Crew Lead Service by Eli Watson, Chase Johnson, Kason Eubanks

Good evening.

So Neil had asked us to talk on the Master Teacher,

and whenever he said that, the first thing that popped into my mind was,

well, Master Teacher, I'm not a good student, so I

don't really think about teaching that often, but I'll give it a shot.

The theme verse that Maddox just read was Matthew 7:28-29,

Matthew 7:28–29

if you want to jump there, that'll be the lead verse for what I'm talking

about tonight.

Starting off first with the question of what makes a great teacher?

When we think about a great teacher, we might think about somebody who knows their

subject really, really well. But being a great teacher is much more

than simply knowing a lot. A great teacher knows how

to reach people. They know how to take something complicated

and make it understandable. They know how to challenge you

when you need a little bit of encouragement and when you need a question to

make you think. When we look at Jesus, we see the greatest teacher

to ever live. He knew Scripture and he understood

people and the hearts of those he was leading.

Most importantly, Jesus didn't teach people what to

believe, He taught them how to live.

Now, Jesus taught with authority. It's going to be our first point,

narrowing in on 7:28-29.

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew tells us that the people

were amazed because Jesus taught as one having authority.

That's important because Jesus wasn't simply saying, here's my opinion.

He was saying— or He wasn't saying, here's an interesting idea that you might

want to consider. He spoke with authority because he was the Son of God.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly said things like, you have heard

that it was said, but I say unto you.

He wasn't afraid to challenge people with what they thought they understood,

and that's something that we have to remember. Sometimes God's Word will

challenge us. His teachings may make us uncomfortable,

meaning that they may make others uncomfortable when we try to engage.

He may tell us to forgive when we'd rather not or when it's hard

or easier to hold that grudge. And he tells us to love our

enemies. He tells us to turn

our other cheek, and he tells us to deny our

wants and to follow him. The question isn't,

do I agree with what Jesus is teaching, but rather, am I willing

to obey him?

Jesus used different ways to teach and reach people.

One thing that Jesus was really good at and that made him an incredible teacher

is that he didn't teach everybody exactly the same. He used

parables, questions, and scripture, and sometimes he gave people a

direct answer, but most of the time he made them think and figure the answer

out on their own. Looking back at this, Hiram is a great

example of somebody who does this. When studying with him, he'll oftentimes make you kind

of come to that aha moment, and then

you've realized, he didn't tell me the answer, I figured

it out, and it kind of makes you feel good. It's like a pat on

the back in the end.

Think about the parable of the Good Samaritan for an example.

A lawyer had asked Jesus, who's my neighbor? And Jesus could have definitely

given him a definition. He made the word.

Instead, he used a story. And he said, a man gets beaten

on the side of the road, and a priest and a Levite had walked by.

Then a Samaritan, who should have been his sworn enemy, was the

one to actually stop and help him. Now, which one of these was his neighbor?

The man knew the answer. Jesus didn't tell him that, and he led him

to discover it. That's good teaching, and sometimes God

does the same thing in our lives. We'll have those moments reading Scripture

where we'll ask a question and then looking into it, we'll think to

ourselves, He's talking to me.

Jesus taught through His life as

the main thing, as an example. Looking at John 13:12-15,

John 13:12–15

if you want to turn there. But perhaps the

greatest thing about Jesus as a teacher is that He practiced

what He taught. Perfectly. In John 13,

Jesus makes his— washes his disciples' feet. Just think

about that. The Master and Creator of the universe, Son of God, got down

on his hands and knees and took his time to wash the feet of his

disciples.

That says it all. And it also says,

for he has given the example that we should do

as he has done unto us.

Jesus didn't just teach humility, He demonstrated it. He didn't

just teach love, He showed it. He didn't just teach forgiveness, He forgave all of

us as He hung on the cross. Jesus said,

Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Luke 23:34.

Luke 23:34

His life was a lesson and challenging

for us because people don't only learn from what we say,

they learn from how we live our lives and what we do, especially as

Christians.

While we may forget— while they may forget a verse or a quote or

a sermon that we preach, they won't forget the way that we treat them.

They may remember the way that we showed patience and whether we— whether

we actually live lives like Jesus.

Now, in that, are we good students? If Jesus was the

Master Teacher, then what makes us students? Being a student means

that— doesn't just mean sitting in class or attending lessons

or learning or how many scriptures we can recite.

A student puts what they've learned into practice.

James 1:22 says, but be doers of the word and not

James 1:22

only hearers. Let that be a reminder to us that it's possible to

hear Jesus' teachings every week and still not let it change our hearts.

We can know what he says about forgiveness and refuse to forgive. We can know

what he taught about love but still treat people poorly. We can

know what Jesus says about resisting temptation but continue putting ourselves

in situations where we continue to fall. We can know the lesson

without learning the lesson. So tonight, maybe the question isn't How much

do I know? Maybe the question is, how much does his teaching show up

in my life? Jesus being the master teacher— Jesus

is the master teacher because he had the authority of God, he understood people perfectly,

he taught in ways that we could understand even today, and most

importantly, he lived everything he taught. And Jesus

gives us an invitation in Matthew 11:29. He says,

Matthew 11:29

take my yoke upon you and lean on me. Lean on me. That's what

Christianity is. We're lifelong students of Jesus.

We're supposed to learn on him. We're never going to reach

a point where we're going to learn everything there is to learn about him.

So as we go through this week, let's ask ourselves, what is Christ trying to

teach me right now? And as we find that answer, let's take it and put

it into action. Because God isn't simply— because the

goal isn't to simply know the teaching of the Master. The goal is to become

closer to the Master.

Next song tonight will be Every Time.

Every time I kneel to pray,

I open up my heart

to the Lord. I open up my

heart to the Lord. Every time I kneel to pray, I open

up my heart to the Lord.

Every time I close my eyes, I feel

the sweet embrace of my Lord.

Every time I close my eyes, I feel the sweet

embrace

of my Lord. But oh no, why so

strange things seem

to get in the way of seeing?

My God's glory.

But I try every

day to see him

and to thank him for all

the things he's given

me. Every time

I see the sun, I see the gentle

of my Lord.

Every time I see

a child, I see the

gentleness of my Lord.

Every time I watch a storm,

I know the awesome power

of my Lord. Every time I watch a

storm, I know the awesome

power of my Lord. I don't

know why so many

things seem

to get in the way of seeing

my God's glory,

but I sigh every day.

To sing and to thank

him for all the things he's

given unto me every

time I see the cross.

Scripture reading will be from Matthew chapter 13,

Matthew 13:10–13

verses 10 through 13. And the disciples

came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables?

He answered and said to them, because it has been given to you to know

the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance.

But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away

from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing

they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do

they understand.

Good evening, everybody. That wasn't the scripture

I was looking for, but that's okay. What I will do, actually, is go

ahead and read it. So, if you will, John chapter 15, verse 5.

John 15:5

We're actually going to be in verse 4, actually. John chapter 15,

John 15:4

verse 4 and 5.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself

unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide

in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and

I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from

me you can do nothing. All right, I'm going to be talking a little bit

about Jesus, how Jesus, the master teacher,

redefined righteousness. And I'll be doing that through looking

at the Sermon on the Mount. I'll be doing that through looking

at the 2 men that came to the

throne of God to pray, and that's the Pharisee and the tax collector. And then

also through the unclean spirits and the house that was swept

clean. So, I want to start by this one kind of sentence

that'll sum up everything. But, and try and get you guys

to understand the point I'm trying to make and the point that Jesus

is trying to make here. Purity and righteousness is not the

absence of sin, but it is the presence of God.

So, throughout Jesus' ministry, He encountered

people who were obsessed with spiritual cleanliness, right?

They measured their standing with God by what they avoided.

They put these big walls up and around their lives to

keep the sin out, right? And I think a lot of times we fall into

those same patterns, and we associate being righteous

with our behavior and what people see on the outside,

and treating holiness like a list of boundaries,

lines that, you know, are around us that we

cannot cross, rather than a living relationship with our Lord.

So, yet, Jesus, as the master teacher, he completely

flips the whole self-righteousness teaching and the

culture of that time. And he flips it on its

head. He reveals that it's not about behavior management.

You know, true holiness is never achieved by sweeping

your life clean and empty of all the bad behavior

and the sin in our lives. It is realized

when your life is utterly, you know, occupied by

the presence of God. Alright, so first, let's talk about deconstructing

the performances that we put on, right? And what we're going to do is we're

going to look at the Sermon on the Mount. So, if you want to go

ahead and— we're going to be looking at specifically verse 21 through 28

where he kicks off the Sermon on the Mount by basically calling

out the good enough behavior, right?

He makes it clear that just checking boxes and following rules on

the outside doesn't necessarily cut it. And that's exactly what the

Pharisees thought of themselves. God is looking at what's actually

going on in the heart. He directly addresses

the religious standard of the day. He's saying, you have

heard it said, But I tell you, and he's claiming authority,

right? It is entirely possible to maintain

a clear or clean record while keeping a

distant and a compromised heart. And you see that in the different

sections where he's saying, you know, I have, you know, it could be the,

you know, the physical, the murder. He says, you've heard it said, do not

kill, do not murder. And he says, but do not store hatred

and anger in your heart. So, we can refrain from physical murder

while nursing hatred. We can, you know, refrain from physical

adultery while harboring lust. Righteousness isn't

managed from the outside in, it grows from the inside out.

When we focus only on external behavior, we try to fix the

fruit that people see and ignoring the root,

and that is our heart. So, Jesus shifts the focus

entirely to the condition and the motives

of our inner heart. The key here is motive.

When you decide to fix your habits, I find myself doing this a lot.

There's a lot of, like, health social media out there. It's fixing your

habits. You're eating healthier.

You're reading your Bible more, praying more,

serving more, working out more, reading more books,

listening to more podcasts. And you've got to ask yourself,

are you doing those things to be loved or because you

are loved? Do you follow him because you love God,

know he loves you, and want to please him, or are you simply out

of guilt and obligation? And I know we all fall into this performance

from time to time, which is why we have to constantly need to check our

hearts. And something that you can— we should

ask ourselves is, am I evaluating my walk

with God by the bad things that I've avoided and kept away from myself,

or by the condition of my heart when no one else is watching.

So, that was number 1. That was about the performance that we put on.

Number 2 is exposing the illusion of our self-cleansing,

our self-cleansing. So, to do that, we're going to look in Luke chapter

Luke 18 · chapter mention

18, and that's verse 9 through 14.

Luke 18:9-14,

Luke 18:9–14

and I'll go ahead and read that.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they

were righteous and treated others with contempt. 2 men went up into the temple

to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by

himself, prayed this, God, I thank You that I am not like other men— extortioners,

unjust, adulterers— or even like this tax collector. I fast twice

a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector,

standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but he

beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner!

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than

the other; for everyone who exalts himself will will be humbled,

but the one who humbles himself will be exhausted— will be exalted.

So, that beating on his chest was a humility and

a desire to humble himself before a holy

God. So, what Jesus is doing is to illustrate how

external righteousness leads to spiritual disaster.

Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee presents God

with a checklist of sins, he didn't commit and religious

duties that he did do and perform.

I think it's very interesting while I was reading this that— and

I don't know if this has significance, but I couldn't, you know,

miss it— but I think it's funny that the Pharisee

seems to list more of the things that he didn't

do and that he abstained from than the things that he did do and perform.

He named all those things, and there were more of the things that he didn't

do than the things that he did. His righteousness was defined by

the comparison to the tax collector and then the avoidance

of all of these sins that he said he hasn't done. But the Pharisee left

the temple unchanged because his self-reliance and self-righteousness left

no room for God. He was already good.

He had no need for God. He was already made— he's made it.

He's reached that peak righteousness, right?

And then the tax collector, what's he doing? He brings his

heart. He brings only his mess and his plea for mercy.

And what did he do? He went home justified, Jesus says.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom

of heaven. Matthew chapter 5, verse 3. That's in the Sermon on the

Matthew 5:3

Mount and the Beatitudes. Self-righteousness,

uses a clean exterior as a barrier to

the real intimacy that we should have with God. And here is

a reflection: where in my life has religious routine or

self-disciplines subtly turned into a

spiritual pride rather than genuine dependence on

the mercy and grace that we receive from our Father in heaven?

And that was our second point, exposing the illusion of self-cleansing.

Number 3, the abiding life. And to do this,

we're— to prove this point, we're going to go to Jesus' teaching, His parable

on the unclean spirits, which is in Matthew chapter 12. So, if you want to

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

turn there with me, Matthew chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

This is a very small section, yet very

Sorry, 43 through 45, yep.

When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places

seeking rest but finds none. Then it says, I will return to my house

from which I came. And when it comes, it finds the house empty,

swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it 7

other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell

there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also

it will be with this evil generation. Jesus delivers

this warning against defining holiness as just an absence of evil through

this parable of the returning spirit. A house is swept clean,

put in order, but left unoccupied and unfilled.

The spirit returns with 7 others worse than itself.

Behavior modification cleans the room,

right? Sweeps it clean, puts it in order, but it's empty.

Purity and righteousness isn't an empty space.

An empty life is actually vulnerable, very vulnerable.

You cannot conquer darkness simply by sweeping

out the dirt and cleaning up our lives, putting things in order.

What you have to do is turn on the light and bring God into your

life. So, drawing closer to Jesus isn't just about, you know,

staring at your sins and trying harder not to commit them.

Abiding means fixing your gaze on Christ.

The closer you get to God, the less attractive that the

sinful things in life are. Holiness happens when

he takes full residency in our lives and

in our empty homes. Only he can provide that true fulfillment.

Ultimately, the question isn't just, is your life swept clean,

but is King Jesus sitting on the throne of your heart.

And I'm going to read John

John 15:4–5

15:4-5 again because I just want to emphasize

that— remember I was talking about the

fruit and trying to fix the fruit instead of the root? And John

15 points exactly to that point.

This is Jesus' teaching. Abide in me,

and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it

abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am

the vine, Jesus, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me

and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me

you cannot do nothing. So,

abide is the key word here. Reflection: What

sins or habits and thoughts am I trying to fix

myself instead of letting God transform. So that was abide.

So to conclude, I mean, at the, at the end of the day,

Jesus does not call us to be empty vessels swept clean

of life and put in order just to stay untouched

by the world, right? Putting the walls up like the Pharisees. True righteousness isn't found

in a quiet room of self-denial. It is found in

the consuming presence of Jesus and And when

God fills the house of your life, righteousness stops

being a standard that you struggle to achieve and

becomes the natural overflow of the one who lives inside of you.

Through these 3 teachings of Jesus, we see a Savior who just wants our

heart, right? I want to read a few verses and then I'll be done.

And if you want to follow along, you can. I'm going to be going fast,

so. 2 Corinthians 5:21. For our

2 Corinthians 5:21

sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him

we might become the righteousness of God.

Romans, chapter 3, verses 21 through 22,

Romans 3:21–22

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from

the law, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all

who believe. Romans, chapter 5, verse 19,

Romans 5:19

For as by the one man's obedience many were

made sinners, So, by the one man's obedience,

the many will be made righteous. And then this is one

directly, Philippians 3:8-9,

Philippians 3:8–9

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

comes through the faith in Jesus Christ, the righteousness from God

that depends on faith. Thank you, guys.

So for our next scriptural reading and lesson will be Seek Ye First.

Seek ye first the kingdom

of God and his righteousness,

and all these things shall be added

unto you.

Singing hallelujah,

hallelujah.

Singing praise of the kingdom

of God and

his righteousness.

And all these things shall be added

unto you.

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Ask, and it shall be given

unto you; seek,

and ye shall find; knock,

and the door shall

be opened unto you; sing,

Alleluia! Ask, and it shall be

given unto you; seek,

and ye shall find;

knock, and the door shall

be opened unto you, singing alleluia!

We'll skip the verse.

If you want to turn to Luke 15, that's where we'll be in a

minute. In 1951, a young boy named

Louis Albano was abducted while playing at a park with his brother

in Oakland, California. On February 21st,

1951, a woman approached Louis and

lured him into a van promising to buy him candy. Instead,

she took him to the airport, purchased 2 plane tickets,

and flew to the East Coast. In a matter of hours,

a family lost their son, a brother, and loved one.

But his family never stopped looking for him. His mother never

gave up hope that her son was still alive. The authorities

eventually closed the missing person case, but his family never truly

closed the doors. His niece continued searching

for him, and in early 2024, she and her children

began searching again.

Eventually, investigators determined that the new information was substantial enough

to reopen the case. After more than 7 decades

of searching, they found Luis Armando Albino on

the East Coast. A DNA test confirmed what his family

had hoped for all these years— it was him.

After 73 years, the missing son had been found.

His family never forgot him, and the story reminds me of the parable

Jesus gives us in Luke 15.

When we think about a parable, we might think of it as a short story

with a heavenly meaning. But Jesus often used parables to

teach people about the kingdom of God and more importantly,

the character and heart of God. In Luke 15,

Jesus tells us about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and finally

a lost son. All 3 stories have something in common: something

valuable is lost and there is great joy when it is found.

So tonight I want us to look at 3 lessons from the parable of the

prodigal son, and the lesson is yours. Number 1, I want us to see

that God watches with compassion, waiting for us to come home.

Luke 15:20 says, and he arose and came to his father.

Luke 15:20

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt

compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

I want you to notice those words. It says, while he was still a long

way off, his father saw him. The son hadn't made it home

yet. He was still a far way off, but the father was watching for him.

The father saw him before the son ever reached the house.

The son had taken his inheritance, left home, and wasted everything.

He had made terrible decisions and found himself in a place

he never imagined he would be. But when he finally decided to come home,

The father didn't stand at the door with anger. He didn't say, where have

you been? He didn't remind him of everything he had done.

Instead, Luke says that the father felt compassion,

ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him. That is

the heart of our God. Psalm 103:8

Psalms 103:8

says, the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding

in steadfast love. Lamentations 3:22-23

Lamentations 3:22–23

tells us, the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning.

God's mercy has not run out. His patience has not run out.

His love has not run out. You may have walked away

from God, but God has not walked away from you. Maybe there

is something here, someone here who feels like they have gone too

far. Maybe you have allowed sin to separate you from God. Maybe you have

made decisions you're ashamed of. Maybe you've been carrying

guilt and wondering if God could ever forgive you.

But I want you to understand some— something: the Father is

still watching, the Father is still calling, the Father is

still waiting. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28,

Matthew 11:28

come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest. He doesn't say, fix yourself and

then come. He says, come to me. James 4:8 says,

James 4:8

draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

Sometimes we have to put our pride aside, turn around,

and simply say, Father, I'm coming home.

Secondly, I want us to see that God restores us fully and

not halfway. When the prodigal son finally comes home, he doesn't

expect to be treated like a son anymore. Luke 15:19 says,

Luke 15:19

I am no longer to be called your son; treat me as one

of your hired servants. The son had already decided

what his place would be. He thought that because of what he had done,

he had lost the position in his family. He was willing to

settle for being a servant, but the father wasn't willing to settle for

that. Luke 15:22

Luke 15:22

says, But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the

best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and

shoes on his feet. The father didn't put his son on probation.

He didn't tell him to work his way back into the family.

He didn't say, you can stay, but you're going to have to earn my trust

again. Instead, he restored him. The robe, the ring, and the

shoes showed him— showed the son that

he was being welcomed back into the family. The father wasn't

simply allowing him to come home; he was restoring his identity.

That's what God does for us. God doesn't forgive us halfway.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, Therefore,

2 Corinthians 5:17

if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has

passed away; behold, the new has come. When God

saves us, he doesn't want us to spend the rest of our lives chained to

the guilt. He wants us—

he makes us new. Isaiah 1:18 says,

Isaiah 1:18

though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Sometimes we accept God's forgiveness, but we don't

accept his restoration. We say, I know God forgives

me, but I'll always be the same person I used to be. But that's

not what scripture teaches. 1 John 1:9 says, if we confess

1 John 1:9

our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and

to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God doesn't just forgive,

he cleanses. He doesn't just bring us back,

he restores us. Your past may be part of

your story, but your part— your past does not have to determine your future.

The enemy may remind you of what you did, but God reminds you

of what he can make you. You may feel unworthy,

but God's grace was never based on your worthiness in the first place.

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, but God,

Ephesians 2:4–5

being rich in mercy, because of the great love with

which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ.

When God restores you, he doesn't give you a second-class place

in his family. He calls you his own. Thirdly,

I want us to see that God celebrates when we come home.

Luke 15:23-24 says,

Luke 15:23–24

and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate,

for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was

lost and is found. The father didn't simply let his son

walk through the door; he celebrated his return. He didn't

focus on the years his son had wasted; he focused on the fact that

his son was back home. He didn't say, look what you've done. He said,

my son was lost, but now is found. This is the

reason Jesus told us these parables. Earlier in Luke 15,

Jesus says in verse 7, there will be more joy in heaven

over one sinner who repents than— than—

in verse 10, he says, there is joy before the angels of

God over one sinner who repents. Think about that.

When one sinner turns back to God, heaven rejoices.

When one person lays down their pride and says, I need God,

heaven rejoices. When one person turns away

from their old life and comes back to the Father, heaven rejoices.

Luke 19:10 says, for the Son of Man came to

Luke 19:10

seek and save the lost. That's why Jesus came.

He came for the people who were lost. He came for people who had

made mistakes. He came for people who were broken, and he

came for people who knew they needed a Savior.

1 Timothy 1:15 says, Christ Jesus came into the

1 Timothy 1:15

world to save sinners. That means if you feel like you've gone too far,

you're exactly the kind of person Jesus came to save.

The story of Luis Albino reminds us that a family can spend decades

searching for someone they love. His family refused to forget him.

His mother held on to hope until the day she died,

and his niece continued the search until they finally found him.

But the love of God is even greater. God knows exactly

where you are. Psalm 139:7 asks,

Psalms 139:7

where shall I go from your Spirit, or where shall I flee from

your presence? You cannot outrun God. You cannot

hide from him. And that's good news, because the God you may be

running from is the same God who is calling you back home.

James 4:14 reminds us that our life is a mist

James 4:14

that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Life is short.

We don't know how many days we have, so don't wait.

Don't let pride keep you away from God. Don't let shame

keep you away. Don't let your past keep you away.

Don't let the enemy convince you that you've gone too far and

can't return. The Father is still watching. The Father

is still waiting. The Father is still calling. Jesus said in

Revelation 3:20, behold, I stand at the door and knock.

Revelation 3:20

The question is, will you answer? The Father

is not standing there waiting to remind you of everything you've done.

He's calling you back because he loves you. He's calling you back

because he wants to restore you, and he's calling you back because you

belong to him. Maybe you've been away from God for

a long time. Maybe you've been running for years. Maybe you've never

truly really came home. But tonight,

the invitation is still standing. His grace is sufficient.

His mercy is still available. His forgiveness is real,

and his arms are still open. The prodigal son was far

away, but he came home. He was broken, but he was restored.

He was lost, but he was found. And when he came home,

there was celebration. The same invitation is being extended to

us today. The Father is waiting. The Father is watching.

The Father is calling. So don't run anymore. Don't hide

anymore. Don't let pride keep you away. Don't let shame keep you

away. Turn around, take the first step, and come home.

If this is your invocation, please come forward as together we stand and