Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” This verse doesn’t just tell us to serve the Lord, it tells us HOW to serve the Lord: with gladness. And it is evident the older son in the parable of the prodigal son was not serving the Lord with gladness. Perhaps we don’t always serve the Lord with gladness, so we can learn from him.
https://youtu.be/d3Muma2HlCM
Family Worship Guide
Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions:
Day 1: Luke15:25-29—Why was the older brother angry? What does it reveal about the father when he goes out to minister to his oldest son? How does the father look when he speaks to his oldest son and what similarities does he have with God the Father in His dealing with people?Day 2: Luke 10:40, Psalm 100:2, Matthew 23:25-28—Why does it matter how we serve versus only whether we serve? What are the similarities between the older brother and Martha? Can you think of other people in Scripture who served with a bad attitude? What about examples of people who served with gladness?Day 3: 2 Corinthians 2:5-10, Matthew 18:15-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:15—When you serve, what causes you to feel like a slave? What causes you to feel proud? What causes you to feel sorry for yourself? What can you do when you feel any of these ways to ensure you serve with gladness?
Sermon Notes
The title of this morning’s sermon is, “We Don’t Serve the Lord with Gladness When….”
On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse and we find ourselves beginning a new section of the parable of the prodigal son. Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. We will start at verse 24…
Luke 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. 25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
Before we dig into these verses I want to put you in the place of the religious leaders. Listen to this verse…
Matthew 21:45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard [Jesus’s] parables, THEY PERCEIVED THAT HE WAS SPEAKING ABOUT THEM.
The religious leaders got used to Jesus’s teaching’ making them look bad.
As Jesus preached the parables in Luke 15 they had to know He was going to say something about them, because they were the reason he was preaching these parables in the first place. Briefly look back at verse one…
Luke 15:1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
But surprisingly, it seemed like He wasn’t going to say anything about them, which they must have thought was wonderful:
They listened to the first parable and the shepherd finds his lost sheep and then rejoices. Nothing bad about them.They listened to the second parable about the woman finding the lost coin and then rejoicing. Again, nothing bad about them.They listened to the third parable and the father finds the lost son and then rejoices. Again, nothing bad about them.
And considering that each of the previous parables ended when whatever was lost was found and then there was rejoicing, when the father found his lost son and then rejoiced, they must’ve thought, “This is great. Jesus just preached three parables and none of them made us look bad.”
But He had a surprise for them. The third parable wasn’t going to end like the p...
