Hello Amazing Friends!
When my sons, Derek and Aaron, were growing up, Suzanne and I loved planning parties for them and we loved even more having the parties--watching them laugh as they played with their friends and enjoying their faces light up with the delight of feeling special. And there was something exceptionally fun about watching them open a gift that sent them squealing with joy. An outsider looking in might think that the gift was excessive and over-the-top. But we couldn't help ourselves...and we didn't want to. That's the joy of lavishing love on your children!
Your Father in heaven loves a good party! So much so, that he's the one throwing it! When Jesus told Parables to let people know what his Father was really like, he made it pretty clear that his Dad loved parties. When the lost sheep was found... he threw a party! When a lost coin was found...he threw a party! And when his lost son came home, even after wasting the Father's inheritance, he simply had to throw a party! And not just a quaint little tea party, but an all-out, kill-the-fatted-calf, everybody-get-crazy-fun bash! (Luke 15) What explanation can you give for this kind of excessiveness? The best one I can think of is that God is just really, really happy and he loves to spread the joy around! And just what brings him so much joy that he can't help himself and can't keep it to himself? I believe that deep down inside of you, you already know the answer to that one. YOU do! YOU bring him intense joy! You bring him so much joy that he looks for ways to lavish his love on you. And he looks for gifts to give you that are over-the-top and excessive. Not because he has to but because he wants to. That's what love does!
YOU are the one he must have! One glance from YOU turns his heart inside out! The one He is lovesick for is YOU! And since the price has been paid for in full by Jesus on the cross to have you as His very own forever, he chooses to throw a perpetual party!
During tonight's worship service at Blazing Fire, Saturday, October 24th, we're going to enjoy the Father's Party together!! I'm going to preach from the story of the excessively lavish love of the Father from the parable that Jesus told in Luke 15. And at the end, we're going to celebrate! Not just a little, "wa hoo," mind you. But a "WAAAAA HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" party! The exceptionally Good News is worth getting really, really happy about! And why wouldn't you? You're made in the image of your Father who happens to love throwing parties. And even better than that, you are the object of his great affection!
So, bring your shofars and tambourines and even a party hat if you want to. It's time for the younger sons & daughters to come back home and it's time for the elder sons and daughters to stop working for what is already theirs, so that we can all thoroughly enjoy our Father who absolutely adores all of his children!
When my sons, Derek and Aaron, were growing up, Suzanne and I loved planning parties for them and we loved even more having the parties--watching them laugh as they played with their friends and enjoying their faces light up with the delight of feeling special. And there was something exceptionally fun about watching them open a gift that sent them squealing with joy. An outsider looking in might think that the gift was excessive and over-the-top. But we couldn't help ourselves...and we didn't want to. That's the joy of lavishing love on your children!
Your Father in heaven loves a good party! So much so, that he's the one throwing it! When Jesus told Parables to let people know what his Father was really like, he made it pretty clear that his Dad loved parties. When the lost sheep was found... he threw a party! When a lost coin was found...he threw a party! And when his lost son came home, even after wasting the Father's inheritance, he simply had to throw a party! And not just a quaint little tea party, but an all-out, kill-the-fatted-calf, everybody-get-crazy-fun bash! (Luke 15) What explanation can you give for this kind of excessiveness? The best one I can think of is that God is just really, really happy and he loves to spread the joy around! And just what brings him so much joy that he can't help himself and can't keep it to himself? I believe that deep down inside of you, you already know the answer to that one. YOU do! YOU bring him intense joy! You bring him so much joy that he looks for ways to lavish his love on you. And he looks for gifts to give you that are over-the-top and excessive. Not because he has to but because he wants to. That's what love does!
YOU are the one he must have! One glance from YOU turns his heart inside out! The one He is lovesick for is YOU! And since the price has been paid for in full by Jesus on the cross to have you as His very own forever, he chooses to throw a perpetual party!
During tonight's worship service at Blazing Fire, Saturday, October 24th, we're going to enjoy the Father's Party together!! I'm going to preach from the story of the excessively lavish love of the Father from the parable that Jesus told in Luke 15. And at the end, we're going to celebrate! Not just a little, "wa hoo," mind you. But a "WAAAAA HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" party! The exceptionally Good News is worth getting really, really happy about! And why wouldn't you? You're made in the image of your Father who happens to love throwing parties. And even better than that, you are the object of his great affection!
So, bring your shofars and tambourines and even a party hat if you want to. It's time for the younger sons & daughters to come back home and it's time for the elder sons and daughters to stop working for what is already theirs, so that we can all thoroughly enjoy our Father who absolutely adores all of his children!
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