Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God Discussion Guide: Finding Your Place at the Table (2009, 65 pages).
Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God DVD (2009).
Tim Keller (founding pastor of Redeemer Pres NYC) offers a book-length treatment of the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15. Traditionally understood as a story warning against the waywardness of the the younger son, Keller recasts the story as being about two lost sons. Yes, there is the younger son who asks for his inheritance from the father and takes off. But Keller believes the scandal of the parable is found in the lost older son who, like his brother, self-servingly balks at the father's love in favor of the father's things. The younger son rebels and runs away with the inheritance. The older son tries to merit the inheritance by his good deeds. Both are lost because they reject the grace and love of the father -- one with his sins, and the other with his good deeds.What Worked: This is a great book to read devotionally, but also tremendously useful as primer for how to think about discipleship (and really as a refresher on how real life change occurs). For a limited time, Keller's 7 week sermon series on Luke 15 is being offered for free at Redeemer NYC's online store.
What Didn't: There is a now a 6 session small group resource meant to go along with The Prodigal God. The Discussion Guide questions were pretty good, but I wasn't a fan of the video clips meant to go along with it. Like most pastors, Keller is a better preacher than an actor. In an attempt to be artsy, they tried to do interesting camera shots and have Keller walk around while teaching on the parable (to make it more visually interesting). I would rather have just seen clips from Keller's preaching at Redeemer.
Grade: A for the book, C for the small group material.
Read it if: You want to grow in your understanding of grace, and particularly how the gospel is not just the way you enter the Christian faith, but the way you grow in the Christian faith.
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