Come home. Calling all prodigals, Jesus is calling you back to the fold. If you are one who needs reconciliation, God is calling your name. His desire is that you run back into His arms. He is waiting, and watching for you to come HOME. It doesn’t matter that lots of water has gone under the bridge, or how long it has been, today is the day of restoration, reconciliation and salvation. Don’t wait another moment. Nothing you can do, can make God love you more, and nothing that you have done already would disqualify you from running back to Jesus. That is what the cross is all about. Jesus paid the penalty for your sin, so that you can live free from guilt, free from shame, and free in Christ. Because of the cross, your sin has been taken care of. Jesus bore all the sins of the world on His own body, so that we can live for Him. Our choice is, do we accept or reject what was accomplished on the cross? Do we say yes to receiving full salvation? Just like the Father in the story of the prodigal in the Bible, God is anxiously waiting your return, and has a robe to place on your back and a ring to put on your finger. He’s ready to throw a party for your return. He is ready and waiting for you! The robe you get to wear is the Robe of Righteousness, which is blemish free, with stains removed, and past forgotten. The ring you wear is one of royalty. You are a part of the family, you get the family name, and your position restored, all because of God’s love. So come on Home. The party is about to start. Say yes to coming to Jesus! And come on back to Jesus and come back to church!
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
27 So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’[h] and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”[i]
28 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed,[j] he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ 36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
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