2003 Curious? Music UK CCLI #67736 Slide 34 Slide
35 Often we think about lostness in terms of actions that are quite
visible, even spectacularThe lostness of the older son, however, is
much harder to identify. After all, he did all the right thingsBut
when confronted by his fathers joy at the return of his younger
brother, a dark power erupts in him and boils to the surface.
Suddenly, there becomes glaringly visible a resentful, proud,
unkind, selfish person, one that had remained deeply hidden, even
though it had been growing stronger and more powerful over the
years. Slide 36 Slide 37 Responsive Prayer Leader: People: Holy
One, The space between us is too great this agonizing expanse
between you and us: Slide 38 Leader: People: The rift we have
created by demanding our share. The distance we have put between us
as we flee to a far country. Slide 39 Leader: People: The
resentment we hold when things dont seem fair. Our refusal to join
your gracious party. Slide 40 Leader: People: Leader: People:
Forgive each selfish request each step away each bitter thought
each joyless rejection. Slide 41 Leader: People: Forgive us and run
toward us with open arms. Amen. Slide 42 Draw Me Close Kelly
Carpenter Draw me close to You, never let me go I lay it all down
again To hear You say that I'm Your friend Slide 43 You are my
desire, no one else will do 'Cause nothing else could take Your
place To feel the warmth of Your embrace Help me find the way,
bring me back to You. Chorus You're all I want. You're all I've
ever needed; You're all I want. Help me know You are near. Slide 44
Draw me close to You, never let me go I lay it all down again To
hear You say that I'm Your friend You are my desire, no one else
will do 'Cause nothing else could take Your place To feel the
warmth of Your embrace Help me find the way, bring me back to You.
Slide 45 Chorus You're all I want. You're all I've ever needed;
You're all I want. Help me know You are near. You're all I want.
You're all I've ever needed; You're all I want. Help me know You
are near, Help me know You are near, Help me know You are near.
1994 Mercy / Vineyard Publishing CCLI #67736 Slide 46 Slide 47
Slide 48 Slide 49 As soon as I recognized the difference between
the two hands of the father, a new world of meaning opened up to
me. The Father is not simply a great patriarch. He is mother as
well as father. He touches the son with a masculine hand and a
feminine hand. He is mother as well as father. He holds, and she
caresses. He confirms and she consoles. He is, indeed, God, in whom
both manhood and womanhood, fatherhood and motherhood, are fully
present. That gentle caressing right hand echoes for me the words
of the prophet Isaiah: Can a woman forget the baby at the breast,
feel no pity for the child she has borne? Even if these were to
forget, I shall not forget you. Look, I have engraved you on the
palms of my hand. Slide 50
