Sermons and teachings from Rev. Mark Reynolds, a Pastor in the United Methodist Church (Florida Conference). These transformative messages will speak directly into your life!
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/pastormarkreynolds
What About Me? The Second Prodigal Son (Message 2: Provocative Stories)
The world teaches us to organize people into a hierarchical system of binary opposites: white/black, man/woman, rich/poor, straight/gay, citizen/alien, etc. Once everyone is labeled, we import a value system (developed by the people at the top of the social ladder) that legitimates our dismissive, harsh, and even abusive treatment of those who are different. This way of seeing the world is guided by a notion of strict justice, and its primary concern is whether people get what they deserve. But Jesus invites us to see things differently in the story of the Prodigal Son, in which a loving father embraces his whore mongering son who stinks to high heaven of booze and pigs. In this message, Pastor Mark focuses on the older son in the second part of the story to teach about God's radical grace, forgiveness, and love, and how this usually offends the sensibilities of church people. Once we begin to understand how God sees people, it will help us to love them more like God loves them.