Come Home

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 8th of September, 2024 - homecoming Sunday at Pilgrim Reformed.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, any homecoming is a special occasion, a time for celebration.  It brings families back together.  It is especially delightful when a family member returns who has been away for a while, like a student gone off to college or a service member returning from a deployment.  Homecoming is even special if that returning member left out of anger or for the wrong reasons, or did something terribly wrong while they were away.  No matter its size or how its made up, a family that truly loves each other, where love is the key focus, is a forgiving family.

Let me tell you about a family I read of in the Gospels.  The story starts, though, as do so many of these stories, with the Pharisees and the scribes complaining about the things that Jesus said and did, finding fault in everything and anything about Him.  Because of their hyper attention, He taught the people in parables, using word pictures they could more readily understand.

Please listen and follow along to one parable Jesus shared with His followers and the people gather around Him, as recorded by the Apostle Luke in chapter 15 of his Gospel account, verses 11 through 24, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

11 Then Jesus said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’  And they began to be merry.”

--Luke 15:11-24 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for the example of a loving and forgiving father in our Bible.  This shows us how much You love us and will forgive us no matter how far afield we may roam as long as we return home to You.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always share this message with others.  We know that we need to reach out to the non-believers around us, but too often we hesitate to do so.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us be more obedient to Your and Your Son’s commands.  Give us the courage and the will to welcome anyone who comes home to You.  Help us as we step out into the world, offering aid where we can and witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for forgiving and forgetting our sin.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The "Law of the Search" states that the first place to look for anything is the last place you'd expect to find it.  Henry Miller's corollary to that law is that objects are lost because people look where the objects are not instead of where they are.  But objects have no will of their own, and can only be lost when we misplace them, or forget where we put them.  People, on the other hand, can choose to be lost.  It is said that actor Marlon Brando wandered so much on his way to kindergarten each day, that his sister eventually had to walk him to class on a leash.

You know, sometimes we act like young Marlon.  We wander around, heading off in different directions, straying off the path we should be following.  And of course you know I’m not talking about walking to school, but about our spiritual walk through life.

If we’re not careful, if we wander too far afield, we just might get lost.  Unlike my reading glasses that I may think are “lost” when I can’t find them because they’re sitting on top of my head, wandering is a choice I make, whether consciously or unconsciously.  We need to be very careful of just how far we stray off that straight and narrow path.

Our scripture reading this morning is from what is known as the parable of the prodigal son.  The word "prodigal" means wasteful.  The prodigal son wasted all his inheritance on living the high life, and then found himself in trouble.  Broke and desperate, he hired himself out as a farm hand just for something to eat.  He finally sucked in his pride and returned home, hoping to at least be treated as well as the servants.  But his father welcomed him back with open arms and had a great feast prepared in his honor, for his son was home again.

One thing we see in this parable is that when the lost return home, a great celebration is in order.  Just before He spoke this parable of the prodigal son, in the opening 7 verses of the chapter, Luke reports…

1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Jesus to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”

--Luke 15:1-7 (NKJV)

The parable of the lost sheep, of how the 99 are left while the one that is lost is searched for and found.  The shepherd celebrates and calls his friends and neighbors together.  Rejoice, for the lost has been found.  Rejoice, for the lost has come home.

In the 14th chapter of his Gospel account, the Apostle John records for us in verses 23 and 24 when Jesus is telling His disciples that He will soon be leaving them.  Jesus said…

23 “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”

--John 14:23b-24 (NKJV)

Do we love Jesus?  Then we will keep His word, carry out His mission, follow His example.  And then we can come home.  Our true home is with God and Jesus.  No matter what we do, or what we have done, if we come home to Jesus we will always be welcomed.  This is unconditional love.  This is God’s love.

Come home.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the one true Son of God, the best example for us to follow.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for preparing a new home for us when we accepted Your Son Jesus as our Lord.  We know our home is with You, and we await the blessed day when we can come home.  Thank You for being so gracious to us.  Sometimes, though, dear Father, we don’t follow Your Son as closely as we should.  We wander off, chasing after some dream that the world put in our head.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Forgive us when we stray from how we know we should live.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others.  Help us be more like You and Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You showed us how to live by how You lived as You walked this earth as one of us.  You painted word pictures for us to make Your teachings more easily understood.  We try to live as You would have us live, Lord, but sometimes we just get too caught up in the world around us, we pay too much attention to what it says is important, and we wander.  Please forgive us our weaknesses, dear Jesus.  Forgive us our hesitation to serve as we should.  Please help us be more considerate and caring of others.  Help us share Your love by being more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving of others.  Not everyone believes in You, so it is our job to help them see the truth and believe.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.