"Parable of the Prodigal Son" Part 2

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

Today we continue with part two of our devotion on the parable Jesus shared in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15—the parable of the prodigal son and his brother. We’re going to revisit what we read last week and then move forward with the rest of the parable.

So let’s open our Bibles to Luke 15, beginning in verse 11:

Then Jesus said, *“There was a man who had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me

"Parable of the Prodigal Son" Part 1

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

Over the next couple of weeks in our time of devotion together, we will be examining one of Christ’s most well-known parables—the parable of the Prodigal Son. Many of us are already familiar with it, but together we’ll look at it this week and next from two different perspectives.

Let’s open our Bibles to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, beginning at verse 11:

Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons. The younger

"Rallying Around God's Word"

Good morning and a blessed Thursday morning to you. Would you open your Bible, please, to the longest psalm in Scripture—Psalm 119? Psalm 119 has 176 verses, and this morning I’d like to look at one of those verses with you.

We’re going to look at verse 105. This Sunday is a very special day in the life of our congregation—Rally Sunday. It’s such a great day, as we rally anew around the Word of God.

Sunday School for ages three through adult is at 10:00, in between the wo

"The God Who Loves Us"

Good morning and a most blessed Thursday to you.

Yesterday in chapel with the preschoolers, we talked about how in the beginning—before there was even time—there was God. There was darkness, and there was nothing. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. We talked about how He put the sun in the sky for the day and the moon and the stars in the sky for the night.

He created day and night, and it was good. We also talked about how when we come to chapel, w

"God's Word Endures Forever"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

In our time of devotion this morning, I want to share a very interesting story of ministry with you. It’s not my own personal story, but I think it really speaks to the day and age in which we live.

At the Texas District gathering for the LCMC Texas District just last month, one of the keynote speakers shared an experience he had while teaching a confirmation class. He asked for a volunteer to read, and a student raised hi

"Justice, Grace and Mercy."

Good morning and a blessed Thursday morning to you. Would you open up your Bibles, please, to the Old Testament, to Lamentations, the third chapter. Lamentations is a series of five laments over the destruction of Israel. And embedded there in the book of Lamentations is this beautiful, beautiful message of hope. That's what I want to highlight with you this morning.

Take a look, please, at chapter three, picking up in verse 22. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases

"The Heavenly Accent"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday morning to you. Would you please open your Bibles to Proverbs, chapter 15, for our time in God’s Word today?

Accents. Accents. To be honest, I’ve always wanted an English accent. I think it sounds so beautiful.

My father, every now and then, lets a word slip that reveals his upbringing in New York—just a tinge of that New York accent. I remember when we moved from Washington to Texas, the congregation in Washington said they hoped I’d

"The Garment of Grace"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday to you.

Would you please open your Bibles to Colossians, chapter 3 for our time in God’s Word today?

I recall a wonderful professor from my seminary days who used this portion of Colossians in his teaching on premarital counseling. He referred to several verses in chapter 3 as "the wedding garment." By God’s grace, he said, this garment is something a husband and wife can give to one another—something they wear and share with each othe

"Comfort in the Chaos"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

In light of the recent tragedies—flooding here in Texas and now in New Mexico, along with devastating fires in New Mexico and California—I wanted to share an excerpt from a sermon that was sent to me recently. The sermon, titled “The Paths of Trust,” was written by the preacher Frederick Buechner.

Let me read a portion of it for you. I pray it brings encouragement and reminds you that we have a God we can trust—a God in wh

"Our True Citizenship"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

I want to share some Scripture with you as we begin our time of devotion this morning.

First, from Psalm 73:25–26:

"Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

And from Psalm 74:16–17, speaking to the Lord:

"Yours is the day, yours also the night; you established the luminaries and the su

"The Golden Rule, Jesus’ Way"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday to you.

Would you please open your Bibles with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter six? Today, we turn our attention to the Golden Rule—a teaching of Jesus that speaks directly to how we are called to treat one another.

In Luke 6:31, Jesus says,"Do to others as you would have them do to you."

This is an echo of Leviticus 19:18, and what’s interesting is that nearly every major religion and philosophical system has some form of the Golden

"The Love of God"

Good morning, and a blessed Thursday to you.

Would you please open your Bibles with me to 1 John, chapter 4? This portion of God’s Word is incredibly instructive regarding the nature of God’s love. From it, I’d like to share three key points with you today.

Let’s begin at 1 John 4:7:

"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."

Here is our first point:Go

"Christ in Me"

Good morning and a most blessed Thursday to you.

I was recently walking through my neighborhood and noticed a home for sale. As I passed by, I saw a small additional sign attached to the main "For Sale" sign that read, “I'm beautiful on the inside.” Naturally, my mind immediately shifted to a theological reflection. I thought, No person in their right mind could truly claim that—at least not in and of themselves.

As Christians, we know that on the inside, we are born sinn

"Ascended, Yet Present"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

Today marks a very important day in the life of the Church. Forty days after Easter—after Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave, having won the victory over our sin and having had His sacrifice accepted—He appeared to His disciples. He appeared to people for forty days. And on that fortieth day, on that final day, He ascended into heaven and took His place at the right hand of the Father.

The Ascension can be a rathe

"God's Grace in Times of Distress"

Good morning, and a most blessed Thursday to you.

This side of heaven, No one gets through life without experiencing distress. It comes in many forms—fear, anxiety, grief, and outside pressures that bring stress into our lives. None of us escape unpleasant circumstances, and none of us enjoy them.

But distress is part of life—for the Christian, the non-Christian, for everyone. As Christians, however, we are called to respond to it in a very specific way.

A couple of weeks