Hope for the Prodigal , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Jim Putman

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127 pages

English

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The statistics are sobering: between 80 and 90 percent of kids who have grown up in the church are leaving the church after age eighteen. Children slipping away into a culture that tells them the Bible isn't true, sin is no big deal, God isn't real, or there are many ways to get into heaven. Whether parents may blame themselves or the culture, the result is the same: lost souls.But our God specializes in lost souls and the gospel is as powerful as it ever was. With wisdom that comes from personal experience, Jim Putman and his father, Bill Putman, offer brokenhearted parents and loved ones hope for their prodigals. A prodigal son himself, Jim has also found himself in the role of the prodigal's father when his own son rejected the faith. This family's powerful story of restoration, along with solid biblical truths and practical advice, will inspire, motivate, and equip readers to go after their lost sheep with acts of love and service.

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	01 août 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781493409266
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0461€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2017 by Jim Putman and Bill Putman
Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks. com
Ebook edition created 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
ISBN 978-1-4934-0926-6
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled AMP are from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
Scripture quotations labeled MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Some names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.
The author is represented by WordServe Literary Group. ( www.wordserveliterary. com )
Endorsements
“We can all look at the statistics and see that many who are raised in Christian homes and churches are leaving the faith when they graduate from high school. We are experiencing an epidemic of loss within the Christian community. Jim and his dad, Bill, have mingled practical principles with true life stories to form a helpful guide for both keeping kids from becoming prodigals and winning them back once they choose to run from Christ and His church. This book is helpful for individual parents and for churches that experience the loss of those they helped to raise in the faith. It will give you hope as well as clear steps to do your part as a parent and church member.”
— Josh McDowell , bestselling author, Evidence That Demands a Verdict
“ Hope for the Prodigal is raw, vulnerable, and incredibly helpful. It’s a practical and powerful look into the heart and response that God has toward His own prodigals— and the kind of heart and response He calls us to have toward the prodigals in our own lives. It will leave you encouraged and better prepared to participate in the greatest of all miracles: the restoration that flows out of genuine repentance and forgiveness.”
— Larry Osborne , pastor, North Coast Church, Vista, CA; author, Thriving in Babylon
“Every now and again God gives certain people a heightened understanding of what He is all about and what He wants us to know about living an abundant life. Consistently, God has chosen my good friend Jim Putman to deliver an important message that touches so many people. Hope for the Prodigal is important because many of us have strayed or know of someone who has strayed into a dark and dangerous place and we want to know if there is a way back. Jim, with the truth of God’s Word as his guide, leads us step by step back into a place of rich inheritance and blessing. Whether you are the prodigal or it is someone you deeply love, Jim reminds us that the story isn’t over yet. Read this great book and find your way back home.”
— Randy Frazee , senior minister, Oak Hills Church, San Antonio, TX; author, The Heart of the Story
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 3
Copyright Page 4
Endorsements 5
Acknowledgments 9
Introduction: The Story of Three Sons 11
1. Broken Families, Broken Churches 19
Part 1: The IDEAL 39
2. Building a Home That’s Hard to Leave 41
3. Building a Church That’s Hard to Leave 63
Part 2: The ORDEAL 85
4. When the Prodigal Wants to Leave 87
5. The Pain of Exposure 111
6. The Process of Restoration 133
7. While They Are Away from Home 153
8. While They Are Away from Church 175
Part 3: The NEW DEAL 199
9. When the Prodigal Returns Home 201
10. When the Prodigal Returns to Church 223
11. The Story Isn’t Over 243
Notes 265
About the Authors 267
Back Ads 269
Back Cover 272
Back Ads 269
Back Cover 272
Acknowledgments
H uge thanks go to our church family, staff, and elders of Real Life Ministries, to Lori and Bobbi, all our children and grandchildren, and all our family and friends, to agent Greg Johnson of the WordServe Literary Group, our writing partner Marcus Brotherton, and Brian Thomasson and the team at Baker Publishing Group.
Introduction
The Story of Three Sons
I t all starts with a story about three sons.
Yes, three. But in Luke 15, the biblical account of the prodigal, we see a father who had two sons. So where does the third son come into play? And what does this have to do with us and what we’re going through? Chances are good you’ve heard the story. Here’s a paraphrase to refresh your memory.
A wealthy father had two sons who looked and acted quite differently from each other. The older boy was considered the “good” son. The younger boy was considered the “not-so-good” son. One day the younger son said to his dad, “I’m tired of waiting for you to die so I can get my inheritance, I want what will be mine, and I want it now. Give me all I’ve got coming to me!” What an insult. In that culture, a son received an inheritance only after a parent had died, or at the earliest when a father could no longer manage his estate. For the younger son to demand his inheritance up front was the same as saying, “I wish you would drop dead, Dad. Get out of my way, Dad.” It was deeply hurtful.
But the father was both strong and loving. He said something like, “Okay, son, if that’s how you feel. If you really want what you think you want, then you can have it, but I know it won’t make you happy.” So the father gave the younger son what he asked for.
It didn’t take long for the younger son to leave. He hightailed it out of his father’s house and headed for the ancient equivalent of Las Vegas. He was hell-bent on going far away from home. The money burned a hole in his pocket, and as soon as he reached that faraway country, he spent all he had on wild living. His money vanished like morning dew on a hot summer’s day. In no time at all, he was broke. Dead broke. But he hadn’t reached rock bottom yet.
Right about then, the young man’s stomach began to rumble. Oops. He’d forgotten to save money to eat. None of his friends seemed to have any extra food to spare, or if they did, they were not willing to share. To make matters more complicated, a famine hit that faraway land. Jobs grew scarcer. People grew hungrier. Eventually the younger son took the only job he could find: tending pigs. In that culture, tending pigs was the lowest of the low. Even today pigs cannot be found in Israel. They are considered filthy animals that a Jew won’t touch. But even that job was a bust. The young man grew so hungry, he found himself seriously considering eating the pigs’ food. Picture that scene. There was the rich man’s son who at one time had lived in luxury, now in the muck and mire, starving, miserable, broke, desolate, friendless, thinking about wrestling food away from pigs. That’s rock bottom. But in that horrible and desperate and pressure-filled place, a marvelous thing happened.
The younger son came to his senses.
The son remembered life back home. His father lived well. His older brother lived well. Even his father’s servants lived well. He’d been such a fool! “I’m starving, but there’s plenty of food back at my father’s house,” he reasoned. “I should just go back home. But because of all I’ve done I don’t deserve to be one of the family again. I’m no longer worthy to be a son. Maybe I can get a job as one of Dad’s servants.” So home he went.
The good father had continued his daily routine but always with an eye on the road, his hand shading his brow—watching, waiting, hoping. While the son was still far away, the father spotted him. Even though his son had left with riches and health, the father recognized him in rags, nothing but skin and bone, and the father sprinted down the road with arms open wide. He plowed into his son, hugged him close, and wept for joy.
“Welcome home, son,” the good father said.
“I don’t deserve to come home,” the son answered. “I’ve messed up too much. I’ve hurt you too much. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.”
“Are you kidding me?” the father said. “You’re my son no matter what. I lost you and now you are found—you were dead but you are alive again.” He turned to his servants and said, “Quick. It’s party time. Get the boy cleaned up and dressed in my best suit. Whip up a barbecue that’ll make all the neighbors envious. Let’s feast and celebrate, for my son was lost. But now he’s found.”
The servants cooked up the best kind of party. A true celebration. Great music sounded from every room. Family members and guests danced and feasted on the best food in all the land.
Meanwhile the oldest boy, the “good” son, was still out in the fields. Working hard like he always did. He heard the music and caught a whiff of barbecue an