Pause Week Two | The Parable of the Prodigal Son

We just want to take a moment as your pastors and as parents ourselves, one of the greatest privileges we have is coming alongside you as you raise your children to know and follow Jesus. And there is a space we believe every middle and high school student should be in. It's 12 Conference happening on July 21st and 22nd in Tampa. Look, there are moments in a young person's life that shape them forever. Not because they're in an arena or the memories that they're going to make, but actually because they stepped into a room where God was moving and hearts were open. And 12 Conference, it's without a doubt, it is one of those rooms. So for two days, students are going to get to break away from like all the noise of the world, be surrounded by worship and prayer, the word of God, and really other students who are running after God as well. Yeah. You know, as parents, you know how many voices are speaking into your students' life, but at 12 Conference, they are going to hear the one voice that matters most, and that is God's. You know, we have watched students find confidence and purpose through the powerful sessions and intentional small group time. In that kind of community, it's priceless. And then on top of all of the things God does in our sessions, your students are going to have a great time because once again, 12 Conference, we're taking over Busch Gardens, right, for the after party. It's going to be an unforgettable night and really one more opportunity for them to build some great relationships that really matter. And then guess what, right, when your students sign up for 12 Conference, they're going to get a Busch Gardens fund card that lets them go to the park even before the conference begins, all the way through the end of 2026. So exciting, so amazing. And we just want you to feel at peace knowing it is safe, it is intentional, and it is led by pastors and leaders who love your students deeply. You know, we prepare for months because we know the impact of these moments.

So we want to encourage you to get your student in the room, give them a chance to encounter God really in a fresh way. And these experiences, they're going to build their faith, anchor their identity, and really help them walk with God for the long haul. So registration, it's open right now, and we would love for your student to be a part of this life-changing event. Oh, hey, is this the place where everybody loves Jesus? Oh, I must be in the wrong place, my bad. Does anybody love Jesus in this place? Oh, okay. Okay, I got it. We had the right place. What's up, everybody? You good? You glad to be in the house of God today? Come on, it's a good place to be, better than the best hospital in town, I'd say. Hey, man, my name's Jordan. I'm part of the team here at Bayside. Why don't we put our hands together and welcome all of our campuses, all those watching online, all across the world, at the jails and the correctional facilities. Come on, show your love. Man, we are glad that you're here with us today. We are in our pause series, as Samuel was sharing with you a little while ago. And in our pause series, we've developed a reading plan. I just want to remind you of this, that every day there is a devotional, some content curated, and we're actually doing it through our new app. So if you haven't got the app, you need to get on that. And make sure that you are following along each and every day through our pause series readings. So like when you get to your daily habits on the app, you'll find that scripture is first. We dive into God's word, and that's where you will find the pause reading every day

for where we are and the parable that we are studying week to week through our series. And I love that it moves you straight from scripture into gratitude. Come on, because in an anxious, stressed out world that we're living in, the antidote for anxiety is gratitude. Come on, somebody. And so when we just tell God, hey, thank you for this, just the songs that we just sang this morning. Thank you, God, for who you are and what you've done. Something about just that, the weight just comes off of us and just praying for each other as well. So make sure you're following along in the app with us. It's going to be amazing. And we do this pause series every summer, not for some religious ritual, but proximity to his presence. That's what we're going after. And if we do it all together in unity, I just wonder, what could God do through a church that's committed to his word, that's close to Jesus and is close to one another? And I just get excited, just gets just thinking about what God might want to do. in and through us, church. And so this summer, we're reading through several parables of Jesus, the things that, these stories that Jesus taught from, and maybe asking, what is God saying to me through this? Pastor Bernard shared with us last week that every parable Jesus shared really tees us up to say, who are we in that story? And so let's dive into this week's parable found in Luke chapter 15. If you have your Bibles, you wanna go there with me?

Luke chapter 15. And this parable, this story that Jesus shared is only found in the gospel of Luke. And this gospel of Luke, I kinda wanna give you this beautiful emphasis that Luke weaves all throughout this gospel. And it's this thought that you would see over and over and time and time again, that Luke is trying to convey to anybody who would read this account, that Jesus is not the savior for some people. Jesus is the savior of the world for all people. So you're gonna see that, you're gonna, as you read through this, you're gonna see that there's this beautiful thing that Luke is trying to get across to say, Jesus came for everybody. Jesus came for the ones who are too far gone or forgotten or overlooked, or even who feel disqualified. Luke 15, Jesus is answering this question with these parables that was kinda teed up for him by the religious leaders, the Pharisees. And we see in the very first two verses of this, that the Pharisees ask this question of why Jesus keeps hanging out with the blatantly obvious sinners. Says in verse two, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them. And so Jesus does a very Jesus-y thing.

I don't know if that's a word. And he answers them with three stories, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin. And then this third story, Jesus really slows down to really evaluate our hearts in the parable of the prodigal son. Or maybe in your translation of the Bible, it might say the parable of the compassionate father. We're gonna read this together, and then we're gonna allow the Holy Spirit to help us extract some truth from this of what the Lord might be saying to us today. We look and we start in verse 11. And Jesus continued. He says, there was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, father, give me my share of the estate. And so he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country, and there squandered his wealth and wild living. And after he spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach

with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's hired servants have food to spare? And here I am starving to death. I will set out and go back to my father and say to him, father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up and he went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, was filled with compassion for him. He ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, quick, bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate. Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. And when he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked, hey, what's going on? Your brother has come, he replied. And your father has killed the fattened calf

because he has him back safe and sound. The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. He answered his father, look, all these years, I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never even gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitution. Dukes, comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him? My son, the father said, you are always with me and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. Can you just close your eyes for a moment? Let's just pause and let the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts from this parable. Jesus, thank you for your word. Thank you that your word challenges us. It will reveal some things to us if we allow it to. So I pray, God, that our hearts will be opened, that this wouldn't just be a story of biblical information but of spiritual transformation for all of us. That not one of us would leave here the same but forever changed by you. In Jesus' name. And everybody said with some anticipation, amen. You know, this story isn't just about a prodigal son.

Although many people focus on that particular story in this parable. It's not about a son who rebelled. It isn't just about a son who ran away and ran away from home and wasted everything. No, verse 11, Jesus starts out. He says, there was a man who had two sons. This is a story about two sons and their father. And Jesus guides us through this telling of this, giving us each side and perspective of every character in the story. He just happens to start with the younger son. Verse 12 says, the younger one said to his father, probably filled with ambition, with some selfishness, with some pride and ego, father, give me my share of the estate. So he divided his property between them. Doesn't even say that the father fought him or gave any pushback, just gave it to him. And not long after that, the younger son got together everything that he had and he set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth and wild living. You know, as I thought about this home, I consider my own home. You know, in every home, there are many doors and depending on the way in which you look at that door would tell you whether it's a door to go in or a door to go out. And we give all these doors in our homes labels, that's the front door, this is the back door,

that's our bedroom door, this is my office door. And this young son had been looking at this door from inside the house for some time. So much so that he gave this door a label, it says that he set off for a distant country, not home, but away. He was looking at the door as his way out that would lead to a wondrous place that would fulfill every one of his desires, that the grass was gonna be greener on the other side of this door. He viewed that door with the assumption that he would have no responsibilities, no accountability, no one to answer to but himself. And it was the promise that the world often offers us when we look at this door, that just on the other side of it is this thing that we constantly pursue called comfort. You know, if I'm honest, I've taken that door far too many times in my life. I think we're all honest. We probably stepped through that door thinking that it was gonna be easier, that it was gonna be better just on the other side. You know, when this son was looking at this door from inside the house, it was his way out. This was the door out. And you know what, the door out is exciting. It's intriguing, it's wondrous, but it's also in all ways disappointing.

You know why? Because sin never satisfies. It'll never satisfy you. Now I don't know about you and I don't know how you grew up, but I grew up with. the southern mama. And so I heard all the classics growing up, were you born in a barn? Shut the door. I'm not paying for the air condition of this whole neighborhood. And listen, me and my brothers, we'd leave every door open, you know, front door, refrigerator door, pantry door. I mean, every door was open. And we would just constantly just go about not even considering that the door was open. And I think my mom prayed some prayers because my kids are now doing it to me. Most nights in my home, I go through like a public's manager closing up shop every night. Like, well, I'm locked out, I gotta shut this, gotta put this away, you know? But, and I think in Florida, we understand doors probably better than most because if you leave a door open for more than three seconds, you've let in 20 mosquitoes, a lizard, and a bug that you can't identify, but it keeps kamikaze-ing you. You know?

These doors of our life, you know, most of us never really get the opportunity to actually go out like this story and get our inheritance and run off to Vegas. I don't think that's generally something that we see a whole lot happening, but you know what we do find ourselves? Going out this door, we actually find ourselves drifting out of this door. One thought, one fantasy, one step towards comfort, towards ease at a time. We drift in different ways. We find ourselves drifting in very normal ways to society. We drift into busyness because it's easier to be busy than actually dealing with stuff at home or in our own hearts. We drift into beach weekends and travel ball to keep up with the Joneses. We drift into Netflix asking you, are you still watching? And I'm like, mind your own business, Netflix. We drift into Disney. Disney will help you drift financially. Help us, Lord. But the distant country always seems exciting until you get on the other side of it and it's empty. You know, sometimes you don't realize what the house has been giving you until you leave it. And all the parents of teenagers said, amen. The house had been feeding this young son

longer than he realized. The father had been covering him and protecting him longer than he understood. The family had been forming him, molding him, shaping him, more than he was willing to admit. I want us to see this. What the younger son, in the father's house. Purpose was in the father's house. Provision was in the father's house. Protection was in the father's house. And this son couldn't see it. Or maybe he forgot. Or maybe he just took it for granted. And the first tragedy of this story is not that he wasted all the money, but it's that he left his father. Listen to me, Christ follower. Distance from the father always seems to promise freedom, but eventually produces emptiness. Maybe you look at this story and you think about the door and you think about others that have walked out on you. The heartache, the rejection, the breakup, the affair, the divorce, a child that's chosen a husband, a child that's chosen a life to just run away from you and run away from God. And you're wondering, will they ever come home? Maybe that's the part that's hard to resolve in your heart. You know, in either case, in all of us, there's a big need, a void that needs to be filled. And we often try to figure out how to do it on our own,

just like this younger son. And then he goes hungry. Verse 14 says, he began to be in need. And then it says, he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. You know what's so interesting about this little detail in here, in this story that Jesus kind of carves in is because pigs were considered to be hungry. Pigs were considered unclean animals under the law of Moses. Israelites were forbidden to eat pork or even touch a pig's carcass. And so the pig pen was not merely a bad job or a filthy job. It was. representing absolute rock bottom. You ever been there? No, I haven't. And the sun didn't end up in the pigpen overnight. No, he drifted there. One decision, one step, one choice, one purchase, one appetite at a time. That empty stomach, that barren soul. And it'll start making you really think about some things. This young boy's in this pigpen and he begins and says that he comes to his senses. And he said, man, how many of my father's servants have food to spare? And here I am, starving to death. You know, I'm gonna set out and go back to my father

and say to him, hey father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna tell him. Just maybe, maybe then he would let me back in. So he got up and went to his father. Back to the door that he originally walked through. This is the door home. It doesn't look like it from the original perspective, right, it was the door out. But the door home, always on the other side of it, of that door out, you have to come back humbly, repentant, to come back home. You know, if anyone of you has ever asked for forgiveness, you know the wrestle, the challenge, the tension, why we try to avoid it. It's because of the humiliation that we feel that it does to us and our character is being assassinated. Generally, we avoid that posture, admitting we are wrong to avoid the embarrassment of walking back through that door. Could they ever let me back into that door? You know what causes that thought process? You know what we're really trying to escape from? It's not the humiliation. It's called shame. You know what shame stands for? It's a sin-holding account that manipulates your emotions. And shame doesn't always keep you from church.

Man, many of us come to church with shame. Shame will let you sing the songs, but it won't let you receive the love. Shame will let you come home, but it will try to convince you to come home as a servant and not a son. Church, don't miss this. Here's the son, ready to repent, but he is full of shame. And when you are full of shame or you're letting shame minister to you, it will always, always give you a wrong view of the father. And it will always distort and manipulate who you are as well. It will take away your identity. It's been doing it since the first mistake that was ever made in the garden to every mistake after. Let me share with you what I think God would say to you in this place. If you feel like you're carrying some shame, he would say, shame off of you in Jesus' name. Because too many of us are going, shame on you. And God's going, shame off of you. Brush your shoulders off. You don't need to carry that no more. Sadly, this is where many of us are living spiritually. We believe God might forgive us, but I don't know if we believe God will fully restore us unless we work for it like a servant. We believe we can come back to church, but maybe we assume that we have to sit in the back

emotionally or maybe even physically. Shame has so many sons and daughters of God sidelined as a servant and convinced that they ought to surrender their sonship or their daughtership. Shame is causing this young man to give up his sonship and think, the only way I go back home is if I'm a servant. It's the only way my father will accept me. But then the story shifts. Jesus turns our attention from this shame-filled son and shows us the father. Verse 20, it says, but while he was still a long way off, it says he saw him and was filled with compassion for him. And he ran to his son. Threw his arms around him and kissed him man. I love how it says he sees him Why does the father see them was he just walking by the door just at the right time no it means that he never stopped Looking for him He kept the door cracked just in case Looking each and every day is my son coming home. Maybe this is the day and And then it says he was moved with compassion the word compassion here means to be moved from your innermost Parts it was a whole body ache of love And then he runs to him and the word run is talking about an athlete that is advancing with their full effort towards a purpose This father's purpose was his son Hey listen to me God's purpose is you It always has been it always will be So when the father ran to meet him I Have to consider how the son might have responded whoa he's kind of running kind of fast

Is there about to be an altercation here do I need to brace myself for impact Because this was scandalous Because no Rightful elder Older man Would ever run in public Because running meant hiking up his robe and exposing his legs, which was said to be shameful So the father sprint down the road was already Scandalous he took on humiliation so his son Wouldn't have to face it alone. Are you here mature? And this father was running to get to his son, maybe before anybody else would reject him Before the son could get to the door the father ran through it and this door that he thought would be labeled shame guilt Abomination rejection Was marked with grace The moment that son left that door there was a doorstop that kept it open labeled grace Grace what is grace? Grace is the unmerited favor of God you know what that means you can't earn it You don't deserve it and yet. He gives it to you anyway And Jesus just goes on and he actually allows in this storyline He he repeats the rehearsed speech that this son had twice to make sure every listener would know hey He knew he was guilty He knew Father I've sinned against heaven and against you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son Why did Jesus put it in twice? Why did he want us to know he was guilty? He should have been punished He should have been outcasted He should have been rejected and in the scope of the law and justice and fairness the son was right But the father in in this story completely ignores his son's speech And he comes to him in response him as if he was a returning war

Hero quick break the best robe and put it on him put a ring and some sandals Get get the fat calf and kill it. Let's celebrate It's a party Many of us go in this moment putting ourselves in the on the same position as the father Questioning did he ignore? What the son did listen to me church grace does not ignore sin Read Romans 6, but grace restores what sin destroyed The father was more ready to restore him than he was ready for his son to try to explain himself to him and He gives him some things to prove and he gives him a robe. You know what the robe represents This is how grace covers shame and he gives him a ring. You know what the ring represents It's how grace restores identity. This is who you are son You're mine. You always have been and he gives him a reception. This is where grace celebrates restoration Now in this amazing moment of celebration This restored relationship between a father and a son It would be amazing that if Jesus were to just Wrap it up right here. That's a good story, Jesus. Let's just put a bow on it. But then verse 25 says, meanwhile, the older son was in the field and when he came near the house, he heard music and dancing, so he called one of the servants and asked him, hey, what's going on? Your brother has come, he replied, and your father's killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound. The older brother became angry, refused to go in,

so his father went out and pleaded with him, but he answered his father, look, all these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. Okay, please don't miss this. This next verse, this is the point of the whole parable. This is grace in its rawest form. But when this son of yours, who has squandered your property with prostitutes, comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him? The older son couldn't understand it. I mean, it's hard for me to understand. You know the sad thing that I see here is some of the most judgmental people are in the house already. Lord, heal our hearts. We better be careful in judging someone else's story or we'll miss the father right in front of us. The father gave the younger son precisely what he didn't deserve, and both boys were confused by that. And both boys were confused by that because that's not fair. Come on, if you're a parent, you've heard those words before. One kid gets the bigger piece of pie, that's not fair. One gets to stay up a little later than the other, that's not fair.

One gets to go out with some friends and the other doesn't, that's not fair. And maybe we consider that this older brother would be past that, more mature, and yet he's saying that's not fair. And you know, every parent eventually gives the classic theological response, life's not fair. Which, by the way, is not comforting at all when you're eight years old, just some parenting advice for you. But this is the tension in this story. And honestly, the older brother's right. But here's the thing, this is the thing that as we read through this parable this week, that should continually bring us to our knees with so much overwhelming gratitude, because the truth is, is that grace isn't faith. It's not fair. You know, both boys thought that the father's response should reflect what they deserve. They both thought that they, that he should be taking their behavior into account. They both thought that their past performance should be considered. But the father's story wasn't about behavior, his story was about something else entirely. Because what the boys had or had not done was completely irrelevant to the father. Verse 31, my son, the father says,

you're always with me and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate. We had to celebrate. That was the whole answer to why Jesus welcomes sinners in the evening. And he did it without requiring anything from them first. No mention of the wasted inheritance or the embarrassment and humiliation this caused the family, or you gotta go through the growth track, or you gotta get into a group. No, simply put, God celebrates first and foremost restored relationships. He always has and he always will. This is the love, the nature, the character of our heavenly father. But we had to suffer because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. Maybe in your life right now, you're considering walking out the door. Maybe things aren't going great at your home. You're considering, hey, maybe it'd be a lot easier if I'm on the other side of this thing. Maybe you already find yourself in the distant country and you're hitting rock bottom. Or maybe you're in the field, really close, still around. And you keep asking the questions and saying to God, yeah, but you don't know what I've done. Or maybe you don't know what they've done. That leads us to one more door that I see in this story. We have to look a little deeper to see this door because it's the door to our hearts that this story makes us wrestle with. And it's a good wrestle. Revelation 320 says this, behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and I will eat with them and they with me. You know, in the father's story, he loves you no matter what you've done.

In the father's story, he doesn't love you because of what you've done. In the father's story, he could not love you anymore and he could not love you any less. It's a better story. It's a story of grace, the grace of God. So the next time you mess up, grace is going to be there. But when you come to your senses, grace will be there. But when you're confused and unsettled and upset about how things are turning out, grace will be there. You know, my prayer for us today is that we would give up our version of the story and that we would open up the door to our heart and pick up his version of the story. Today, the father isn't waiting with crossed arms for you to come back home and waiting for you to come through that door just to simply tell you, get out of here. You don't belong here. Not with what you've done. You know what that sounds like? Sounds like the voice of an accuser. Sounds like the voice of the enemy, of Satan, trying to convince you home is not an option. Grace is not an option. But your father isn't standing here with arms crossed. He's looking and waiting and watching and cannot wait for you to come home. That's salvation. Ephesians says, for by grace you have been saved through faith. You know what your only responsibility is? To believe. And this is not by your own doing, it goes on to say. It is a gift of God. Not a result of work so that no one can boast. So that you understand grace is a gift. For by grace you've been saved through faith. Let me ask you a question that you maybe just will talk to the Lord about. Would you open up the door of your heart and let him in? You know, some of us need to come in from the field. You're still around the things of God.

You're serving, you're giving, but your heart is offended. You have unforgiveness and resentfulness in your heart. You know what unforgiveness is? It's like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. And you're striving to be seen through performance. Will you open up the door of your heart and let God in? See, the invitation is the same for all God's children. Come in, come home, come receive grace. Because what you've been looking for was never in the distant country. And you won't find it in the field trying to earn it. The Father's been here all along. Could you bow your head and close your eyes? I want to pray for two groups of people. I want to pray for you. If you've been wrestling and you can relate to the older brother, struggling to find celebration and joy when God does something for someone else and here you are still where you are. And you're trying to prove yourself through performance. God never asked you for that. He asked for your heart. So if that's you, I want to just pray this prayer over you. Father, I pray for every man, woman, child who might be wrestling with performance, who thinks that their only value and worth comes through how they do or how much they do or what they do. And God, you don't care about any of that. You care about their heart. And so today, Lord, we open up our heart back to you. And we say, come in, heal it, restore what we've broken through performance. Help me to know my Father's heart. In Jesus' name.

Now one other group of people I want to pray for is that if you've never opened up the door of your heart to ask Jesus to be the Lord and Savior of your life, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. Not one comes to the Father but through me. And if that's you, you want to receive this grace that the Father has waiting for you. Today is the day. Don't wait. Don't delay. The greatest gift, the gift of grace. And all that you have to do is say, Jesus, I believe. Come into my heart. So if that's you, on the count of three, I'm just going to ask you to lift up your hand. And we're going to pray together. I'm going to pray a prayer over all of us who are making that declaration today that Jesus is my Savior and Jesus is my Lord. On the count of three. One, two, three. Come on, don't delay. Yes, sir, brother. Come on. Great job. Great job. Yes, man. Thank you, sister. Thank you so much, brother. Whether I saw your hand or I didn't see your hand, we're going to pray this all together to encourage those that are making the greatest decision of their life. Come on, church. Let's rally around them right now. Let's pray this.

Jesus, thank you for the cross. Thank you for taking my punishment upon your shoulders. I confess with my mouth. I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. Come in, Jesus. I choose your story, not mine. And Jesus is mine. Come on, let's praise God for those.