11/08/09 - Family Recipes PT1 - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore begins a new series entitled "Family Recipes" with part 1 in this Sunday service.

Family Recipes Part 1
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, November 08, 2009

www.churchatmirrorlake.com


Sermon Notes:


Philippians 4:10 (Message) “I'm glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess…I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am…”


Main Point: This month we will celebrate Thanksgiving by coming together and sharing a meal. That meal evokes memories—favorite dishes prepared by favorite people. Those favorite dishes are the result of a recipe—a combination of ingredients that end up producing memories and even identification—Shirley’s Strawberry Cake, Sheryll’s Sweet Potato Casserole, Amy’s Mac’n Cheese.

In the same way, the Bible gives us recipes for great life. There are defined combinations of ingredients that will produce rich and satisfying life. This month we will explore those recipes from God’s Word together.



Recipe for Life…Luke 15:11-24—A Ring, A Robe, and A Party


1. A Ring--He Knows My Name

- Isaiah 49:16 “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands…”
a. My name means something to Him, even if it means nothing to me. My name, my identity, is important to Him. He knows every hair on my head and every tear I have ever cried. He has never left me, and will never leave me.
b. My name, my purpose, are still intact with Him. The prodigal had spent the inheritance, wasted on the illusion of life promised by the world’s culture. Yet it was restored with the restoration of the ring—his identity and his place in his family. The ring represented the authority of the Father. It carried the weight of His name and the inheritance of His Kingdom.


2. A Robe--Time Has Not Altered My Value to Him

- Matthew 13:45-46 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!”
a. Everything the prodigal had done, all the wasted time and resources, all the regrets and “if only’s”, had not de-valued him to His father. Through the cycle of trying to find worth through a life defined by the world’s culture, of the demoralizing realization of failure, through the humbling walk back, ready to be relegated to a lesser role, his value with His Father remained the same.
b. He knows me and He loves me—now and forevermore.
- Hebrews 4:13-16 - 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable. 14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.


3. A Party—Surround me with Family

- Ephesians 1:3-6 (Message) - How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.