This week we begin our series focusing on the parable Jesus tells in Luke 15:1-3, 11-32. We’re, of course, using Tim Keller’s book, The Prodigal God, as our reference. I commend the book to you and hope you’ll read along as it really is a kind of primer on the Christian faith. So, over the next five weeks we’ll explore how in this parable, Jesus is doing so much more than merely interpreting the dynamics of an ancient family. In fact, the story helps us understand what it means to be lost and in need, what it means to be saved and made whole, and how God longs to welcome all God’s children to the feast. Of course, the parable is often referred to as the parable of the prodigal son. The word prodigal, however, doesn’t actually appear in the parable and is often misused to refer only to the younger brother. In reality, prodigal means recklessly extravagant, luxuriant, recklessly spendthrift. Which means that what Jesus is doing here is telling two very different groups of people, the Pharisees and scribes (older brothers) and the tax collectors and sinners (younger brothers), people who in many ways define humanity; he’s telling them a story about God, and how “God’s reckless, extravagant, prodigal grace is our greatest hope.”