February 18, 2025 • 25 mins
What happens when you check your bank account and wonder where all the money went? Join me, Stephen Feith, on a journey through life's losses as we explore not just financial dilemmas but the deeper losses we all face. From lost pets to missing people, I reflect on how these universal experiences mirror God's longing for those who are far from him. Together, we traverse the Gospel of Luke, particularly the poignant teachings in chapter 15, where Jesus reshapes our understanding of purpose. We revisit the timeless parable of the prodigal son, unraveling its rich themes of grace, forgiveness, and restoration, and how they challenge our perceptions of divine love and human relationships.
Reflect upon my own path in founding Madison Church, where the humble beginnings included working at a Hy-Vee grocery store in Springfield, Missouri. As Megan and I journeyed across the Midwest sharing our dream of a new church community, we met both skeptics and supporters. Those supporters have been pivotal in our growth over the last decade. Embrace the call to be a community that mirrors heaven's joy, extending grace and inclusivity to everyone, whether they're returning home or arriving for the first time. Let's build a church that actively seeks and celebrates those seeking belonging, just as the father did with his returning son.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Madison Church Online.
I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor.
We're glad that you're joiningus and listening in and I'm
wondering I've got a really goodfeeling.
I know the answer to this, buthow many of you have ever
checked your bank account andwondered where all your money
went?
For some of you, this is anexperience of the last 24 hours,
isn't it?
You got paid on Friday,saturday came and Sunday morning
(00:22):
you're checking that onlinebank and you're like where did
that paycheck go?
I'm not talking about the timewhere you had a little too much
to drink at the bar and youtipped like you were a
millionaire because you thoughtthe bartender was into you.
That's not what I'm talkingabout.
I'm not talking about thatreally killer Cyber Monday sale
on Amazon that you thought was asteal and three years later,
(00:45):
you're still making credit cardpayments and now it's like a
heist against you.
Not Amazon.
You right?
Or maybe you were invested incrypto at the wrong time and I
would ask has there ever been aright time to invest in crypto?
Losing money that happens.
It happens to all of us.
That's something in the roomall of us have had.
Happen to us.
(01:05):
But I'm wondering have you everlost a pet, maybe for a day,
for an hour.
Maybe for some of you you'velost a pet altogether, and I'm
not talking to death, but justthey ran away.
They got out.
Megan and I, thankfully, wehaven't had this.
We're on our second.
We have only had two dogs.
We're on our second one and wehaven't lost a pet, but we know
plenty of people who do, andwhen you lose a pet you don't
(01:28):
shrug your shoulders.
Oh well, I guess we've got togo to the shelter later this
week and replace Fido.
That's a bummer.
We don't respond like that atall.
What do we do Instead?
We go around, we hang up flyers.
We pick a cute picture of thedog and hang it up with our
phone number.
Some of us we offer cashrewards.
We love our dog so much we'rewilling to pay money to have it
(01:52):
returned.
We blow up all the localFacebook groups have you seen my
dog?
Have you seen my dog?
Have you seen my dog?
We go around calling out itsname in our neighborhood like we
expect it to answer back.
Well, I'm right here.
We're just going out for a walk.
We know that losing money, thatsucks, but for those of us who
have lost a pet and money.
We know that losing a pet feelsa little bit worse to us.
(02:13):
And then there are people Someof us have been coming to
Madison Church and you'redriving on a Sunday, or maybe
you're going to work on Monday,or you're going out on a Friday
night, and you see the signsover the highway, the belt line,
and you see that there's asilver alert out, and that's
what happens when someone who iselderly goes missing.
Now, we don't know that person,but we look at the sign, we read
(02:35):
it and we kind of maybe lookaround us.
Is that car like right next tome by chance, and maybe I can
help?
We come together.
And perhaps even more seriouslythough, when a child goes
missing, there's an Amber Alert,and that Amber Alert will blast
through a lot of your cellphones right now.
It'll go loud and it'll stopthe conversation.
(02:57):
Whatever you're talking about,whatever it is that you're doing
, it stops us.
It's not just concerning, it'snow urgent.
There's something about losingsomething that truly matters.
It's a grief unlike other kindsof grief, this idea that
(03:18):
something is lost, something Ionce possessed but I no longer
have in my possession.
And what might surprise youthis morning is it's not just a
human thing, it's not just you,it's not just me, it's not just
us, it's also a God thing.
We see that this is how Godfeels when it comes to those far
(03:38):
from him.
So we've been in this seriescalled the Life that Matters,
and we're walking with Jesusthrough Luke's gospel as he
redefines what it means to livewith purpose.
A lot of us, we find ourpurpose maybe in our family or
how we parent our kids and aromantic relationship, in our
jobs, our careers, whatever itis achieving.
(03:58):
But Jesus challenges that.
Jesus says you find purposeelsewhere, and that is in
following me.
And so we're going to Luke 15today.
If you want to follow along onyour smartphones or on the
Bibles, we'll also put the wordson the screen.
But at this point in ourteaching series, which is like
some 30 messages deep, at thispoint Jesus is in Jerusalem and
(04:21):
he's not just teaching hisdisciples lessons anymore.
He's not just doing themiracles himself.
He is actually sending them outto teach, sending them out to
do the miracles.
He is equipping them to doministry.
Jesus isn't simply ministeringto people anymore, he's
ministering through people.
He's inviting them to extendhis mission, and obviously this
(04:45):
comes up almost every week.
Not everyone is on board.
His influence is absolutelygrowing, but so is the
resistance.
As more influence comes toJesus, there's more resistance
by the religious leaders thatdid not like what they were
seeing from Jesus.
This was because Jesus wasn'tjust changing how ministry was
done, he was changing whoministry was for.
(05:07):
And in Luke 15, jesus gives usthe clearest, most powerful
pictures of God's heart,especially for those who seem
farthest from him.
And so, beginning in verse 11,jesus is telling the story.
There's a man who had two sons,and the younger son told his
father I want my share of yourestate now, before you die.
(05:28):
And so his father agreed todivide his wealth between his
sons Certainly a story that manyof you are familiar with.
We're talking about theprodigal son in Luke 15.
But let me break this down tosome context that maybe you
weren't aware of.
This wasn't just a financialrequest.
(05:50):
This isn't like when my soncomes to me and asks for a soda
at the quick trip.
It wasn't like that.
This was a death wish.
This was the son saying I wantyour things, but I don't want
you, because in that culture,inheritance was only given after
death.
And by asking for it early.
The son wasn't just beinggreedy, he was basically saying
you're dead to me, you have noworth.
Your worth is what you can giveme after you're gone.
(06:13):
Now the most shocking part ofthe story is that the father
doesn't lash out in that culturehe could have backhanded his
son.
He could have lashed him, hecould have hit him, could have
run him out of town.
He didn't have to give himanything at that point.
He could have just kicked himout altogether.
But instead the father doesn'tpunish the son, he actually
gives him the money.
The son takes his inheritanceand sets off to a distant land.
(06:35):
We read he's ready to live onhis own terms.
It's like when you turn 18 andyou finally get to move out of
mom and dad's house and you'regoing to do this, so you're
going to do that, and there'sthat excitement.
But now imagine if mom and dadgave you half of their net worth
before you did that.
All of us know how this storyends.
(06:56):
Yes, for a while.
The money.
It flows freely.
The parties are endless, weread.
He's surrounded by a wholebunch of people who are more
than happy to help him spendthat money.
But what happens when the moneyruns out.
When the money runs out, sodoes the party, and those
so-called friends disappear andsuddenly he has nothing.
(07:19):
It might have been a month agohe was buying everyone drinks at
the party, buying everyonedinner, and now he doesn't even
have enough food to survive andnobody's helping him.
So desperate, he takes a jobfeeding pigs, and this is
something no Jewish man underthe law would have dreamt of
doing, except out of puredesperation.
(07:40):
Pigs were ceremonially uncleanand yet we read he's knee deep
in filth, doing the lowest workpossible.
And just when you think itcan't get worse which at this
point he's probably thinking itcan't get worse he is so hungry,
so desperate.
He has a moment in which helooks at the disgusting slop
(08:02):
that the pigs are eating.
He says man, that looks tasty.
That's how hungry he is.
This is truly rock bottom.
And it's at this point whensomething clicks.
We read in verse 17, he finallycame to his senses.
I love that he finally came tohis senses.
(08:23):
It wasn't that the reality inwhich he's about to realize
wasn't real before.
It's just that he realized itnow.
He said to himself more, andhere I am dying of hunger.
(08:47):
I will go home to my fatherI'll say, father, I've sinned
against both heaven and you andI'm no longer worthy to be
called your son.
Please take me on to be a hiredservant.
So, sitting there in the mudand the slop, his stomach
growling, he realizes this truth.
I don't have to be here,because the same dad who is
generous enough to give me themoney will be the dad who would
(09:08):
possibly take me back.
You see, my dad takes reallygood care of his servants.
Now you might think that thisstatement that he comes back, he
says I've sinned against you inheaven and I'm no longer worthy
to be called your son.
You might think he's beingdramatic, but that was just
actually culturally accurate.
He would have been dead to hisfamily in a very literal sense.
His father could have even hada funeral for him.
(09:30):
That's how dramatic this wholeshame and honor culture was.
And yet, despite that,recognizing that I am dead to my
family, probably I bet dad willtake me back.
And it's as he gets closer tohome that something unexpected
happens.
You might expect that he walksup.
(09:51):
He has to ring the gate and,you know, somebody lets him in.
He's got to beg and apologizeand go through his script.
But something unexpectedhappens, and that's in verse 20,
.
While he was still a long wayoff, his father saw him coming.
Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced
(10:12):
him and kissed him.
Let that sink in for a moment.
His father was waiting.
His father wasn't just waiting,his father was anticipating,
eagerly waiting.
And when he sees that on thehorizon you can almost imagine
(10:33):
it right, every day he walks outmaybe he's got his morning
coffee and he just stands outthere and he's looking.
And how many mornings went by.
He stood out there and nothingover the horizon.
And he goes back and he goes towork.
But one day he stands there andhe looks out the horizon and he
says, could it be?
And as that image gets biggerand more defined, once he
(10:54):
realizes it's his son, drops thecoffee, runs after him, runs to
him.
He would have had to have hikedup his little outfit.
He would have been showing hislegs, which for a Jewish man not
appropriate at all.
But that's the enthusiasm thatovertook him.
He was so excited to see hisson.
(11:18):
The father doesn't care aboutdignity, he cares about his son.
And the son goes into hisapology speech just like he
rehearsed back at the pigs.
He's like you know, father,I've sinned against you, I've
sinned against heaven.
The father cuts him off and hecalls for three things.
The father says quick, bringthe finest robe in the house and
put it on him.
(11:38):
This kid is still smelly, Iimagine.
I mean, he's just been hangingout with pigs, right, so he's
still stinky.
Get the finest robe in thehouse and put it on him.
Get a ring for his finger,sandal for his feet.
I'll tell you the significancebehind these things in a moment.
The father goes on kill thecalf we have been fattening.
We must celebrate with a feast,why?
(11:59):
Well, the son of mine was dead.
He has now returned to life.
He was lost, but now he isfound, and I love this line.
And so the party began.
These gifts, as I mentioned,they're not just accessories,
they were statements.
The robe, the finest one in thehouse, was a sign of honor and
(12:20):
belonging.
The son was not a servant, buthe was in fact a beloved family
member.
The ring was a symbol ofrestored authority.
This isn't just a welcome homegift, it was a full
reinstatement of his place inthe family.
And the sandals the servantswould have likely been walking
(12:41):
around barefoot, but familymembers wore shoes.
It wasn't just an act of mercy,but restoration.
You're restored, you'rereinstated, you're honored and
you belong.
Son, the father doesn't justoffer forgiveness, the father
extends grace.
(13:02):
And if the story ended hereit'd be perfect.
We'd all leave today feelingreally encouraged.
We might go out and partytonight, right, like, yes,
that's what we talked about inchurch today, but hold on.
Yes, a lost son was found.
Yes, a broken relationship wasrestored and yes, a shameful
(13:23):
past was erased, but Jesuscontinues the story.
Yes, a shameful past was erased, but Jesus continues the story.
Meanwhile, the older son was inthe fields working.
When he returned home, he heardthe music and dancing in the
house and he asked one of hisservants what's going on.
He says your brother is backand your father has killed the
fattened calf we are celebratingbecause of his safe return.
(13:49):
We got to put ourselves in theolder brother's shoes here.
We can't judge him too quickly.
He is literally out workinghard.
When he hears music, when heprobably sees guests coming onto
the property and he sees thelights.
You know, as it's getting darkoutside, he sees all the lights
lit up and he's hearing thelaughter and the music and he's
(14:10):
out working.
And what's going on at home?
He asked the servant.
The servant's probably had adrink or two and he's coming out
.
He says we're having a party,why aren't you here?
Well, he stands outside armscrossed, not going to celebrate.
You see, deep down, he doesn'tjust resent his brother, he
(14:31):
resents grace itself.
He resents grace.
The older brother was angry andhe wouldn't go in.
His father came out and beggedhim.
But he replied all of theseyears I've slaved for you and
never once refused to do asingle thing.
You told me to.
And in all that time you nevereven gave me one young goat for
(14:53):
a feast with my friends.
Yet when this son of yourscomes back after squandering
your money on prostitutes, youcelebrate by killing the
fattened calf.
The older brother refuses tocall the younger brother by his
name, refuses to even call himbrother.
(15:14):
You see he's still dead.
To the older brother he saysthis son of yours, not my
brother, but your son.
And for any of us who have everbeen in that situation where we
can't even speak the name ofsomeone we are so angry with, we
get it.
It's not just anger, it'sbitterness.
(15:35):
Sometimes it might beentitlement, other times it
might be self-righteousness, butit is a strong, fiery feeling
and, if we're honest about everysingle one of us in the room
watching, listening online we'veall been there.
The older brother's words revealsomething deeper, and that is
(15:57):
that he doesn't just see himselfas a beloved son.
The older brother doesn't seehimself as a son.
The older brother sees himselfas a servant earning a reward.
The older brother sees himselfas a servant earning a reward.
All these years, I've slavedfor you.
I never once refused to obeyyou, and yet you never gave me.
(16:21):
This is religious legalism thebelief that our obedience earns
us status with God.
The older brother wasn't servingout of love.
The older brother wasn'tserving because he loved God,
because he loved people, becausehe loved the family, because he
loved what he was doing.
Rather, the older brother wasworking for a payout.
(16:41):
Everything he did, he waskeeping score.
This is what you owe me.
I did this.
Therefore, you owe me that.
And when grace was given freelyto the younger brother, who
didn't do anything as a matterof fact, didn't do not anything.
He was very offensive and rudeand disrespectful and squandered
wealth, grace was given and theolder brother, who sees himself
(17:05):
as a servant was offendedbecause grace Grace feels unfair
when you feel or think that youhave earned something.
Well, that's the older brother.
Let's look at how the fatherresponds to him.
His father said father respondsto him.
(17:33):
His father said look, dear son,look dear son, you have always
stayed by me and everything Ihave is yours.
Present tense Everything that Ipossess is already yours.
But we had to celebrate thishappy day, for your brother was
dead.
He's come back to life, he waslost, but now he's found.
(17:57):
You see, of all the differentways the father could have
responded to an elder son who'sout there with his arms crossed,
stomping his feet and I want tohave a party with my friends,
and you've never given that tome.
And the father dear son, you'remissing the point.
You're not a servant, you're myson.
And look around you, this isall yours.
The other son he already hadhis.
(18:19):
It's gone, he's squandered it,as you pointed out, but
everything around you is yours.
The father could have ignoredhim.
The father could have just lethim stewed in his anger outside
all.
When he wants to come in andtalk to me, he knows where I'm
at, but the father goes out tohim the same way that the father
runs to the younger son, hepursues the older one.
(18:39):
The same way that the fatherran to the younger son, he
pursues the older one.
The same way that the fatherran to the younger son, he
pursues the older one.
Because grace is not just forthe rebellious, it's also for
the resentful.
Grace isn't just for those whorebel, it's also for those who
are resentful.
And then Jesus ends the story.
It's over.
(19:01):
No resolution, no response fromthe older brother.
This is intentional.
Jesus, the master storyteller,doesn't forget to tie the story
off and conclude it.
He leaves the question open foryou and me, his disciples,
anyone who has had access to aNew Testament and can read Luke
(19:23):
15.
You see, the question is iswhere are you standing right now
?
He's asking his followers.
Luke is asking readers where doyou stand right now?
The older brother was doingeverything, right on the outside
, and we can understand why hefelt resentment toward the
younger brother who ran off andwasted everything.
We can even, maybe, feel somefrustration for the father, who
(19:44):
seems to irresponsibly celebratethis.
Well, he's just going to do itagain.
Dad, look how you treated him.
He wasted all the money and nowyou're rewarding him for that.
Maybe you've felt that waybefore Somebody who's made all
the wrong choices in their life.
They get a ton of grace.
Well, you've worked hard andyou have followed the rules, and
(20:06):
when it comes to yourfaithfulness, it doesn't seem
like it's being rewarded as muchas somebody who gets a fresh
start.
What I want to point out todayis that we should see ourselves
in both brothers.
We should be able to seeourselves in both brothers.
We should be able to seeourselves in both brothers.
If we're taking an honest lookat ourselves, you see, we're
(20:28):
like the older brother when wefeel shame.
That's certainly what the olderbrother felt.
Who am I?
What's my identity?
Judgment.
Well, the judgment's being maderight now.
The judgment is I can just workout here, do all the right
things and dad doesn't care.
Isn't that an indictment on whoI am?
Fear, scared.
(20:49):
Dad's going to continue towaste money on my brother.
What's my family going to have?
What are my kids going to have?
What are my grandchildren?
What about the legacy of thisname?
Jesus leaves this story open,but if you go back to Luke 15,
at the very start of thisparable, jesus makes something
clear he ties up two of theparables before this one he's
(21:10):
talking about when somebodyloses a sheep.
He says, in the same way,there's more joy in heaven over
one sinner who repents andreturns to God, over 99 others
who are righteous and haven'tstrayed away.
And then he says in the sameway, there is joy in the
presence of God's angels wheneven one sinner repents.
So what do you know today?
You know that heaven, howheaven responds when the younger
(21:35):
brother returns.
You know how the angels respondwhen the younger brother
returns.
We even know how God, theFather, responds when the
younger brother comes home.
But Jesus asked us the questionis how will you respond?
Because that has yet to bewritten, because every day we
make the choice to respond.
We know how heaven, the angelsand God respond.
(21:59):
The party is happening, thefeast is prepared.
You're going to stand outsideor you're going to come in and
join us.
Are you outside arms crossed,keeping score with God a cosmic
(22:19):
scoreboard or will you stepinside, not just to celebrate
someone else's restoration butit's not just about someone else
but to experience grace, towitness grace.
To witness somebody elseexperiencing the grace that has
already been extended to you,son, all I have is already yours
that grace that when we see Godgive someone else, it's not
going to run short.
It's already yours and you'reinvited.
(22:47):
The fun thing about our talktoday is the content was written
back in 2012, before we evenmoved to Madison, before Megan
and I moved to Madison, beforeMadison Church was a reality.
Back then, I was working for aHy-Vee grocery store in
Springfield, missouri.
I was making nine bucks an hourand every paycheck after we
paid our bills went to put gasin our car so we could travel
(23:09):
all around the Midwest tochurches to tell them about the
vision that we had for MadisonChurch.
We were going to be this kindof community, and so this was
the message I would go to otherchurches with.
This was the sermon, and Iwould give this sermon and I
would ask every church I go howwill we respond?
Because there are people inMadison who are ready to come
home.
There are people in Madison whoneed this grace and we're not
(23:33):
there.
Will you help us Now?
Some churches welcomed us withopen arms.
They were ready to invest inthe vision, but not all did.
And yet I'm so grateful for theones who did, because I look
out at you all what we've beenable to do in the last 10 years.
It was the result of otherpeople who didn't stand outside
(23:55):
the family farm with their armscrossed and said well, we
already have churches in Madison, there's already enough grace
in Madison, we have our ownbills to pay here.
But rather, they came in andthey joined the party and they
celebrated with us.
(24:15):
Now, 10 years later, let's askourselves.
Let's ask ourselves MadisonChurch, will we be that kind of
church?
Will we pay grace forward?
Will we be a church that existsfor those who are not here yet,
(24:35):
because at some point thischurch wasn't here yet, not just
a church that welcomes peoplehome, not just the church that
stands here.
We're at madisonchurchcom andyou can find us and come join us
on Sundays at 11.
But are we a church communitywho, like the Father, runs after
those who are searching and forthose who are seeking?
So let me leave you with twothings today.
(24:56):
First, if you've been far fromhome.
So let me leave you with twothings today.
First, if you've been far fromhome, it's time to come home.
No hesitation, no shame, nojudgment.
Come home, we're ready for you.
The door is open.
The invitation has always beenthere, but maybe you've been
(25:19):
home.
So when someone does come home,let's celebrate.
No arms crossed, noscorekeeping, no resentment,
just joy.
Heaven is celebrating.
The angels are celebrating.
God is celebrating.
(25:40):
Will Madison Church celebrate.
Welcome to Madison Church Online.
I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor.
We're glad that you're joiningus and listening in and I'm
wondering I've got a really goodfeeling.
I know the answer to this, buthow many of you have ever
checked your bank account andwondered where all your money
went?
For some of you, this is anexperience of the last 24 hours,
isn't it?
You got paid on Friday,saturday came and Sunday morning
(00:22):
you're checking that onlinebank and you're like where did
that paycheck go?
I'm not talking about the timewhere you had a little too much
to drink at the bar and youtipped like you were a
millionaire because you thoughtthe bartender was into you.
That's not what I'm talkingabout.
I'm not talking about thatreally killer Cyber Monday sale
on Amazon that you thought was asteal and three years later,
(00:45):
you're still making credit cardpayments and now it's like a
heist against you.
Not Amazon.
You right?
Or maybe you were invested incrypto at the wrong time and I
would ask has there ever been aright time to invest in crypto?
Losing money that happens.
It happens to all of us.
That's something in the roomall of us have had.
Happen to us.
(01:05):
But I'm wondering have you everlost a pet, maybe for a day,
for an hour.
Maybe for some of you you'velost a pet altogether, and I'm
not talking to death, but justthey ran away.
They got out.
Megan and I, thankfully, wehaven't had this.
We're on our second.
We have only had two dogs.
We're on our second one and wehaven't lost a pet, but we know
plenty of people who do, andwhen you lose a pet you don't
(01:28):
shrug your shoulders.
Oh well, I guess we've got togo to the shelter later this
week and replace Fido.
That's a bummer.
We don't respond like that atall.
What do we do Instead?
We go around, we hang up flyers.
We pick a cute picture of thedog and hang it up with our
phone number.
Some of us we offer cashrewards.
We love our dog so much we'rewilling to pay money to have it
(01:52):
returned.
We blow up all the localFacebook groups have you seen my
dog?
Have you seen my dog?
Have you seen my dog?
We go around calling out itsname in our neighborhood like we
expect it to answer back.
Well, I'm right here.
We're just going out for a walk.
We know that losing money, thatsucks, but for those of us who
have lost a pet and money.
We know that losing a pet feelsa little bit worse to us.
(02:13):
And then there are people Someof us have been coming to
Madison Church and you'redriving on a Sunday, or maybe
you're going to work on Monday,or you're going out on a Friday
night, and you see the signsover the highway, the belt line,
and you see that there's asilver alert out, and that's
what happens when someone who iselderly goes missing.
Now, we don't know that person,but we look at the sign, we read
(02:35):
it and we kind of maybe lookaround us.
Is that car like right next tome by chance, and maybe I can
help?
We come together.
And perhaps even more seriouslythough, when a child goes
missing, there's an Amber Alert,and that Amber Alert will blast
through a lot of your cellphones right now.
It'll go loud and it'll stopthe conversation.
(02:57):
Whatever you're talking about,whatever it is that you're doing
, it stops us.
It's not just concerning, it'snow urgent.
There's something about losingsomething that truly matters.
It's a grief unlike other kindsof grief, this idea that
(03:18):
something is lost, something Ionce possessed but I no longer
have in my possession.
And what might surprise youthis morning is it's not just a
human thing, it's not just you,it's not just me, it's not just
us, it's also a God thing.
We see that this is how Godfeels when it comes to those far
(03:38):
from him.
So we've been in this seriescalled the Life that Matters,
and we're walking with Jesusthrough Luke's gospel as he
redefines what it means to livewith purpose.
A lot of us, we find ourpurpose maybe in our family or
how we parent our kids and aromantic relationship, in our
jobs, our careers, whatever itis achieving.
(03:58):
But Jesus challenges that.
Jesus says you find purposeelsewhere, and that is in
following me.
And so we're going to Luke 15today.
If you want to follow along onyour smartphones or on the
Bibles, we'll also put the wordson the screen.
But at this point in ourteaching series, which is like
some 30 messages deep, at thispoint Jesus is in Jerusalem and
(04:21):
he's not just teaching hisdisciples lessons anymore.
He's not just doing themiracles himself.
He is actually sending them outto teach, sending them out to
do the miracles.
He is equipping them to doministry.
Jesus isn't simply ministeringto people anymore, he's
ministering through people.
He's inviting them to extendhis mission, and obviously this
(04:45):
comes up almost every week.
Not everyone is on board.
His influence is absolutelygrowing, but so is the
resistance.
As more influence comes toJesus, there's more resistance
by the religious leaders thatdid not like what they were
seeing from Jesus.
This was because Jesus wasn'tjust changing how ministry was
done, he was changing whoministry was for.
(05:07):
And in Luke 15, jesus gives usthe clearest, most powerful
pictures of God's heart,especially for those who seem
farthest from him.
And so, beginning in verse 11,jesus is telling the story.
There's a man who had two sons,and the younger son told his
father I want my share of yourestate now, before you die.
(05:28):
And so his father agreed todivide his wealth between his
sons Certainly a story that manyof you are familiar with.
We're talking about theprodigal son in Luke 15.
But let me break this down tosome context that maybe you
weren't aware of.
This wasn't just a financialrequest.
(05:50):
This isn't like when my soncomes to me and asks for a soda
at the quick trip.
It wasn't like that.
This was a death wish.
This was the son saying I wantyour things, but I don't want
you, because in that culture,inheritance was only given after
death.
And by asking for it early.
The son wasn't just beinggreedy, he was basically saying
you're dead to me, you have noworth.
Your worth is what you can giveme after you're gone.
(06:13):
Now the most shocking part ofthe story is that the father
doesn't lash out in that culturehe could have backhanded his
son.
He could have lashed him, hecould have hit him, could have
run him out of town.
He didn't have to give himanything at that point.
He could have just kicked himout altogether.
But instead the father doesn'tpunish the son, he actually
gives him the money.
The son takes his inheritanceand sets off to a distant land.
(06:35):
We read he's ready to live onhis own terms.
It's like when you turn 18 andyou finally get to move out of
mom and dad's house and you'regoing to do this, so you're
going to do that, and there'sthat excitement.
But now imagine if mom and dadgave you half of their net worth
before you did that.
All of us know how this storyends.
(06:56):
Yes, for a while.
The money.
It flows freely.
The parties are endless, weread.
He's surrounded by a wholebunch of people who are more
than happy to help him spendthat money.
But what happens when the moneyruns out.
When the money runs out, sodoes the party, and those
so-called friends disappear andsuddenly he has nothing.
(07:19):
It might have been a month agohe was buying everyone drinks at
the party, buying everyonedinner, and now he doesn't even
have enough food to survive andnobody's helping him.
So desperate, he takes a jobfeeding pigs, and this is
something no Jewish man underthe law would have dreamt of
doing, except out of puredesperation.
(07:40):
Pigs were ceremonially uncleanand yet we read he's knee deep
in filth, doing the lowest workpossible.
And just when you think itcan't get worse which at this
point he's probably thinking itcan't get worse he is so hungry,
so desperate.
He has a moment in which helooks at the disgusting slop
(08:02):
that the pigs are eating.
He says man, that looks tasty.
That's how hungry he is.
This is truly rock bottom.
And it's at this point whensomething clicks.
We read in verse 17, he finallycame to his senses.
I love that he finally came tohis senses.
(08:23):
It wasn't that the reality inwhich he's about to realize
wasn't real before.
It's just that he realized itnow.
He said to himself more, andhere I am dying of hunger.
(08:47):
I will go home to my fatherI'll say, father, I've sinned
against both heaven and you andI'm no longer worthy to be
called your son.
Please take me on to be a hiredservant.
So, sitting there in the mudand the slop, his stomach
growling, he realizes this truth.
I don't have to be here,because the same dad who is
generous enough to give me themoney will be the dad who would
(09:08):
possibly take me back.
You see, my dad takes reallygood care of his servants.
Now you might think that thisstatement that he comes back, he
says I've sinned against you inheaven and I'm no longer worthy
to be called your son.
You might think he's beingdramatic, but that was just
actually culturally accurate.
He would have been dead to hisfamily in a very literal sense.
His father could have even hada funeral for him.
(09:30):
That's how dramatic this wholeshame and honor culture was.
And yet, despite that,recognizing that I am dead to my
family, probably I bet dad willtake me back.
And it's as he gets closer tohome that something unexpected
happens.
You might expect that he walksup.
(09:51):
He has to ring the gate and,you know, somebody lets him in.
He's got to beg and apologizeand go through his script.
But something unexpectedhappens, and that's in verse 20,
.
While he was still a long wayoff, his father saw him coming.
Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced
(10:12):
him and kissed him.
Let that sink in for a moment.
His father was waiting.
His father wasn't just waiting,his father was anticipating,
eagerly waiting.
And when he sees that on thehorizon you can almost imagine
(10:33):
it right, every day he walks outmaybe he's got his morning
coffee and he just stands outthere and he's looking.
And how many mornings went by.
He stood out there and nothingover the horizon.
And he goes back and he goes towork.
But one day he stands there andhe looks out the horizon and he
says, could it be?
And as that image gets biggerand more defined, once he
(10:54):
realizes it's his son, drops thecoffee, runs after him, runs to
him.
He would have had to have hikedup his little outfit.
He would have been showing hislegs, which for a Jewish man not
appropriate at all.
But that's the enthusiasm thatovertook him.
He was so excited to see hisson.
(11:18):
The father doesn't care aboutdignity, he cares about his son.
And the son goes into hisapology speech just like he
rehearsed back at the pigs.
He's like you know, father,I've sinned against you, I've
sinned against heaven.
The father cuts him off and hecalls for three things.
The father says quick, bringthe finest robe in the house and
put it on him.
(11:38):
This kid is still smelly, Iimagine.
I mean, he's just been hangingout with pigs, right, so he's
still stinky.
Get the finest robe in thehouse and put it on him.
Get a ring for his finger,sandal for his feet.
I'll tell you the significancebehind these things in a moment.
The father goes on kill thecalf we have been fattening.
We must celebrate with a feast,why?
(11:59):
Well, the son of mine was dead.
He has now returned to life.
He was lost, but now he isfound, and I love this line.
And so the party began.
These gifts, as I mentioned,they're not just accessories,
they were statements.
The robe, the finest one in thehouse, was a sign of honor and
(12:20):
belonging.
The son was not a servant, buthe was in fact a beloved family
member.
The ring was a symbol ofrestored authority.
This isn't just a welcome homegift, it was a full
reinstatement of his place inthe family.
And the sandals the servantswould have likely been walking
(12:41):
around barefoot, but familymembers wore shoes.
It wasn't just an act of mercy,but restoration.
You're restored, you'rereinstated, you're honored and
you belong.
Son, the father doesn't justoffer forgiveness, the father
extends grace.
(13:02):
And if the story ended hereit'd be perfect.
We'd all leave today feelingreally encouraged.
We might go out and partytonight, right, like, yes,
that's what we talked about inchurch today, but hold on.
Yes, a lost son was found.
Yes, a broken relationship wasrestored and yes, a shameful
(13:23):
past was erased, but Jesuscontinues the story.
Yes, a shameful past was erased, but Jesus continues the story.
Meanwhile, the older son was inthe fields working.
When he returned home, he heardthe music and dancing in the
house and he asked one of hisservants what's going on.
He says your brother is backand your father has killed the
fattened calf we are celebratingbecause of his safe return.
(13:49):
We got to put ourselves in theolder brother's shoes here.
We can't judge him too quickly.
He is literally out workinghard.
When he hears music, when heprobably sees guests coming onto
the property and he sees thelights.
You know, as it's getting darkoutside, he sees all the lights
lit up and he's hearing thelaughter and the music and he's
(14:10):
out working.
And what's going on at home?
He asked the servant.
The servant's probably had adrink or two and he's coming out
.
He says we're having a party,why aren't you here?
Well, he stands outside armscrossed, not going to celebrate.
You see, deep down, he doesn'tjust resent his brother, he
(14:31):
resents grace itself.
He resents grace.
The older brother was angry andhe wouldn't go in.
His father came out and beggedhim.
But he replied all of theseyears I've slaved for you and
never once refused to do asingle thing.
You told me to.
And in all that time you nevereven gave me one young goat for
(14:53):
a feast with my friends.
Yet when this son of yourscomes back after squandering
your money on prostitutes, youcelebrate by killing the
fattened calf.
The older brother refuses tocall the younger brother by his
name, refuses to even call himbrother.
(15:14):
You see he's still dead.
To the older brother he saysthis son of yours, not my
brother, but your son.
And for any of us who have everbeen in that situation where we
can't even speak the name ofsomeone we are so angry with, we
get it.
It's not just anger, it'sbitterness.
(15:35):
Sometimes it might beentitlement, other times it
might be self-righteousness, butit is a strong, fiery feeling
and, if we're honest about everysingle one of us in the room
watching, listening online we'veall been there.
The older brother's words revealsomething deeper, and that is
(15:57):
that he doesn't just see himselfas a beloved son.
The older brother doesn't seehimself as a son.
The older brother sees himselfas a servant earning a reward.
The older brother sees himselfas a servant earning a reward.
All these years, I've slavedfor you.
I never once refused to obeyyou, and yet you never gave me.
(16:21):
This is religious legalism thebelief that our obedience earns
us status with God.
The older brother wasn't servingout of love.
The older brother wasn'tserving because he loved God,
because he loved people, becausehe loved the family, because he
loved what he was doing.
Rather, the older brother wasworking for a payout.
(16:41):
Everything he did, he waskeeping score.
This is what you owe me.
I did this.
Therefore, you owe me that.
And when grace was given freelyto the younger brother, who
didn't do anything as a matterof fact, didn't do not anything.
He was very offensive and rudeand disrespectful and squandered
wealth, grace was given and theolder brother, who sees himself
(17:05):
as a servant was offendedbecause grace Grace feels unfair
when you feel or think that youhave earned something.
Well, that's the older brother.
Let's look at how the fatherresponds to him.
His father said father respondsto him.
(17:33):
His father said look, dear son,look dear son, you have always
stayed by me and everything Ihave is yours.
Present tense Everything that Ipossess is already yours.
But we had to celebrate thishappy day, for your brother was
dead.
He's come back to life, he waslost, but now he's found.
(17:57):
You see, of all the differentways the father could have
responded to an elder son who'sout there with his arms crossed,
stomping his feet and I want tohave a party with my friends,
and you've never given that tome.
And the father dear son, you'remissing the point.
You're not a servant, you're myson.
And look around you, this isall yours.
The other son he already hadhis.
(18:19):
It's gone, he's squandered it,as you pointed out, but
everything around you is yours.
The father could have ignoredhim.
The father could have just lethim stewed in his anger outside
all.
When he wants to come in andtalk to me, he knows where I'm
at, but the father goes out tohim the same way that the father
runs to the younger son, hepursues the older one.
(18:39):
The same way that the fatherran to the younger son, he
pursues the older one.
The same way that the fatherran to the younger son, he
pursues the older one.
Because grace is not just forthe rebellious, it's also for
the resentful.
Grace isn't just for those whorebel, it's also for those who
are resentful.
And then Jesus ends the story.
It's over.
(19:01):
No resolution, no response fromthe older brother.
This is intentional.
Jesus, the master storyteller,doesn't forget to tie the story
off and conclude it.
He leaves the question open foryou and me, his disciples,
anyone who has had access to aNew Testament and can read Luke
(19:23):
15.
You see, the question is iswhere are you standing right now
?
He's asking his followers.
Luke is asking readers where doyou stand right now?
The older brother was doingeverything, right on the outside
, and we can understand why hefelt resentment toward the
younger brother who ran off andwasted everything.
We can even, maybe, feel somefrustration for the father, who
(19:44):
seems to irresponsibly celebratethis.
Well, he's just going to do itagain.
Dad, look how you treated him.
He wasted all the money and nowyou're rewarding him for that.
Maybe you've felt that waybefore Somebody who's made all
the wrong choices in their life.
They get a ton of grace.
Well, you've worked hard andyou have followed the rules, and
(20:06):
when it comes to yourfaithfulness, it doesn't seem
like it's being rewarded as muchas somebody who gets a fresh
start.
What I want to point out todayis that we should see ourselves
in both brothers.
We should be able to seeourselves in both brothers.
We should be able to seeourselves in both brothers.
If we're taking an honest lookat ourselves, you see, we're
(20:28):
like the older brother when wefeel shame.
That's certainly what the olderbrother felt.
Who am I?
What's my identity?
Judgment.
Well, the judgment's being maderight now.
The judgment is I can just workout here, do all the right
things and dad doesn't care.
Isn't that an indictment on whoI am?
Fear, scared.
(20:49):
Dad's going to continue towaste money on my brother.
What's my family going to have?
What are my kids going to have?
What are my grandchildren?
What about the legacy of thisname?
Jesus leaves this story open,but if you go back to Luke 15,
at the very start of thisparable, jesus makes something
clear he ties up two of theparables before this one he's
(21:10):
talking about when somebodyloses a sheep.
He says, in the same way,there's more joy in heaven over
one sinner who repents andreturns to God, over 99 others
who are righteous and haven'tstrayed away.
And then he says in the sameway, there is joy in the
presence of God's angels wheneven one sinner repents.
So what do you know today?
You know that heaven, howheaven responds when the younger
(21:35):
brother returns.
You know how the angels respondwhen the younger brother
returns.
We even know how God, theFather, responds when the
younger brother comes home.
But Jesus asked us the questionis how will you respond?
Because that has yet to bewritten, because every day we
make the choice to respond.
We know how heaven, the angelsand God respond.
(21:59):
The party is happening, thefeast is prepared.
You're going to stand outsideor you're going to come in and
join us.
Are you outside arms crossed,keeping score with God a cosmic
(22:19):
scoreboard or will you stepinside, not just to celebrate
someone else's restoration butit's not just about someone else
but to experience grace, towitness grace.
To witness somebody elseexperiencing the grace that has
already been extended to you,son, all I have is already yours
that grace that when we see Godgive someone else, it's not
going to run short.
It's already yours and you'reinvited.
(22:47):
The fun thing about our talktoday is the content was written
back in 2012, before we evenmoved to Madison, before Megan
and I moved to Madison, beforeMadison Church was a reality.
Back then, I was working for aHy-Vee grocery store in
Springfield, missouri.
I was making nine bucks an hourand every paycheck after we
paid our bills went to put gasin our car so we could travel
(23:09):
all around the Midwest tochurches to tell them about the
vision that we had for MadisonChurch.
We were going to be this kindof community, and so this was
the message I would go to otherchurches with.
This was the sermon, and Iwould give this sermon and I
would ask every church I go howwill we respond?
Because there are people inMadison who are ready to come
home.
There are people in Madison whoneed this grace and we're not
(23:33):
there.
Will you help us Now?
Some churches welcomed us withopen arms.
They were ready to invest inthe vision, but not all did.
And yet I'm so grateful for theones who did, because I look
out at you all what we've beenable to do in the last 10 years.
It was the result of otherpeople who didn't stand outside
(23:55):
the family farm with their armscrossed and said well, we
already have churches in Madison, there's already enough grace
in Madison, we have our ownbills to pay here.
But rather, they came in andthey joined the party and they
celebrated with us.
(24:15):
Now, 10 years later, let's askourselves.
Let's ask ourselves MadisonChurch, will we be that kind of
church?
Will we pay grace forward?
Will we be a church that existsfor those who are not here yet,
(24:35):
because at some point thischurch wasn't here yet, not just
a church that welcomes peoplehome, not just the church that
stands here.
We're at madisonchurchcom andyou can find us and come join us
on Sundays at 11.
But are we a church communitywho, like the Father, runs after
those who are searching and forthose who are seeking?
So let me leave you with twothings today.
(24:56):
First, if you've been far fromhome.
So let me leave you with twothings today.
First, if you've been far fromhome, it's time to come home.
No hesitation, no shame, nojudgment.
Come home, we're ready for you.
The door is open.
The invitation has always beenthere, but maybe you've been
(25:19):
home.
So when someone does come home,let's celebrate.
No arms crossed, noscorekeeping, no resentment,
just joy.
Heaven is celebrating.
The angels are celebrating.
God is celebrating.
(25:40):
Will Madison Church celebrate.
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