Show Us the Father | Week 1 | Pastor Kevin Kringel | Baptism Sunday
Show Us the Father
Week 1
Baptism Sunday
The Father Who Never Stops Looking for You
John 14:8-9
If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.
There’s a hunger in our hearts, like these disciples; we are not satisfied knowing about God, we desire to see Him, to experience Him, to know Him.
(I can know everything about Maria, but it's not the same as living with her daily. Christianity is meant to be lived, not just understood.)
The teachings about God give us language and understanding to interpret our experiences with Him. (Forgiveness, Grace, Mercy, Love, Compassion, Faithfulness)
Today I want to start at the beginning:
The whole Bible is the Great Love Story of a Father whose children got lost, and He did everything He could to bring them back home.
Before people know God as holy, powerful, or sovereign, they need to know Him as the Father who loves, seeks, waits, and celebrates.
You are more loved than you know, more sought than you realize, and more welcomed than you imagine.
Week 1
Baptism Sunday
The Father Who Never Stops Looking for You
John 14:8-9
If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.
- How does the Father love? Look at Jesus.
- How does the Father forgive? Look at Jesus.
- How does the Father welcome prodigals? Look at Jesus.
- How does the Father treat sinners, doubters, and outsiders? Look at Jesus.
There’s a hunger in our hearts, like these disciples; we are not satisfied knowing about God, we desire to see Him, to experience Him, to know Him.
(I can know everything about Maria, but it's not the same as living with her daily. Christianity is meant to be lived, not just understood.)
The teachings about God give us language and understanding to interpret our experiences with Him. (Forgiveness, Grace, Mercy, Love, Compassion, Faithfulness)
Today I want to start at the beginning:
The whole Bible is the Great Love Story of a Father whose children got lost, and He did everything He could to bring them back home.
Before people know God as holy, powerful, or sovereign, they need to know Him as the Father who loves, seeks, waits, and celebrates.
You are more loved than you know, more sought than you realize, and more welcomed than you imagine.
Luke 15:1-24 (The Great Story)
Before I begin, let's remember that human beings are not just nameless faces or meaningless accidents walking around. We each have a story. We have history. Like all stories, there is a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Our life is set in a story, but it’s not just our story; it’s His story. God’s story that we are created and invited into.
In Luke 15, we must start with the setting for these stories and then understand that these three stories are really one great story.
We are introduced to a group of people who do not know who God is, though they believe they know God. Surely God doesn’t hang out with or give a thought to sinners. God only loves the already lovable.
Now we can appreciate these three stories that, in essence, tell us one thing: What is God like towards the lost?
The Lost Sheep (The Shepherd-Jesus, shoulders of the cross)
The sheep wandered.
Maybe it didn't mean to get lost.
Perhaps it was distracted by greener grass. Maybe it followed a familiar path that slowly drifted farther and farther from the shepherd. One step wasn't rebellion. Another wasn't rebellion. But eventually it looked up and realized it was alone, much farther from the Shepherd than it had thought.
Can you imagine the fear?
The sounds are unfamiliar.
Every shadow feels dangerous.
The sheep isn't thinking, "I am free."
The sheep is thinking, "How did I get here?"
Many people in our congregation know that feeling.
Not angry at God.
Before I begin, let's remember that human beings are not just nameless faces or meaningless accidents walking around. We each have a story. We have history. Like all stories, there is a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Our life is set in a story, but it’s not just our story; it’s His story. God’s story that we are created and invited into.
In Luke 15, we must start with the setting for these stories and then understand that these three stories are really one great story.
We are introduced to a group of people who do not know who God is, though they believe they know God. Surely God doesn’t hang out with or give a thought to sinners. God only loves the already lovable.
Now we can appreciate these three stories that, in essence, tell us one thing: What is God like towards the lost?
The Lost Sheep (The Shepherd-Jesus, shoulders of the cross)
The sheep wandered.
Maybe it didn't mean to get lost.
Perhaps it was distracted by greener grass. Maybe it followed a familiar path that slowly drifted farther and farther from the shepherd. One step wasn't rebellion. Another wasn't rebellion. But eventually it looked up and realized it was alone, much farther from the Shepherd than it had thought.
Can you imagine the fear?
The sounds are unfamiliar.
Every shadow feels dangerous.
The sheep isn't thinking, "I am free."
The sheep is thinking, "How did I get here?"
Many people in our congregation know that feeling.
Not angry at God.
Not shaking their fist at heaven.
Just busy.
Distracted.
Consumed by work, pain, success, relationships, and responsibilities.
Then one day they wake up and realize:
"I haven't talked to God in months."
"I don't feel close to Him anymore."
"How did I get here?"
And the Shepherd comes looking.
Not with condemnation.
Not with a lecture.
With pursuit because of love
Just busy.
Distracted.
Consumed by work, pain, success, relationships, and responsibilities.
Then one day they wake up and realize:
"I haven't talked to God in months."
"I don't feel close to Him anymore."
"How did I get here?"
And the Shepherd comes looking.
Not with condemnation.
Not with a lecture.
With pursuit because of love
The Lost Coin (The woman- the church with a lamp/the Spirit)
The coin didn't wander.
It is just lost.
Does a coin even realize it is lost???
Did something happen to it that left it in darkness?
The coin has no power to rescue itself.
It simply sits in the darkness waiting to be found.
Many people aren't lost because of what they did.
They're lost because of what happened to them or how they were raised.
Someone else's decision knocked them into a dark corner.
They didn't choose this; they are just lost, plain and simple.
The coin didn't wander.
It is just lost.
Does a coin even realize it is lost???
Did something happen to it that left it in darkness?
The coin has no power to rescue itself.
It simply sits in the darkness waiting to be found.
Many people aren't lost because of what they did.
They're lost because of what happened to them or how they were raised.
Someone else's decision knocked them into a dark corner.
They didn't choose this; they are just lost, plain and simple.
And over time, they begin to wonder:
"If there is a God, has He forgotten where I am?"
“Is there anyone out there looking for me?”
The coin cannot cry out.
The coin cannot move.
The coin cannot save itself.
But the woman never stops searching. (The Holy Spirit’s fire inside the heart of the church)
She lights a lamp.
Sweeps the house. (not a simple once over, there is an urgency, a meticulous search)
Why?
Because the coin still has value.
Its location never changed its worth.
In most ancient cultures, the coin would have had the image of the Emperor or King stamped into it. The coin always bears the image of the King, even if it's lost.
You can be lost without losing your value.
"If there is a God, has He forgotten where I am?"
“Is there anyone out there looking for me?”
The coin cannot cry out.
The coin cannot move.
The coin cannot save itself.
But the woman never stops searching. (The Holy Spirit’s fire inside the heart of the church)
She lights a lamp.
Sweeps the house. (not a simple once over, there is an urgency, a meticulous search)
Why?
Because the coin still has value.
Its location never changed its worth.
In most ancient cultures, the coin would have had the image of the Emperor or King stamped into it. The coin always bears the image of the King, even if it's lost.
You can be lost without losing your value.
The Lost Son (The Father)
The sheep wandered.
The coin was misplaced.
The son chose.
This one hurts differently.
The son looked his father in the eye and essentially said:
"I want your stuff, but I don't want you."
The sheep wandered.
The coin was misplaced.
The son chose.
This one hurts differently.
The son looked his father in the eye and essentially said:
"I want your stuff, but I don't want you."
"I think life is better away from your house."
"I know what's best for me."
And many of us know that story too.
The confidence.
The independence.
The certainty that we know better.
The belief that freedom is found outside the Father's will.
And for a while it seems true.
The parties are fun.
The money is flowing.
The friends are everywhere.
Until they aren't. (This moment will come)
And eventually he finds himself feeding pigs.
Hungry.
Alone.
Ashamed.
Broken.
Can you imagine the thoughts racing through his mind?
"What have I done?"
"How did I throw my life away?"
"Will my father even want me back?"
"Maybe I can earn my way home."
Shame says, "You can come back, but only as a servant."
Grace says, "Come home as a son."
"I know what's best for me."
And many of us know that story too.
The confidence.
The independence.
The certainty that we know better.
The belief that freedom is found outside the Father's will.
And for a while it seems true.
The parties are fun.
The money is flowing.
The friends are everywhere.
Until they aren't. (This moment will come)
And eventually he finds himself feeding pigs.
Hungry.
Alone.
Ashamed.
Broken.
Can you imagine the thoughts racing through his mind?
"What have I done?"
"How did I throw my life away?"
"Will my father even want me back?"
"Maybe I can earn my way home."
Shame says, "You can come back, but only as a servant."
Grace says, "Come home as a son."
The Father in All Three Stories
The real hero is not the sheep.
Not the coin.
Not the son.
The hero is the seeker.
The shepherd searches.
The woman sweeps.
The father waits, watches, runs, embraces, restores, and celebrates.
Jesus is showing us the Father.
A Father who refuses to stop loving.
A Father who never stops seeking.
A Father who never quits watching the horizon.
A Father who runs toward prodigals instead of away from them.
The real hero is not the sheep.
Not the coin.
Not the son.
The hero is the seeker.
The shepherd searches.
The woman sweeps.
The father waits, watches, runs, embraces, restores, and celebrates.
Jesus is showing us the Father.
A Father who refuses to stop loving.
A Father who never stops seeking.
A Father who never quits watching the horizon.
A Father who runs toward prodigals instead of away from them.
Baptism
This is where baptism becomes powerful.
Baptism is not merely a statement.
It is an experience.
It is not simply something we do.
It is something we enter into.
Every person being baptized today is saying: “I know what it feels like to be lost."
Maybe they wandered.
Maybe life happened to them.
This is where baptism becomes powerful.
Baptism is not merely a statement.
It is an experience.
It is not simply something we do.
It is something we enter into.
Every person being baptized today is saying: “I know what it feels like to be lost."
Maybe they wandered.
Maybe life happened to them.
Maybe they chose a path away from God.
But today they also know what it feels like to be found.
To be washed. (Clean)
To be welcomed home. (received in)
To be embraced by the Father. (the water surrounding them like the arms of God)
To have the old life buried and a new life raised with Christ. (fresh start)
When they step into the water, they are not celebrating their goodness.
They are celebrating His pursuit.
They are saying:
"The Father found me."
And for a moment, as they come up from the water, the church gets to witness what every lost sheep, every lost coin, and every lost child longs to experience:
The joy of coming home.
Alter: Salvation, Baptism
But today they also know what it feels like to be found.
To be washed. (Clean)
To be welcomed home. (received in)
To be embraced by the Father. (the water surrounding them like the arms of God)
To have the old life buried and a new life raised with Christ. (fresh start)
When they step into the water, they are not celebrating their goodness.
They are celebrating His pursuit.
They are saying:
"The Father found me."
And for a moment, as they come up from the water, the church gets to witness what every lost sheep, every lost coin, and every lost child longs to experience:
The joy of coming home.
Alter: Salvation, Baptism