Finding Balance Starts with Correcting Your Approach to God
- We live in a rapidly changing world
- The faster things change the more likely you are to become off balance in response to those changes.
- Two crucial lenses for maintaining balance
- How you approach God
- How you view culture
The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
| Jesus' Audience | Parable Characters: |
|---|---|
| Tax Collectors/Irreligious | Younger Son |
| Pharisees/Religious | Older Son |
| Jesus | Father |
The only way to get a restored relatoinship with God is to accept the gift he is offering you for free. (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16)
Two ways to reject God:
- Reject God by rejecting his law and living any way you see fit.
- Reject God by obeying His law in order to earn your salvation.
Which of the two ways are more dangerous than the other? Or which do you fear less?
If our churches are not attracting "younger brothers", then it is likely that our churches are full of "older brothers".
My next step with God is to...
- honestly evaluate how I have been approaching God over the past few months (or years).
- do some personal study on the Parable of the Prodigal "sons" by reading through "The Prodigal God: Recovering the heart of the Christian Faith" by Tim Keller
- spend some time meditating on how the gospel continues to impact my relationship with God after becoming a Christian (read through "A Gospel Primer for Christians" by Milton Vincent)
- attend a Home Group so I can be part of a small group seeking to find balance when it comes to approaching a rapidly changing world.
Topics:
duty, legalism, relativism