Jun. 21, 2026

Background:

• Most of us had fathers to try and steer us straight
• Sometimes we grab a hold of what they teach us and other times we are stubborn and do not want to do it
• Our fathers still love us no matter what and were there because of unconditional love
• God is the greatest example of a father we could ever have
• He loves us so much that most times we can not comprehend ourselves
• Unconditional love is an an enduring commitment not based on a personal attitude, belief, or behavior
• It is a love that is neither earned by achievement nor diminished by failure in life
• Compassion is an act healing brokenness and restoration even when they do not deserve it

Key Sermon Points:

1. The foolish son

• The word prodigal means reckless and wasteful and one who has lavish living
• God is waiting for us to repent and is showing His love in His concern
• The youngest son wanted to get all the father would give him so he could enjoy it now
• Many times as a father we must be wise
• Sometimes we hold people back and must let them loose
• Sometimes we block our blessings because we help those who do not want to help themselves
• The son was selfish, self-centered, rude, arrogant and unkind
• The son wanted to be cut loose, away from his father and free of responsibility
• The father gave the son his possessions and was able to do what he wanted with his life because the father knew that in life there are lessons
• The father could not make the choice for him but he made his choice already
• Many times we try to keep what God is trying to free when he is teaching a lesson and will move us out of the way to teach it

2. The prodigal son wasted all his inheritance

• He took all his money and went to a far land
• Not only did the son experience the loss of finance but a severe famine came
• God has a way of sending trial and tribulation our way to teach a lesson
• When someone gives us something easy we do not always appreciate it
• The son wasted his potential, privileges and relationship with his father and instead chose a life a sin and iniquity
• His own people did not give him a job but a gentile instead did
• Sometimes in life God will put us between a rock and a hard place
• He came to himself in the pig pen
• Some things we have done only God knows
• We thank God for deliverance and forgiveness in the midst of a crisis

3. The father's forgiveness and his mercy

• The pig pen will get us straight including our attitude
• He was accepted even before he confessed
• Repentance is the sign that we are sincere before we confess
• God knows when we are sincere when we turn from our wicked ways
• The fathers eyes and heart were merciful
• The Fathers feet were merciful- he wanted to run and bring him home
• The Fathers lip were merciful- he wanted to welcome the son home with all the tenderness of a true father
• The father saw that the son left one way but came back another way
• We as father's must accept when our children come back home and are changed
• He was immediately restored above servanthood
• The father never runs out of resources, God is never tapped out
• The celebration pitches reconciliation and a form of acceptance and the joy of the occasion
• The younger man was looking for a good time but he did not find it in the country and found it when he came back home to his father
• No matter how sinful, God is always waiting patiently and lovingly for our return
• Too many times we give up on people forgetting how long it took us to get where we are
• We must be patient just as god is
• Too many times we are hard on our children when we should be loving and forgiving them knowing we could not handle the pressure ourselves