Sermon Tone Analysis

Home Sweet Home

“Home Sweet Home”

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How many of you have seen the sign or welcome mat that says, “Home sweet home”?

That phrase is the title of a song that was written by John Howard Payne in 1822, it was Abraham Lincoln’s favorite song.

This song and phrase has endured for 192 years.

John Payne had travelled around the world, and even lived in Europe for a while, but when he came back to his home in America he sat down and wrote the song “Home sweet home”.

The words of the song go like this:

“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home; home sweet home”.

The last phrase of the song says:

There's no place like home

There's no place like home!

I know this song because it was sung by Spanky, Alfafa, Buckwheat and Porky in Little rascals.

That’s how I know the song.

Tess knows the song for another reason; the last phrase in the song “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home” is what Dorothy said in the wizard of Oz to get back to Kansas.

Well, there’s no place like home, when you have a home that is filled with the love and presences of God!

I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home; I am blessed to have a Christian home.

When you open your Bible to , you see a home scene; you meet a loving father and two sons, you see a home with food on the table and crops in the field.

We call it the story of the prodigal son, and there is a prodigal son in the story, but the story is about much more than the prodigal son.

It is the most famous of Jesus parables,

Charles Dickens said, “It’s the finest short story ever told”

It is a great story, it is my favorite story in the Bible; Jesus may have told this story based on a family He knew.

And I know this, this story has happened a thousand times since Jesus told it.

I know because it happened to me, I was that prodigal son.

· There is someone here this morning that is in the far-country away from God.

· In this service today are parents, who have sons or daughters that you love with all your heart and they are in the far-country of sin and rebellion, and your heart is broken.

God, your heavenly father understands, and He has a broken heart for them to, and he longs for them to come home!

This story touches our hearts because it is so true to life, a boy leaves small town U.S.A. and goes to the big city were he lives it up until he is broke, he ends up in the gutter, he comes to his senses, and says I am going home, he gets up and goes home, and there is a great homecoming- What a story!!

This story teaches us about:

1.

The Rebellious Nature of Man.

V:11-13a.

In the first several verse of this story you see the rebellious nature of man.

This boy rebels against his father.

This son did not want to obey the father’s rules; he didn’t want to submit to the father’s authority.

Please understand this, this father is a wonderful father, he is a loving, kind, good, giving father!

This father is a picture of God the father!

This home is a Christian home, a warm, loving home, farm home.

There was a big table with plenty of food on it- steaks, potatoes, corn, cheese, bread and fruit.

In this home there were clothes, robe, ring, shoes and much more.

This was a wonderful home, with a father that loved him very much!

There were servants in the home to help run this big farm.

I hope you can see what a home sweet home this was!

This boy is turning his back on everything a young man need to be happy and meet his every need.

He is surrounded by the love of the father, and the provisions of the farm.

The problem is not the home, or the father, the problem is in the heart of the son!

When you heart is rebellious and at conflict with God everything is bad and nothing is good.

He has a sinful heart, a rebellious nature, and he doesn’t want to obey the rules and restraints of his father any more.

He wants to do things his way, he doesn’t want to be told want he can and cannot do!

He wants to be his own boss, do things his way.

Rebellion is born in the heart of every single one of us; we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God.

This boy‘s heart was sinful and lost, he wasn’t interested in what the father was interested in.

The father talked about being saved, about going to church, and he talked about the Bible.

This home was a Christian home; there was Christian music, prayer before meals, no M.T.V in this home!

Church on Sunday and Wednesday!

This boy knew where his dad stood, and he didn’t want to live that way!

So he goes to his dad and says, V:12-“Father, give me the portion of goods that fall to me.

This was a hateful, insensitive request for this son to make.

V:12-“Give me”

This son is a picture of the person who demands all the blessings of the heavenly father, yet never shows any gratitude or appreciation for want God has done for them.

He desires to live independent of his father.

He has the false idea that if he can just get away from his father and this home and do whatever he wants he will be free and satisfied.

SIN is that rebellion in the heart, that desire to live your life independent of God, to live your life away from the authority or guidance of God.

SIN is the attitude that says I don’t what the heavenly father controlling my life; I’ll run my life my way!

This is a picture of rebellion against the heavenly father, which every person is born with.

This younger son says to his father, Give me my inheritance now!

This boy’s heart is hardened by sin and selfishness.

In this day the inheritance of a father was not given to his children until the father died.

Only on the death of the father was the inheritance divided among the sons.

So when this young man comes to his father and says, give me my part of the inheritance, it was like says to his father; I wish you were dead.

It was like says, I don’t want anything to do with you; I just want what you can give me.

What a terrible, selfish thing to say to his father!

There are a lot of people like this younger son, they don’t want anything to do with God, God is dead to them, they don’t acknowledge his existence; but they want God’s air, water, food!

Notice the response of the father, V:12-“and he divided unto them his living”

A Middle Eastern father is usually very outward in his response to hurt, pain, rejection and joy.

You would expect the father who is confronted with this kind of rebellion from his son to respond with severe punishment, explored like a stick of

Dynamite.

But that is not want happened, why?

This father is a picture of God the father, and God will let you go your own way.

If you make up your mind that you want to live your life independent of God; God will let you!

If you can only learn by bitter experience, God loves you so much; He will let you have that bitter experience.

The father’s heart is breaking, He loves this boy, but this boy has a free-will.

God has given every man the ability to choose- to love him, and live for Him; or to rebel against Him and go their own way.

The father does try to keep the boy from going.

A few days after getting his money, he packs his bags and heads toward the far-country.

That was a sad, sad day for that wonderful father!!

He is heartbroken over his son’s decision; and he stands there brokenhearted with tears running down his face as that boy left that home!

This younger son teaches us that we all have a rebellious nature.

Like this son we have a conflict with God the father, we are at war with God.

-“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to our own way”.

-“Every man did that which was right in his own eyes”

This story teaches us about:

2. The Consequences of Sin.

V:13b-16.

He is in the far-country now; he is seeing things he has never seen before, and doing things he has never done before.

I can see him with a pocket full of money, rents an apartment, buys a sports car, goes to the mall gets some new clothes.

He goes clubbing, he hits every bar in town.

He is parting with wild, loss women; he thinks he is so awesome!

Behind are the restraints of his father; behind are the rules of home.

No more you have to be in at mid-night, no more you can’t drink or smoke in this home, no more your girlfriend can’t live here.

He is now living it up in sin-city, doing whatever his sinful, evil heart and desires lead him to do.