#3-Jesus Came Because We Are Selfish Series

Sermon Notes

Series: Why Did Jesus Come? — #3-Because We Are Selfish

Scripture: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

I We Are S_________________

A. We May Be O________________ Selfish. 11-12

The younger son wanted F__________________ without RESPONSIBILITY and without CONSEQUENCES.

B. We May Try to H________ Our Selfishness, 25-30

“All these years I’ve been S________________…”

The Pharisees were obedient, and often thought of themselves as B______________ than other people.

II. Selfishness D____________ Our Lives

A. It Destroys our lives Outwardly, 13-16

‘squandered, or wasted’ his M_________.

“wild living’-His lifestyle was D__________________.

‘in need’-He began to feed P_________, and wanted to eat what they were eating.

‘no one gave him anything—His friendships are destroyed.

B. It Destroys our lives Inwardly, 28-29

When he found out his brother had returned and they were throwing him a party, he became A____________.

Outwardly, he was obeying, but inwardly he was not in a right relationship with his F__________.

III. How Do We D__________ with Selfishness? 17-20a

A. We need to ‘come to our S___________.’

Being selfish is not G_____________ for one’s self.

B. We need to confess our S________ to God, 21

“Confession is good for the S__________.”

1 John 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The burden of sin IS lifted when we confess our sins.

Jesus came to offer that forgiveness.

C. We Can E_____________ Life with the Father, 20b-24

When we are living selfishly, we are trying to find J_______.

The only way to really have full joy is O_____________ Him and remaining in His love.

The answer to selfishness. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Series Title: Why Did Jesus Come?

Sermon Title: #3-Because We are Selfish

Scripture: Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

Introduction

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 (NIV)

1 Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him.

2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

3 Then Jesus told them this parable:

Vv. 1-2: The parable of the prodigal son likely represents the two groups mentioned here. The prodigal son represents the “sinners and tax collectors.” The older brother represents the Pharisees and teachers of the Law.

I enjoy watching these crime shows, like CSI. And one thing that I see on these shows is that often the deaths are not reported because a witness or the first person to come along is afraid that the police will suspect them.

I We Are Selfish

A. We May Be Openly Selfish.

11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons.

12 The younger one said to his father, ’Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

We often think of this son as a rebellious son. And many parents throughout time rebellious children. You know how it is: you begin to raise the child, and you want what is best, and you love them, and provide for them, and you give what you believe to be your all, and still a child becomes angry or bent on getting their own way, and doing things their own way, or worse, their behavior becomes somewhat destructive, their toward themselves or toward others.

Here we have a son, the younger of two sons, and he has pretty much had it life in his father’s house. Because his inheritance seems to be a lot, he probably has not lacked anything in basic needs, and possibly even in some of his wants. So, it seems that his reason for leaving was that he no longer wanted to be under the authority of his father. He wanted to be in control, in charge of his own life. He didn’t want anybody to tell him what to do anymore. He felt like he knew enough about what he wanted out of life, and he was ready for it.

He wanted FREEDOM without RESPONSIBILITY and freedom from CONSEQUENCES. And that’s not a bad definition of what it means to be selfish. To have what I want, when I want, and how much I want, and if something goes wrong, bail me out.

And I think it’s horrible when people are openly selfish like this. You see it in stores, especially on the toy or candy aisle, when kids are trying to get what they want, and they throw a tantrum.

And this son shows his selfishness, when he comes to his father and says, “I want my share of the inheritance.” The Law was that the oldest son got twice as much as other sons, so his part would be one-third. There’s no law that says the father couldn’t give the inheritance before he died; it might be much like a father turning over the family business to his children today while he considers himself retired.