Preacher of Habit

July 14, 2019 Coming Home: Finding Purpose Scripture: Matthew 4: 18-25 So today we’re continuing our sermon series called “Homecoming.” And along the way, we’ve been asking the question, “What do we find when we come ‘home’ to life with Jesus? When we choose to take a step closer to God, what do we discover? Last week we looked at the Parable of the Prodigal Son and discovered that we find extravagant love. Regardless of our histories, our failures, our habits and our mistakes, we find a God who is waiting to embrace us with love. And that’s a tremendous gift. But coming home doesn’t stop with love. God loves us, then out of that love calls us to a different way of life. Today we turn our attention to another Gospel- the Gospel of Matthew- where we discover a Savior who is waiting to fill our life with purpose. I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 4. You know, I’ve preached for the better part of a decade and one thing has never changed: coming up with something to say th...

“Coming Home:” Finding Love Scripture: Luke 15: 11-32 Today we’re starting a series of teachings called “Coming Home.” In a way, this is very much like a homecoming for me. And I thought it’d be good to share some of my favorite Scriptures with you, so you can know my heart. But more importantly, the next several weeks will help us answer an important question: “What do we find when we come “home” to life with Jesus? Today we’re going to read an old story from the Gospel of Luke- one of the eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ activity and ministry, traditionally know as “The Parable of the Prodigal Son.” We’ll be reading from Luke 15: 11-32. I invite you stand. Chances are if I asked for a show of hands, many of you would indicate that you’ve heard this story before- or at least something like it. This story is known as a parable , which is simply a teaching mechanism Jesus uses to paint spiritual truths using common, everyday language and images. A man had two sons ….that...