Embracing Forgiveness: The Prodigal Son's Lesson

Thank you! Today is Happy Holy Sunday, and I would like to welcome you to the Journey experience. At Journey, we don't have visitors; we have family.

If you are an online guest, please text "guest" to 205-405-9315, and we'll mail you a special gift. In-person guests, please swing by our Guest Kiosk near the Journey Cafe and turn in your completed purple guest card to receive a gift.

This week, for our engagement question, we just want to know: what spiritual practices do you engage in with your family?

As we move forward in service, I ask you to please stand or position yourself in a posture of worship and join me in prayer.

Let us pray.

Lord, we come to you first to say thank you. We thank you for another day, another breath, another moment, another experience. We thank you for all of the many blessings that you give us. We thank you for every single person that's going to be baptized this month. God, another one has been brought to your kingdom, and we thank you. We worship you, and we bless you. We pray that this worship experience is like no other. We put it in your hands, God, and transform even if it's just one person's life. We thank you. We worship you. This and many things, Amen.

Good morning, praise the Lord everybody! The Bible says that everything that has breath praise the Lord. If you have breath in your body, come on, let's praise the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. He's worthy of all praise, He's worthy of all glory, He is worthy of all honor. Hallelujah! He gave you the breath that you are breathing this morning. Hallelujah! Come on and use your breath that He gave you this morning to give Him praise and give Him glory. Hallelujah! Give Him a Hallelujah, give Him a thank you Jesus. We bless Your name in this place.

He will always be there. Thank you Jesus, Hallelujah! You can give it to Jesus; you won't fail. He won't fail, no He won't leave you, so He won't care. Even in your troubles, we are struggling; you can give it to Jesus. Today, my whole life, you know, but I never before, it's always alright.

Welcome to the ultimate worship experience! Happy Holy Communion Sunday! Our Nursery is open right now and every Sunday for ages one through four. Whether you're online or joining us in person, we're glad to have you with us wherever you are.

It's time to embrace the journey, go spread the good news, and let the spirit of Christ lead us in impacting our community. It's go time! We want everyone to participate in service, not just view it. We want you to worship, not just watch.

There's still time for you to help us reach our goal of 1,000 YouTube subscribers. We're only 21 subscribers away, so if you haven't already, invite a friend to subscribe. As you log into the big three (Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube), let them know that you're there. Make sure that you like, comment, and share the service. Please be actively engaged with us during worship.

Yes, and don't forget to answer the online engagement question. We'll read a few of your responses live during the service this week. We want to know: what spiritual practices do you engage in with your family?

I love that question. The girls and I always make sure that in the morning we do our little worship routine. We let me sing songs and make sure that we thank God for giving us another day. You have to wake up every morning with a grateful heart, so we definitely try to do that every day.

Nice, nice. I love it. And with my family, we try to make sure that especially at mealtime, we take the time to just pause, say grace, and give thanks for even some of the simple things that we're grateful for. So I absolutely love that.

As more of us worship in person again, let's remember to practice proper housekeeping guidelines for the safety of all children. Let's make sure that no child leaves the sanctuary without an adult. During moments of reflection like scripture readings, prayers, and sermons, please take extra care to limit movement as much as possible.

At Journey, we believe that connecting with people is much easier when you know their names. That's why we encourage everyone to wear name tags so no one has to feel like an unfamiliar face in the crowd.

Vacation Bible School for both youth and children starts July 12th and continues through July 14th. Check-in will be at 5:30, and pick up at 8 PM. The VBS theme this year is "Twists and Turns: Following Jesus Changes the Game." Scan the QR code to register, and we still need volunteers to assist, so if you'd like to sign up, make sure that you scan the volunteer QR code or indicate it in your connection card.

The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is hosting a free at-home buyer workshop on July 15th right here at Journey. So if you or anyone you know wants to purchase a home, definitely sign up and meet us here!

The Brotherhood Ministry is hosting a bowling event for the men on July 28th from 7 PM to 9 PM at Quaker Steak and Lube on Beltline. Baptism Sunday will be July 30th, and candidates must first attend a baptism prep class, which will be held on July 16th at 10:30 AM or immediately following the worship service.

Tamiko and the Brotherhood Ministry are also having their very first family reunion community event, which will be held July 22nd from 12 to 3 PM, rain or shine. There will be fun-filled events and handouts of school supplies. We'll need plenty of volunteers for this awesome event, so scan the QR code to register. We'll also be accepting donations and supplies for the students, so be on the lookout for the list of items needed.

Lastly, the Brotherhood Ministry is hosting a decades party where everyone is encouraged to dress in their favorite fashion trends from the 70s, 80s, or 90s. Freedom School is still in session, and the staff have done a phenomenal job pouring into the lives of our youth, sharing our history and embracing our culture. Your contributions have been greatly appreciated and put to great use, but there's still time to sponsor student activities. Just mark your donation for Freedom School, and we want your help in serving these students with excellence.

Good morning Journey! It's giving time! Let's get excited; the Lord loves a cheerful giver! As you will see, we have many ways to give: online, in person, the Timely app, giving kiosk, by mail, PayPal, and cash app. You are encouraged to give as your heart provokes you to give because God loves a cheerful giver. Amen. Hallelujah!

We know Jesus, and we thank Him for His presence. Here we go, let's give God a hand clap of praise for our praise.

Good morning Journey, I count it a blessing to be here with you again this morning, to be here with those of you who are worshiping with us in person and those worshiping with us online. Please stand as we bless our offering.

Jehovah, you are indeed excellent. We thank you for your presence, we thank you for blessing us with all good and perfect gifts from above, and we thank you for the opportunity to be able to give back to you just a small portion of that which you've so gracefully blessed us.

We pray now that we will use these gifts for the furthering of your kingdom, that we will use these gifts for ministries within the church and outside of the walls, so that persons will get to experience you in new and exciting ways, so persons will get to experience you and experience your gospel where it meets them in their everyday life.

God, we ask your blessing upon the pastor of this congregation, Reverend Dr. George Ashford, bless the first lady and the rest of his family. Bless this congregation, Lord, and we ask that you bless the word that has been prepared to come forward. I ask that you anoint me so that when I preach your word, it will be a word that will convict the hearts of those who hear it in the same way that it convicted my heart as I prepared. So anoint me, Lord, not just my head but all of me.

We pray these blessings in the strong name of your son Jesus the Christ. Amen.

You may be seated.

We ask now that you prepare your minds and your hearts to commune with Christ at his table. As Pastor generally reminds us, it is Christ's table; it's not my table, it's not Pastor Ashford's table, it's not Journey's table, but Christ invites you to his table.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all of our unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make a liar out of him, and his word is not true.

Let us confess our sin against God and our neighbor.

We confess that we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed. We have not loved God with our whole heart, nor have we loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and repent for the sake of God's son, Jesus Christ. Have mercy on us and forgive us, that we may delight in Your will and walk in Your ways to the glory of Your name.

On the night of His betrayal, Lord Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." He did the same with the cup after the supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out in the New Covenant is my blood." We are grateful for the blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary, so that we might be saved.

Let us pray the Lord's Prayer together and then remain standing for the reading of our scripture.

Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us all trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Our scripture today comes from The Gospel According to Luke. The message will be based on the entire passage of Luke 15:11-32; however, specific emphasis will be drawn from verses 11 through 13 and 28 through 32.

Jesus continued, "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to the father, 'Father, give me my share of this estate.' So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had and set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him, but he answered his father, 'Look, all these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fatted calf for him!'

The father said, 'My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

This parable is perhaps very familiar to many of us, but don't allow your familiarity with the parable to block the message that God has for you individually and for us as a church. Jesus didn't intend for us just to read his parables, but he intended for his parables to read us.

This story has been referred to by many names; some call it the parable of the Prodigal Son, some call it the story of the lost son, some call it the parable of the compassionate father, but this morning I call it a portrait of a family reunion.

The story begins with the youngest son who asked his father for his share of the family estate. The scripture tells us that this son not only takes his inheritance but he runs to the nearest bank, so to speak, and he turns it into cash and then goes far away from home. Within a short period of time, this son had wasted all of his money on wild living. This was long before the time of Visa and MasterCard and American Express.

Here he is, a Jew feeding pigs as his job in a Gentile territory, but according to the Jewish custom, a pig was an unclean animal. But he became so hungry he envied the pigs and was eating what they were eating, but nobody gave him anything. So it didn't take him long after that for him to come to his senses, realizing that the farmhands that worked for his father were eating three meals a day, and there he was starving to death.

But get this: he doesn't make up excuses by trying to place the blame, saying the devil made him do it or somebody else made him do it, but rather he takes full responsibility for his actions and he says, "I will arise and go to my father and I will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'"

And is alive again; he was lost and is found. This is the word of God for the people of God. You may be seated.

John had graduated from college and become engaged in some bad habits. He became dependent on cocaine and convinced himself that it wasn't so terrible because the people he hung around with were doing the same thing. He decided he wanted to do better and gave his brother his money to put in the bank so he wouldn't have ready access to buy drugs. After only two days, he wanted his money back and wrote a suicide note. When he got home, his brother had his money on the table and showed him tough love. He took the money off the table and was on his way to buy cocaine when he had an aha moment and turned around. This was divine intervention that stopped him in his tracks. He later gave the envelope back to his brother and told him he was going home.

In their culture, inheritance was not given until the father died. So, when the son returned home, they expected the father to punish him. However, the father did not do this. Instead, he welcomed the son back into the family.

Do any of us identify with the son? We have all made mistakes, sometimes causing us to stay away from our family, worrying about what other people might think. But God is not asking us to wallow in pity or live in shame for the rest of our lives because of the things we've done wrong. God wants us to genuinely learn from our mistakes so we won't keep making the same ones.

What was unexpected of his day was when the father gave his son the inheritance. When the son was on his way home, the father saw the profile of a man coming from a distance. Parents recognize their children no matter how long they've been gone, even if their hair, weight, and clothes have changed. With a heart pounding, the father ran out and hugged and kissed his son.

In this Middle Eastern culture, other people's opinions didn't matter, and we think that it still matters today. Before his son even asked him to come back as a hired hand, the father was already planning a family reunion. He gave instructions to the servant to bring the best robe, put the family ring on his finger, put sandals on his feet, and get the best grain-fed cow that they had and roast it.

In the first century, this type of behavior by a father was unheard of. Unfortunately, this type of behavior is too often unheard of in our day. When my friend John got home, he expected his father to tell him, "I told you so, I told you you weren't going to be anybody, and just look at you now." But instead, his father embraced him and said that they would figure it out as a family.

The older brother heard the commotion, and it sounded like a party. He asked one of the servants what was going on, and the servant answered with excitement that his brother had come home and his father was having a celebration. The older son was angry and frustrated and refused to join in.

At a family reunion, the father notices his older son outside and goes out to talk to him. The father pleads with the son, saying how many years he has served him without giving him grief, but he never threw a party for him and his friends or cooked them a goat. The father then compares this son to his younger son who asked for his inheritance and went off and wasted his money on prostitutes. The father then plans for a family intervention to help the older son see his future in a positive way.

My friend John didn't have an older brother at home, but he had two younger sisters. At a Sunday dinner, his father asked him to tell his sisters about his unfortunate experience. His sisters began crying and sighing in disbelief, but the father told them that they needed to know what happened because if it could happen to John, it could happen to anyone. The father then began to lay down plans and expectations of how all the family members would be towards this son.

Thanks be to God, my path crossed with John's about 10 years ago, and his future from that point had been almost unbelievable. He trusted in God and depended on his family, and God brought him through.

But what about the church? Jesus' lesson to us here is that those who are weary can always come home. There are Prodigal Sons and Daughters of the church; the problem is not just that they might leave a local congregation, but the problem comes in when they leave God. Some, like the younger son, will realize that they shouldn't have left their relationship with God, and they repent and go back. Others are like the older brother; they become angry and resentful when their Prodigal Sons and Daughters of the church are restored back to full membership of the church.

But don't you know that's the way it works? If a person has strayed away from God but they come back to the church and they want to accept God back into their life, they're not secondhand members; they have the same rights and privileges in the kingdom of God that we do. But sometimes those in the church are quick to point out the unworthiness of other people while failing to see their own pride and unrighteousness.

Jesus' lesson to us here is also this: if you've been the one that has stayed in the relationship with God and you've been the one that has stayed in the church serving God, don't stop doing the right things but do the right thing for the right reason. God is saying to us that rules can make you change your behavior, but rules can't change your heart.

So Church, regardless of whether you identify more with the younger son, the older son, or even the earthly father, know this: the journey home is not just geographical or emotional; the journey home is spiritual.

So the question for you and for me, whether it's our family reunion or whether it's a church homecoming, is: would you go back if you've made a mistake? Would you forgive and accept your brother or sister that came back into the family of the church family? Would you join in the celebration?

But remember, this is a portrait, not a snapshot, because a snapshot relies on the lens of the heart of the technology that the camera takes what the camera sees, but a portrait relies on the heart of the artist.

So without an elaborate closing, this parable ends just as it began with the father's hand extended. It's just that in the beginning, his hand was extended to the younger son, and at the end of the story, his hand was extended to the older son.

Church, the earthly father in the story points us to the grace that's offered by our heavenly father. Think about it this way: I have a bill that I plan to give as an additional offering to the Freedom School, but I guarantee you if I put this little tear in it, which I have, if I ball it up, if I throw it on the ground, and pick it up, keep it balled up but put it back in this envelope, I guarantee you Brother Sellers will accept it because the value of this bill is still the same.

So you see, the story is a clear picture of God. At the mention of Jesus' name, a family reunion is being held that defies all human definitions of common sense. This is because God's grace is not only there, but He seeks out those who might be crumbled up, have a little tear, or feel like they've been down and somebody has stomped on them.

The good news is that not only will God bring them home, but He'll have a celebration because He values us unconditionally. That, my brothers and sisters, is the true portrait of a family reunion in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Jesus is inviting anyone who has died to have a relationship with Him. All of you who are burdened, heavy laden, and in need of a home are invited to be a part of His body and Journey Church family. Those of you who are worshiping with us online can let us know in the chat if you want to become a part of this awesome Journey Church family. Those of you who are in person can come and give your name to one of our lay shepherds.

If you would like to join us in prayer, we ask that you come.

Holy and gracious Father, You are the one and only true God, and for that, we say thank you. Lord God, we ask that You pour out Your blessings on all of us who are gathered here in person and online. We ask that You continue to guide us and don't allow us to do our own will, but allow us to wait on You.

We thank You for the freedom that You have given us so that we can worship You in spirit and in truth. We thank You for those who have given their lives so that we could be independent and celebrate in Your name. Amen.

As we celebrate Independence and Freedom Day, we know that things are not the way that we would like for them to be, but Lord God, they could be so much worse. We thank you so much that the greatest freedom came at a cost, the cost of you giving the life of your one and only son.

We are blessed for it as they celebrate the holiday weekend and Independence Day. Keep them safe, Lord, those who are experiencing and celebrating family reunion. Lord, we ask that you unite them, and if there's anything in the spirit of that body that is not of God, that you heal them before they go their separate ways because families are so important.

Bless our pastor, bless the leaders of this church, bless our community. Lord God, we ask this in the mighty strong name of your son Jesus Christ.

Now unto him who is able to keep us from falling and to make us stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, God our savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time and forever and ever. Amen.

Be blessed, Journey. Jesus. Oh.