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Today we are going to talk about the parable of the prodigal son. This parable tells a tale of two sons and a good, good father. The youngest son tells the father he wants his stuff now! He was pretty much telling his dad, he would rather his dad be dead than to not have his stuff. When his dad gave him some, he took it all and went to a far off land. He then started hanging out with the drunkards and prostitutes. He spent all of his money and then tried to get a job, but a famine came. Eventually he took a job that went against everything he was raised to believe. He then realized he messed up. There has to be a point in everyone’s lives when we realize that God has more in store for us than what we get ourselves into. As long as he was with the father he did not have to worry about anything. He left the real source to go somewhere he thought was better. Often, we do the same thing to God, but he always welcomes us back with open arms!

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To be chosen means to be selected, to be picked out from the bunch. All of us have a calling on our lives. Gideon was a man who was simply trying to provide for his family when God appeared to him and chose him. God told him to get an army together to fight trained soldiers. He also gave him requirements. God told Gideon to send home all of the men who were fearful because He knew they would run away in time of need. God also told him to send home all of the men who did not lap up water like dogs because He knew they would not be watchful. Gideon was left with 300 men to fight over 135,000. God told them to shout “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon…”. Even though Gideon was not nearly as powerful as God, God told them to include Gideon’s name because God uses people. God wants to use you. A popular scripture says “many are called but few are chosen”. You can be called and not chosen because you refuse the call. Most people will not except their calling. You decide where you fit in. How much are you willing to sacrifice and how far are you willing to go? Salvation is free but discipleship will cost you your life.

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There are thousands of “great” days in history but I believe that the greatest day of them all is the day that Christ was slain on the cross. The cross is, debatably, the most popular religious symbol and is symbolic all over the world. What is so ironic about the cross is that it that is a presented as a symbol of hope when, in actuality, it was an instrument of death. The cross is where God’s judgment and His mercy meets. He hung because of what we did, because of our transgressions. Three things happened at the cross that completely changed history. First, it became the ultimate place of forgiveness. He paid the ransom for all of our sins. Second, it became a place of reconciliation and restoration with Christ. Before his death, we were separated from Christ. We were not allowed to just go to him with our problems. When Christ died on the cross, the veil that separated us from our God was torn in half. Finally, it became a place of inner-fulfillment through self-denial. Jesus says that the cross is suffering. If you are going to listen to Christ, you are going to suffer. Things are not always going to be good. We must constantly remember the power of the cross and how “great” of a day it was in history.

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One of our goals, as Christians, should be to continuously be effective in ministry. We have to remember that the church is not a social club. We are family in Christ. Because we are family, little things will come up to test us. It glorifies God when we overlook the little stuff and work together for His kingdom. Part of working together is sharing your testimony with each other. Your testimony is powerful, it gives others hope. Just like you are constantly looking for something else, somebody is looking for what you already have. It is also important to share your testimony because most people don’t know Jesus and the only Jesus they are going to ever know and see is the Jesus in you. Fellowship is imperative to being effective in ministry. Growth happens through the relationships you have with the other saints in the church. The adversary gets us by dividing and conquering.

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We have all heard the story of Paul and Silas but there are some interesting things that were happening in the background of this well-known story. Barnabas was the reason Paul got in with the apostles but they ended up having a disagreement and parting ways. Barnabas and Paul had problems but it didn’t stop them from working for God. People in church feel like, if a problem arises, they need to leave the church but if the apostles had problems and could still do the work of God, so can we. Sometimes, when you live for God more stuff happens to you. In fact, we don’t really grow unless stuff is happening to us. We can’t grow in the mountaintops, we grow in the valley! Paul and Silas were having a valley experience, but instead of complaining and pointing fingers they prayed and sang praises to God. It was at midnight that their praises tore down the prison walls and loosed all chains. Midnight signifies the darkest hour. Some of us are in trouble but we have to remember that we can come out of it, and we can drag others out of it with us!

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Are you ashamed of Jesus? Do you realize how hard it was to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in biblical times? Paul wrote letters that he had to hand deliver the various churches, one of which was the Roman church. In his letter to the Romans he wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel”. Rome was the capitol of the world, where Caesar lived. Caesar was considered their god, so they did not take kindly to someone who was saying that our God is greater than all other gods. It is not nearly as hard to spread the gospel in this day and age, but it seems that many of us are ashamed of the gospel. We can’t be in the world and of the world. Just like Paul, we have to be bold and unashamed. We have to be the light that shares the gospel! The Gospel is all about the lamb of God who was slain and the savor who loved us so much that he did not want to see us ruined and destroyed because of sin.