Bible Studies

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The Gospels
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 – Getting Out of the Muck
Key Verses: (MSG)

• 11-12: “There was once a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’” – Jesus begins His story to the Pharisees by focusing on the familiarity of youthful self-indulgence and impatience.
  
  
• 13: “It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had.” – How quickly things can go awry once we leave the protective embrace of God.
  
  
• 14: “After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt.” – Without the steady flow of God’s blessings we quickly discover that we do not have the resources to face the difficult times that come into our lives.
  
  
• 16: “He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.” – Desperate times can cause us to take desperate actions.
  
  
• 17-18: “That brought him to his senses…¹⁸I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son.” – The steps to repentance are always the same: Recognizing where you are; knowing you need God; turning to God; and asking for His forgiveness. The steps are the same and so are the results.
  
  
• 22-23: “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants…²³We’re going to feast!” – There was no reprimand, ‘I told you so,’ or scolding. The father was simply elated that his son had returned.
  
  
• 28: “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen.” – The Pharisees are introduced to the character in the story that represents their attitude towards the ‘sinners’ at Jesus’ side.
  
  
• 31-32: “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours – ³²but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’” – Do we celebrate for the right reasons?
  

Points to Contemplate:

• With which son in this story do you best relate? Have you been lost and now found? Were you adrift, splurging away your life, and focused only on selfish fulfillment? Or have you been steady and faithful, always focused on doing what is right and expected? Because of this, have you developed an air of self-righteousness? Are you cynical and do you lack patience for others? Which son has traveled farther from God? Does returning from a home built of self-righteousness and self-importance require just as much washing as returning from the pig-pens and dung-heaps of the world?
  
  
• What has brought you to your senses? Did you suddenly find yourself immersed in pig-manure of your own creation? Had you strayed so far and bowed so low that you had forgotten who you were? Did famine obliterate your resiliency and resolve? Did it take a tragedy, illness, or death to wake you up? Or did a friend help you to realize that you had drifted? Had those little steps of self-righteousness taken you farther and hardened your heart more than you thought possible? Had your pride and feelings of self-importance become your defining traits instead of your love for God?
  
  
• What steps have you taken to return to God’s loving embrace? “Have you realized that you are not God? Do you earnestly believe that God exists and that you matter to Him? Do you consciously choose to commit your life to Christ’s care and control? Have you openly confessed your faults to God? Do you voluntarily submit to any and all changes God wants to make in your life? Have you evaluated all your relationships and asked for or offered forgiveness where needed? Do you reserve a daily time with God? Have you yielded yourself to be used by God?”¹
  

Promises of the Gospel:

The Parable of the Prodigal Son provides an ample supply of material for discussion and self-reflection. Regardless of where we find ourselves in life, this story can lead us back into the arms of God. We are very good at drifting and straying. We may purposely run into the world to indulge in whatever pleasure we seek or we can slowly slide along in our fog of self-righteousness. Either way, at some point we need to come to our senses. When we do and when we take the necessary steps set aside our self-centered focus and repent, then we are received in God’s open arms. He does not punish or chastise. He does not even take the time to see if the lessons have been learned or that penitence has been paid. What He does do is celebrate and rejoice.

¹”The Road to Recovery,” The eight steps to recovery as outlined in “Celebrate Recovery” a Christ-centered approach of returning the ‘Lost’ to God.

FUMC Devotionals

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