What a perfect day we had for picking apples...bright sun, tons of apples, and eager totem poles, ready to reach up and grab the apples off the top of the trees! A fun day had by all! Monday, October 27, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Vision Study- Prodigal Sons
In our second Vision Study, we took a good long look at Luke 15, the parable of the Prodigal Son. Here is the text from the New International Version, just in case you don't have a Bible handy:
If you were here, I think you’d agree that the Spirit of God showed up for our study…because I think each and every one of us was struck by the radical nature of God’s grace—that there is not one of us who doesn’t need a Father to love us IN SPITE of ourselves! This is not to say that every ounce of us is as bad as it ever could be, or that we are not able to do things that society would define as "good", but that the parable of the Prodigal Son accurately captures our hearts towards God.
Whether we are more prone to be the younger son, who spits in his father’s face and then squanders his entire inheritance on loose living. Or we’re more prone to be the older son, who stays by the Father’s side, doing everything by the book and then expects that his good deeds to earn him the ability to tell his Father how to respond to that no good younger brother…
The irony that we saw was that BOTH sons struggle with the very same sinful heart…they are BOTH more interested getting their father’s stuff, than they are interested in getting their father. By insisting on receiving his inheritance NOW, the younger son's actions tell his father that he wishes the father was dead...that he doesn't need his father, and will actually be able to find meaning and purpose for his life by exploring the world. For "churchy" people, it is easy to see that this son is the "sinner" and not deserving of his father's care, because he's been the "bad" son. And yet, the father not only welcomes him home again, but runs out to meet him, covers his nakedness with his own robe, and throws a party to celebrate his return. The father lavishes grace upon his younger son, and many of us within the church struggle to be okay with the father's actions. The reason is because churchy people tend to be more like the older son than the younger. We live good lives, resisting the licentious lifestyle that our father tells us is not for our best, and then, after we've denied ourselves and worked hard for our father, we see him welcome home that no good younger brother who squandered all of his inheritance already? That is hard to swallow in general, but when we realize that there is also a cost involved for the older son (i.e. the younger son has already squandered his share of the inheritance, so to welcome him back in would mean you would have to sacrifice your privileged status as the firstborn son, and instead give the extra portion to your no good brother to live upon!), suddenly the actions of the father become the source of much bitterness!! How is that fair? How is that just? Where the gospel breaks in for the older son though, is when we realize that the very same heart that allowed the younger son to demand his inheritance, is the same heart that allows the older son to think he can demand he have a say in how his father uses his inheritance. BOTH sons reveal that their first desire is for the father's things, not the father. And yet, the reaction of the father in both cases, is absolute grace. Both sons deserved to be thrown out of the family and beaten, and yet in both cases, the father humbles himself and goes out to meet his sons and invite them to come back home.
That's the gospel! That's truly good news that allows us to be real about our hearts towards God...that we too are more interested in God's things than we are interested in God. We can be honest about this in our lives because God still lovingly pursues us!
The gospel tells us that what we ALL need, is an older brother, who doesn’t stay home with the Father, waiting to chastise us when we come groveling home…BUT an older brother who leaves the Father’s side to come find us. And who willingly gives up his position as the older son who owns ALL of the Father’s things, to share the Father’s possessions, His possessions…WITH US! That’s who Jesus is. That's what grace is all about—us getting what we do not deserve, and could never earn. And that is what now frees us to be real about our heart towards God, and towards each other...and to change.
That change, is what God's Kingdom is all about...and what we hope to live out here at the Nanuet Project.
Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "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. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 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.'"
If you were here, I think you’d agree that the Spirit of God showed up for our study…because I think each and every one of us was struck by the radical nature of God’s grace—that there is not one of us who doesn’t need a Father to love us IN SPITE of ourselves! This is not to say that every ounce of us is as bad as it ever could be, or that we are not able to do things that society would define as "good", but that the parable of the Prodigal Son accurately captures our hearts towards God.
Whether we are more prone to be the younger son, who spits in his father’s face and then squanders his entire inheritance on loose living. Or we’re more prone to be the older son, who stays by the Father’s side, doing everything by the book and then expects that his good deeds to earn him the ability to tell his Father how to respond to that no good younger brother…
The irony that we saw was that BOTH sons struggle with the very same sinful heart…they are BOTH more interested getting their father’s stuff, than they are interested in getting their father. By insisting on receiving his inheritance NOW, the younger son's actions tell his father that he wishes the father was dead...that he doesn't need his father, and will actually be able to find meaning and purpose for his life by exploring the world. For "churchy" people, it is easy to see that this son is the "sinner" and not deserving of his father's care, because he's been the "bad" son. And yet, the father not only welcomes him home again, but runs out to meet him, covers his nakedness with his own robe, and throws a party to celebrate his return. The father lavishes grace upon his younger son, and many of us within the church struggle to be okay with the father's actions. The reason is because churchy people tend to be more like the older son than the younger. We live good lives, resisting the licentious lifestyle that our father tells us is not for our best, and then, after we've denied ourselves and worked hard for our father, we see him welcome home that no good younger brother who squandered all of his inheritance already? That is hard to swallow in general, but when we realize that there is also a cost involved for the older son (i.e. the younger son has already squandered his share of the inheritance, so to welcome him back in would mean you would have to sacrifice your privileged status as the firstborn son, and instead give the extra portion to your no good brother to live upon!), suddenly the actions of the father become the source of much bitterness!! How is that fair? How is that just? Where the gospel breaks in for the older son though, is when we realize that the very same heart that allowed the younger son to demand his inheritance, is the same heart that allows the older son to think he can demand he have a say in how his father uses his inheritance. BOTH sons reveal that their first desire is for the father's things, not the father. And yet, the reaction of the father in both cases, is absolute grace. Both sons deserved to be thrown out of the family and beaten, and yet in both cases, the father humbles himself and goes out to meet his sons and invite them to come back home.
That's the gospel! That's truly good news that allows us to be real about our hearts towards God...that we too are more interested in God's things than we are interested in God. We can be honest about this in our lives because God still lovingly pursues us!
The gospel tells us that what we ALL need, is an older brother, who doesn’t stay home with the Father, waiting to chastise us when we come groveling home…BUT an older brother who leaves the Father’s side to come find us. And who willingly gives up his position as the older son who owns ALL of the Father’s things, to share the Father’s possessions, His possessions…WITH US! That’s who Jesus is. That's what grace is all about—us getting what we do not deserve, and could never earn. And that is what now frees us to be real about our heart towards God, and towards each other...and to change.
That change, is what God's Kingdom is all about...and what we hope to live out here at the Nanuet Project.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Welcome to the Nanuet Project!
Thank you for checking out this blog for the Nanuet Project. The idea behind this site is to record some thoughts about who we are and what we believe God is calling us to be and do, to provide a calendar of events, and to provide an accounting of what we are up to. I must admit on the front end that I'm not your typical blogger, so my updates here will probably come in fits and spurts, but hopefully I'll mature into a real blogger and this site will grow into a useful tool.
Until then...
Until then...
Monday, October 6, 2008
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