We’ve come to the end of our journey through Tim Keller’s return to the Parable of the Prodigal Son in his bestseller, The Prodigal God. I hope those of you who have read along with our Tuesday morning group have been feasting on this retelling of the gospel in a contemporary setting.
The author closes with this summary:
Jesus tells us that both the sensual way of the younger brother and the ethical way of the elder brother are spiritual dead ends. He also shows us there is another way: through him. And to enter that way and to live a life based on his salvation will bring us finally to the ultimate party and feast at the end of history. We can have a foretaste of that future salvation now in all the ways outlined in this chapter: in prayer, in service to others in the changes in our inner nature through the gospel, and through the healed relationship that Christ can give us now. But they are only a foretaste of what is to come.
Here are the questions we discussed over the past two weeks:
- Tim Keller tells us that salvation is experiential – like a feast, it involves not only our minds and affections, but all our senses. What are some of the benefits the author finds in the approach that “Jesus’ salvation is a feast?” Can you think of any blessings he missed?
- After reading page 109, do you identify more with the rational, controlled temperament or the mystical approach to the faith?
- Did you find it surprising that the Bible speaks of the new heavens and new earth as physical realities? Given that the earth will be renewed and we are to be resurrected, how do you think we should live the life we have here and now?
- What did Martin Luther say is the default mode of the human heart?
- How does Paul, the apostle, motivate his readers toward obedience in his letters? How can you and I see our motivations, identity and worldview restructured?
- What does the author tell us is the greatest motivation to obey Jesus? What are the two edges of the answer to this question?
- If we believe we are saved by grace, yet we remained unchanged and disobedient, what aspect of grace does the author say we don’t understand? How can we change that situation?
- Do you think it is possible to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, apart from a community of believers – particularly, a church with elder brothers? Why or why not?
- I never read the quote by C.S. Lewis on pages 126 and 127 – it blew me away. Have you ever experienced a circle of friends like that? If not, would you like to?
- Have you seen Babette’s Feast? I remember the film just as the author describes it. How does Jesus resolve the question raised by that film, as well as the parable we’ve been reading: The Prodigal? What is the third way?
Continue reading about The Prodigal God: The Feast of the Father
In the sixth chapter, Redefining Hope, Tim Keller observes, “Home, then, is a powerful but elusive concept. The strong feelings that surround it reveal some deep longing within us for a place that absolutely fits and suits us, where we can be, or perhaps find, our true selves. Yet it seems that no real place or actual family ever satisfies these yearnings, though many situations arouse them.” These feelings, the author says, point to that homecoming that awaits each Christian in the resurrection, when our exile in this present world comes to an end in the arms of a welcoming Father. We will find ourselves at a banquet of sights, sounds and pleasures, far more real than anything we experience in this life.
- Tim Keller owes a lot to C.S. Lewis in this chapter. Do you identify with the homesickness described by Lewis, Steinbeck, John Knowles and the author?
- The author points out that we are all exiles; the reason behind our homesickness. If our exile causes such pain and feelings of lostness, why do you think being “on the road” or “in the wind” is portrayed so romantically or ideally in books, films and the culture?
- In the parable, there is a feast at the return of the younger brother and we are promised a place at the “marriage supper of the Lamb” in the Book of Revelation. Can you think of other feasts or meals in the Bible that relate to this theme of homecoming celebration?
- The chapter ends with this statement: “Jesus, unlike the founder of any other major faith, holds out hope for ordinary human life.” Would you agree with that notion and why would someone hope for an ordinary life? How does that relate to our feeling of “exile” or homesickness?
“What do we need to escape the shackles of our particular brand of lostness?” asks Tim Keller. We’ve discussed the heart condition of both the younger and older brother, concluding that they were estranged from their father by their desire for his goods, rather than his affection. The author says the only one who can change “the dynamic of the heart” from fear and anger to love, joy and gratitude is the true older brother.
Here are just a few questions we considered in our discussion of this chapter:
- Did you learn anything new or was your thinking changed about what it means to truly repent in the discussion beginning on page 75?
- The author says, “we must also repent of the reasons we ever did anything right. Pharisees only repent of their sins, but Christians repent for the very roots of their righteousness, too.” (page 78) This sounds like crazy talk! Is this different than the way most people understand repentance… the way you have approached repentance in the past?
- Keller speaks of “the festival joy of salvation” – what does he mean by that, as it relates to the parable? Have you ever thought of salvation in these terms before?
- How does this parable differ from the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin in Luke 15?
- Who bears the loss in mercy and forgiveness? What did it cost the father to bring his younger son home? What did it cost the elder brother? What did it cost to bring you home?
- On page 85, the author speaks of two cups in a powerful word play. What emotions, if any, were stirred when you read that paragraph?
Continue reading about The Prodigal God: The True Elder Brother
“That guy really needs Jesus!” Have you ever heard someone say that about a friend, who is lost in the world of alcohol, drugs or pornography? Have you ever thought that yourself, as you stepped over the people on the sidewalk, stacked like cordwood throughout the Tenderloin? It’s flawed gospel-logic according to Tim Keller, who spends this week’s chapter redefining lostness. Rather, he shows us that it may be you or I who have redefined what it means to be “lost,” in order to justify ourselves before God and grant significance to our lives, seeking our Father’s goods, without His grace. Here are some of the questions our little crowd discussed this morning at Java John’s:
- What do older brothers or moral conformists do, in order to reassure themselves that their lives matter – that they are significant?
- What is at the root of the moral conformist’s performance- driven life?
- When our prayers are only used to control our environment, what do they sound like?
- What is a “recovering believer” and what is it they need in order to be healthy and whole?
- The author says it’s important that we make a clear distinction between the gospel and religious moralism. Do you agree? Why?
Continue reading about The Prodigal God: Redefining Lostness
Last Tuesday we read along with Tim Keller, who defines sin not simply as doing wrong, but also conforming and obeying from wrong motives. The author sees the elder brother in the parable as a moral conformist and the younger brother as following the way of self-discovery – He concludes that both want their father’s possessions, but not his heart. While both are estranged from him, the younger son returns in a story that certainly surprised (and insulted) Jesus’ religious listeners:
At the end of the story the lover of prostitutes is saved, but the man of moral rectitude is still lost.
Here are a few of the questions we considered:
- Would you agree that there is a stark division between “moral conformists” and “pioneers” in our culture? Do you think people who take these two approaches to life can find justification for their philosophy in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles?
- In what ways are the hearts of the younger and older brother alike?
- What is the radical alternative Tim Keller teases us with on page 33?
- What is the project that everyone is involved in, regardless of the approach to God?
- How is the gospel distinct from other ways that people seek to relate to God?
- Do you think, in the words of the author, we should “be there every time the church door opens?”
“Jesus’s story might best be named the Parable of the Two Lost Sons. It is a drama in two acts, with Act 1 entitled ‘The Lost Younger Brother’ and Act 2 ‘The Lost Elder Brother.’” Tim Keller
Did you learn anything new about this parable in Tim Keller’s description of the process the father must have gone through to give the younger son his portion of the estate?
On page 20, there is a brief description of Middle Eastern society as it relates to the parable. Do you think Jesus’ hearers made the connection that God was pictured in the character of the father and, if so, do you think it revealed anything new to them about the nature of God? How about you?
Pages 23-25 describe in vivid detail “the prodigality of God’s grace.” As I read, a number of Scriptures came to my mind. What verses or passages came to mind as you read along?
When the older brother disrespects and humiliates the father, what does that say about his years of obedience and reverence for his father, family and community?
When we come to the end of the story and are waiting for some sort of resolution, Jesus leaves them (and us) hanging. To quote the author, “Why doesn’t Jesus finish the story and tell us what happened?” 2000 years later, do we know what happened?
This Tuesday, we will be discussing the first chapter and I came up with a few questions, as well as a couple from the discussion guide. Some of these questions are meant to be considered and answered privately.
- The parable is traditionally referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Who is Jesus really speaking to and how did you come to that conclusion?
- Was it a revelation to you that the first Christians were called atheists? How do you think we differ from those first believers and how are we alike?
- Do you think it’s a true statement that “people like Jesus, but not the church?” If so, why do you think the church in America is so unlikeable?
- If you agreed that “people like Jesus, but not the church,” do you think you might part of the problem?
- Do you think our Christian institutions, our buildings and programs are a barrier to the “younger brothers” in our culture? What do you think our attitude to such things should be?
- How can we be more inviting to the “broken and marginalized” around us?
- Tim Keller shifts from Jesus and His attraction to “younger brothers” to ask if our churches are inviting to those outside the faith? Do you think that is a valid question – I mean, do Jesus and His church serve identical roles?
- What do you think about a Church, where a crowd of “younger brothers” always seems to be around? Would you consider it a healthy Church or a “worldly” one?
- How do you resolve the tension between Jesus’ frequent rebuke of obedient, religious, “older brothers” in the Gospels and Scriptures like Matthew 5:20 when He says, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven?” (ESV)
Continue reading about The Prodigal God: The People Around Jesus
This Tuesday we will begin reading and discussing Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God. It’s a nice change-up from the more technical books we’ve been reading at Java John’s and I think it will be helpful to a wider audience. Please feel free to join us in reading and dialogue online or in our gatherings. Don’t panic if you haven’t gotten a copy yet… we will begin slowly and let everyone catch up. This week, we’ll warm up with the Introduction and The Parable.
From D.A. Carson:
There is more than one way to run away from God and defy him. But there is only one way back: God is so prodigal in his grace that he reaches out to humble and restore and receive both. Few books unpack this theme with greater force than this slim volume from Tim Keller.
This is a book that fits nicely with our Mission and reaching out with the Gospel
Continue reading about The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
The Tuesday morning crew at Java John’s just finished George Eldon Ladd’s Gospel of the Kingdom — it was a very worthwhile look at the Kingdom of God and the “already and not yet” quality of Christ’s reign on the earth. We closed with this thought, which is both timely and relevant to our mission at NCCF:
Do you love the Lord’s appearing? Then you will bend every effort to take the Gospel into all the world [beginning with the Brunswick and Nevada County]… All authority is His. “Go ye therefore.” Wherefore? Because all authority, all power is His, and because He is waiting until we have finished our task. His is the Kingdom; He reigns in heaven, and He manifests His reign on earth in and through His church. When we have accomplished our mission, He will return and establish His Kingdom in glory. To us it is given not only to wait for but also to hasten the coming of the day of God (II Pet. 3:12). This is the mission of the Gospel of the Kingdom, and this is our mission.
Over the next couple of months, we will be discussing The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith by Tim Keller. Even if you don’t join us on Tuesday mornings at sunup, please get a copy and join us in online discussion or when we get together.
Before I move on, did anyone have any comments about The Gospel of the Kingdom?
