Major Dalton - July 21, 2024
You're Fired
Between our church's education area and library is a room called the "Pastor's Office." In that room are the pastor's bookshelves, the pastor's desk, and the pastor's chair. If I walked into that office, as the pastor, and saw you sitting in that chair with your feet propped up on that desk, I might say something like, "What are you doing in my chair?" But I have to ask, is it really mine? Let's say you walked into my office and saw that on the wall behind my desk, I had painted a large orange "Power T" in preparation for football season this year. Would you have questions? Of course you would! Why? Because while I am permitted to call that space and the items in it "mine," we all know, they don't really belong to me. Between the very familiar Parable of the Prodigal Son and the equally well-known Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus is an often overlooked story. Perhaps it does not receive the attention it is due because it is overshadowed by two of Jesus's most popular parables. But more likely, the story is avoided because the star is a manager who embezzles a fortune from his employer. And what does Jesus say about that manager? He says all of his followers should adopt this tactic as an approach to life! It was a very creative way to reveal a very important truth, one we will unpack this Sunday morning together.