In Jesus’ story of two lost and wasteful sons there is a character is who far more wasteful and who willingly loses whatever is necessary – the Father. In response to the rejection and rebellion of his sons, the father answers with extravagant self-sacrificing love...
The Older Son
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a story of two sons. The older son is the son favored by tradition and culture. In Jesus’ time the older son would receive a larger inheritance and would be responsible to care for and uphold the family. In Jesus’ story the older son...
The Younger Son
The Parable of the Prodigal Son centers around the younger of two sons who turns his back on his father and his family to pursue his own freedom and happiness. His journey of rebellion, self-destruction, awakening, return, and redemption represents the very heart of...
Prodigal
This modern take on the Prodigal Son parable told by Jesus in Luke 15 was used as the sermon opener for the Prodigal series. Related Sermons
Panel Interview
This final part of the series will be a panel interview with four professional psychologists who attend LifePoint. Joe Duke will moderate. This interview will take the place of the sermon slot. Joe will summarize the series then introduce the panel will introduce...
The Path To Joy
At some point in our lives, we are all going to experience negative emotions. That’s right. Suffering will come. And the emotions associated with suffering…guilt, shame, sadness, despair, anger…they will follow. What we do with these emotions says a lot about our...
The Destruction of Shame
There’s an enemy that lurks just below the surface of our lives. Its influence can be debilitating and even deadly. It may be Evil’s primary tool for rendering us ineffective and defeated. And no one is immune to its whispers. But this enemy can be conquered in ways...
Processing Our Pain
Our culture would rather avoid emotional pain and suffering than engage it. These experiences are treated as obstacles to living life to its fullest. Yet when we look back at our lives it’s usually the difficult events that have shaped us the most. Far from getting in...
Breathing Under the Water
After we realize there is life below the surface, we can then learn to breathe under the water. In other words, we can learn to swim in the real world of our emotions. Being in touch with our emotions means that we understand that our past affects our present and our...
What’s Below the Surface?
So much of your energy may be spent maintaining your life on the surface—your physical needs, your appearance, your life experienced through your five senses. But there’s a world that lies below the surface of your life too—a part of you that can often get ignored or...
Telling Yourself the Truth
Sometimes you can tell yourself lies without even realizing it. But your life can take on a completely different perspective when you learn to tell yourself the truth. Let’s begin this New Year with a reminder of five simple affirmations that can change the way we...