Hello, friends. This is Scott Pauli, and I'm thrilled you've joined us for the weekend pulpit.

From time to time, it's my privilege to share a Bible message that God is used to affect my life in a unique way.

And today's message from God's Word is from a guest preacher and someone that is very special

to me.

I hope you'll get your Bible and follow along as we listen for the Lord to speak to our hearts.

Our story today, Luke chapter 15, comes out of the life of the Lord Jesus. And it's a very familiar one. It's known as the prodigal son, the story of the prodigal son.

And it's probably familiar to most of us today, but let's read it with fresh eyes.

Let's read it afresh and anew.

Let's ask God to speak to us.

And I want to take this story at a little different angle today, perhaps, than it most often is applied.

But I think a very important application for us today.

Beginning of verse number 11 of Luke 15, the Bible says, and he Jesus said,

a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father,

give me the portion of goods that falleth to me, and he divided under them his living.

And not many days after the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far

country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine

in that land. And he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country,

and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did

eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants

of my fathers have bred enough to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will arise and go to my father and I will say unto him, Father,

I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was a great way off, his father saw

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