We Don’t Serve the Lord with Gladness When…-Luke 15:25-29 and Psalm 100:2 (Video)

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 Table of contentsFamily Worship GuideSermon NotesLesson One: The way we serve is as important as serving.Lesson Two: We don’t serve the lord with gladness when we feel (Part One) like slaves.Lesson Two: We don’t serve the lord with gladness when we feel (Part Two) proud.Lesson Two: We don’t serve the lord with gladness when we feel (Part Three) sorry for ourselves.Lesson Three: Serve the lord with gladness by thinking about how He served you. 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 previous two. Jesus has someone else to introduce: the older brother. And he is going to make the religious leaders look VERY bad. He represents them in prominent ways as we will see: The older brother’s attitude toward his repentant younger brother represents the religious leaders’ attitude toward repentant sinners The older brother’s attitude toward serving his father represents the religious leaders’ attitude toward serving the Lord The older brother’s self-righteousness represents religious leaders’ self-righteousness One more thing before we begin… Up to this point, maybe you haven’t been able to identify with the prodigal son, because you haven’t been a prodigal. For the most part: You have worked hard You have been obedient You have stayed close to your Heavenly Father Then this sermon might have the most application for you, because perhaps you can identify with the older brother. With that in mind, let’s start at verse 24 for context… 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. Remember when I told you how much I appreciate the imagery God can create with so few words? The son was in the field and what does this make you think? He’s working He’s responsible He’s faithfully serving his father So it presents quite the contrast… His younger brother is off living disobediently in Gentile territory, and he’s living obediently at home. The celebration was loud enough that the older brother heard the music and dancing as he approached the house. He wants to know what’s going on… Luke 15:26 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.’ I like the words received him back safe and sound. Isn’t this a beautiful way to describe where the son is? He’s safe in the protection of his father’s household He’s sound in terms of both spiritual and emotional health. The same can spiritually be said of us when God the Father receives us. The older son learns the wonderful news… “Your brother has returned. Your father has received him back into the family. Now we’re having a party in his honor.” But instead of rejoicing, we read… Luke 15:28a But he was angry and refused to go in. This is much worse than it looks. Refusing to go in would have brought public disgrace to the father. The son’s anger mirrors the grumbling of the religious leaders: they were upset at repentant sinners being forgiven…just like the older brother was upset about his repentant younger brother being forgiven. The ugliness of the older brother’s heart is revealed in two ways, and this is the first way: his attitude toward his brother’s repentance… The older brother was filled with righteous indignation. If you write in your Bible, you can circle these words, draw a line up to verse 2 and circle the word grumbling. When we consider that the father wanted to celebrate the son’s repentance, but the older brother was angered by it, it reveals just how far the older brother’s heart was from his father’s. It is important to recognize there are two rebellious sons in this parable who were both far from their father. When you look at them physically, the older brother might have been living under his father’s roof, and the younger brother might have been living miles away, but their hearts were equally far from their father. One commentator put it like this… “In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, you have a son who’s running away from his father in his disobedience, and another son who’s running away from his father in his obedience. The latter is a Pharisee.” The older brother had left his father without ever leaving the farm. Consider this irony… The older brother looked down on his younger brother, but after the younger son repented, he was close to his father, and the older son was far from his father. But look what the father does… Luke 15:28b His father came out and entreated him, The father could have come out and rebuked the older brother for his ugly attitude and rebelliousness in refusing to join the party, but it says he entreated him. Most translations say he pleaded with him. When we read this parable, we tend to think about the father’s grace and patience toward the younger brother, but he was equally gracious and patient toward the older brother. Think about what it took for the father to minister to the older brother: He had to leave the celebration He had to leave the other guests And he had to leave the younger brother At the beginning of the parable, we talked about the father letting the younger brother go when he wanted to leave home. The father didn’t chase him down. But he responds differently to the older brother. He goes out after him. The younger son got lots of attention earlier, but now the older son needs lots of attention. And it pictures two things… It pictures Jesus’s patience – much of the time – with the religious leaders. They refused to celebrate sinners’ repentance just like the brother refused to celebrate his younger brother’s repentance, but Jesus was patient with them…much of the time