Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1915-11-09
ON THE
PR0D|GAL SON
Dr.. Smith Gives Exposition of the
Greatest Story Ever
Written.

Written.
At the Baptist church Sunday night
the preacher began by asking, Why
did Jesus tell the story that we call
"The Story Of the Prodigal Son." OF
the three stories of the fifteenth
chapter Of Luke? Jesus had beer
dining with Publicans and men who
were called sinners by the Pharisees
and they were trying to hold him up
to scorn-"L at him, he goes out
to eat with men who are sinners =
They could not speak good word
| for Jesus because he went to eat with
sinners, but our Lord knew where to
find his people,, He turns here up
on his accusers and tells these four
wonderful stories in which he points
out that there are four ways of be-
ing lost, as the sheep, the coin, the
boy who went away, and the son
who staid at home. Some are lost, he
Esays as the sheep which strayed
away from the shepherd; some like
the coin which rolled away into the
dirt; some like the son who left
home of his own volition; and others
like. the boy who was selfish, proud
and envious. The shepherd went af-
ter the sheep, the woman hunted for
coin, but no one went after the boy
--he was being of free Willie
belonged to a higher order.
You will notice that in the exper-
ience of this boy that there are five
steps down. The first is Alienation,
"a man is sinful and lost when his
heart is alienated from God. His
heart was in the far country when
he began to long for it, although he
did not go away for a long time af-
terwards. Then came Deterioration
-he went rapidly downward in an
evil course. His thoughts were
wrong and then his acts were
wrong. "As a man thinketh in his
heart SO is he,'' That which is in
your heart is the thing you will
do in the dark. Now comes Expa-
triation-exiled from home by his
own conduct. Getting Tar from Gods
love and all else that is good. The
Prodigal was entirely away from his
fathers house, HIS fortune was soon
wasted, and he was in want. Satan
brings him to Starvation-he would
be glad II he could get even share
of the food OF the swine which he is
hired to tend. At last comes Degra-
dation-a Jew compelled to feed
hogs Down to the bottom and the
bottom fallen out. When your heart
Is in the far country, your feet are
soon there ana then you must suffer
the penalties.
Now observe the steps upward out
of his lost and wretched condition.
First there iis-Reffection- When we
get down beyond human help, then
ve may turn to Christ, and thank
God he is always ready to forgive.
II men would only stop and think,
they would turn to Him The Sec
ord step ID h-Reso1ution. will
arise; will go; will say; am no
mure worthy. When you get that
personal pronoun '.1" in the right
place in your mind, then the next
step wfn follow, which is-Action.
After the resolution the next thing
was to get up and go home Then
comes Opposition. Some Of you
know about this. You are not Chris
tians because you are asking, "What
will the folks at home say?" 'sWhat
will the friends in my social set
say?" The Prodigal found his oppo-
,ition right in his own home. But
The Father met MIN and there is,
His father kissed
away his sin. True he will get
,rop for the wild oats which he has
,own. He cannot repair his abused
body. But the father saw him as far
,ff as he had gone from nome, and
,ou cannot get so far away that God
,ver forgets you. This father is q
picture Of the loving heart Of God.
lie puts upon the wanderer the robe
Il a prince-the ring with the seal
4 confidence and authority-the
hoes of noted guest-and gives
i'm the seat Of honor.
The older brother-the Prodigal
Who never went away-did not re-
'ent and he was lost. He Is the legal
who is guilty of lying, ha-
red, and envy. He called himself a
,alley slave, he would not own his