God’s word teaches endurance: how to face the difficulties and challenges of life. The Bible doesn’t tell us we will get through life without difficult days and trials. God’s Word gives us encouragement because God’s word is true, it is genuine and it speaks directly into our lives.

Paul at Corinth is a story that shows us how God gives His children encouragement even in the most difficult of times, difficult of places and the most trying of circumstances.

Paul went on missionary journey to Corinth (in Greece) a very corrupt seaport city. They had a temple to Aphrodites and Paul found himself very discouraged at the evil he found there. But God brings encouragement in a way that teaches us to see the ways that God ministers to us in the darkest of days.

Observations:
Provision: Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla – God provides as he brings people into our lives who will minister and encourage us.
Support: Silas and Timothy – God’s support through colleagues that helped Paul be able to devote full time effort into preaching the Gospel.
Opportunity: Jews from the synagogue didn’t want Paul teaching any longer in the synagogue, so Paul went to a man’s house next door to the synagogue and there he preached the gospel to the gentiles. Even in the difficulty of being rejected by the Jewish community, God gave Paul an opportunity to teach Gentiles.
Assurance: Corinth was a difficult city to share the Gospel, but Jesus speaks by a vision to Paul, saying, “Do not be afraid – Keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you and no one is going to attack or harm you because I have many people in this city.” God says this to you and me as well, “Don’t give up because I am with you!” So Paul stayed in Corinth a year and a half teaching them the Word of God.
Protection: There is dissension between the Jews going to synagogue and the Jews and Gentiles that believed in Jesus as the Messiah. Consequently, after teaching for 1 1/2 years, Paul was arrested and charged with the crime of practicing an illegal cult. They wanted him imprisoned or killed. But Gallia – the court judge – says the one bringing Paul to trial needed to figure things out on their own and that he would not rule on the charges, nor would he punish Paul and Gallia dismissed the case. God knows how to deliver His people! He did it for us at the cross! And the final victory is now ours. We win!

Surprise!: Surprisingly, following the dismissal of the case against Paul, the Jews from the synagogue attack the synagogue leader and beat him up instead of Paul! God’s additional surprise is that in 1 Corinthians 1:1 we read that this synagogue leader, Sethenese, becomes a believer in Jesus and part of the house church in Corinth.

And God has surprises for us in the difficult times, too, because our God is a good and gracious God. He loves His children. He is always with us in difficult times and easy times. He brings joy and hope, endurance and assurance to those who call on Jesus, the Messiah, our Savior!

Scripture: Acts 18:1-17, Romans 15:4

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Luke 16:1-13.

Jesus warns that no one can serve two masters. Will you be devoted to God – or to “stuff?”

This Parable of the Shrewd Manager is one of Jesus’ most controversial parables and one of the most difficult parable to understand. Join us a Pastor Dodge digs deep into this parable and pulls out some amazing nuggets of the wisdom Jesus is sharing in the challenging parable.

Luke 16:8, Jesus says, “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.”

What Jesus is saying? He’s saying that many times unbelieving people are very shrewd in their daily dealings. They look out into the distance, rather than being preoccupied with the here and now and the immediate. This manager recognizes that he was soon to be out of a job and he had a limited window of time left. So he willingly sacrifices his own commission, in order to ingratiates himself with his masters debtors so that he makes sure that in the long run, in the future, blessings like employment would come.

Jesus is saying, “God’s people need to take that to heart.” Because you see so often we get so preoccupied with what is going on in the moment that we forget our eternal destiny. So often we become so overwhelmed by the events of daily life. Maybe you’re going through something like that in your life today, where all sorts of things have piled up suddenly and that is all you can see. What Jesus is saying is remember your ultimate destiny. If you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you trust in Him and He is your Savior and your Lord then you know that our ultimate destiny is not to rest 6 feet under. It is not simply to try to make it through the next years or decades of our lives. Our ultimate destiny is to be with the Lord forever.

He has made us His managers. Do we understand this? Everything we have comes from God. We so often like to pat ourselves on the back and talk about our accomplishments, of what we’ve accumulated and what we’ve done. But the book of James tells us, “Every good and perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of the heavenly lights.”

Nothing that you have or that I have is something that we earned or deserved. It is a gift. Our talents, our abilities, intelligence, riches, you name it, everything ultimately is from God Himself, and we are simply the managers of what He’s given us.

Jesus is encouraging us to manage wisely. Learn from this shrewd but disreputable character who had enough foresight to realize the future is more important than the immediate.

Do not confuse the gift with the Giver. Understand God is the giver of everything.

We are to use everything in a way that gives Him glory. Be generous. Put your faith in the living God into action by being generous toward others. It is what Jesus taught over and over again. In the gospel of Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

What Jesus is telling us is that everything we have comes from Him. As individuals who realize how much God loves us, who are repentant before Him, realizing we don’t bring anything to the heavenly party. God has done it all. He has given us everything including His only Son Jesus.

God offers life forever, by faith in Jesus, and He promises that He will even reward me, sinner though I am, for following Him and trusting Him. He wants me to use everything He’s given me, wisely.

We so often hoard what we have, but we are called to keep in mind our futures and give with in a manner that shows where our eyes are, on the reward of a future with God forever, because the Father gives us every good gift, everything we have is from Him, so now we are simply His managers and as His managers were are to be:

— Generous in helping others
— Generous in sharing our faith
— Generous in calling people to a knowledge of the living God

— Trustworthy in the way we deal with others
— Trustworthy in the way we relate to God
— Trustworthy in the way we use the resources, abilities, skills, gifts, finances, time, opportunities we are given

— Devoted to the Living God
— Reflecting God’s Love, Mercy, Purity, Goodness, Faithfulness – Not to earn anything, but instead because we’ve been given everything, including salvation!

— Be generous because God is generous.
— Be trustworthy because Gos is trustworthy.
— Be devoted to God because He’s devoted to us!

At the end of time, Stuff doesn’t last, it doesn’t remain, but GOD DOES AND PROMISES DO!

He is calling us to repentance and to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, The One Who Is THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!! And this is the One we serve!

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The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode!

Matthew 20:17-34, Matthew 21:1-11, Exodus 12:3, Isaiah 62:11, Zechariah 9:9, and Psalm 118:25-26.

Jesus lets us know that He is the fulfillment of all the Hebrew Scripture had predicted and all that the Father had dictated.

Until we receive Jesus as Lord, this is only head knowledge.  The disciples had heard Him speak what was coming multiple times, but they just did not grasp what Jesus was saying about Him being the long awaited Savior. They didn’t understand what was ahead for Jesus in the next weeks. Jesus shares the sacrifice He’s going to make explaining what is coming: suffering, death and rising on the 3rd day.

It’s at this point in the Matthew narrative that there is a story of Jesus’ Aunt wanting her sons to be on each side of Jesus in heaven. 

 But Jesus uses her request to teach us we are to be individuals that reflect the heart of our heavenly Father who reflect the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, and reflect His example and sacrifice.

We are to put aside the things that the world so greatly treasures and instead embrace the values of God and the Holy Scriptures.  We are to serve not be served. 

It’s important that we today grasp the truth of who Jesus is as heart knowledge, not just head knowledge.  

The next vignette Matthew shares is the story of two blind men who Jesus had compassion on and he heals their sight.  This story contrasts how the blind man knew Jesus was Lord and asked for his mercy as opposed to the religious people who could not see Him for who He truly is. 

As we head into chapter 21 is the story of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the 10th Day of Nissan, the exact day of that thousands of year old male lambs were being brought into the city and that will be set aside until the day of the Passover sacrifice on the 14th of Nissan.

Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey as a set apart sacrificial lamb who will die on the cross during Passover on the 14th day of Nissan…. 

…This is not coincidental… As thousands of lambs come into the city for preparations of Passover in rides the Lamb of God.

Jesus fulfilled what was prophesied in Isaiah and Zechariah when He rode into Jerusalem on the donkey, “See your Savior comes, lowly and riding on the foal of a donkey.” (Paraphrased)

If a king rode into a city on a donkey it was a sign He was coming peace, but if a king rose into a city on a horse he was coming for war. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  He came as the Prince of Peace, the One who will suffer for the sins of the world and lay down His life for us all.  He came in peace knowing full well what was ahead of Him.

Jesus is accepted and cheered for as the Savior as He enters Jerusalem to the cheers of “Hosanna to the Son of Dave.  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” But in just a few days another crowd will be cheering, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

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Luke 18:9-14, Romans 3:23, Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 51:15, 1 Corinthians 1:31, Micah 6:8.

There is incredible danger in pride. God requires humility. Jesus told this story of two prayers – and the two pray-ers. One prayed about his own righteousness, the other prayed in humility and repentance. Which man went home forgiven?

“To those who were confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable.” (Luke 18:9). This is a targeted story. It is a targeted parable as Jesus speaks to people who are spiritually proud and tend to look at everyone else with disdain. What was true in Jesus day remains true today. Many times we judge others by our own standards rather than God’s and very often we are quick to see the failings of others, but ignore our own weaknesses.

People can outwardly put on a form of religion but inwardly deny its real power. The parable tells of two people who went to the temple to pray. The pharisee stood by himself to pray – he was perceived as religious, dedicated, devout. Many saw him as the “good guy.” But does Jesus? Here’s what the pharisee says, “God I thank You that I am not like other people: robbers, evil doers, adulterers, or tax collector. I fast two times per week and give a tenth of all I receive.” (i.e.: look how great I am!)

Then Jesus describes the prayer of the tax collector, who stood at a distance and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said “God have mercy on me, a sinner.” No excuses, not list of accomplishments.

The difference in these two prayers are profound and Jesus turns the “good guy” (pharisee) and the “bad buy” (tax collector) story inside out and upside down. Jesus say of the tax collector, “This man went home justified before God, for those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

The Father desires, above all else, humility from His children. God desires a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:15). Repentance is what our Holy God desire and what our sin condition demands. God desires the we are humble before Him. We compare ourselves to others, but instead the true standard is that we compare ourselves to a Holy, Perfect God and then we see we are all sinners in need of a Savior in order to stand before our Father.

We need a Savior and Jesus is that Savior, the perfect sacrificial Lamb, the One needed because by us all because we are all sinners. We need humility in order to come before God and say, “Lord have mercy on me a sinner.” Fallen people need a Savior and we need to recognize our need for Him. As we have all sinned.

God is gracious and we are needy:
— We need a Savior, Jesus
— We need forgiveness
— We need cleansing
— We need renewal
— We need rebirth

Are we boasting about our lives? Accomplishments? How religious we are? How good we are?

We need to hear Jesus’ voice in this parable and realize our only boasting is to be in the Lord and what He has done (1 Corinthians 1:31).

Humility before God is not weakness, it is strength.
Humility before God is not an indication of our failing, it is an indication of God’s mercy and grace to those who recognize they need a Savior.

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The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode!

This teaching is from Matthew 19:13-30 and Matthew 20:1-16.

This teaching starts with a focus on children. The disciples didn’t like that people were bringing little children to Jesus, these children were babies, infants, toddlers, and the disciples were thinking Jesus is trying to talk to the adults and they’re bringing kids to him, taking time away from Jesus speaking, that they were noisy and disruptive and that it just wasn’t appropriate.

But Jesus says, “Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” What’s Jesus saying? He’s saying kids matter to Him, They are part of His kingdom!

The question is how does a child believe? But then, how does an adult believe? The answer is in 1 Corinthians 12 where Paul says that no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. It’s only when the Holy Spirit moves in a person’s life (adult or child) that they can believe.

Many times we act like the disciples, looking at things from a human standpoint and personal prejudice instead of the vantage point of heaven. Jesus is saying kids matter and after correcting the disciples He blesses the kids.

Then the text moves into the topic of wealth and Jesus answers the question of a man asking Him how to be saved. Meaning the man is asking what he can do, this man has it wrong – we are saved by grace, not works. But Jesus patiently continues with the man and He mentions to keep the commandments to which the man replies that he’s done that. Jesus sees into the man’s heart and understands that he is proud of his accomplishments, wealth and focused on earning eternal life.

This is when Jesus invites the man to be one of his disciples and to sell his possessions and give to the poor. But as Jesus knew he would, the man goes away sad because the reality was his wealth was his god.

Jesus continues that it’s hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. But what is Jesus really saying? He’s using hyperbole. So the question then is: if you have to go through the eye of a needle to be saved, who then can be saved? Jesus replies that with man that’s impossible, but with God all things are possible.

Meaning that it’s not by wealth or what we’ve accumulated, or earned or done or accomplished that we are saved, we are saved by grace alone and THAT is only possible with God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus is showing us that God is over all and He is to be our treasure and number one priority in our lives. He’s to be the heart of our lives. Jesus says what matters most is our relationship with Him.

We don’t buy our way into eternal life, but we are called to use the gifts God has given us to His glory and for His good. So we to make sure that God is heart and center in our lives.

Pastor continues with chapter 20 where Jesus tells the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard. The owner hired workers at sunrise, then 3 hours later hired more workers and then even more workers at noon, 3pm and 5pm. When evening came the owner paid ALL workers with a denarius (a day’s wage). And those that worked the least amount of hours got the same pay as those that worked the most hours. Those that worked the most hours complained to the owner and his response was, “Are you envious because I’m generous?”

So we ask: is this just? Here’s a quote that helps us understand what Jesus is teaching: “We are fools if we appeal to God for justice rather than grace!”

If God were completely just we would all be in hell, but He is merciful and Jesus is trying to bring home that truth.

Only the grace of God saves.
Only the mercy of Christ offers life.
Only the blood of Jesus covers our sin.
Only a relationship with God through faith in Jesus delivers us.

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This account takes place on Paul’s second missionary trip, on his trip to the city of Athens, A city that prided itself on knowledge and education, learning, culture and the arts. It was also a city filled with idols.

As Paul looked around and saw all the idolatry it just really riled him up and he began passionately sharing the gospel message in the synagogues and even in the market places. He worked to draw people to Jesus and not to idols. His impassioned message caused much interest, but also much controversy.

Paul teaches us to not give up – when we are confronted with issues or by people who reject what we believe we don’t give up – we are kind, gracious, we are generous and merciful, but we can be encouraged by Paul’s example. In this story we learn that we do not need to hesitate to say what we believe and why.

Paul’s persistence cases those listening to become curious. They ask questions and want to know more and more. While they were curious, they were still not wanting to believe. So Paul says that he noticed how “religious” they are, but what they took as a compliment Paul meant as a warning because what is necessary is a relationship with the Living God and not mere religious behavior.

But stating he noticed their “religiosity” was a great starting point for keeping them listening. He tells about all the idols he’s seen and points out an altar they have with the world, “to an Unknown God” on it. He points out to this group of people (who despised ignorance and prided themselves on wisdom) and goes on to say that he will tell them about the Unknown God. Paul will make the Unknowns KNOWN!

Today many are influenced by an Unknown God:
1. Never heard of Him
2. Never understood anything about Him
3. Never cared to know about Him
4. Never believe in Him

These were the issues Paul was facing – the same issues we face today.

Paul goes on to say that the God who made the world is not a statue and is not confined to a building. He’s not served by human hands (like their idols are) and it is God that gives everything life and breath. God, from one man, made all nations, thus showing His concern for all nations and that God has mapped out each nation’s appointed time in history. Nothing that happens on earth happens without God’s foreknowledge and without His plan coming to fruition.

Paul’s life had been transformed when he came to know Christ, and it is Paul’s desire that these people experience that same thing.

1. Talks about the natural knowledge of God which all have instinctively – that we innately know there must be a divine being.
2. Talks about the revealed knowledge of God, that He has revealed Himself as Creator of all and loves us and desires we know Him.
3. Tells them that having natural knowledge and revealed knowledge requires a response, that human ignorance is not overlooked by God.

God calls us to repentance, making a U-turn in our lives and having a changed mind and attitude – re-directed lives. If God truly is God — He cannot be manipulated through statues. We are called to yield to Him.

Paul ends with the story of Jesus Deity, Death, resurrection and Return. Without Jesus and a relationship of faith we are lost.

God is God!

Many listening to Paul repented and received relationship with the Living God through Jesus Christ – the Savior or ALL nations.

The fruit of Paul’s efforts were many becoming believers and followers of Jesus because Paul had the courage to share Jesus with them and confront them with TRUE Wisdom.

Scripture for the message: Acts 17:16-34

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Scripture – Luke 16:19-31, Luke 16:14.

“The Rich Man and Lazarus” is a parable in which Jesus portrays two ways of living — and two destinies after death. What will your destiny be?

This is many times a misunderstood parable. Jesus told this parable in response to the laughter and scorn of the pharisees. Pastor sets the stage for this parable sharing that no one is saved by:

1. Right Doctrines – We are not saved by knowing the doctrines of the faith because it is not what you know, it’s WHO you know. You can have the right doctrine, but be absolutely messed up in your relationship with the Lord.

2. Right Actions – We are not saved by how good we are. All have sinned and none of us can stand before a holy God. We are saved only be the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

In this parable, Jesus paints the picture of a very wealthy man living with his focus on possessions. Outside the gates lived a man with nothing, a poor man longing for scraps from the Rich Man’s table.

Both men die. Lazarus, the beggar, who trusted in the Living God goes to heaven and the Rich Man who trusted in his wealth and possessions, to Hades. The point Jesus makes with this teaching is that ultimately, every human being will face one of two destinies and the destinies can be summed up simply as reward (heaven) and punishment (Hades).

Jesus’ intent is to emphasize these two destinations. The most foolish thing we can do is to ignore the goodness, mercy and grace of God in Jesus Christ. Without Him we are lost and hell is our destination. Life with God is forever = heavenly reward. Life without God is forever = punishment and separation from Him and there’s no second chance. It’s just that simple. Jesus is saying this is serious stuff and our destiny is not to be taken lightly.

God’s word is available. Listen to what He says and we will know the truth. We are to follow Him, trust Him and in Him there is forgiveness and Life forever with Him. Reject Him and there is eternal judgement and punishment.

We must not ignore the voice of God. In this parable Jesus is trying to wake people up. He’s trying to show us just how important it is that we know Him. We can accumulate wealth, awards, position, title, honors, possessions but if we don’t know Jesus, we have nothing that endures.

Our Savior loves us enough that He was willing to die for us. When someone loves you that much you know that you can trust your life to Him. He loved us enough that He was willing to die for each one of us and he has triumphed over death for us too.

God is calling us to what really matters and what really matters is knowing Him, His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, His resurrection power and His promised return.

Our destiny is one or the other:
Life with God
Or
Life without God

Choose Life with God – it is in Him that Life forever – our reward – is found.

Recognize the reality of heaven and hell and choose life with Him, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT!

https://www.awakeusnow.com

The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

Check out this episode!

This teaching is from Matthew 18:21-35, the Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor, and Matthew 19:1-12 on the topic of Divorce.

Peter asks Jesus if he should forgive someone seven times. Jesus responds with seventy seven times. The meaning of Jesus saying seventy seven times is that forgiveness in the face of genuine repentance does not keep track of numbers and Jesus is calling us to forgive as we have been forgiven.

Then Jesus tells this “Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor,” a story where a servant of a king owes millions of dolors to the king. When the king call the debt to account and be paid, the servant begs the king to be patient with him and that he will repay it. The king has compassion and forgives the entire debt!

But then this servant of the king has a man that works for him and this man owed the king’s servant a few thousand dollars and the king’s servant calls this man debt to account. When the man pleads to the king’s servant for time to pay but the king’s servant has the man thrown into jail until he could get the debt paid.

When the king heard about the lack of compassion he confronted his servant saying he had shown compassion and forgiven the debt to him, and that he should have done the same thing to the man that owed him money. The king placed his servant in jail for his lack of compassion until he could pay it off.

The story highlights how God, who has forgiven us an immeasurable debt, desires that we show the same kind of mercy to others and if we don’t then Jesus says we really don’t appreciate what the Father has given us.

We are called to forgive as we’ve been forgiven, to treat others in the same way God treats us. We’re called to reflect the incredible goodness of God. And that is shown in the act of forgiveness.

God’s way is grace, mercy, forgiveness and love like He’s given us. The Gospel of Jesus frees us from bitterness that destroys.

If we harbor hatred and resentment it eats away at us and destroys faith. God’s call is to live life on His terms.

In the second half of today’s teaching, Jesus confronts a challenging issue, “Is Divorce Lawful?” He talks about how we are created male and female and that marriage is a covenant between them with God.

The follow up questions is “Why did Moses permit divorce?” It is because of hard hearts, but it is not God’s planned way. The Bible recognizes that divorce is a reality.

Today, we are living in a culture where divorce is widely practiced and what the New Testament calls us to is to recognize just as Jesus pointed out, it’s not the way the Father intended, and we are to bring hope and encouragement to those who are victimized by divorce. The Bible also calls us to lovingly let people know the truth of divorce.

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Watch the video from our website

https://www.awakeusnow.com/matthew-discipling

Watch the video from Youtube

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As the church began to grow with believers both Jew and Gentile, a division between the two started, especially as Jews began to be out numbered by gentile believers who brought in their customs.

Many gentile believers were God-fearers who believed in the Old Testament but weren’t circumcised and didn’t eat kosher, yet went to the synagogue to worship God. Other Gentiles were proselytes and were circumcised and ate kosher and followed rituals prescribed by the Hebrew Scriptures.

As a result of the growing number of God-fearers, a division between Jew and Gentile began to grow. One group of Jews wanted to mandate circumcision and kosher eating so they brought the issue to the elders and apostles.

Peter addresses the gathering with the story of how God had given the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles just as He had done for the Jews and that God did not discriminate between Jew and Gentile, because He gave them both faith. Peter then challenged the group to not test God because God had already made it clear that He gave the Holy Spirit and faith to gentiles just as He had for Jews. Peter concludes by saying that it’s no longer Jew and Gentile. It’s that both are now coming to faith in Jesus and are united by God’s grace for both.

We are only saved through Grace Alone! Not by how religious we are or because we’ve obeyed the commandments, or been good…. We are saved by grace and grace alone.

The Cause of our salvation is that Jesus died for us.
The Cause of our salvation is the grace of God in Christ (who reached in when we were God’s enemies).
It’s all about grace through faith in Christ.

The Result is we change – we grow and mature. Salvation is not earned, it’s something we receive and it has a powerful impact in our lives. Growing and maturing are not the Cause of our salvation, they are the Result of it.

When Peter had finished, James, Jesus’ half brother, spoke and he said it was his judgement that they shouldn’t make it difficult for gentiles coming to faith. James ends the gathering with encouragement to both Jew and Gentile to not stand in the
way of what God was doing and not to offend each other by how each lived.

Through the forthright words of Peter supported by James and through the power of the Holy Spirit, the division dissipated.

This story has clear directives for us today with new believers, different cultures and those converted from other faiths.

It teaches us that:
1. We are Saved by grace alone, so we will not make requirements of others that Jesus did not make. We are not to judge.
2. We are Saved by grace alone, so we will gladly restrict our freedom for the sake of others, so as not to offend.

Grace alone motivates us to receive others the way God does, with His love and mercy because all of us have been saved by the grace of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Jesus is the key to knowing the Father. Many religions acknowledge God the Father but do not acknowledge God the Son and because they don’t know the Son, they truly don’t/can’t know the Father. It is through Jesus that we come into relationship with the Father. Only knowing about the Father is just that, it’s knowing ABOUT Him. When we receive Jesus into our hearts and what He did for us (death on the cross, victory over the grave, returning for us) when we receive Jesus, it takes us from knowing about the Father to KNOWING Him. That’s when we finally step into relationship with the Father because it’s then that we understand the Father’s true character – one of grace and mercy and love. We see who the Father truly is when we know Jesus.

John 14:7 – Jesus said, “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.”

Scripture for the message: Acts 15:1-21

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Luke 15:11-32; Exodus 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Psalm 86:5, 15; Psalm 103:8; Psalm 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Luke 15:10.

This parable is called The Prodigal Son, but perhaps a better name for it is: “Prodigal Son – Prodigal Father.”

Why? The dictionary has 2 definitions for prodigal:
1. Wasteful – One who recklessly squanders what he has been given (This is the youngest son in this story)
2. Extravagant – One who abundantly gives and lavishly blesses (This is The Father)

The parable is the story of a son who asks for his inheritance early, leaves with it, squanders his newly given wealth in wild living and ends up spending it all and having nothing left. The only job he’s able to get is taking care of a farmer’s pigs. That’s when the regret settles in.

As Pastor progresses through the story he uses these words to describe the steps the prodigal son went through:
1. Rebellion – against God’s plan for his life
2. Recklessness – in our choices and behavior
3. Ruin – experienced as a result of rebellion and choices
4. Regret – wishing he could start over, a re-do to make different choices, but we can’t rewind or redo what’s already done; however, we can…
5. Return – to God. How will He receive us back? Will He be angry, accusatory, disgusted? No! The younger son returns, repentant, and the Father opens His arms, comes running towards the son and embraces him, welcoming him home with a heart full of love. This is the Father’s heart for each one of us. He stretches out nail-pierced hands and says, “Welcome home!” That’s the heart of God and that’s the love of God.

No matter what we’ve done, no matter where we’ve been, no matter how we’ve wandered – God is a good, good Father and welcomes us back to Himself with open arms of reception. John 3:16 – God loves and He wants us to come home – to come back to Him.

We can know for certain – We have a Heavenly Father who is perfect- who loves us unconditionally and who wants only what is best for us.

Even difficulties have the intent of drawing us back to Him. Even when we experience sorrows, loss and trials, God’s desire is that we wake up and see His incredible love for us in Jesus our Savior and there – no matter what – we will find forgiveness, mercy, love and peace – because God is a good Father.

But there’s more to this story…

So they’re having a party celebrating the youngest son’s return home – but the older son is jealous, indignant and angry that there is a party for this wayward brother and that the father hasn’t ever thrown a party for him and he’s been there working and helping the father and never left.

The older son doesn’t understand the Father’s love…. The older son sees the relationship with his father as one of performance and what the son has done for the Father, and how badly his brother has failed. The Father pleads with the older jealous son saying, “You are always with me – everything I have is already yours, but we must celebrate your brother’s return, for he was lost but now is found!” The older son doesn’t understand the heart of the father. The father is merciful. The younger son is repentant. The older son is prideful.

Why did Jesus end the story with the older son? There’s a lesson for us all in this story for we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Not just the younger son, but the older son as well. All of us like sheep have gone astray – but God laid on Jesus the sins of all and by His stripes we are healed. We need to understand the mercy of the Father and like the younger son – we need to recognize our rebellion and recklessness, we need to repent and return to God through Jesus, our Deliverer and Savior.

This story is a great summary of the greatest book ever written – the Bible – the Bible shares the story of a God who has loved us even though we rebelled against Him and when we turn around and return to Him there’s a celebration party! Luke 15:10 “In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

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The Parables of Jesus is part two of our Two Year Study of the Gospels. Jesus is known for telling some of the greatest stories ever told. In telling these stories He uses the form of a parable which is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Jesus’ parables resonate in every culture and in every generation around the world.

This study is great for large group. small group or home group Bible study.

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