God's Prodigal Family: Old Brother (Luke 15:11-32 (LD 51)

When we ask our heavenly father to forgive us our debts we are also asking that we forgive our debtors meaning those who sin against us.  The reality is that there is a cost involved with forgiveness and we might not always be willing to bear the cost of it.  What is more, the bigger problem is that we might not think that we ourselves need that much forgiveness.  So, what does the older brother or the older son tell us about forgiveness in the kingdom?  Why does Christ tell us that this man had two sons?

God's Prodigal Family: Younger Brother (Luke 15:11-32 (LD 51)

When Christ walked this earth there were two kinds of people with whom he interacted.  There were the sinners who knew that they were sinners.  These are the people who liked Christ’s message because it was clear their sins would be taken away in Him.  Christ also dealt with the pharisees.  These were the people who were righteous and in a position to judge Christ’s work.  When Christ speaks of the prodigal son who recklessly spent his father’s inheritance, how does this son show the folly of sin and the folly of righteousness?

Why the Parables? (2) (Mark 4:21-34)

The parables are stories that can be difficult to grasp.  You can discern their challenge when you read commentaries and how people analyze all the different parts of the parables with differing opinions.  What can we take from the parables that is truly edify?  What is the clear message of the parables as we consider their message? How do the parables serve to cut us to the heart when we wrestle with the implications of the gospel?

Why the Parables? (Mark 4:1-20)

We speak of parables being, “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.”  This is not necessarily something that is wrong or horrible.  However, it does not explain fully why Christ speaks in parables.  Why does Christ speak in parables?  Mark 4 is a passage that helps us see why the parables.