Title: Father's breast (Luke 15:11-32)
Luke 15:11-32]
We need to know that our Heavenly Father's heart is in mission. As a great command, Jesus is telling us to be scattered throughout the world to preach the gospel of the Lord. The reason the Holy Spirit came is to give us the power to go to Jerusalem and to the ends of the world to be my witnesses. In this way, the heart of God we serve is burning with missions, so we, as God's people, should be able to feel that heart. Today, let's consider the story of the prodigal son in order to have the father's heart. Through the story of the prodigal son, God's heart is still beating toward those who need to be saved by believing in Jesus. I hope that you can have a heart for God's mission in this vision worship service to have God's vision.
1) We must have the heart of Heavenly Father.
The most important thing for parents is the sound of their children's heartbeat. When my wife went to the hospital with their first child and for the first time heard the baby's heartbeat, I was very excited as a parent to feel the baby alive and the thrill of moving my intestines. As parents, we want to hear the hearts of our children like this. But we can be conscious Christians without hearts. This is the problem. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who only looked like religious people and did not hear the heart of God, saying, “It is like a fig tree without fruit.” So God said of David, “David is a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). You are pointing to David that there is someone here who can hear my heart. In our prayers and prayers this morning, I pray that God will be able to tell us too, ‘I hear the voice of my heart in you.
2) We can be with the Father, yet far from the Father's heart.
There are two sons in the story of the prodigal son, but the problem with the eldest son, who is the older brother of the prodigal son, is that he was near his father, but he was far from his father's heart. You can live your life without worrying about what he is thinking, what purpose he has or what passion he has while being next to him. The story of the prodigal son teaches us this. Consider the most important event in history: the Roman soldiers who saw it all right at the foot of the cross, where Jesus, the Son of God, died for our sins. Looking at those who did not have any understanding of why Jesus died or did not open their hearts to this event, we should consider that we can be the same. That is why God says, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).
3) The Father wants to find and save the lost.
The heart of God we are looking for this morning is this 'searching for the lost'. The father's heart is beating because of this, so he sent his son. The Bible says, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Looking back at the story of the prodigal son, everyone gave up, but he endured everything and waited with love. When the prodigal son returned, he jumped out and hugged his son. It was the father. It clearly shows the heart of a father who is trying to find and save the lost. We must know, learn, and convey the heart of the Father who came running after laying down all his face and prestige for me.
There are things we can do as individuals and as families to live with this heart of God.
as an individual
-We decided to pray regularly for missionaries (long-term/short-term).
-Let's learn more about world mission through books, internet sites, and Bible verses.
- Pray for those around you who do not believe and decide to spread the gospel.
as a family
-I decide to write a card/letter to the missionaries with my family.
- Participate in supporting children suffering from poverty through mission-related organizations.
- Participate in short-term missionary work.
Through this image, we pray that we will become a church that rises up and sends out together.