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1. The Lost-and-Found Son

• He sought his own way (Luke 15:12-13a)
• He squandered his substance (Luke 15:13b-14a)
• He suffered his own consequences (Luke 15:14b-16)
• TURNING POINT: He realized his ruin (Luke 15:17a)
• He remembered his father (Luke 15:17b)
• He repented of his sinful ways (Luke 15:18-19)
• He returned with resolve (Luke 15:20a)
• He requested mercy from his father (Luke 15:21)

There remains today:

• Great danger in doing what is right in our own eyes (Judg. 21:25; Prov. 26:12)
• Great danger in the land of sin and unrestrained passion (Jas. 1:27b; Rom. 12:2; 1 John 5:18-19; 1 Pet. 2:11; Eph. 2:12-13; Matt. 16:26)
• Consequences and separation for our sinful choices (Gal. 6:7-8; Isa. 59:1-2)
• Souls starving because they are away from God (Matt. 4:4; Amos 8:11)
• The same possibility for a child of God to wander and fall from God (Jas. 5:19-20)
• A call for wandering souls to wake up and return (2 Cor. 7:10; 1 John 1:9)
• Greater joy even as a servant of God than in worldly pursuits (Psa. 84:10)

2. The Lost-at-Home Son

His Self-Righteousness:

• Prompted suspicion at the joy of others (Luke 15:25-26)
• Prompted anger at the good of others (Luke 15:27-28)
• Prompted arrogance at his prideful achievements (Luke 15:29a)
• Prompted envy at blessings bestowed on others (Luke 15:29b-30)
• Prompted unsympathetic contempt for his father’s own (Luke 15:30a)
• Prompted utter disrespect toward his father (Luke 15:27-30)
• Prompted willful forgetfulness of his double portion (Luke 15:12; Deut. 21:17)
• Prompted serving the father out of duty, not out of love

There remains today the need to:

• Love brethren and welcome the penitent back (2 Cor. 2:6-11)
• Maintain love for brethren if we say we love God (1 John 4:7-21)
• Remember that envy is rottenness to the bones (Prov. 14:30)
• Remember that outward devotion is useless without inward devotion (Luke 11:39)
• Remember being present is no substitute for full devotion (Rom. 12:1)

3. The Loving-and-Lavish Father

Consider the Father’s Loving Patience

• The Father gives man the freedom to make his own choices (Luke 15:12; Deut. 30:19)
• The Father permits man to make mistakes and reject Him (Luke 15:13; Rom. 1:24-28)

Consider the Father’s Loving Desire

• The Father longs for His wayward child to come home (Luke 15:20; 2 Pet. 3:9)
• The Father is filled with pity and compassion for His child (Luke 15:20; Psa. 145:8)
• The Father runs with eagerness to His returning child (Luke 15:20; Mic. 7:18-19)

Consider the Father’s Loving Reception

• The Father embraces His returning child in His everlasting arms (Luke 15:20; Deut. 33:27)
• The Father overflows with tender expressions of love (Luke 15:20; Rom. 5:20)
• The Father forgives and restores His penitent child completely (Luke 15:22; Isa. 55:7)
• The Father celebrates with great joy the return of His child (Luke 15:23-24; 15:7, 10)

Consider the Father’s Loving Invitation

• The Father still loves His rebellious children at home (Luke 15:28; Hos. 11:1-4)
• The Father initiates and invites His children to His joy-filled presence (Luke 15:28; Matt. 11:28-30)
• The Father keeps His invitation to all His blessings open at all times (Luke 15:31; Rev. 22:17)
• The Father rejoices when one of His children is no longer dead but alive (Luke 15:32; Zeph. 3:17)