First Presbyterian Church of Urbana, a Member Church of the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. and More Light Presbyterians

Fourth Sunday in Lent – March 31, 2019

Bible Study – 8:15 a.m.
Worship – 9:30 a.m.
Childcare is available for infants through preschool age, downstairs in Rooms 4 and 5 for morning and evening services
Fellowship Time – after worship
Sunday Seminar: “Special Music” – 11:00 a.m.
Theology Discussion Group – 6:30 p.m.

“The Prodigal Son,” by Marc Chagall in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium.

What are the limits of forgiveness? While we may have a good sense of our own limits, how far do we imagine God goes to reconcile? The Gospel of Luke presents us with a beloved answer to that question in the Story of the Prodigal Son. Or is it the Story of the Elder Brother? Or best yet, the Story of the Forgiving Father? Oscar Wilde said, “Always forgive your enemies–nothing annoys them so much.” So often being able to forgive is connected to being willing to change one’s mind. As Mark Twain quipped, “Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world — and never will.” A human soul that is freed. Might that be justification enough, beyond our calling to be Christ-like? Lewis Smedes would answer yes. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”

Join us on Sunday as we hear and contemplate this challenging story once more

Pastor David