Minister: Rev. Olon M. Lindemood

Lord, open our hearts and open our minds by the power of your Holy Spirit, that, as the Scriptures are read and your Word proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you have to say to us today. Amen.

Luke 15: 1 – 7

Start with:  The Pharisees were listening… They were the target of Jesus’ parables in this Luke passage!

We gather at Sunrise to keep the Gospel real … We gather to pray God’s kingdom into being…

We gather because we have a vision that impacts the whole world …

We gather because together we can find the strength to proclaim Christ in the whole of our days…

We gather at Sunrise to make a difference through Christ …

We gather at Sunrise because we know That our world and our lives need genuine Christian faith… Not pretend Christianity.

John Blake reporting for CNN (he is quoting Kendra Dean’s research in a book “Almost Christian.”

Dean says more American teenagers are embracing what she calls "moralistic therapeutic deism." Translation: It's a watered-down faith that portrays God as a "divine therapist" whose chief goal is to boost people's self-esteem

"If this is the God they're seeing in church, they are right to leave us in the dust," Dean says. "Churches don't give them enough to be passionate about."

No matter their background, Dean says committed Christian teens share four traits: They have a personal story about God they can share, a deep connection to a faith community, a sense of purpose and a sense of hope about their future.

Today, Sunrise People … Let us claim our passion for our GOD who is not our MORALISTIC THERAPUTIC DEITI!  Instead let’s listen to Jesus speak to Pharisees, men and women of Questionable reputation, and Disciples:

The flow of this passage …

Jesus … who is there:

1. Disciples … (always there!)
2. Men and women of questionable reputation
3. Pharisees

Those listeners hear a sweet sweet story of Sheep … one gets lost … (we sigh with the innocence and comfort of such a story)  An image of the Painting… by Alfred Soord “The Lost Sheep”

TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Then a beloved story of a woman with her wedding dowry of ten coins… and a search and rescue mission to recover a p ortion of that dowry…  again at the moment of recovery and Party

TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Then … then … a father with two sons … one is ready to separate and spend all that his father has built … in a moment …

One son who remains at the father’s side …

(some how this story just starts taking on a strange feeling compared to the other two stories)  (parables … Parables of Jesus … stories, yes … but  parables… a walk in imagination with Jesus that has meaning …)

It is absurd that we Christians analyze these parables … they are intended to stand alone … you heard it … now what?

Well most of us say … I identify with that elder son … or we might say … I identify with that younger son at a certain point in my life of faith … or some will say … I identify with the father because of my kids …

Tommy Smothers?  “Mom always liked you best!”

The Pharisees identified with the Elder Son because that is what Jesus intended! 

Did Jesus not attend the:

Dale Carnegie School of “How to win friends and influence people?”

“You don’t tug on Superman’s cape

You don’t spit into the wind

You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger

And you don’t mess around with Jim…”

(Jim Croce, Songwriter)

AND THEN … There are two difficult things to resolve in this passage … ONE … the out come in Luke’s gospel is that the Pharisees KILL JESUS!  They kill him for just this reason … In their desire to declare faithfulness to the point of being able to Control God … when they are told that there is no guarantee … that angers them … TWO … NO GUARANTEE!  Ouch … (can there be a warrantee?)

Then there is the realization that we find ourselves in Jesus parable … his story … his message that brings us into the presence of God… And in the presence of God (the Theophany)  there we are challenged anew into a message of love and grace …

Yes we are loved…

BUT WAIT we often say … I am loved more than she / more than he?  (right?)

NO… you are loved …

BUT … I have to be more loved!?!