Luke 15:11-24

Tyler Briggs continues this week’s sermon series The Gospel of Luke, Part III: A Journey through Galilee in Luke 15:11-24. Today’s biblical text shares the story of the prodigal son, and Tyler starts off by summarizing the younger son’s initial belief: His life of sin would be better than life with his father. Another way to state this initial belief is that his preferred life choices with total freedom from any other authoritative rule other than his own is the best kind of life to live. (Or, is it?) What does life look like on our own apart from God? What does life look like with true repentance and faith? In today’s sermon, we learn the loving arms of God embrace every prodigal that returns to Him.

Main Points

• Rebellion: Believing that life would be better out from under God
• Repentance: Realizing the deceptiveness of sin and returning to God
• Restoration: The loving arms of God embrace the prodigal that returns to Him.

Key Takeaways

• The attitude of rebellion wants everything for selfish reasons with no authoritative rule.
• Loose living, in the prodigal son scenario, involved the squandering of his inheritance (wealth) and the seeking out of prostitutes (sexual immorality).
• God gives us our choice. We are not without responsibility. He will let us have our choice towards sin and rebellion.
• Ultimate rebellion is for life apart from God.
• All life apart from God is loose living. Are you okay with life on your own? Tyler used his own life as an example of loose living, where he quoted himself in saying, “I’ll start following Jesus when I’m done having fun.”
• Sin promises life, but it really delivers death.
• The initial thought with the hold and power of sin over one’s life is for the sinner to try and solve the problem in his/her own strength. (Only God can rescue us from a life of sin.)
• Remembrance – Coming to terms with reality, the prodigal son remembered his father’s house and all that he had given up and even how the servants were cared for in his father’s house better than his current state. (In the sense of repentance and faith, this time of suffering served him well towards the final outcome. Likewise, our suffering can be an act of God’s kindness, as it leads us to repentance and faith.)
• The kindness and generosity of the father towards the younger prodigal son (picture God here) are total acts of pure mercy and grace.
• The downwind of our sin is pure stench, but God…(Romans 5:8; Ephesians 2:4-5)
• The stronghold of sin, while longing to be free of its grasp, can stir up fears of rejection. (Recall Tyler’s initial feelings in his early days of responding to the Gospel. God is greater than all our sin; God makes all things possible through Jesus Christ.)
• The love of God is beyond our comprehension. It is given to us freely without measure or end. (Think of the old hymn – The Love of God – “O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall forevermore endure – The saints’ and angels’ song…”)
• The love displayed with the prodigal son is breathtaking. Culturally speaking of that time, the father took on the sin, the shame, and the humiliation of the son’s acts by accepting him back in. He restored the son with relationship and blessing. (This is a picture-perfect scenario for God’s treatment with us, all made possible through Jesus – the Gospel.)
•  The greatest gift of all was the recognition and reality of him as his “son.” The kindness of the father (God) abounds.
• God’s invitation for us all: See the love of God and how much He longs for us to come to Him. He has made the way possible through Jesus, and we can draw near to Him. How will you respond?

Questions for Personal Application:

• Do I know the love of God and His goodness to me?
• Do I recognize my own sin and why I need the forgiveness of God? If in an unrepentant state, what must the downwind of it be like for God and others? Does sin demonstrate a stronghold in my life? Why or why not?
• Can I relate to the story of the prodigal son?
• How has God shown kindness to me?

Discussion Questions for Community Groups

• Do we have our own prodigal stories? Share with one another.
• How has our suffering helped our holiness? (Romans 2:4)
• Is God the ultimate satisfaction of our hearts?
  

Take some time to encourage and pray for one another.

Passages Referenced

Luke 15:1-2; Luke 15:11-24; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 

Worship Setlist

Hallelujah For The Cross; A Thousand Hallelujahs; Jesus, Firm Foundation; In Christ Alone; All I Have Is Christ