The Prodigal

I came across this video recently on YouTube. It uses a song from our Sons & Daughters album, The Prodigal, written by the brother/sister team of Ryan and Meghan Baird.

When I first watched it, I was unexpectedly moved by the way the animation communicated the meaning of the lyrics. I quickly forgot that I was watching a video and was drawn into the reality of the Father’s intimate, forgiving, personal love for those he has made his own in Jesus Christ. Good art has a way of pointing our eyes to what matters most.

Here are the lyrics:

You held out Your arms, I walked away
Insolent I spurned Your face
Squandering the gifts You gave to me
Holding close forbidden things
Destitute a rebel still, a fool in all my pride
The world I once enjoyed is death to me
No joy, no hope, no life

Where now are the friends, that I had bought
Gone with every penny lost
What hope could there be for such as I
Sold out to a world of lies
Oh, to see Your face again, it seems so distant now
Could it be that You would take me back
A servant in Your house

You held out Your arms, I see them still
You never left, You never will
Running to embrace me, now I know
Your cords of love will always hold
Mercy’s robe, a ring of grace
Such favor undeserved
You sing over me and celebrate
The rebel now Your child
© 2009 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

I did some research and found out that a guy named Chris Powers made the video. Chris recently graduated from Cedarville University in Ohio with a major in Video Production. He got married last August and since then he’s been working as Video Director at Grace Community Church). He puts videos like this together for his church, but I’m sure he’d be open to outside work. If you’d like his email address, contact me.

And may his tribe increase, for the glory of the Savior.

30 Responses to The Prodigal

  1. Colin May 6, 2010 at 6:55 AM #

    Bob,

    Perhaps it’s just my browser, but I don’t see a link to the video.

    Best,

    Colin

  2. Katherine May 6, 2010 at 7:01 AM #

    W-O-W
    I cannot begin to describe what realization of LOVE God has given me this year through the Prodigal Son’s parable. Reading it, studying it “with” Tim Keller, and though the work of the Holy Spirit… God has used it to really really transform me from the inside out. This video gave a lot more significance to the song…as I saw that girl being me somehow.
    Praise God for people who use their God-given gifts to make music, and also make videos that affect others for the glory of God.
    Thanks so much for posting it, Bob. God knew that I needed to see/hear it this morning.

    God bless you.

  3. Elliot May 6, 2010 at 9:13 AM #

    Thank you for sharing this! Thank you Bob and team for your faithfulness in sharing the message of Salvation through song, we have been blessed indeed!

  4. Dustin May 6, 2010 at 12:55 PM #

    Since the first time I heard this song I wanted to shoot a video to come along side it. I began story boarding it a couple of months ago, but after seeing this, there is no reason to do it. This animation is one of very few that does not distract and serves the lyrics well. I love being freshly aware of the love Christ has for me, a truth that I can often forget.

    Bob, thanks for sharing this!

  5. Trevor M. May 6, 2010 at 10:04 PM #

    Oh my. This just made my eyes indeed teary. How deep the Father’s love for us! Awestruck…

    This is the kind of creative media that I can get behind. I hope many more people will make edifying pieces of communicating God’s love such as this has done.

    Thanks a ton for sharing this Bob. I will link to it at my blog in the near future.

  6. Kyle May 8, 2010 at 12:37 AM #

    Any hope of a digital purchase of this video for use in our own churches? It’s beautiful.

    Kyle

  7. Chad May 8, 2010 at 2:08 AM #

    wow…

  8. Chad May 8, 2010 at 2:34 AM #

    again…wow…

  9. Matt Mason May 8, 2010 at 9:15 AM #

    Beautifully done.

  10. Russ May 9, 2010 at 6:15 PM #

    Amazing video! thanks for posting.

  11. Blake May 12, 2010 at 1:32 PM #

    Love it, love it, love it! Thanks for the link and awesome job (@Chris Powers) for enhancing an already powerful song.

  12. David, justopenthebook.com May 24, 2010 at 1:11 PM #

    As a prodigal myself, every day I look back on where I have been and realize just how awesome the grace of God is; that he would see my sins and run to me to take me back and make me His. I’ve shared some of my story in my blog, and there’s a lot more I haven’t – His mercy and love is fresh to me with every painful memory. We serve an awesome God!

  13. Chelsea Northrip May 26, 2010 at 7:12 PM #

    This song and this video have spoken so powerfully to my heart. What a blessing from the LORD! He is so faithful, and I am so grateful he uses people like Chris Powers and the Bairds to feed His sheep.
    I am planning to sing this song for Father’s Day and would really like to play the video with it. Do you know about copyright laws for the video or if it’s available for purchase? Our church has a CCLI license of course, but I didn’t know if that would cover it. I’m willing to contact Chris Powers directly if need be.
    Thanks so much! Any info you could give me would be most helpful!

    • Bob Kauflin May 27, 2010 at 6:39 AM #

      Chelsea, thanks for your encouragement. I’ll send you Chris’ email address.

  14. Nicole McLernon June 2, 2010 at 1:46 PM #

    A friend of mine had posted this a while back on Facebook. It was a totally a God moment when I saw it – it had been a pretty bad day and seeing this reminded me of the amazing love that has been bestowed upon me. It was great to see it at NEXT!!

  15. Mike Gilland June 2, 2010 at 9:16 PM #

    Fantastic video – great quality, even full screen. Thanks to all who made this happen. What a gift to us all.

  16. Bob Kauflin June 8, 2010 at 5:21 PM #

    Kyle, you can download The Prodigal from Vimeo at

  17. Charlie Aquino September 11, 2010 at 1:36 AM #

    Wow what a great animation and a great song. I love it so much! Thanks for sharing.

  18. Mike Ruel December 17, 2010 at 8:57 AM #

    Amazingly powerful video – we had a “Praise and Worship Night” on 11.19.10 and after the message I showed the video.

    Holy Spirit really moved in many hearts, thank you for making us aware of this powerful tool!

    In case you are interested here is the message: http://mikeruel.wordpress.com/2010/12/17/worship-idols-and-satisfacation-in-god-11-19-2010/

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

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