(Sermon-on-a-Stick) The Greatest Short Story Ever Told, Part 1 of 4

(My notes from Sunday, if you trust my note-taking. Dr. Chris presiding. This is the first in a series of sermons from Luke 15:11-31, often called The Parable of the Prodigal Son, or The Parable of the Lost Son or my favorite, The Tale of Two Sons...)

"Bad Choices Equal Bad Consequences"
Luke 15:11-16

11Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12The 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. 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

* This parable has been called "a window through which to see God, and a mirror that allows us to see ourselves."
* We make choices, and then our choices make us.

1. Where Do Bad Choices Come From
A. Selfishness (v 12) "give me my share" ... A person wrapped up in self is overdressed...the self-absorbed make bad choices often ... this is why Jesus commands us to "die to self daily."
B. Short-Term Thinking (v 12-13) squandered his wealth in wild living
C. Leaving The Father Out (v. 13) the son left the father far behind...

2. What Bad Choices Look Like
A. Waste: "squandered his wealth..." wasting self is wasting the image of God
B. Falling Lower Than You've Ever Dreamed (v 14-16) ... A famine often follows bad choices, and then you're in the field feeding pigs.

Make a choice to make good choices.

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