Wide Open, Week 10: The Prodigal Son
Luke 15:11-24 (NIV)
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.
“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.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Discussion Questions
The sermon opened with the idea that our picture of God the Father is almost always shaped by our experience of our earthly father. How would you describe the connection between the two in your own life — has it been a help or an obstacle to your faith?
The younger son essentially told his father "I wish you were dead, just give me what's mine." Have you ever related to God that way, wanting his blessings without wanting his presence? What did that season look like for you?
The father in the parable doesn't chase his son into the far country — he lets him go and waits. Why do you think God sometimes lets us walk away instead of stopping us, and how does that shape the way you think about free will and grace?
The most scandalous detail in the story is that the father ran — something a dignified man in that culture would never do. What does it mean to you that God would risk looking foolish just to reach you faster?
Ephesians 6:4 instructs fathers not to exasperate their children. If you're a parent, where do you find that hardest to live out? If you're not, where have you seen that instruction lived out well, or poorly, in your own life?
The sermon challenged everyone, not just those with great dads, to consider forgiving their father for the ways he fell short. Where are you in that process — is it complete, ongoing, or something you've avoided?
Frederick Buechner suggested honoring our parents "for the pain that made them what they were." Is there a way you could extend that kind of grace to your own father, even imperfectly, even now?
The closing image was of a father carrying a worn photo of his son in his wallet for decades without ever saying so out loud. Has someone in your life loved you that quietly, in ways you only recognized later? What did discovering that do to your understanding of them?
The message ends with the question, "If God has a wallet, your picture is in it." How does it land for you personally to imagine that level of constant, quiet attentiveness from God — and is that easy or hard for you to believe?
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