"The Parable of the Compassionate Father" (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

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Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear [Jesus]. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So [Jesus] told them this parable: 

 

“‘There was a man who had two sons’…” (Luke 15:1-3, 11).

 

The Parable of the Prodigal Son. This is a beloved parable for many. It is a parable that is certainly well known. It’s right up there with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s known by Christians and non-Christians alike.

 

So, what more could be said about this beloved parable? It turns out: a lot. There is so much for us to learn and appreciate from the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

 

So, what led to Jesus telling this parable? Well, first we have tax collectors and sinners – those people caught up in public sins – drawing near to Jesus. But they weren’t alone. With them were some Pharisees and scribes who were grumbling at Jesus, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2). They are muttering about the table companions with whom Jesus fellowships. 

 

This is quite an interesting crowd: tax collectors, the especially immoral, Pharisees and scribes. They all are brought together to hear Jesus.

 

So, with this odd crowd, Jesus answers the criticism of the Pharisees and scribes by telling three parables to everyone who has ears to hear. All three have to do with the joy over finding what was once lost. A shepherd rejoices over finding the one lost sheep out of a hundred. A woman rejoices to find the one coin she had lost out of ten. And then to our parable today, a compassionate father who has two sons gives a joyous banquet to celebrate the return of a wayward son.

 

So, what were the Pharisees and scribes to think when they heard these parables, and especially the third parable? What do you think?

 

So, Jesus says: “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me’” (Luke 15:11-12a).

 

Essentially, the younger son said, “Dad, I wish you were dead, give me my inheritance now!” What child cannot identify with disobeying and disrespecting their father? What father has not feared, if not experienced, his child’s rejection?

 

And what does this father do? He shows compassion as he gave his younger son his inheritance.

 

So, the younger son gathers his share of the inheritance, waves goodbye and says good riddance to his dad as he soon converts his possessions into cash. With his new wealth, he takes a journey to a far country. And there, he blows his inheritance by living the high life. He went from living in luxury to being penniless and hungry. 

 

And just as things were turning bad, they turned for the worse. Not only was he broke, but now a severe famine arose. In order to survive, he lowered himself to feed pigs, an unclean animal. There he is, a Jew, feeding pigs, and now he longs for what the pigs have. At least they have shelter and are provided food. He has hit rock bottom. He is scraping by as he feeds filthy unclean pigs. And as he feeds those filthy animals, he was longing for what they had, since he had nothing.

 

It was in this hardship that the younger son came to his senses. Sometimes it takes affliction for a person to finally wake up. And praise God when that happens. Sadly, we all know of cases when hardships lead a person to further dig in all the more into sin and debt. Thankfully, this is not what happened to this son.

 

So, he begins to prepare his speech. “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18-19). He has it all planned out. He is resolved to go back to his father, confess his sin, admit his unworthiness as a son, and beg to work as a hired hand.

 

He arose and went on his way, but before he even speaks his confession, his father sees him and runs to him. He runs to his son and welcomes him with hugs and kisses. He does not lecture him for his sins. He loves the sinner even before that sinner makes his statement of repentance. 

This father is truly compassionate. These are not the typical actions of a human father. He orders the best robe, a ring and sandals, and a feast! The celebration begins at once! The dead son lives! The lost son is now found!

 

Meanwhile, the older son was out in the field and as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. He soon learned that this party was in celebration of the return of his brother. He was fuming. He grumbled and pouted. Day after day, he was out in the field doing what he thought he should be doing. He felt slighted. And who wouldn’t be sympathetic to him? Afterall, he was faithful to his father. 

 

So, his compassionate father comes outside. He pleads for his son to join the celebration. But the father only hears criticism of his love. The older son reminds him of all the years of faithful service that he has rendered for his father. But he never received a party. “Celebrate all you want, but I won’t go inside!” He was bitter.

 

It was then that his compassionate father reminded his older son: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31). So, what happened with the older brother? Did he eventually go inside to join the party? We don’t know. Jesus leaves us with a cliffhanger. 

 

Again, may I ask: What were the Pharisees and scribes to think as they heard this parable? What are you thinking? What would you do if your lost child who rejected you returned to you? Would you run to your child and embrace him? Would you lecture him? What if you were the older son?

 

The Pharisees are both sons – the one who wasted his inheritance and the one who remained with his father. We are both of his sons. We are prone to wander. We are greedy. We don’t want to wait for our inheritance. We want it now!

 

And despite it all, you may see yourself as more deserving of God’s love than others. Afterall, you attend church weekly, you go to every Bible study, you give tithes and even give alms by increasing your offerings during Lent. You deserve a party! Where is your party?!

 

In this parable, it isn’t just the younger son who was lost, it is the older son, too. The younger son came to his senses. He returned home and was found. That older son appeared to not be lost – at first, but he became lost. He considered his life to be a life of a servant and not a son. He considered himself a slave. 

 

But it was their compassionate father who forgave them. 

§  To his younger son: “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:22-24).

§  To his older son: “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:32).

 

No earthly father is like this father. This father is God the Father. Although this parable is often called The Parable of the Prodigal Son, it could also be called the Parable of the Compassionate Father. What the compassionate father does is amazing, he runs to meet his wayward son. He doesn’t yell at his son. He loves his son. He forgives his son. He restores his son.

 

For Jesus says, “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7) and “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

 

There is no creature on earth like the triune God. His forgiveness is incomparable. God certainly is justified in His anger over our sinful rebellion. But when we repent, when we come to our senses and return to Him, He unconditionally forgives us, He embraces us, and He feeds us. In fact, this is what occurs at each Divine Service, we poor sinners confess our sins, as we give our guilt to God, and He absolves us, He reconciles us back to Him, He forgives our sins of thought, word, and deed. And, what happens next? He throws us a banquet, a foretaste of the heavenly feast to come, of Christ’s body and blood under bread and wine that forgives sins and gives us life and salvation.

 

In this season of Lent, we marvel at how “God loved the world so that He gave His only Son the lost to save, That all who would in Him believe Should everlasting life receive” (LSB 571, stanza 1). The compassionate God the Father sent His only Son so that we might escape eternal suffering. For our sake, Jesus became poor. He hungered and thirsted and no one gave Him anything. For our sake, He spent everything. He squandered everything to find you. He gave up His life as He hung crucified on a cross among thieves, so that he would save you, so that He would find you. Every sinner who has been saved has been sought out and found by Jesus Christ Himself. Through His Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit, He finds sinners and brings them home. May we show this same compassion when a sinner repents! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

 keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.  

+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Pentecost 17: "Not Fair!" (Matthew 20:1-16)

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

“Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to Me? Or do you begrudge My generosity?” (Matthew 20:15).

 

Each time I read through the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, I always say to myself, “This is not fair!” You mean, despite the hours worked, everyone was given the same wage! This is not fair! We expect that the longer we work, the more pay we receive. We expect those who work fewer hours to be surely paid less.

 

This is a terrifying thought. God does what He wants with what belongs to Him!

 

As hard as it is for our old sinful nature to accept, our work really counts for nothing. This is the point of the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard. 

 

Jesus said, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-2).

 

This Master is pictured as a person of considerable importance and enormous wealth. So, there is no need for Him to do any of the vineyard work personally as He hires laborers who would be delighted for any work. So, He goes out to the marketplace to find laborers first thing in the morning. These laborers, who needed an income, were excited to know that they were guaranteed a denarius. So, off they went to the vineyard.

 

As time went on, the Master comes to realize that He needs more workers in His vineyard so that the work would be accomplished. So, He hires more workers at the third hour – 9 a.m., the sixth hour – noon, the ninth hour – 3 p.m., and the 11^th hour – 5 p.m.

 

Up until the end of the workday, every laborer is happy, since they have all been given something to do, and they knew they would receive a wage worthy of their work. 

 

We, too, know what it is like to work for the Lord all day. For many of us, we have been Christians since infant Baptism. Many of us have been Sunday School teachers or served on various church boards. You may be a faithful giver. You may be one who has had regular church attendance all your life.

 

And, like the early laborers, we don’t mind when the Master goes out and hires others later in the day. We delight knowing that more hands make light work. I’m sure the early laborers were happy knowing that they didn’t have to work as hard with more laborers in the vineyard. Like them, we delight, looking around the pews as we see fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who have joined Prince of Peace Lutheran Church through adult instruction, or at the invitation of friends, or by coming as our guest one Sunday morning or Monday evening being filled with the Gospel of Christ. We even give thanks to God for those occasional deathbed conversions that we have heard about.

 

But then what does the Master of the vineyard do? “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house” (Matthew 20:8-11).

 

With possibly the exception of the first laborers, the Master has exceeded all expectations. He is very generous with His payroll as He pays everyone the same wage – a full day’s pay – no matter how long or how hard they worked.

 

You likely sympathize with those first called laborers. I sure do. They worked from dawn until dusk. They worked through the heat of the day. They are drenched in sweat. Their muscles are sore. And they are getting paid the same wage as those who worked only a fraction of the day? Worse yet, those who worked barely an hour are getting paid the same wage?! This is not fair!

 

This Master is giving the last as much as He gave to the first. Yes, we rejoice knowing more hands make light work, but is that really fair? Yes, we want more brothers and sisters in the kingdom of heaven, but should those last-minute converts receive the same reward as me, who has been a follower of Christ all my life? Or what about those who put their left overs in the offering. Is it fair that they get the same reward as me who gives to God a proper tithe? This is not fair!

 

In the Parable, the only reason that some came last, and others came first is that the Master chose to call them in that order. The last could have been chosen first. What really matters is that they were chosen. In the Parable, we see Jesus calling laborers into His vineyard. He is calling you and me as His laborers in the morning, mid-day, and even as the sun is setting. 

 

You see, God does what He wants with that is His, and He desires to be generous! Jesus and His kingdom are not about what is fair. Instead, His reign is all about the giving what isn’t fair: His grace!

 

Grace is not fair! Grace is getting what we do not deserve. Do you know what we all deserve? Death, hell, and damnation. Ouch pastor! This is true.  Our sinful nature would rather agree with those attorney commercials that proclaim, “You deserve compensation,” and with the classic McDonald’s ad which says, “You deserve a break today.” But we don’t deserve anything good, since even our best work is soiled with sin. 

 

Since the Fall of Adam, our hearts are not pure, but factories for sin. Like the first laborers, we focus on our sinful pride as we resent others. Our sinful nature leads us to compare one another, to grumble against one another, and to complain about each other. The “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). This is the proper payment that we all deserve. 

 

But despite our fallen sinful nature, God is generous! I am sure thankful that God’s ways are not our ways. I am thankful that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). I am so thankful that God is God and we are not. Just imagine how life would be if humanity – and not God – were in charge? There would be no grace. There would be no forgiveness. In Christ, God the Father shows His generosity.

 

Just think about the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). There, God shows His lavish grace shown upon a wayward son who squandered everything – his money and his possessions – through reckless living. When this wayward son came to his senses, he came up with a plan of what he would say to his father. But he never had the chance to say the first word to his father. Instead, when his father saw him at a distance, he ran to him, hugged him, and kissed him. On top of that, he gave his son the best robe, a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet – and a royal banquet.

 

Or think about the forgiveness Christ offered to those who crucified Him. As He was nailed to the cross, even as those below were casting lots for His garments, and mocking Him, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). 

 

Or what about the 11^th hour conversion. You know, the promise of paradise for the repentant thief? As the repentant thief was hanging on his cross, he came to faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). And Jesus replied, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

 

Jesus is truly generosity in the flesh! In Christ alone, God does – here and now – what He wants with what is His! Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of grace!

 

In Holy Baptism, He pours out His generous forgiveness upon sinners as He makes you His own. In His Word, He speaks His abundant forgiveness as we repent and confess our sins and He absolves those sins. In the Lord’s Supper, He feeds us generously His very Body and His very Blood as He forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith.

 

Just as the owner of the vineyard absorbed the costs of paying all workers the same wage, our Lord Jesus has absorbed the full cost of our sins, including our sins of comparing, grumbling, and complaining. In His death on the cross, our Lord Jesus made Himself last in order to make us, by His grace, first in His kingdom. We then live by faith and mercy as grateful workers in His vineyard. We live by faith in the Lord’s grace. We all receive the same favor and the same forgiveness.

 

Yes, each laborer received the same wage. It goes against everything we hold dear, against all our notions of what is right and fair. It goes against our sinful nature on fairness. And praise God for that! Praise be to God that He doesn’t operate according to our standards of what is right and fair. Instead, He does what He wants with what is His! Thanks be to God that He gives us what we do not deserve. Instead, He gives us His grace. He gives us His undeserved favor, love, and mercy because of His suffering, death, and resurrection. He gives us His blood-bought, cross-won forgiveness, life, and salvation. In Christ alone, we are truly given what is not fair: God’s amazing grace! Amen.

 

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen. 

  + SOLI DEO GLORIA +

Sermon for Lent 4: "Unconditional Love" (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32)

 

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

[Wandering Away]

On a cold February night in 2001, one-year-old Ericka somehow wandered out of her house and spent the entire night outside. When her mother, Leyla Nordby, found her daughter, she appeared to be totally lifeless. Her legs were stiff and her body frozen, and all the signs of life appeared to be gone.

Ericka was treated at Edmonton’s Stollery Children’s Health Center. To the amazement of doctors, the toddler showed no sign of damage. They gave Ericka a clear prognosis; she would soon hop and skip and play like other girls her age.

Some of us have wandered away from our Father’s house, and it has brought us near the point of death. Our hearts have hardened, and our spiritual bodies look as lifeless as the little girl in the snow. But our Father knows we are missing and He is searching for us. He can take our lifeless body and restore us to health.[1]

It is only God the Father who can pick us up and bring us back to His house.

[Amazing Love]

This morning, we heard about God the Father’s amazing love for us in our gospel lesson. It is no wonder that the Parable of the Prodigal Son has become a favorite of Christians.

How many of us forgive one another without any conditions? But this is what God the Father does for us and we are to do the same with our family, friend and neighbor.

We forgive, because God first forgave us through His Son Jesus, when Jesus took on our sin and made us righteous through His suffering, death and resurrection. God did not have to do any of this, but He did it out of His love for us.

But for us, it is often our sinful pride that gets in the way of forgiving others. We want to lord it over each other. We like that power.

The same goes if we are the one repenting of our sin against our family, friend and neighbor. How many of us fear that we will not be truly forgiven by the other?

So, today, we hear again about God’s amazing and unconditional love for each and every one of us as Jesus tells us the Parable of the Prodigal Son.

[The Parable of the Prodigal Son]

As the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus, the Pharisees and scribes grumbled about Jesus saying: “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1-3).

So, Jesus began speaking the parable of God’s unconditional love as He spoke about a father and his two sons.

The younger son wanted his share of the inheritance now. He couldn’t wait to get away from his family. He wanted to live his own life on his own.

So, his father gave the younger son his share of the inheritance and his son leaves into the far country.

Now, the entire Jewish community would have been aware of this, so this event would not only be known to the family. As was tradition, one would receive their inheritance after the father would have died, not while he was still alive. People would know. People would talk. People would wonder where the younger son went.

Also, the process of disposing of the estate would have been difficult for the younger son in a community that would be completely opposed to the prodigal’s request. At the same time, the community would be equally shocked at the father for even allowing this.

So, the prodigal son would have had to cut a quick deal with someone unscrupulous enough to help a young man turn his property into cash. So, it is likely that the prodigal son went from person to person to turn his inheritance into liquid assets so he could go to that distant country where no one would know him.

I’m sure he was turned down time after time as community members displayed public disgust at him. Some people may have just displayed amazement, others horror and others flat out rejection of him.

But in the end, this prodigal son was able to turn his inheritance into cash as he moved away from his family and started over.

After some time living in luxury, the prodigal son eventually spent his last penny. He squandered it all in reckless living. He had no plan on growing his wealth, but instead spent every last cent.

Now, we don’t know exactly what the prodigal son did with his money. All we know is that he was reckless. We also know that he was only thinking of himself. He had only his own best interest in mind, even though his interests ended up costing him everything.

So, in just a matter of time the prodigal son went from no worries in his life with his inheritance to being penniless and hungry.

Then he hired himself out to one of the citizens of the country — a Gentile — who hired him to feed the pigs.

If he wasn’t already at rock bottom, he is now there. He is a Jew working for a Gentile. On top of that, he is a Jew feeding pigs. This is the lowest of the lows. He is not only rendering himself unclean and outcast, but this shows how far he has sunk in his own personal demise.

He is feeding unclean pigs and yet, he wishes he was an unclean pig, so at least he could eat. He is longing to feed on the pods that the pigs ate, even though it would be unappetizing and lack the nourishment he truly needs.

He has lost it all. He is scraping by through feeding pigs. And, the only friends he has left are the pigs he feeds. At least the pigs cared for him, in as much as they could.

The prodigal has no real friends and he has alienated his family and his community with him only thinking of himself.

He then comes to the realization that his father’s servants have it a million times better than he has it now. The servants have plenty of food. The servants have clean clothing. The servants have a safe place to sleep at night.

Here is when the prodigal becomes determined to come back home and repent of his sins. So, he begins practicing what he is going to say to his father: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am not worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants” (Luke 15:18).

I wonder how many times it took him saying that repeatedly to get up the courage to make his journey back. I’m sure it wasn’t easy. His pride had fallen.

So, while the prodigal son was still a long way off from knocking on his father’s door, his father sees him coming.

You see, ever since the prodigal son left, his father has been searching for him. His father never gave up on him. His father searched day after day in hopes of finding his lost son and bringing him home.

As soon as his father saw him, he began running toward his son and once he met his lost son, he hugged him and kissed him. His son began to speak his prepared speech to his father, but his father didn’t care what he spoke. All he was thinking was that his lost son “was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found!” (Luke 15:24 and Luke 15:32).

I’m sure this catches the prodigal son off-guard. He wants to work off his debts, because he is the cause of his miserable sinful condition against his father and against heaven. He came back not to be called son, but to become a servant. He is a true outcast, just like the tax collectors and sinners who were coming to be near Jesus and to hear Jesus speak.

In the first century, repentance was seen different than today. In that time, repentance was understood as a human work with conditions, terms and reparations. Repentance was something that humans could initiate outside God’s initiative. This is why the prodigal son wished to work off his debt as a servant.

But instead, his father does something radical: He forgives his son without any conditions. His father reinstates his lost son as his son. The lost son has been given the dignity and status as son.

His father calls the servants, “Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” (Luke 15:22-24).

[Continuously Searching for the Lost]

This parable displays God’s unconditional love for all of us. God the Father is always searching for everyone on this earth when they wander off in search of their own desires.

Many times people wander off because they feel that the church is too judgmental. Or they seek another church that appears to free from judgement – a church that pleases our itching ears, instead of being fed with God’s truth, which afflicts and comforts. This is similar to the prodigal son, who wanted it his way. Until he realized that his way was getting him nowhere.

For it doesn’t matter what you do. God will forgive you when you repent. You could quit coming to church for decades, you could murder a person, you could ruin another person’s reputation, you could steal property from your neighbor, you could be engaged in a sinful sexual lifestyle, such as being gay, lesbian, transgender, or even watch pornography. It doesn’t matter if you lie, cheat and steal. For as long as you repent of your sin and trust in Jesus, you are forgiven by God the Father. No conditions, just love and forgiveness.

Yes, you may still have to face consequences in this life, but in the life to come, you are forgiven. Your sins are wiped clean!

This is truly amazing unconditional love. You see, God the Father is continuously searching for the lost. We see that especially in Luke 15 where Christ teaches us three parables where God is searching for the lost. He is searching for anyone who has wandered away from His presence with the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the lost son — the prodigal son.

[The Older Son]

At the same time, when God the Father forgives the lost and brings them back into his flock, we — who have been loyal — may sometimes feel like the older son in this parable.

When the older son heard the celebration for his lost brother, he was upset. He was angry.

He was likely thinking the following:

Why should this lost son be rewarded? Why haven’t I been rewarded for my loyalty? Where is my party? Why don’t you remember the sins that my younger brother committed against you? My younger brother spent his inheritance on sinful living! Why are you throwing him a party?!

We may become like the older brother when we see a person we know who has committed public sins be forgiven. We may take offense to that, like the Pharisees and scribes.

But, everyone in Christ receives the same inheritance. It doesn’t matter if you sinned against God in thought, word and deed all your life and repent on your deathbed, or if you live your entire life in repentance. We all receive the same reward. We all receive salvation.

[Unconditional Love]

The one true God — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — does not put conditions on His love for you and for me. He loves us all! He only desires that each one of us repent and trust in Jesus, for He alone gives us forgiveness. We do struggle with forgiving others. We struggle with forgiving and forgetting.

It is only God who unconditionally forgives and forgets our sins. 

We were all lost when we were born. But, we were found when God drowned us in our baptism as we died to sin and rose to new life in Jesus.

Now, some of us know others who have wandered from the one true Christian faith, but God the Father is continuously searching for them and He never gives up.

For it is God’s desire that no one perishes into damnation, but that everyone is saved through His Son Jesus, who gave His life as a sacrifice for our sins, so that we would be found and forgiven through His death and resurrection. We are given God’s unconditional love by grace through faith in Jesus.

As sinners, who need forgiveness, Christ forgives our sins at each Divine Service with confession and absolution. Better yet, Christ even throws us a party – a foretaste of the feast to come – when we receive His very Body and His very Blood, which forgives our sins and strengthens our weak faith in the Lord’s Supper.

Because we are forgiven and reconciled through Jesus – who took on our sin and punishment to make us righteous – we too are to forgive one another as we have been unconditionally forgiven by God. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

 

T SOLI DEO GLORIA T

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[1] 1001 Illustrations that Connect (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008), 244.