Bonus: The Story Of The Prodigal Son

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What if the love you thought you knew was far deeper than you imagined? Join us as we unpack the timeless Parable of the Prodigal Son, where family dynamics, forgiveness, and redemption take center stage. Pastor Josh sheds light on the younger son's audacious request, the father's surprisingly gracious response, and the older brother's inner turmoil. Discover how these relationships illuminate themes of repentance, grace, and the priceless nature of love over material wealth. This episode invites you to see yourself in this narrative and challenges you to reflect on your own familial and spiritual bonds.

Pastor Josh also guides us through foundational Christian beliefs, highlighting God's role as creator and ruler, and the separation sin causes in our lives. We explore the hope offered through Jesus Christ, who bridges that divide, urging us to cultivate a genuine relationship with God beyond mere requests for blessings. Whether you're embarking on a new spiritual journey or revisiting long-held beliefs, this conversation encourages a deep look at your faith. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
If you listened to our last episode, we talked
about a recording we did for ourfall festival about the
prodigal son.
We thought y'all might enjoy it, so here it is.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
As we embark on our journey.
Please remember to keep yourhands and feet inside the
carriage at all times and remainseated until we come to a
complete stop.
Tonight we'll explore awell-known parable from the Book
of Luke, often referred to asthe Prodigal Son.
This story revolves around ason who squanders his father's
inheritance only to return tohis loving father.

(00:53):
However, it's important torecognize that this narrative is
not solely about one son.
It actually highlights thecontrast between two brothers.
As you enjoy the hayride, keepan eye out on the right side of
the carriage for beautifulscenes depicting the story.
Our narrative tonight is basedon Luke, chapter 15, verses 11
through 32.
We hope that through the storyof the prodigal son, you can

(01:15):
find where you are in yourrelationship with the father.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
There was a man who had two sons.
The younger son was restless.
He wanted to explore the worldand live life on his own terms.
So one day he went to hisfather and said Father, give me
my share of inheritance.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
now I want to go out and live my life.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
The original listeners would have been blown
away by this comment.
The younger son would have beenentitled to one-third of the
estate and the older sontwo-thirds, but only after the
father had died.
So when the younger son says,give me my share of the estate
now, while the father is stillalive, he's basically wishing

(02:04):
his father dead.
He wants the father's things,not the father himself.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
The father was sad to see his son go, but he agreed.
He divided his wealth and gavethe younger son his share.
With excitement, the youngerson packed up his belongings and
set off to a faraway country.
Packed up his belongings andset off to a faraway country.

Speaker 4 (02:25):
If the original listeners were shocked by the
son's request, they would havebeen even more amazed by the
father's response.
In his culture, the fatherwould have been expected to kick
the boy out of the house andeven to have him publicly
punished for the disgrace he hadbrought on his family.
But to grant him that that wasunheard of.

Speaker 3 (02:48):
In that new land.
The younger son spent his moneyon parties, fancy clothes and a
carefree lifestyle, but soonall the money was gone and he
found himself broke Worse.
A famine hit the land and therewas hardly any food to be found
.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
What am I going to do now?
I have no money, no food andnowhere to go.

Speaker 3 (03:17):
The only job he could find was feeding pigs.
He was so hungry that he longedto eat the food the pigs were
eating.
He began to think about hislife and he remembered how well
his father treated even theservants back at home.

Speaker 4 (03:35):
Home, it's about a relationship.
A relationship he was missing,a place where he once belonged,
and now he had nowhere to belong.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
I've made a terrible mistake.
My father's servants have foodto eat and here I am starving.
I'll go back to my father andsay Father, I've sinned against
heaven and against you.
I'm no longer worthy to becalled your son.

Speaker 4 (04:03):
Let me be like one of your hired servants See, the
younger son had devised a planto pay his father's back.
What he's saying is I don'tdeserve the status of being a
son and I have found a way thatI can earn my way back.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
So the younger son set off on the long journey back
home, unsure of how his fatherwould react.
But while he was still far off,his father saw him coming.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
Put yourself in the father's place.
If you saw your son who toldyou he'd wish you were dead and
had wasted your wealth.
Now you see him coming back.
How are you going to react?
Maybe you are thinking thisbetter be good, he better be
sorry, but how does the fatherreact?

Speaker 1 (04:57):
That's my son.
He's come back.

Speaker 3 (05:01):
The father ran to his son, he hugged him, he kissed
him.
The son was shocked by hisfather's love.

Speaker 4 (05:09):
It's important to note that fathers in that
culture didn't run.
It would have been unthinkable.
He is publicly displaying hislove for his son as he runs
through the town to greet hisson.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I'm no longer worthy to becalled your son.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
But the father didn't even let him finish.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
He called out to the servants Quick, bring the best
robe and put it on him.
Put a ring on his finger, putsandals on his feet.
Let's prepare the fatted calfand celebrate.
My son was lost, but now he'sfound.

Speaker 4 (05:50):
The ring that shows that the son is part of the
family.
We don't earn sonship, but it'sa gift.
Some people only want what theycan get from God.
We have to understand that wecan't earn salvation.
It's a gift from God.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
There's one more character that we need to see.
Most of the time we dwell onthe younger son, thinking the
message is to say that God willforgive us for whatever we do.
These original listeners wouldhave been blown away by the
scandal.
But remember, we are meant tocompare the two sons.
Let's meet the older brother.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
The older brother was out working in the fields.
When he came back and heardabout the celebration, he was
angry.

Speaker 4 (06:43):
What's going on?
Why is there a party?

Speaker 2 (06:47):
Your brother has returned.
Your father is celebratingbecause he's safe and sound the
older brother refused to jointhe celebration.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
He was upset that his father had never thrown a party
for him, even though he hadstayed home.
He had worked hard.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Like the younger brother, the older brother
wanted his father's wealth.
However, he sought to gain loveand wealth by doing what
everyone expected by stayinghome with his father.
However, he was reluctant tocelebrate something that brought
joy to his father.

Speaker 4 (07:24):
Father, I've served you all of these years and never
disobeyed you, and you nevergave me a party or a feast.
But when this son of yourscomes back after wasting your
money, you throw him a party.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
My son, you are always with me and everything I
have is yours.
But we had to celebrate and beglad because your brother was
lost, but now he is found.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
And so the father's love and forgiveness brought joy
to the family.
The younger son learned avaluable lesson no matter how
far he wandered, his father'slove was always waiting there
for him.

Speaker 4 (08:10):
The story ends abruptly.
Does the older brother join inthe celebration or does he stay
outside and never go inside?
Jesus doesn't give us aresolution to the parable.
This is something that you, thereader, have to answer for
yourself, Much like the questionwe began with.
Where are you in therelationship with the father?

(08:33):
Are you like the older brother?
Are you like the youngerbrother?

Speaker 2 (08:39):
And so, as you embarked on this journey, you
received a gospel bracelet, andwe want that gospel bracelet to
serve as a reminder of thisparable.

Speaker 3 (08:49):
On this bracelet, you will see four statements that
help to explain how Jesus hasplanned a rescue for those that
are far away from him.
Statement one is God rules.
The Bible tells us that Godcreated everything, including
you and me, and since he createdus, he owns us.
God is in charge of everything.

(09:10):
There is nothing that isoutside his control.

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Statement two is we sin.
Since the time of Adam and Eve,every person that has ever
lived has chosen to disobey Godand the Bible calls this sin.
And because God is holy, Godcannot be around sin.
Sin separates us from God anddeserves God's punishment of
death.
That's bad news.

Speaker 3 (09:33):
But God provided.
This is good news.
God provided a solution to oursin problem.
God loves us so much that hesent his son, jesus, to rescue
us from the punishment that oursin deserves.
That's something we, as sinners, could never earn or do on our

(09:55):
own.
Jesus alone saves us from oursins.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
And Jesus gives.
Jesus lived a perfect life,died on the cross for our sins
and rose from the grave.
He's still alive today.
Because Jesus gave up his lifefor us, we can be welcomed into
God's family now and forever.
This is the best gift that wecould ever receive.

Speaker 4 (10:26):
Hey guys, this is Pastor Josh and I'm glad that
you rode the hayride and thatyou came to our fall festival
here.
We've been praying for you,we've been preparing for you to
be here and we are so glad thatyou're here and we hope that you
learn something as you journeythrough the story of the
prodigal son.
There was a chance for you torespond as you journeyed through
the story of the prodigal son.
There was a chance for you torespond as you went through this
.
The gospel has been presentedand there's an opportunity for

(10:46):
you to respond to the questionsthat are being asked.
The question is are you justwanting something from God or do
you want a relationship withhim?
Have you recognized sin in yourlife?
Have you repented of that sinand, by faith, trusted Jesus?
And if you're ready to talkmore about that and we have
volunteers that are all overthis site that would love to

(11:07):
talk to you more, including theone that's here on the hayride
with you and those that aregoing to help you disembark here
in just a minute I'd love foryou to talk to one of them.
Or, if you happen to see me,I'd love to talk to you about
how you can know Jesus as yourSavior.
Maybe you're just an olderbrother that's been going to
church your whole life andyou've been going through the
motions, but you've neverenjoyed the relationship with

(11:30):
the Father.
I pray that you won't leavehere today without dealing with
the Father.

Speaker 3 (11:35):
Thank you you.