Sermon Slide Deck: "A Temper Tantrum at God’s Party" (Luke 15:25-32)

A Temper Tantrum at God’s Party

Luke 15:25-32

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God Gives Us His Words of Eternal LifeLuke 15:25-32

Found on page 875 in our guest Bibles.

Today’s Scripture:

What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important

thing about us.

”AW Tozer

Th Knowledge of the Holy

“

“I would onlybelieve in a God

who could dance.”

Fredrick Nietzsche (1844-1900)

?What if God is dancing, but you don’t want to join the celebration?

What if God’s heart is wild with celebration, but you

refuse to dance?

A Temper Tantrum at God’s Party

Luke 15:25-32

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1 Now the tax collectors and sinnerswere all drawing near to him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners andeats with them….”

The Gospel of Luke 15:1-2, 11-24

11 And he said to them, “There was a


man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the pro-perty that is coming to me.’

12 And he divided the property between


them. 13 Not many days later, the young-er son gathered all he had and took ajourney into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

14 And when he had spent everything, a


severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.

15 So he went and hired himself out to


one of the citizens of that country, whosent him to feed the pigs. 16 And he waslonging to be fed with the pods that thepigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 But when he came to himself, he


said, ‘How many of my father’s hiredservants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!

18 I will rise and go to my father, and I


will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son.Treat me as one of your hired servants.”

father saw him and felt compassion, and


ran and embraced him and kissed him.

20 And he arose and came to his father.But while he was still a long way off, his

21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I


have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worth to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to hisservants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on hishand and shoes on his feet.

23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it,


and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found.’ And they beganto celebrate.

The Father’s embrace means there is always grace

greater than our sin.

“God’s glare means grace is rareespecially when

you sin.”~ The Religious Elite

25 Now his older son was in the field,

The Gospel of Luke 15:25-32

and as he came and drew near the house,he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant….

27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has


come and your father has killed the fat-tened calf, because he received him backsafe and sound….

28 But he was angry and refused to go


in….

28 But he was angry and refused to go


in. His father came out and entreatedhim…,


never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I mightcelebrate with my friends….

29 …but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I served you, and I

“Look! All these yearsI’ve been slaving for you

and never disobeyed your orders.”

~ Luke 15:29 New International Version

“Do you realize, then, what Jesus is teaching?

Neither son loved the father for himself. They

both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving,

enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. ~ Tim Keller,

The Prodigal God

“This means that you can rebel against God and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping all of them

diligently. It’s a shocking message: careful

obedience to God’s law may serve as a strategy

for rebelling against God.” ~ Tim Keller,

The Prodigal God


prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for

30 ‘But when this son of yours came,who has devoured your property with

him…!’

“The elder brother was completely lost: lost in his refusal to reconcile, lost in his rejection

of his father’s joy, lost in his striving for self-salvation, lost in

resentment for his brother’s reward, and lost in the

unrighteous desires of his own sinful heart. But he was lost

mostly because he rejected his sonship, seeing himself as a

slave instead of a son.”


yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”

31 And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is


….

When our hearts areout of sync with the

celebrating heart of God,our lives begin to shrink and stink.

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Grace is only really appreciated by those who know

they are lost.

~ The Apostle Paul ~

“If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I

have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the

people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the

law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on

the law, faultless.

~ The Apostle Paul in Philippians 3

“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss

for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider every-

thing a loss because of the surpassing worth of

knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I

have lost all things.~ The Apostle Paul

in Philippians 3

“I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and

be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own

that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness

that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to

know Christ….” ~ The Apostle Paul in Philippians 3

“Jesus does not divide the world into moral ‘good

guys’ and the immoral ‘bad guys.’ He shows us that

everyone is dedicated to a project of self-salvation…we are just going about it

in different ways….

“This means that Jesus’ message, which is ‘the gospel,’ is a completely

different spirituality.

“The gospel of Jesus is not religion or irreligion,

morality or immorality, moralism or relativism,

conservatism or liberalism. Nor is it something halfway along a spectrum between two poles—it’s something

else altogether.”

Grace is the only thing that can enable your

heart to dance with the Father.

“The thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference

between Grace and Karma…. At the center of all

religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you:

an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…. And yet, along

comes this idea called Grace to upend all that ‘as you

reap, so you will sow’ stuff.

“Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of

stupid stuff….

“I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally

be my judge. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus

took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I

don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”

“The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on

the sins of the world, so that what we put out did

not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does

not reap the obvious death. It’s not our own good works

that get us through the gates of Heaven.”

…the tax collectors and sinners enter the kingdom

before you….

”~ Jesus of Nazareth

The Gospel of Matthew 21:31

“

“I would onlybelieve in a God

who could dance.”

Fredrick Nietzsche (1844-1900)

According to Jesus, God’s heart is bent on dancing & celebrating. The only question is,

“Is yours?

“…the glorious gospel of the blessed God….”

~ The Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 1:11

May you know the honour of dancing with the blessed God

who invites you to join him in an eternal celebration.

other images used for educational purposehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono:_In_Conversation_with_Michka_Assayas

Image ID:393377497 Brian A Jackson

ShutterstockImage ID:336084467

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzsche

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bono:_In_Conversation_with_Michka_Assayas

http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-393377497/stock-photo-upset-and-angry-boy-concept-for-anger-frustration-and-mischief-with-copy-space.html?src=jDS4wHgUz2l_deovu4MH3g-2-40

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Sermon Slide Deck: "A Temper Tantrum at God’s Party" (Luke 15:25-32)