Oct 11, 2026 · 1 hr 15 min · 8 segments
The Stages of Faith: The Faith of An Adult | Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Evans
Lord.Last week, we began by exploring the stage of faith in childhood, and we learned that a central characteristic is trust.
But of course, none of us remain there, especially when we enter our teenage years.
[laughs] Perhaps you remember your time in middle school, or maybe you've just blanked it out of your memory because you don't want to recall those years.
But there's an awkwardness that goes much deeper than the acne on our skin because at moments, you feel like an alien in your own body.
Your voice is changing, you're growing taller, and you try on different personalities with the same frequency that you try on different clothes.
It's a time in which we become our own person, and it requires a good bit of experimentation, which inevitably leads to some stumbles, and scripture is filled with such instances.
Jesus shared a parable which exemplifies this awkward stage of life, that of the prodigal son, and we're gonna use this morning the metaphor of the far-off country that Jesus said this young man went to.
It's an unease with your own existence that this prodigal son was experiencing, and it's the allure of that other land with those other friends, that other job, that all seems to be an opportunity to have more fun and be more free.
And Jesus, of course, meant this as a metaphor for our willful, willful desire to have a life outside of the confines of God's rule.
And there is one reason I can think of which has something to do with the life of my father.
When he was a young man, he lived a fully responsible and of society kind of a life.
He was clean-shaven, all-American preppy type, who upon graduating Stanford magna cum laude, rather than going to play professional baseball, decided to go to seminary of all things.
Upon completing his Masters of Divinity, he answered his call to the jungles of Brazil.
Lord.Last week, we began by exploring the stage of faith in childhood, and we learned that a central characteristic is trust.
But of course, none of us remain there, especially when we enter our teenage years.
[laughs] Perhaps you remember your time in middle school, or maybe you've just blanked it out of your memory because you don't want to recall those years.
But there's an awkwardness that goes much deeper than the acne on our skin because at moments, you feel like an alien in your own body.
Your voice is changing, you're growing taller, and you try on different personalities with the same frequency that you try on different clothes.
It's a time in which we become our own person, and it requires a good bit of experimentation, which inevitably leads to some stumbles, and scripture is filled with such instances.
Jesus shared a parable which exemplifies this awkward stage of life, that of the prodigal son, and we're gonna use this morning the metaphor of the far-off country that Jesus said this young man went to.
It's an unease with your own existence that this prodigal son was experiencing, and it's the allure of that other land with those other friends, that other job, that all seems to be an opportunity to have more fun and be more free.
And Jesus, of course, meant this as a metaphor for our willful, willful desire to have a life outside of the confines of God's rule.
And there is one reason I can think of which has something to do with the life of my father.
When he was a young man, he lived a fully responsible and of society kind of a life.
He was clean-shaven, all-American preppy type, who upon graduating Stanford magna cum laude, rather than going to play professional baseball, decided to go to seminary of all things.
Upon completing his Masters of Divinity, he answered his call to the jungles of Brazil.
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