Beyond the Weekend: Parables
The stories Jesus told and what they mean for your life today.
Why did Jesus teach in stories? Because the deepest truths about God are often found in the ordinary moments of life.
In the parables, Jesus takes everyday things, a lost sheep, a dinner party, a farmer planting seeds and uses them to show us what God is really like and what it means to follow him.
This summer, we’re spending seven weeks in the parables from Luke’s gospel. Whether you’ve heard these stories a hundred times or this is your first time, you’re invited to come and hear them fresh.
June 27/28–August 8/9
Coming Home
Read: Luke 15:17-24 | Listen: Luke 15
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. Luke 15:18
Everything changes when the younger son returns home. Expecting shame and hoping to be accepted as a servant, he prepares his confession and begins the journey back. But before he can reach the house, his father sees him from a distance. In a culture where a son who dishonors his family deserves rejection, the father does the unthinkable. The son expects to earn his way back, but the father freely welcomes him home with love, grace, and joy. Instead of punishment, he gives his son the best robe, a ring, and sandals, restoring him to his place in the family. Then he calls for a feast.
The good news is that God does not wait for us to clean ourselves up or earn our way back. He has already made the way through Jesus Christ, who did what we never could through his perfect life. In his death, Jesus took the punishment our sins deserved. In his resurrection, he defeated sin and death so that all who trust in him can be forgiven and welcomed into God’s family. The Christian life begins by turning to God in faith, and it continues the same way.
TODAY: If you have never trusted Jesus, today is an invitation to come home. Admit your sin, believe that Jesus died and rose again for you, and receive the forgiveness and new life he freely offers. If you already belong to Christ, remember what he has done. Your standing with God is secure because of Jesus. When you sin, confess it, knowing that “he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9).
