River Of Life - Cold Spring

In today's passage (Luke 15), Jesus is speaking to a group of sinners and tax collectors as he loved to do. Among them were a bunch of self righteous and hard-hearted Pharisees and teachers of the religious law. Verse two tells us the they were “muttering” to each other that he was with sinners and tax collectors. Jesus knew their thoughts and took a moment to bring perspective to them. He shares the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Lost Son. Each parable demonstrates God’s love for the lost and the joy he experiences when his children return "home," not as in heaven, but in relationship with Christ. “Your kingdom come your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." (Matthew 6:10) Jesus never preached to go straight to heaven, He preached that heaven would come to earth! “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven