The Invitation To Come

our worship by singing to God's praise. This is on page 40 of the psalm book, Psalm 34.

We're going to sing from verse 8 down to verse 14, the tune of St. Columba. And this psalm,

in the verses that we're singing, it gives us this invitation that we're looking at today to come.

Verse 8 begins, come, taste and see, the Lord is good, who trusts in him is blessed. And verse 11

uses the same word. It says, come here, my children, gather round and listen to my word,

and I will help you understand how you may fear the Lord. We're going to sing from verse 8 to 14,

and we stand to sing to God's praise.

The Lord is blessed.

O fear the Lord, who sings with me,

You will not be oppressed.

The Lord, who sings with me,

The Lord, who sings with me,

And I will forget fruit,

But those who wait upon the Lord

Will all my many new

Come here, my children, gather round

And listen to my word

And I will let you understand

How you may fear the Lord

Does anyone delight in life

And long to see good days

And keep your tongue from evil's feet

Your lips from lying grace

If I can turn from evil past

And that is what is right

Decide to know the way of peace

I assume it with your mind

We're going to come to God in prayer

Let's bow our heads in a word of prayer

Lord our gracious God

We thank you for the beauty of this day

That it is a day that you have made for us

And help us to delight in it

And to delight in not just the beauty of the sun shining upon us

And the beauty of all that we see around us

But the beauty of your word

And the beauty of the message that it gives

We thank you that it is a word that speaks to us all

We thank you that it is a word that invites us to come

And taste and see of the goodness of God

It invites us as children

To come and hear, to gather round and hear your word

And we thank you for that delight that we have today

And being able to do so

And may you bless all that we do

Here in the church

And as the young ones go out to

Cresce and Twin East Sunday School and Bible class

We pray that you will be with us in all of these things

That you will guide us and help us

In all that we do and all that we say

And Lord bless us

Bless us with your presence

Bless us with your peace

That peace that passes all understanding

We pray to know it in our hearts

And help us to know Lord

That you speak to us through the Bible

Through your word

And may it be what directs us today

In all our days

As we ask all of these things

Knowing how often we fall short

How often we fail you in different ways

But thankful for your good mercy towards us

So bless us and be with us we pray

And pardon our sins in Jesus name

Amen

A word to the young ones before you go out

It was great to see so many of you

Yesterday as we had our church day out

First time in a long time

That the sun has shone for so long

I think I saw on the weather charts last night

That Stornway had the most sunshine

In the whole country

So we really couldn't have picked a better day

To have our church day out

And it was good to enjoy being together

Enjoying time on the beach

Enjoying time having games

And I'm sure you've all got your different highlights

Of the day

Maybe it was enjoying the food

Just enjoying being with friends

Or enjoying taking part in the sports

And I was so delighted to be on the winning team

Of the tug of war

It was just so good

I mean I expected the men to win

And they did

Isn't that right?

Is that true?

Yes, no

No

It was actually when I woke up

In the middle of the night

I had a dream that we won

But we hadn't

We were well beaten

But I'm sure the ladies had a quad

Tied to one end of the rope

That was just pulling in that direction

But it was a great day out

And the tug of war reminds me

Of what we're looking at in the Bible today

And what we look in the Bible so often

It's this idea of being pulled

In different directions

God is trying to bring us to himself

He's inviting us to himself

There's that pull towards him

But so often there's other things

That are pulling us away

In a different direction

There's so many things

That will distract us from God

And keep us not looking to God

And yet he's still

Every time we come and hear his word

Every time we look to him

He's pulling us

He's calling us back to himself

And so maybe we're in a bit of

A tug of war today

Young and old alike

We're being pulled

In different directions

But the Bible reminds us

That when we know God

When we trust him

He has a hold on us

A strong hold

And he'll never let us go

We'll never be on the losing side with him

Because he keeps us safe

And he keeps us secure

So no matter what else

Pulls us away

In a different direction

As we trust in him

He has a hold on us

That is truth

The truth at the start of my talk

Was the men didn't win

But the truth with God

Is that he has won the victory for us

And that we are secure with him

So as we go into that struggle

That pulling in different direction

Trust God

And he will keep

A hold

Of you all

And we're going to say

The Lord's Prayer

Together now

So we'll say

The Lord's Prayer

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 our debts

As we forgive our debtors

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

The power and the glory forever

Amen

We're going to sing again

To God's praise

This time in Psalm 95

Page 357 of the Psalm books

Psalm 95

We're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 6

And during this singing

Those going out to the Sunday school

You can come out through this door

To my left

So we're going to sing from verse 1 to verse 6

Again there's this great invitation

In the Psalm

Come

O come

Let us sing to the Lord

Come

Let us everyone

A joyful noise

Make to the rock

Of our salvation

The tune is done firmly

And we're going to stand to sing

To God's praise

O come

Come let us sing

To the Lord

Come let us

Everyone

A joyful noise

Sing to the Lord

All our salvation

All our salvation

Let us speak for His presence

Come with praise and thankful voice

Let us sing songs to Him with grace

And make a joyful noise

For God

On God

And make God

And make Him

Above all God

See His

Death softly

Have thou in His hand

The strength of ills is His

Give Him the spacious sea beyond

For He the sin did may

That wide and also from His hands

His form of thirst

O come and let us worship Him

Let us worship Him

Let us fow them with hope

And on our beach

Before the Lord

Our maker

Let us fall

We will turn together to read

In God's Word

We are going to read in the New Testament

And in the Gospel of Luke

Luke chapter 15

Luke 15 · chapter mention

We are going to read from verse 11

Down to the end of this chapter

Luke chapter 15

Luke 15 · chapter mention

And at verse 11

You will find it around page 1054

It's a well-known parable

That Jesus told

The parable of the prodigal son

So we are going to read from verse 11

And he said

There was a man who had two sons

And the younger of them said to his father

Father, give me the share of property

That is coming to me

And he divided his property between them

Not many days later

The younger son gathered all he had

And took a journey into a far country

And there he squandered his property

And reckless living

And when he had spent everything

A severe famine arose in that country

And he began to be in need

So he went and hired himself out

To one of the citizens of that country

Who sent him into his field to feed pigs

And he was longing to be fed

With the pods that the pigs ate

And no one gave him anything

But when he came to himself

He said

How many of my father's hired servants

Have more than enough bread

But I perish here with hunger

I will arise and go to my father

And will say to him

Father, I have sinned against heaven

And before you

I am no longer worthy to be called your son

Treat me as one of your hired servants

And he arose and came to his father

But while he was still a long way off

His father saw him and felt compassion

And ran and embraced him and kissed him

And the son said to him

Father, I have sinned against heaven

And before you

I am no longer worthy to be called your son

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

And bring the fattened 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

And they began to celebrate

Now his older son was in the field

And as he came and threw near in the house

He heard music and dancing

And he called one of the servants

And asked what these things meant

And he said to him

Your brother has come home

And your father has killed the fattened calf

Because he has received him back safe and sound

But he was angry and refused to go in

His father came out and entreated him

But he answered his father

Look, these many years I have served you

And never disobeyed your command

Yet you never gave me a young goat

That I might celebrate with my friends

But when this son of yours came

He who has devoured your property

With prostitutes

You killed the fattened calf for him

And he said to him

Son, you are always with me

And all that is mine is yours

It was fitting to celebrate and be glad

For this your brother was dead and is alive

He was lost and is found

Amen

And may God bless that reading from his word

Let's again just bow our heads in a word of prayer

Let us pray

Lord our gracious God

As we continue to look to you in worship

And look to you for your help

And for your spirit to be with us

As we read your word

And as we come to open it up together

We thank you that it is what is called the gospel

The good news

And that we live in a world that still has good news

To be offered to all

In the midst of all the bad and sad news

That we so often hear

We thank you that the word of God

Is that good news

That it speaks to us of such a gracious God

Even as we have read of in this passage

We thank you that it reminds us of ourselves

In so many ways

How we can go wandering away from you

How we can think that we have freedom away from you

And yet oh Lord

Help us to come to our senses

Even as the prodigal son

And to realise

That you have all that we need

And that you are all that we need

And so may you help us to come to you today

To come hearing your word

To come tasting of your goodness

To come and worship you

With all our hearts

And all that we are

And we do thank you for all who are here today

We thank you for seeing so many young ones

Going out to the Sunday school

And to the Bible class

And we pray for them Lord

That as they begin their classes today

And as they have begun school

In these last few weeks

Lord we pray for your blessing

Your protection over each one of them

And all our homes and our families

Lord we ask for you

To be with us Lord

In all our different needs

You know them

You know our very hearts

You know all the

The pools that are on it Lord

Pulled towards you

And pulled in other different directions

But we thank you for the strength that you have

That you are mighty and powerful to save

That you hold on to your people

With an everlasting arm

An arm that is full of power and might

And so help us to put our trust in you

And to know that you are with us

That you are for us

And we do pray Lord

That you will guide us

Even in these days ahead

As we go into this week

And you bless us

In all that it entails

Returning to our homes

And our families

Returning to our workplaces

In this coming week

Our places of study

Whatever we do Lord

We thank you that there is that promise

That you go with us

And so we pray that even your word

As we hear it today

And as we study it

Would go with us too

That it would be a word

That resonates in our hearts

A word that speaks to us

A word that we are able to share with others

To tell others what we have heard

What we have seen of your goodness

And we thank you that

There is that assurance

That even as we come to church today

As we come back to church

As we may be calling it

That your church is a people

That your church is a people

That you are saving

A kingdom that you are building up

A church that nothing will conquer or defeat

And so we pray Lord

That your church

Not just here and throughout our islands

Or even our nation

But to all ends of the earth

To all corners of the world

In which we live

Might know your power even today

That as your truth is proclaimed

That it would be mighty to save

So Lord hear our prayers

Continue with us Lord

Today and in all the days

May you be our help

And our strength

As we ask all

Pleading with you

For forgiveness for all our sin

That you might cleanse us

And pardon us anew

As we ask all in Jesus name

And for his sake

Amen

We're going to sing again

Before we turn back

To look at this passage together

We're singing in Psalm 43

In the Sing Psalms

Page 54 of the Psalm books

Psalm 43

A psalm that reminds us

Of how God's truth goes out

And encourages our hearts

Encourages our souls

To know that we have a God

Who is with us

A God who is on our side

Come vindicate me

Oh my God

Against this nation

Plead my cause

Deliver me from wicked foes

And hypocrites

Who break your laws

And in verse 3 it says

Oh send your light forth

And your truth

Let them direct me

In your grace

And bring me to your holy hill

And to your sacred dwelling place

We're going to sing

The whole of this psalm

The tune is Rockingham

And we stand to sing

Amen

Amen

Amen

Defeat me

Oh my God

Against this nation

Plead my cause

Deliver me

From wicked foes

And hypocrites

Who break your laws

To harm my stronghold

And my God

Why them have you

Rejected me

I must act all

While thou thou art in greed

Untaunted by the enemy

O send your light

For thou art in greed

Let them direct me

In your grace

And bring me to your holy hill

Into your sacred dwelling place

And to your sacred dwelling place

And to God's altar

I will call

To God my joy

And my delight

And I will praise you

With the heart

O God you are

O God you are

My God of might

Why are you

Why are you down

Why are you down

So my soul

Why are you so

Disturbed in me

Trust God

For I will praise him yet

My Savior

My Savior

And my God

Is he

For our time

We're going to turn back

And look at the passage

We read in Luke chapter 15

Luke 15 · chapter mention

And this parable

Of the prodigal son

Luke chapter 15

Luke 15 · chapter mention

Now folks

It's going to be on

Verse 11 to 24

I just want to read

A couple of verses

So as we go into it

Verse 17

Speaks of the son

Who had gone away

From the father

And says

But when he came to himself

He said

How many of my father's

Hired servants

Have more than enough bread

But I perish here

With hunger

I will arise

And go to my father

And will say to him

Father

I have sinned

Against heaven

And before you

I am no longer

Worthy to be called

Your son

Treat me as one

Of your hired servants

And then it says

And he arose

And came to his father

But while he was still

A long way off

His father saw him

And felt compassion

And ran

And embraced him

And kissed him

Back to church Sunday

Is what we have called today

Maybe you're here

Because you got

An invitation card

That had these words on it

Maybe you saw the banner

Outside the church

What is

Back to church Sunday

What does it mean

And what's it

All about

Well

It's more than just

Coming

To a building

It's more than just

Trying to get

Someone off your case

Maybe someone's been

Asking you for a while

To come back to church

And you think

Well I'll just

Do it now

And that'll be it

Done with

It's maybe something

You think you already

Know what it's going

To be like

Maybe you think

You know what

It's like in the past

And it's just

Just the same

I wasn't listening then

I'm not going to listen

Now

There's so many ways

We can think about

Coming back

To church

But whether you've

Never been to church

Whether you haven't

Been to church

For years

Or even if you're

Coming back today

After being here

Last week

There's something

We all

Have in common

And it's that

None of these

Are the way

That we are to come

Back to church

It's not just

Coming back

To see a building

It's not just

Coming back

To please someone

It's not just

Coming back

Out of habit

It's more than that

Coming back

To church

Even coming back

To church

Week by week

If we're in that

Routine

In that habit

It's to meet

With someone

It's to meet

With someone

Special

And to hear

A story

That changes

Lives

And continues

To change

Lives

Continues to change

Even the Christian's

Life

Week by week

Day by day

It's a glorious

It's a glorious

Story

About a glorious

Saviour

A Saviour

Who is

Jesus

That's who we

Come

To meet

With here

That's the purpose

Of coming

Back

To church

To realise

That we have

A loving God

Who is the

Father we see

Described in this

Parable of the

Prodigal son

A loving God

Who has given

Us his own

Son Jesus

Who has given

A son Jesus

That we might

Know the joy

Of salvation

In him

Now what was

Your expectation

Maybe coming

To church

Today

What was your

Thinking

Coming to

Church

Today

Maybe you're

Thinking even

With the sun

Shining outside

I could be

Doing so many

Other different

Things today

Maybe your

Expectation was

Just to come

And to go

Maybe your

Expectation was

To sit

And just not

Listen

But even the

Psalms that we

Have been singing

They remind us

That we are to

Come and sit

And listen

And hear

And worship

Worship the God

Who is speaking

To us

And to come

And to know

Him as he

Speaks to us

Through his

Word

And Jesus

We find in

The gospels

Whether it's

Matthew, Mark, Luke

Or John

As you look

Through them

You find

Jesus

Who was

A great

Storyteller

He often

Used stories

Or parables

As they're

Called

To speak

To the crowds

Who had

Gathered round

To speak

To them

About their

Lives

And their

Circumstances

And what

Was going

On

But also

To speak

To them

In a

Special way

That reminded

Them of

Their need

Of God

And that's

What we see

In this

Parable

We think

Of storytelling

Maybe you've

Known people

Who would

Tell stories

Maybe you know

People even

Today who

Tell stories

But storytelling

In many ways

Is a dying

Art

Now that we

Have so many

Other forms

Of communication

Is often

Through a

Screen

A one

Way

Communication

And we're

Just listening

But it's

So much

Better to

Be in the

Company

Of someone

Who is

Telling

A story

And here

As the

People were

Gathered

Around

Jesus

They were

Here listening

To this

Man who

Was just

An incredible

Man

They were

Astonished

At him

So often

And what

He was

Saying

And what

He was

Doing

And they

Were hearing

Jesus

The son

Of God

Speaking

To them

And today

It is the

Same

For us

We meet

With this

Great

Storyteller

We meet

With Jesus

Jesus

Who speaks

To us

And speaks

To us

Here today

Through this

Parable

Of the

Prodigal

Son

But what's

This story

About

Maybe you've

Heard the

Story before

Maybe you've

Grown up

Hearing this

Story

And you've

Heard it

Maybe many

Times

The parable

Of the

Prodigal

Son

It's a

Well known

Story

That Jesus

Told

But what's

It about

Your

Immediate

Reaction

Maybe

It's about

This young

Son

Who just

Wanted to

Live life

To have

Freedom

To get

Away

From

Everything

Maybe you

Think it's

About the

Older

Brother

The one

Who

When this

Young son

Came back

He was

Jealous

He was

Angry

He didn't

Wanted to

He squandered

His

Inheritance

He treated

Them

Unfairly

Unjustly

And he

Was

Just

Not

Wanting

Anything

To do

With

Them

Is

That

What

The

Story

Is

About

Well

Neither

Of

These

Are

The

Main

Character

See

The

Main

Character

In

This

Story

As

Jesus

Is

Telling

It

Is

The

Father

And

The

Father's

Response

To

His

Son

We're going to look at his response to the younger son today.

And in this we see the great invitation of the gospel.

That's the title of our sermon this morning, the invitation to come.

To come.

We see this father who is already looking for his son as he comes to return to him in verse 20.

While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion and ran to him and embraced him and kissed him.

It's like Jesus is telling the crowd.

He's telling ourselves, this is who we need.

This is the father that you are to come to.

To come and know the warmth of this welcome.

And to see the glory and the power that is in Jesus himself.

The one who is, as the Bible describes, the way to the father.

Come.

Come is what the Bible so often says to us.

Come.

Come.

No matter what our situation.

No matter what our circumstances.

The text on the invitation card was,

Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Wonderful invitation.

Come.

Come.

When you think of the word come itself, if you take each letter of that word, you could put it like this.

Come, because Christ offers me everything.

Christ offers me everything.

And that's what we see with this young son who goes away from his father, but who comes home, as it were.

So we're going to see three things in this parable for ourselves today.

Three things that we can relate to, I'm sure, ourselves in many ways.

We can relate to this younger brother.

And the first thing I want to see is a recognition.

A recognition.

When you read of this young brother, do you see yourself, the young son, do you see yourself in him?

I'm sure many of us can look at this young son and think, that's me.

That's maybe me just now, or that's been me in the past.

You recognize the kind of situation he's in.

You recognize the kind of attitude that he has.

He's just, in his life, he wants to get away and have freedom.

He wants to enjoy his life, but everything seems to be just restricting him.

And he's like so many, so many since Jesus told this parable down through all the generations.

Right to this very day, there's so many who can relate to this young son.

Men and women, boys and girls, down through all the generations.

This kind of attitude, this kind of outlook on life is so often a stage that we come to ourselves.

A position we find ourselves in.

And what is it that we see?

Well, it's like Jesus is describing so many that are brought up, as it were, around church circles.

Like many of us today, we may have even brought up either going to church or knowing about church in a Christian community where we see so many different churches.

And it can leave us asking so many questions.

It can even leave us looking around and think, what's the point in it?

Oh, I just want to get away from this.

It just seems to stifle our lives.

It seems to just tell us, you can't do this, you can't do that.

It's so often the way we think of the community that we live.

We've been there. I've been there.

And we start speaking to ourselves just like this younger son and saying, I want my freedom.

I want to get away from all of this.

And you see it in this young son.

He said in verse 12,

Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.

Give me my share.

Give me my inheritance.

Give this to me so that I may go away and live my life, enjoy my life.

He wants to be his own boss.

He wants to do his own thing.

He wants to live life the way he sees fit himself.

It's like that cry in Braveheart that Mel Gibson so often puts out, if you've watched the film.

The cry, freedom.

That's what this young son wants.

He wants his freedom.

He thinks he recognizes his need in life.

He thinks he recognizes how he wants to live his life.

He wants to get away from all of this.

He wants to be free.

But you realize the seriousness of his request when you recognize in verse 12 what that actually means.

When he says, Father, give me the share of the property that is coming to me.

It should only come when the father dies.

And he's basically almost saying to his father, I wish you were gone.

I wish you would just let me have my freedom and live my life.

And can we not relate to that, recognize that perhaps in ourselves today or in our past?

This recognition that all we want is to do things in our own way and on our own terms.

We're almost saying to God, that's what the parable is telling us, God, we don't want you.

We want nothing to do with you.

I just want to get away from you and have my freedom, have my life.

This is what he thinks that he needs.

And so he goes away.

Goes away to enjoy himself, or so he thinks.

And it goes on to outline his life.

Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had, took a journey into the far country,

and there squandered his property and reckless living.

This is the freedom that he was looking for.

This is what he was wanting to enjoy.

This is what he thought he recognized life to be.

Living life to the full.

Enjoying himself.

Having his liberty.

And yet it's described as reckless living.

Reckless living.

And that's what it is.

Because without God, our lives are in danger of ruin.

The parable is called the parable of the prodigal son

because prodigal means spending our resources just lavishly and freely but recklessly.

It's about an extravagance.

And that's the way he wants to live his life.

Is that you today?

Is that the way you want to live your life?

Is that the way you are living your life?

Just give me my freedom from God.

Give me my freedom from this place.

These people.

Let me just get away from it all.

Maybe you've been running away like this.

Looking for answers in many different places.

Hoping to come to the point where you're able to say,

Now I'm free.

Running away so often seems like the answer.

Running away is where we think we recognize the answer to all our problems.

But it's not.

And the son soon recognizes the emptiness of it all.

He soon recognizes just how far away he has gone to the extent that when a severe famine comes,

he ends up living with pigs.

Just wanting to eat some of their food.

His life just comes to a low ebb.

In his freedom, he's not free.

He doesn't have what he expected.

All that he thought he would recognize as good for him and good for his life, good for his freedom,

it's nothing.

It's empty.

And do you recognize that in your own life today?

Running from God just leaves you empty.

You can imagine the crowd who are hearing this story.

They're hearing Jesus telling this, and they're shocked by it.

The behavior of this son.

And they would be thinking,

We're going to hear something here about what Jesus will do to those who turn their back on him.

How he's going to punish them.

How he's going to be hard upon them.

That they're going to get what's coming to them.

This son, they're probably waiting just for him to come back,

and then they're going to see how he's going to be treated.

Well, it's not what they expect.

Perhaps today, you're coming back to church.

You're thinking, you know what kind of response you would get.

You think you're maybe going to be judged or looked down on.

You don't deserve anything.

Anything.

And yet we see the response of this young son.

And the response of the father.

And how different they might be to our expectations.

How different they were to the expectations of the crowd that was looking on.

Because when you look at the response, which is the second thing we see here.

We see first the response of the son.

It says in verse 17,

When he came to himself, he said,

How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread,

but I perish here with hunger.

The life of freedom and joy that he was wanting to have it hadn't lasted long.

It wasn't what he anticipated.

It wasn't what he expected.

He had spent all his money on reckless living.

And then this famine arrived in the country.

And he had nothing.

He was left empty handed.

I'm sure many of his friends were turning his back on him.

Once the money was gone.

Once all the fun was gone.

Once the trials came.

They were gone.

And he's left by himself.

And the crowd watching Jesus telling this story.

They're thinking,

Here comes the crux.

Here comes when we see what's going to happen to him.

The punchline is coming.

But it's not what they expected.

The son says,

I will rise and go to my father.

And we'll say to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.

So he has this response.

He almost knows where he needs to go.

But his expectation is so low now

that he's only going to be just like a servant in his father's house.

He doesn't deserve anything.

But it says this,

He came to himself.

And it's a wonderful phrase that.

Because it reminds us all that no matter how far away from God we've tried to run,

that there is always a point where we can come to our senses,

come to ourselves,

and think,

Is there not better?

Is there not hope in this world for me?

Is there not something I can look forward to,

something I can enjoy?

The course that starts this week and Thursday evening,

it's about hope explored.

It's about looking into this in more detail and thinking,

There is.

There is more that we can enjoy in this life.

There is more to life than just finding my freedom myself.

It's about finding our freedom in Christ.

And this is the beginning of this son coming to his senses,

coming to realize,

I have done wrong against God.

I have done wrong against my father, as he describes here.

We have done wrong against God,

but that we can still come to him.

That's the invitation of the gospel.

That's the invitation of the word of God.

It's for all to hear.

Every one of us to come.

To come, whether it's for the first time,

for the hundredth time,

no matter how often we've already come back to church,

it's about coming back to our Savior,

coming back to Jesus,

day after day,

week after week,

and keeping close to him,

because he realizes there is better.

When we go away from God,

when we do as the son did initially,

when he asked for his inheritance,

run away from God,

what was he doing?

Was he stopping worshipping?

He wasn't.

When we go away from God,

it doesn't mean we worship nothing.

We worship something else in the place of God.

He was worshipping the money,

his inheritance.

He was worshipping his freedom,

his lifestyle.

All of these things were his God.

But these gods left him empty.

There's a song that's sung.

It's called,

I'm Coming Back to the Heart of Worship.

And it says this,

it's all about you.

It's all about you, Jesus.

I'm sorry, Lord,

for the thing I've made,

when it's all about you,

it's all about you, Jesus.

We end up worshipping

the idols of this world,

the false hopes of this world,

when we run away from God.

But he invites us to come back.

He invites us to come to himself.

Now, this young son,

he'd forgotten many things,

but he hadn't forgotten his home.

He hadn't forgotten his home

or his father.

In verse 18,

I will rise and go to my father

and will say to him,

Father, I have sinned against heaven

and before you.

He hadn't forgotten

that there was a place

for him to go.

And maybe you had forgotten

that there was a church

to come to.

Maybe you had forgotten

that there was a place

you could come.

Maybe you thought it was a place

you wouldn't be welcome.

But everyone is welcome.

Everyone is invited to come.

To come because here we see

that we need this father ourselves.

All of us.

Each one of us.

We need God.

And so his answer was,

I'll go home.

I'll go home.

How many of us have longed

to get away from home?

In our young days,

we've longed to get away

and just enjoy life,

live life.

And it wasn't what we expected.

But the wonder of God's grace

is that it so often speaks to us

and reminds us that there is a place

and that the father hasn't forgotten about us.

You see, the father here,

his response in verse 20,

while he was still a long way off,

his father saw him and felt compassion

and ran and embraced him

and kissed him.

What he didn't expect,

he got and got it in abundance.

It's an amazing picture there

of just the grace

and the love of God.

Ronrig sang a song,

it's a Gaelic song,

Chile Migachi.

I'll return home.

And it says in the line as well,

chachadil mi,

gynchail mi,

gynmog rach.

I will not sleep

until I return

to my love.

And that's the way

we should be with God.

Return home.

Even if it means

sleepless nights,

unrest,

because God

so often stirs up an unrest in us

like he did in this young son.

He wasn't resting.

He wasn't happy.

He wasn't enjoying life

until he came to his senses

and returned home.

Even to be a servant,

that he says.

It's a time

to come home.

Not just

back to church

in the sense of being

in a seat

or being part of the worship service

sitting in or tuning in online,

but coming home

to Jesus.

to come

because Christ

offers me

everything.

There is a response

of the son

and the response

of the father.

The third and final thing

we see here

is the rejoicing.

The rejoicing.

The expectation

of returning home

for the son

was that he would receive

nothing.

just wanted to be

a servant.

Just wanted to have

a little bit of food.

And he comes to the father

in verse 21.

He says,

Father,

I have sinned against heaven

and before you.

I am no longer worthy

to be called your son.

And that's the way

we can look at ourselves.

I'm not worthy.

I'm not worthy

of any of this love

of God.

I'm not worthy

because of the way

I've lived my life,

that we have gone away

from God,

that we have shunned him

and just turned

my back

on him.

And you can imagine

again

the crowd here.

The expectation

of the crowd

would have been

that this young man,

he was going to be given

the punishment

that he deserves.

The father will sort him out.

The father will make him,

pay him back

every last penny

that he owes.

And we feel this burden,

this weight.

How can I possibly come?

How can I repay

a Lord

who I've shunned

and turned my back on?

And yet we are reminded

it was not about us

paying the price.

When you look at the gospel,

the good news

and the invitation

that it gives to us

to come,

it's come to Christ.

Christ who offers me

everything.

Christ who has done

everything for me.

Christ who went

to the cross

to pay

for my sins.

Christ who has risen,

who has ascended,

who is coming again.

It's not about

what we do,

it's about what he

has done

for us.

We have to come

acknowledging

our sin

against him.

But not come

with our own

expectations

of what we need

to do.

Perhaps your expectation

coming here

is very little.

You're thinking

just lowly

of yourself,

undeserving

of any of this.

Maybe you're even saying,

I don't want

any of it.

But the amazing

thing about the gospel

is it's an offer.

It's an offer

to us all

to come.

And when we see

the love of God

here,

what does

the Father

give

to the Son?

The last thing

the crowds

would have expected

to hear,

the best robe,

a signet ring,

give him shoes,

go and kill

the fattened calf.

All of the best,

all of the goodness

and love

of God

is seen in this.

The kindness,

the mercy,

the grace

is overwhelming.

It breaks us

to think

how undeserving

we are

and how much

God wants

to give

and has

given.

The Son

here realizes

he doesn't

deserve it.

But nonetheless,

he gets it.

And that's

grace.

The grace

of God.

He

has paid

the price.

All our

debts

all our

sins,

all our

forgetfulness

of God.

Jesus

has paid

the price.

And he

says,

come.

Christ

offers

me

everything.

There was

a father

called

Patrick

Henry

and he

knew his

life was

coming

to an

end and

he was

sorting out

his

will.

he had

a family

and his

family were

to receive

all that

he had.

He was

quite a

rich man.

And he

said this,

I have

now disposed

of all my

property to

my family.

He arranged

it all so

what they

were to

get.

But then

he said,

there is

one more

thing I

wish I

could give

them.

And that

is faith

in Jesus

Christ.

if they

had that

and I

had not

given them

a single

penny,

he said,

they would

have been

rich.

But if

they had

not that

and I

had given

them all

the world,

they would

be poor

indeed.

This young

son,

just like

ourselves,

he thought

his riches

was found

in living

life to

the fool,

but living

it recklessly

without God.

And he

ended up

poor.

But in

coming back

to the

father and

in receiving

his mercy,

he ended

up rich.

There's a

time to

come to

your senses.

There's a

time to

come home

and to

see the

father you

thought,

he won't

welcome

me,

but to

realize he

longs for

you.

He's

looking for

you.

Even as

a father

here was

looking for

his son,

he saw

him a

long way

off and

ran

towards

him.

But the

Lord is

waiting for

you to

come.

The

invitation

is there.

Come,

Christ

offers me

everything.

Not just

come back

to church

today and

that's it.

You can go

away and

not come

back again.

But to

come today,

not to a

building,

but to a

person who

is Jesus

Christ.

And to

come to

him tomorrow

and every

day to

entrust

your whole

life and

your being

to him.

For he

loves you

and longs

for you

to come

home.

Come.

Come today.

Come tomorrow.

Come in the

week ahead.

Come to him

for all

eternity and

know that

love of

Christ that

wants what

is best for

you.

Come,

because Christ

offers me

everything.

Let us

pray.

Our

Father in

heaven, we

thank you

that you

are one who

will never

turn us

away from

yourself, but

that you

are even

today looking

out for

us, that

you are

longing for

us to

come home

and help

us, Lord,

to know that

in you we

have one who

will give us

a warm

welcome, who

will receive

us gladly,

that even as

the Father

said in

this passage,

this my

son who

was lost,

he is

found.

We pray,

Lord, to

know that

rejoicing even

today in

our own

hearts, that

we would

come from

being a

people who

are lost

and running

away from

God to

being a

people who

are trusting,

who are

receiving that

welcome home

and knowing

the love of

God and

rejoicing in

your goodness

to us through

Jesus Christ.

So hear our

prayers and

continue with

us.

We ask the

forgiveness of

our sin in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're going to

conclude by

singing to

God's praise

in Psalm

100 in

the Scottish

Psalter

version,

page 362,

the first

version of

the Psalm,

Psalm 100.

Page 362,

we'll sing

the whole of

this Psalm,

a Psalm that

just reminds us

of giving

praise to

God and

coming into

his presence

and going

on in

his strength.

All people

that on

earth do

dwell,

sing to

the Lord

with cheerful

voice,

and serve

with mirth

his praise

forth tell,

come ye

before him

and rejoice.

The tune

is Old

100th and

we'll stand

to sing the

whole of

this Psalm.

All people

that on

earth do

dwell,

sing to

the Lord

with cheerful

voice,

and serve

with

marvelous

praise for

tell,

come ye

before him

and rejoice.

all that the

Lord is

God

did

deed,

without

doubt

it

he did

us

say,

we

are his

not

love he

in

not

bad

is

weary

to

take

o'er

into

and

his

ire

to

earth

fors

lee

is

un

irtland

Proach with joy his courts and two.

Praise God and bless his name always.

For it is simply so to do.

For why the Lord our God is good,

his mercy is forever sure,

his truth at all times firmly stood,

and shall form his true age in truth.

After the benediction I'll go to the main door.

We'll just close with the benediction.

Now may grace, mercy and peace from God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all

now and forever. Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.