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GRACE FIRST 24th January 2021 Paul Black Three weeks ago I spoke about the ministry of Jesus and how He lived, I believe, with an attitude of GRACE FIRST.  I shared accounts of Jesus ministry to Zacchaeus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well. The Bible tells us Jesus came full of “grace and truth”. Jesus never compromised on the truth and His ministry should be an example to each one of us of how we can reach out to our neighbours; our neighbourhoods’, our towns, even our nation and see lives changed. I want to continue this theme by looking at another aspect of the ministry of Jesus and how He taught and touched people’s lives. We must learn from Him.   (Matthew 11:28-30 - The Message) - Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep Company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”   I would like to share with you this morning a few thoughts from a parable, which Jesus told to a crowd of people, who had gathered around him. The crowd included tax collectors; sinners and even Pharisees and Teachers of the Law.  The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law weren’t happy with the others in the crowd. They were upset with Jesus and they muttered amongst themselves; ‘This man welcomes sinners and He eats with them’.   Jesus heard the mutterings and so He told them a series of parables.  The first one was about a man who lost a sheep and how he went to seek the one that was lost, leaving the other ninety-nine safe and protected. He told the next parable about a woman who had ten silver coins who had lost one. How she searched for it and swept the house clean and didn’t rest until she found her lost coin. I read the other day that a woman on her marriage would sew ten silver coins into her headdress - so this lost coin would be very special to her. Jesus, in these two parables, was showing the heart of the person who had lost something of valuable, and the efforts they went to find them - a shepherd - a sheep - a woman - a coin. BUT then Jesus really raises the bar and tells the story of a father who has lost his son.   This is the parable I would like to share some thoughts on.  This has become known as the Parable of the Prodigal Son but the word prodigal doesn’t appear in it. It appears as if an editor or somebody wrote this title above these verses in the Bible and it stuck. The word “Prodigal” actually means ‘Recklessly Extravagant’ or ‘Having Spent Everything’.  We have come to think that this parable was mainly about the son - ‘His Reckless Extravagance’ – ‘His Having Spent Everything’.  BUT many think that this parable’s main focus is the Father? Jesus tells about the man who had two sons. One day the younger son comes and asks for his inheritance NOW.  What he was effectively telling his father was that, he didn’t want to wait until he died, he wanted the money now.  He didn’t want to live under his father’s rules and restrictions – he wanted to live – he wanted his freedom now, to be free from his responsibilities in his father’s house, he wanted to go and enjoy himself.  He wanted to go and live life – not to be restricted here.  I think that as Jesus continued the parable, the crowds would have been shocked at such a request by the son, but even more so, that the father did what his son asked.  So the son leaves – his pockets full of cash – the open road before him – freedom; life; enjoyment; all the things he wanted; free now to do what ever he wanted without have to refer to anybody else. He would now decide what was good or bad for him – fullness of life here I come. But it didn’t work out that way!  With a lot of money in his pocket he gathered a lot of friends. We are told he squandered his money on getting drunk; on prostitutes and on ...