WE THE CHURCH SERIES - GOD IS IN LOVE WITH SINNERS

[Music] our church family come on and jump up on your feet give god a praise come on and follow the lead of the levites on this morning you don't have to wait on the worship leader to begin your worship come on and put your hands together and bless god in this place on today come on and just turn to somebody and smile with your eyes let them know that you're in the house and you're so delighted and pleased to see them on this morning this great good morning in the lord amen come on and give god praise in this house one time come on and let them hear you out in virtual land and let them know that we're in the building and they're in the building with us because we are in the sanctuary and where god is his people are amen so come on and let's lift our hands all over the sanctuary and get ready to go forth in worship on today god we honor you we bless you all today we adore you and we love you god you are so worthy lord god and amazing to be praised god we love you and we bless you we ask for your presence lord god to be with us for god here in the sanctuary and lord out in cyberspace as well lord god that you connect us by your power and by your spirit and with your anointing lord god so have your way god touch somebody on today we ask lord god that you would heal save and deliver father god let the word go forth with power and clarity but god before we do anything else we bow humbly in submission before you we honor you and we acknowledge that you are king of kings and lord of lords and god we pray lord that this worship would be a sweet savor unto you lord god we pray that you would be pleased that your name would be magnified that you would be glorified that you would have your way and that your people would be blessed and encouraged it's in jesus name we pray let us worship amen come on everybody put those hands together as we begin to lift up the name of jesus how many of you know he deserves all the glory and the honor we've come to declare that he is high above the heavens and that there's nobody like him come on and begin to give him praise he's worthy come on everybody let's glorify his name hallelujah the lord is above the heavens and his glory above the next glory above the nation the lord is high above the heaven the lord is high above the heavens and his glory above the nations [Music] is [Music] [Applause] and the is upon the nation and his glory takes the lord the lord is high above the heavens and the story above god the [Music] [Music] [Applause] the lord is high above the heaven the lord is high above the heavens and his glory among [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] oh [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] my god [Music] [Applause] oh [Applause] [Music] we give you praise [Applause] [Music] we give you pride [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we lift [Music] [Applause] you're worthy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] we give you glory [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] hallelujah [Music] [Applause] somebody reigns on my heart [Music] [Applause] [Music] come on [Music] for when i think of the goodness of jesus [Applause] and all that he's done i can't [Music] somebody help me love his name somebody help me give [Music] hallelujah [Music] hallelujah you're worthy welcome to eastern star church where jesus is exalted and the word is explained thank you for joining us today is prayer sunday our prayer ministry volunteers are available to pray with you today from 9 15 a.m to 1 30 p.m eastern standard time call 317-268-8516 for prayer and one of our prayer ministry volunteers will pray with you you can also leave a prayer request on the prayer wall at easternstartchurch.org or send an email to we care at easternstartchurch.org eastern start church members we want to make sure you are receiving special updates and asks that you update your contact information visit the website today and click on the notification bar message to update your correct phone number email address and mailing address through eastern star church's rock initiative we will host two vaccination pop-up clinics monday october 4th in partnership with iu health community outreach and engagement we'll administer the pfizer two-dose vaccine approved by the fda and october 9th in partnership with eskenazi health and the marion county public health department we'll administer all three covet 19 vaccines both events will be held at the main campus care center visit easternstarchurch.org to register today a new online children's church and teens church service is available on ignite youtube channel and ignite instagram page tune in to hear a message from sister sandra and pastor p saturday school is hosting the final sabbath series workshop on saturday october 16th from 9 a.m to 11 a.m join us as we discuss the importance of rest for your body and mind and develop a plan to make rest a part of your lifestyle in continuation of the upper room speaker series join our next conversation on october 28th at 7 pm guest speaker pastor kisha dixon first baptist church of glenarden we will discuss church and the online space to register visit our website and click on the events tab whether you're a member or a visitor we want you to grow with us go to eastonstarchurch.org events to register for our october classes including teen talk mondays at 7 30 p.m teen bible study wednesdays at 8 pm crew conversations tuesdays at 7 30 pm on the clubhouse app [Music] women of the word october 9th and 23rd at 9 00 a.m and men of purpose october 9th at 9 00 a.m in observance of sabbath eastern star church business office the rock fresh market and the care center will be closed fridays until the end of the year please visit easternstartchurch.org to download our guide on how you and your family can join us in this journey of practicing the sabbath hello church family it's your sister sandra keith i have a question for you how are you doing with observing the sabbath you know esc's theme for this year come let us rest a while which is found in mark chapter 6 verse 31. you know what along with that we have been providing you with uh information on how to do sabbath we have a sabbath guide that you can download from our website the guideline has provided you with helpful scriptures principles and suggestions on how to practice the sabbath we have also offered sabbath series classes from the book sacred rest by sandra dalton smith yeah and you know what we have talked about how to incorporate rest in all of your relationships in our last class will be october 16th and during that time we will have a panel of doctors and ministers who will examine the benefits of rest not only for your body but for your mind and spirit now you know what else we're offering we're offering you guys a sabbath toolkit that is going to help you to make sabbath a part of your lifestyle beyond this year and in this kit there is a journal there's a journal you know with dates on it that you can date uh there's a magnet and a bracelet that says come rest a while these things will help you to remember to practice the sabbath in order for you to get one of these esc sabbath toolkits you have to register in order to register go to the esc website scroll down to the registration form please indicate what campus and what day you're going to pick up your your kid the toolkit will be available at each campus for the first two weeks in october you know what we want you to use the toolkit along with the guidelines to help you change your lifestyle to observe a day of rest pastor johnson preached to us and told us to observe the sabbath is not a suggestion but it's a command it's one of the ten commandments and it says remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy and you can find that in exodus chapter 20 verse 8. i want to encourage you all to start practicing the sabbath if you haven't started now is a perfect time and finish this year out strong you know this theme is is a theme for the year but it's going to be a lifestyle change because remember this is a commandment for us to practice this family i love you and be blessed let's encourage each other to observe the sabbath send us your photos or videos of you and your family friends or neighbors enjoying sabbath together to communication at easternstarchurch.org if you are an eastern star church member experiencing an illness hospitalization or death in the family please call the care center at 317-547-5 so we can pray for you everyone is invited to our noonday services every wednesday for an inspiring word and if you prefer audio only listen to our most recent service by calling 1-855-7 we want you to join the staff of eastern star church we're hiring for numerous positions visit easternstartchurch.org backslash careers to apply today we are here for you go to easternstartchurch.org to learn more about how we can help you and your family grow through fellowship and discipleship come on and put those hands together and bless god for what he is doing here at eastern star church in us and through us amen hallelujah it's prayer time family if you will please rest on your feet if you're able to do so and our online family we ask that you would posture yourself as well for prayer time with us we have many requests but we know that god is able amen amen amen so the old song came to me this morning said pray for me oh if you would pray for me say when you bow down at the altar please don't forget to say a prayer for me amen anybody standing in the knee on this morning hallelujah we trust god and we lift up the following prayer requests we're praying for texas and louisiana residents affected by hurricane nicholas this week we pray for the safety of students teachers and school staff we're also lifting up individuals re-entering the community from prison that they would find resources they need to flourish and prosper we also are lifting up the people our friends in haiti amen and those seeking refuge here in the united states we pray for god's peace and protection for the people of haiti we also pray for pastor johnson and lady sharon during this time of sabbatical that god will continue to bless them with rest and renewal we also want to lift up the following in prayer to keisha terence jr and tyler body teresa campbell christy johnson joyce higgins deacon robert marshall charles meadow jr the murdoch family james walls rhoda surf irene wilson the family of jerry harkness and you and me amen amen let us pray dear most gracious and heavenly father lord god we come before you as humbly lord god as we know how with our hearts full of gratitude father god and our minds filled with reflections of god how you've seen us through how you've kept us during this time of this season we think on your many blessings father god that we take them not for granted and we just come before you lord god to say thank you to tell you that we love you god that we appreciate you that we're grateful lord god for the honor and the privilege to be called your very own god we come before you with many prayer requests but first lord god we ask that you would wash our hearts father god that lord that you would search our hearts and if you find anything in us lord god that's not like you lord will you take it out please lord god that you will renew us that you would clean us lord that you would shape us that you would transform us lord that the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts lord let them be acceptable in your sight god we want to be pleasing we want to do your will we want to walk in your ways lord god so we pray lord that you would wash over us lord god send a fresh anointing lord that you would just be present and powerful in our lives that when someone would look at us lord let us be a sermon to somebody lord that they would say what must i do to be saved lord we just come before you asking and lifting up these prayer requests knowing lord that you are a healer that you are a deliverer that you are our savior that you are a forgiver that you are our light in darkness lord that you are a way maker lord we thank you lord that you are all things and that your everything that we need you to be lord and then some and for that we say thank you god we trust you and we come standing on your word knowing lord god that you are faithful that you are just that you are kind that you are loving that you are powerful that you are anointed that lord god you are the anointing lord god and we say thank you knowing lord that we can come to your throne of grace in boldness with confidence lord god with a complete yes to you lord that you will do what you said you would do because you've already done it before so god we trust you and we ask lord that you will restore your people that you would renew us lord god that you would give us a fresh win a second when lord god that you would help us lord god in every area of our lives lord that you would help us to run on just a little while longer and see what the end shall be lord god your people are tired and fatigued in our minds and our bodies and our souls and our hearts in this season but god we shall hold on and lord trust you and take you at your word so god have your way have your way have your way we love you we bless you we thank you for the word that will go forth on today with power and clarity that it will be transformative lord god that we will be encouraged lord god to do your will we thank you and we bless you it's in jesus name we pray amen how many of you are not ashamed to praise him in this place come on with your hands lift it up let's begin to open up our mouth and declare it in this atmosphere cause whatever we prayed for shall be done come on everybody [Music] praise him [Music] he's [Music] [Music] praise him come on [Music] [Music] his name is jesus [Music] [Music] he's worthy [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] all of my [Applause] [Music] all of my life [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you [Music] put food on my table you brought joy to my legs [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] you remember [Music] you brought joy [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] started me on my way [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and wonderful and wonderful [Music] [Music] has never changed [Music] wonderful [Music] [Applause] [Music] for the rest of my life [Music] for the rest of my life for the rest of my life [Music] [Music] for the rest of my life [Music] for the rest of my life for the rest of my [Music] life for the rest of my life [Music] for the rest of my life for the rest of my life [Applause] [Music] for the rest of my life [Music] woke me up this morning [Music] this [Music] he woke me up this up this morning woke me up this morning woke me up this morning [Music] and [Music] is your name [Music] so [Music] is [Music] sound of praises drifting into the atmosphere [Music] every time [Laughter] [Music] you need to know jesus loves [Music] there is a sound that is [Music] [Music] you need to know jesus loves to hear of grace [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] to heal [Music] his heart [Music] [Applause] [Music] he loves is [Music] is [Music] [Music] to declare that in this space [Music] with all of my heart god i adore you i adore you yes i am i know you want to hear me tell you how i feel about you oh lord you're worthy yes you are jesus you're worthy to receive all the glory and the honor so we open up our mouth and we tell you god you're worthy as you are you're so worthy as you are we [Music] [Applause] hallelujah [Music] you want to hear [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] begin to cry out in this place [Music] we bless your [Applause] oh [Music] [Music] come on and sing unto the lord come on on the worshiper come on and begin to blast him in this place [Applause] yes [Applause] [Music] come on somebody begin to give him glory come only begin to give him the honor open up your mouth and shout out to god shout out to god declaring that he's worthy to receive all the honor and the glory somebody begin to bless him exalt his magnificent name we praise an amazing god a wonderful savior come on and cry [Music] [Music] worship him in this sanctuary [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] god we honor you god we praise you god we lift your name in spirit and the truth thank you for how you met us here [Music] thank you for how you made your presence felt thank you for hearing our sound of praise or even when we were in pain we still had a hallelujah god even in our disappointment we still had to thank you jesus god even when we were confused we still had a thank you god because we recognize that you hear the sound of our praise that you inhabit the praises of your people god so even when we don't know what else to do god we will still lift our hands and say thank you jesus thank you for hearing our town god thank you for hearing our grumblings god thank you for hearing our cries god thank you for seeing our tears god hallelujah hallelujah [Applause] [Applause] aah [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] lord let the words of my mouth for the meditations of our hearts let them be acceptable in our sight [Music] your friend our redeemer it's in jesus name that we pray amen amen one more time let's bless god wherever you are let's bless god praise the lord praise the lord hallelujah thank you god luke chapter 15 luke chapter 15 is where we'll be at today i'm gonna read the first three verses to get us started luke chapter 15. it's a familiar chapter in your own private time i would challenge you to read that entire chapter and i will do my best to walk us through this chapter today with the time that we have but i want to begin reading at verse number one from the new revive standard version of luke chapter 15. it says now all the text collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to jesus and the pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying this fellow welcome sinners and eats with them so he told them this parable i want to speak about god is in love with sinners god is in love with sinners luke 15 opens up with jesus surrounded by sinners and the pharisees pull up on jesus to start some stuff as they always do the pharisees were that religious jewish section in the religious movement who had an understanding of the law but at the same time they would tell laws and they would say that it came from the oral tradition the written tradition of the old testament then the pharisees claimed that there was a oral tradition that they would try to dictate the lives of the people off the law and they made a heavy distinction between what was secular and what was sacred the pharisees believed that there were certain foods that were unclean and other foods that were clean the pharisees believed that there were people who were clean and people who were unclean and if you obey the law there were certain people that you wouldn't hang around but here is this this this millennial in jesus this young adult this this 30 year old who comes to the scene and he begins to do things a little differently he he begins to have conversations with women in public he begins to engage with with men in the cemetery those who were possessed with evil spirits he he would then begin to have dinner and eat and fellowship with whom the law would label as sinners or unclean and so the beef between jesus and the pharisees were really put simply that the pharisees believed that there was a strict distinction between sacred and spiritual or sacred and secular but jesus says that all things are sacred all this belongs to god and so jesus would engage with whom luke calls sinners and the tax collectors and they are surrounding jesus and the pharisees pull up on jesus and say why is this fellow talking to these sinners and so jesus begins to tell a series of stories he tells us three stories here in chapter 15 of the book of luke the gospel of luke he gives us three stories that really tell the same principle and that is that god is in love with sinners put simply but but but before we begin to analyze these stories i want to first bring up the fact that i love how jesus wasn't just a preacher but jesus was a storyteller that he wasn't just a teacher of the law but he would tell stories um td jake's in an interview with my professor dr frank thomas says that just as jesus was a carpenter in the first century tdj says that he suggests that jesus if he would live in this day and age that he will be a filmmaker because of his ability to tell stories and i wouldn't disagree with that i mean i love how jesus would would have a variety of rhetorical approaches to communicate his message the message was simply god is in love with sinners but he begins to tell three stories that highlight this because of his ability to tell stories and that's why i love jesus so much not just as my savior but jesus as the storyteller because jesus wouldn't just rely on sermons but he would have public debates with the pharisees or he would have public conversations with women or he would have private conversations with his disciples or you'll catch them scoop down writing in the dirt he had different approaches but it was always communicating the same message god is in love with sinners and here jesus is really just mimicking what the bible does the bible in his totality is just a love story about god's love for humanity and all throughout the bible of course we take the bible and preach sermons and teach lessons but in the bible itself it's a variety of genres that tell the same story that's why when you open up the bible you'll see songs and poetry you'll see proverbs and and you'll see letters and you'll see prophecies and you'll see family trees and you see characters who are just trying to figure out their way as they were walking with god by faith it's a variety of genres that tell the same story that god is in love with the sinner and i love how the bible doesn't stick to just one genre in fact i love how jesus would approach it because really he's trying to get us as the body of christ to understand that we have to be creative in our communication of the gospel because jesus jesus understands that not everybody learns the same way not not not every form of communication will make everybody get the understanding at the same time what takes a person to understand god and discernment somebody else may need a song for for somebody they may need a sunday school class but for somebody else they need an episode for one person yeah they they can take a lecture but for somebody else they need a book with some pictures in it why because everybody don't learn the same way and so jesus understood that so every now and again he'll give you a sermon but then you'll catch him telling the story and here in in luke chapter 15 he gives us a series of stories that that relay the same message that god is in love with sinners and i know it's simple for those of us who who are who come to church frequently or who's already saved who already believe in jesus i know it sounds simple for those of us who have some sort of a relationship with jesus but when jesus is telling this story surrounded by sinners he's not speaking to the sinners he's speaking to the pharisees he's speaking to the people who already had some knowledge of god who already had some understanding of the scriptures of the old testament and so he's dealing with the pharisees even though the sinners are overhearing the conversation that he's having and so he tells a story the first story he tells us is about a shepherd who goes after his sheep he says there's this shepherd who who has a 100 sheep in his fold but one gets away and so the shepherd then leaves the hundredfold to go after the one he leaves the 99 and goes after the one for for a for a sheep to run away or for sheep to become lost in the responsibility or or the oversight of the shepherd it was one of the worst things that can happen to the shepherd and so the shepherd would literally lay his life for the sheep and so for the sheep to get away the shepherd will then have to leave the pasture have to leave the safety of the sheep to enter into the wilderness and the shepherd would literally track the footprints of of the sheep the the shepherd would literally track the sheep in the wilderness because the shepherd understands that i gotta leave the 99 to go after the one because the one has disconnected from the fold the one is no longer in the fellowship the one has as i love how pastor johnson tells the story that the one sheep has continued to walk and nibble he's nibbling and walking he's walking and nibbling he looks up and discovered that he's no longer in the presence of the shepherd i wonder if there's anybody tuned in right now during this pandemic you've allowed your desires to get the best of you to the point where you found yourself disconnected from what god was doing because you've been walking and nibbling in the midst of this pandemic you looked up and discovered i'm no longer close to god as i once was i'm no longer in tune with his spirit but the good news about it is that we have a shepherd that will leave the safety of the pasture and enter into your wilderness to bring about deliverance and redemption and jesus says that god is just like this shepherd who will leave the 99 and enter your wilderness i wonder what type of wilderness experience you've been under i wonder what type of place that you've been in where you've lost yourself you've lost your identity you've lost who you were you were distracted by all that was going on and found yourself disconnected from the shepherd but jesus says that i am the good shepherd and not only would i lay my life down but i will go track my sheep i will go into the wilderness to ensure that their safety is understood and i love it because really jesus is teaching us the lesson as the body of christ as the body of christ we can't be afraid to leave the fold and go into the wilderness for the lost souls oh y'all missed it i know i know jesus is telling the story of a shepherd but really it's really an illustration to encourage us that even though the building is shut down and the sheep have been scattered we've been scattered in the wilderness in an attempt to bring somebody to christ i know i know we can't get into the building like we used to i know we can't gather together but guess what some of us are still going to work we still going to school we still going to the grocery stores we still going to concerts we still going to restaurants we still out in the wilderness this is our opportunity to find the lost ones to let them know that there is a good shepherd who cares about your soul and his name is jesus and we gotta let them know that god is in love with sinners he tells another story he says wait a minute wait a minute god is not just a shepherd but but god is like a woman who loses a coin i love when he shifts to this story because jesus now he equates god as a woman and he says that god is like a woman who loses one of her coins and so she turns the light on in her house and begins to clean up her house to find something that is valuable and this coin that this woman loses some scholars suggest that it may have been uh her daily wage and so she is searching with intensity with intentionality to find this this this coin that has some value some monetary value to it other scholars suggest way it may not have been something that was monetary it may have been something that was intrinsic it may have been something of romance that that that during those during those days the the woman uh one of the marks of marriage was ten silver coins that were connected to a chain that represented her new her new chapter in her life and so scholars suggest that maybe that this coin was some sort of romance some some sort of intrinsic value that she lost it and now she is searching looking forward but what regardless of what the coin represented the story that jesus tells is not an emphasis on what type of coin it was that was lost but the emphasis was on the woman who turned on the lights and began to clean up the mess in her house and she's cleaning up the mess and search for what was lost because the woman lost something in the house the woman lost something of value in the house the woman lost something of value in the mess even in her own house and so jesus says in a story that god is like a woman who is so willing to search for you that god is willing to clean up the mess and the dirty areas of your life because you've lost something of value and i don't know what you've lost i don't know what it is maybe maybe you've lost some relationship or maybe you've lost peace or maybe you've lost joy or maybe you've lost some job or i don't know what it is but i do know this that god is willing to search for what is lost and when god search for what is lost god is like a woman who's cleaning her house to search for something valuable that she ain't gonna stop until she finds it and this is what jesus says that god is like a woman who cleans up her house because her house done got messy the house is messy and because when the house is messy she lost something of value and we can all be frank we can all be real that every now and again it's it's not the because when jesus is telling his story it's not the sinners outside of the religious institution that he's talking to he's speaking to those who are in the house he's speaking to those who are part of the body he is speaking to those who are connected to what god was doing and jesus says that every now and again you can get lost in the house every now and again it can get messy in the house every now and again you can lose your energy in the house you can lose your passion in the house you can lose what god has placed in you even in the house but the good news is that god is like a woman who cleans up the dirty environments to ensure that what was lost can be found again and i know i'm talking to somebody in the room somebody online who can testify that yes my life was a little messy i had mess on my job i had messed at home i had messed with my money i had mess in my marriage but i serve a god who's like a woman who has the ability to clean up the mess and around me so that god can help me discover what was lost and jesus says that just like the woman was able to celebrate after she finds her coin she celebrates with her friends and her family and jesus says that god is like a woman who finds the coin because the heavens rejoice over one sinner who repents because god is in love with sinners but i really said all that to get to this last story and that is a story about a father who had two sons in the bible jesus says in this story that it was the youngest son who went to his father and said give me my inheritance now inheritance is something that was divided amongst family members after the death of someone in essence this young one this young man is telling his father i wish you were dead and the father then gives his inheritance piece of the inheritance to his son and the son leaves the father's home and the bible says that he wounds up in the far country now i don't know the family dynamic between this young man and his parents i don't know the the family dynamic between the relationship of the younger brother and the older brother but whatever was going down in the house the younger brother wanted to leave the younger brother didn't want no part of it the younger brother was willing to leave his spiritual foundation in an attempt to go to the far country and so he grabs what was given by the father he takes the blessings from the father but didn't want the relationship with the father and so he grabs the blessing and disconnects himself from the father's home and he wounds up in the far country and the bible says that he spent all he had he here is a young man who told his daddy i wish you were dead let me get the blessing i don't want the relationship and so the the son is like some of us who are not willing to wait out the process for the blessing who's not willing to go through what we have to go through in an attempt to receive what is ours and some of us are like this young man in the text who rather want the blessings from god but not the relationship with god and he grabs what was given by the father and he runs off to the far country and the bible says it was a famine he spent all he had on right on riots his living and he spent it all and then there was a famine and jesus says that this young man in the midst of the famine didn't know what to do and so he sold himself as an indentured servant and as a jewish man he begins to deal with dirty pigs and while he's in the pigsty on somebody else's field he he has an aha moment he says to himself in the midst of the mess that wait a minute there's some servants at my daddy's house that live better than this there are some servants at my daddy's house who eat better than this there's some servants at my daddy's house who got it better than this and in the midst of the mess he made up in his mind i'm going back to the father's house i i wonder i wonder how many of us have made the mistake of making a mess of the blessings that god has given us i wonder how many of us after we've received the promises of god we didn't know how to handle it and we made a mess of what god has given us the father gave this young man what he asked for but even after he got it he didn't know what to do with it and he made a mess of himself all right um um oh i you know i have a you know i have sons now and so they just i can just look at them and get illustrations now it's just crazy and so i'm picking my son up from daycare and the daycare provider every now and again we'll uh give them a parting treat and so one day uh she gave them she gave my son a j3 a juice box okay a juice box and so um and so we get into the card the problem was she gave it to him and she didn't give it to me and so he wanted the juice box immediately okay and so we get into the car and so i'm thinking you know it's a straw i just put it in the box he's cool he's two years old he knows how to use a straw right and so i give it to him i open it up i give it to him i get in my i get in the uh the drivers the driver's seat and i drive away and by the time i get home all the juice that was in the box was now on the baby and he's wet and he's and he's sticky and he's dirty he's made a mess of himself he's made a mess of himself from a gift that was given to him he's made a mess of himself of a blessing that was offered to him it was something that he wanted but he was too immature he didn't know how to handle it and as a result he's made a mess of himself and i wonder i wonder how many of us have been asking god for a family we asked god for that job we asked god for that platform we asked god for that position but we didn't know what to do with it and we made a mess of ourselves but every now and again god will allow a mess so you can come to yourself and the difference between this story and the first two stories was that the shepherd and the woman searched for what was lost they they had intentionality they went after what was lost but here it was the young man who was lost who had to go and find the father because god is so in love with sinners that he just won't go and track after you he just won't clean up the area that is dirty around you but god is so in love with sinners that god is willing to wait on you to make up in your mind that i need to get back to the father's house and he was so desperate to get to the father's house now ain't that like some of us pre-pandemic no just give me my blessing now and i'm gonna just go back home i don't want to deal i don't want to deal with the ministry meetings i don't want to go to bible study i don't want to be connected i don't want to give i don't want to be involved but now that we've been in a far country when is the father's house reopening again i need to get back to the father's house why because god will allow a mess to come in our lives to get our minds right and say i need to get reconnected back to my father's house because i serve a god who's in love with sinners and when that young man went back to the father's house i love what the father does because again this young man had to make up in his mind that i'm lost and i'm regret i'm getting back to the father the father didn't go search for him but he went to go search for the father and as he's walking back to the house the bible says jesus tells this story it says that the father saw him at a distance wait a minute he saw him at a distance i i love how the black preacher put it the black preacher put it like every day the father would go out on the front porch and look to see if his son was coming back every day he didn't give up on his son every day he understood and was determined that one day my son is coming back to the father's house and this day was the day that it happened after all the months and weeks that he prayed after all the years that he speaks before god praying for his child finally the child returned back home and the bible says that god that the father ran to meet the son hugged them and the son began to practice the speech he began to recite this speech that he been practicing he said when i get back home i'ma tell my dad i'll do anything just put me at the bottom just give me just let me be a servant and the father said boy you ain't my servant you my son and even though you have been lost you are now found and when the father when the son was found even in his mess the father says let's clean this boy up let's give him a new robe let's give him a ring let's kill the fatted calf i'ma give my son my best even though he messed up i love him so much that i won't allow the sin to get in the way of the relationship so i'm gonna celebrate and not condemn him because god is in love with sinners and that's how god does us that even in the midst of our mess god says i know it's been a messy time but let you come back to me and i will give you my best i will cover you with my love i will give you the peace that you need i will let you know that we hit a party we're here to have a good time because god celebrates over those who gets back right with the father and what time what time is better than now that reconnect with the father what time is better than now i know it's been messy i know you've been in a mess but god says when you get right back with me i will ensure that i can clean you up and i will offer you my best that's what happened with j3 i told you we pulled up to the crib he had all the juice from the box it was now on the baby and so as the father i had to disconnect him from the seat that had him bound take this dirty messy baby take him to his room i took what was dirty i took it off of him i put some soap and water on them i cleaned them up i put them and put them a new fit on gave them some new clothes and then later i set them down and gave them a whole new meal i know you just messed up your blessing but i got something better for you anyhow because we serve a god who is our father who will give you the best even when you're in your mess and i know i ain't the only one who can testify that when you messed up everything that god gave you god said it's all good you steal my child and i got the best with your name on it there's best waiting on you there is joy waiting on you there is peace waiting on you and he's waiting to give it to you when you reconnect with the father because god is in love with sinners and this is these are no series of stories for those who are outside of the faith this is a series of stories for those who are in the faith those who've allowed the issues that you've gone through to disconnect you from the fold you're no longer in the presence of the shepherd you've got lost in your own mess but the good news is that we serve a god with grace even though all have sinned and fallen short god has still given us his best in jesus christ so if you're tuned in today wherever you are just know that when you tap into god by faith god is willing to give you his best in christ jesus allow the holy spirit to move on the inside of you and at that point you're saved because god is in love with sinners god thank you so much for the power of your word thank you god that while we were yet sinners you sent christ to die you sent your best just like that father who killed the fatted calf the lamb was slain before the foundation of the world so now we can experience salvation and a relationship with you god forgive us for allowing our relationship to be severed because of our desires we were walking in the nibbling and got disconnected we got lost in our own mess we wanted the blessing but didn't we didn't want the relationship but god thank you for waiting on us thank you for searching for us thank you for tracking us down to give you to give us your love may god i pray for those who may be tuned in right now who may not have a relationship with you god i pray that they'll make that commitment today i pray god that they will admit they need god that they will believe that jesus christ died on the cross for forgiveness of sins that they will confess a hope in christ and at that moment god i believe that they will know for sure that they're saved i pray that they'll get connected to a church to the fold god i pray that they won't try to live in this world by themselves but they get connected to a faith community that's being led by the good shepherd i pray that you'll help us to hide this word in our hearts as we as we continue to grow and to move as a child of god and i pray that all these things will happen in jesus name amen amen listen family if you're tuned in right now or you don't have a relationship with god or you don't have a church home we want to we want to use this as an opportunity to invite you to come back to the father's house come back to the house come back to the fold god is like that a woman who cleans up in search for what is valuable and god sees value in you god sees value in your soul god sees value in your heart and i know it's been messy right now but i just want to let you know that god is not going to give up on you god will track you down god will have to clean up stuff god will even just wait on you until you get it together and say i need to get back right with god so if that's you today my brother my sister email us right now at membership eastern starchurch.org we got some people that are awaiting your email who are praying for you who are awaiting you to help you to understand that you can get it right with god even in the midst of your mess god has the best in store for you today so that's you my brother my sister i just want you to allow this word to sink into your soul and your spirit and allow the holy spirit to work on your heart to tug on you to let you know you need jesus you need a church home you need to get reconnected with the father's house my brother my sister wherever you are go ahead and email us right now at membership easternstarchurch.org and let us know how we can help you in your journey of faith well family it's time for the offering praise the lord praise the lord we don't want to forget that we continue to invest in the kingdom of god as we continue to tithe and to be obedient to the word of god and here at eastern star church there are three ways that you can give and so we're going to throw those on the screens right now the three ways that you can give you can text to give four five seven seven seven enter esc in the message field or you can mail us your check cash coins whatever you got to eastern star church 5750 east 30th street indianapolis indiana 46218 or you can give on our website at easternstartchurch.org and click that give tab there listen we're so appreciative of your generosity of your support in the midst of the pandemic you've still been given you've still been been investing and so we say thank you so much and we can continue to do all the work that god has called us to do here at the eastern star church so we're so grateful and so blessed so let's pray for that offering god we're so grateful for the gifts that you have given us and we give them back to you to further your kingdom on this earth in jesus name that we pray amen and amen choir's gonna sing we're gonna allow the holy spirit to move in jesus name [Music] you know jesus you can know jesus in your heart do you know jesus let's pray say father i come right now i know that i've sinned i'm sorry for my sins i believe that jesus christ died on the cross and i believe that god raised jesus from the dead i'll receive jesus by faith holy spirit into my life forgiveness of sin in jesus name amen listen if you said that prayer for the first time but attempt time we we celebrate with you jesus tells us that that the heavens rejoice over one who repents and so we believe that a lost one has returned back to the foe has reconnected with the father's house and we praise god again go ahead and email us right there at membership at easternstarchurch.org well church family thank you so much for tuning in to the eastern star church we want to remind you that in the month of october it is clergy appreciation month okay clergy appreciation month and usually in the month of october we celebrate our pastor's anniversary and with him being on sabbatical we still want to celebrate our pastor we still want to show him that we appreciate him and lady sharon and so all throughout the month of october you will see this hashtag pray for your pastor pray for your pastor we're not just praying for our pastor but we're praying for pastors and leaders all over the world who in the midst of this pandemic have been going through just like many of us all right depression suicidal thoughts money issues family issues and so we want to continue to pray for those who continue to pour their hearts and souls out to the people of god in the midst of these tough times and so all month long we're showing appreciation for all of our clergy our pastors our leaders our ministers our teachers our administrators all the clergy we want to show you that we appreciate you and so we want to ask you to pray with us as we pray for our pastor throughout the month of october and i'm trying to get him on the phone to see if he'll do another check-in but you know he in the mountains with god he ain't really getting a reception like that and so i'm like yo let's make it happen so hopefully we can make it happen in the mid in this month and uh we look forward to seeing what god is going to do in the life of our pastor as we continue to pray for him and lady sharon all right before we log out of here the choir and i want to bless you with the benediction so let's see if i can get it right this week all right may the lord god bless you and keep you lord bless you and keep you [Music] i pray that this will happen today tomorrow and forevermore in jesus name we pray amen [Music] you

Channel: Eastern Star Church

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Keywords: ESC, Bible Study, Noonday, Indianapolis Church

Id: qGX22HqPPro

Length: 77min 59sec (4679 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 03 2021