The Road Back Home
Jeffery Anselmi / General Adult
Turn / Repentance / Luke 15:11–24
The prodigal son’s life choices left him in need of care; his benevolent father lovingly welcomed him home.
INTRODUCTION
OPENING SLIDE
• Leaving home is something of a natural process of growing up.
• With that said, some folks stay close to home, and others end up moving far away from home.
• When things are right, even when we leave home, we never really leave home.
• We’ve all heard the saying, “There’s no place like home.”
• Whether it's a childhood memory, the embrace of a parent, or the comfort of being fully known and still loved, "home" represents more than just a place; it represents belonging, identity, and safety.
• But what happens when we leave home, spiritually speaking?
• What draws us away, what do we find out there, and how do we find the way back?
• There’s something deep within all of us that longs for home, not just a place, but a sense of peace, security, and identity.
• Spiritually speaking, “home” is where we belong in relationship with our Heavenly Father through Jesus.
• But sometimes, we choose to walk away.
• Today we will continue in our Turn series examining the art of repentance and restoration.
• In Luke 15, Jesus tells one of the most memorable parables in all of Scripture: the story of a son who leaves home, hits rock bottom, and eventually returns to a father who never stopped watching the road.
• It's more than just a story; it's a mirror held up to every heart that’s ever wandered.
• In our Turn series, we have been exploring the gift of repentance.
• For the prodigal son, he will come to realize how wonderful this gift would be for him.
• His is a story that reflects the journey of many hearts: a road away from God, a season of brokenness, and the hope of restoration.
• This story is not just about a prodigal son—it’s about the mercy of a waiting Father and the possibility of coming home.
• Let’s turn to Luke 15 as we examine the beautiful gift of repentance as we dive into the road back home.
Luke 15:11–13 NET 2nd ed.
11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons.
12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them.
13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle.
SERMON
POINT 1 SLIDE
I. The road leading away from home.
• Our parable tells a story of the family, a father and his two sons.
• The youngest son is itching to get on the road leading away from home.
• We do not know what caused the young man to want to leave home, but it can be easily assumed that the youngest wanted what he saw as freedom.
• We do not know how long the younger son had been plotting to make his most unusual and cruel request of his father.
• For whatever reason, now is the time.
• During this period, the Jewish society was heavily influenced by strict religious laws and norms, including a strong emphasis on purity, family honor, and community.
• A son demanding his inheritance early was a serious breach of social and familial norms, tantamount to wishing his father dead.
• This would have been shocking to the original audience.
• The road leading away from home looked so appealing to this young man.
• The young son had a rebellious heart.
• He said he wanted his father’s things but not the father.
• The son wanted to live independently from the father and independently of God’s rule.
Isaiah 53:6 NET 2nd ed.
6 All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack him.
• Many walk away from God not in a loud declaration, but in a quiet shift of the heart—choosing self over surrender.
• Like many today, he chased temporary pleasures at the cost of lasting fulfillment.
• The young man is living with a spirit of entitlement.
• He demands from his father what he thinks he is entitled to have, and he is sort of correct.
• The son, being the younger, had legal rights to 1/3 of his father’s property.
• However, there was a catch: he would not get anything until the death of the father.
• The eldest son would receive 2/3 of the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21:17).
• Imagine how the father must have felt: his youngest son more or less tells the father that since you are not dying according to my time frame, I want my part of all this now!
• Of course, being the oldest in my family, I think that sounds fair!
• Entitled people are selfish people who only care about what they want regardless of much they hurt other people.
• This young man wanted the gift of his inheritance without valuing the giver.
• When we put God’s blessings above God’s presence, we have already begun our road away from home.
• This young man wanted blessings without a relationship.
• Once the father honors the request, verse 13 tells us:
Luke 15:13 NET 2nd ed.
13 After a few days, the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle.
• The son packs up all his stuff and gets as far away from the father as he could.
• He left his homeland, and he lived the high life.
• The "far country" is not just physical, but spiritual—a place away from the father's presence, protection, and provision.
• He wasn't driven out; he walked away.
• Deliberately.
• Willingly.
• The "distant country" can be a lifestyle, an attitude, or even just a gradual drifting.
• It begins when we distance ourselves from God’s voice, God’s Word, and God’s will.
• Finally, the young man thinks the road away from home will give him freedom.
• He thinks he will be free, that he can live life however he pleases.
• There would be no one to tell him how to live his life; he was going to be the master of his own domain.
• This freedom is an illusion.
• At first, this road looks like freedom: no rules, no restrictions, just pleasure.
• But it leads to loss, regret, and eventually desperation.
• This young man thinks he has it all until…
• It has been said that sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay.
• All was good for this guy; his dreams had come true, until they did not.
Luke 15:14–16 NET 2nd ed.
14 Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and worked for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He was longing to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
MAIN POINT 2 SLIDE
II. The potholes in the road.
• Life was good for the young man; he thought he had everything he wanted until one day he was driving down Fry Blvd. and started hitting some potholes that were the ruin of him.
• The first pothole he hit was the pothole of emptiness.
• The boy was living it up until he wasn’t.
• Verse 13 reminds us that he was living the wild life, he was the life of the party, and he probably had a lot of friends—that is, until the money ran out.
• He spent it all, see; the thrill of sin is temporary, but the bill always comes due.
• What was once this young man’s dream, what he thought would fulfill him, has now left him feeling empty.
• He tried to satisfy his soul with all the world had to offer him, yet his soul and his wallet were both empty.
• What are you chasing at the expense of your relationship with your family?
• What are you chasing at the expense of your relationship with Jesus?
• This kid tried to satisfy his soul with pleasures that could not sustain him.
• How sad would it be to spend your life chasing a dream, then getting the dream only to find out it cost you everything in life that was important?
• The next pothole in the road away from home was the pothole of crisis.
• In the midst of this young man wasting all his money is the crisis of the mighty famine.
• The famine was not the cause of his downfall; the famine revealed it.
• The things he was chasing had nothing to offer to him; they took all he had, and then life got really hard for him.
• See, life has a way of exposing whether you are living off the provisions of the Father or your own illusions.
• When the young man was at home, his father took care of his needs; now left to his own devices, he lost it all.
• Another pothole the young man faced was the pothole of bondage.
• Verse 15 says he WORKED for one of the citizens of the country; however, the word translated as WORKED is a little deeper than one might think.
• The word implies he attached himself or became enslaved to this citizen.
• The freedom this young man chased led him to servitude.
• For a Jew to stoop to feeding pigs would have been a great humiliation, and for this young man to desire to eat food that the pigs had touched was to be degraded beyond belief.
• The pods were the seeds of the carob tree, which grows around the Mediterranean Sea.
• That no one gave him anything shows that he was neglected and insignificant; he had truly sunk to the depths.
• Where were all his party buddies who were most likely in abundant supply when he was bankrolling the party?
• Sin promises so much freedom, but it ends in slavery.
Romans 6:16 NET 2nd ed.
16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?
• The further you run from God, the tighter the chains become.
• The last pothole he hit was the pothole of isolation.
• Look at verse 16 again.
Luke 15:16 NET 2nd ed.
16 He was longing to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
• The kid was starving, yet no one gave him anything!
• He was surrounded by people but cared for by no one.
• Sin will leave you empty and isolated.
Luke 15:17–24 NET 2nd ed.
17 But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!
18 I will get up and go 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; treat me like one of your hired workers.” ’
20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.
21 Then his 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 slaves, ‘Hurry! 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 us eat and celebrate,
24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again—he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.
MAIN POINT 3 SLIDE
III. The road back home.
• What a mess!
• This young man has disrespected his father in the deepest way; he has burned through all his money, he is starving, and he is feeding pigs.
• It all seems like his life is over until…
• Verse 17 says he came back to his senses!
• Verses 17-24 clearly demonstrate God's grace!
• The crowd is thinking this arrogant young man is getting what he deserved!
• After the son hit rock bottom, he began the journey of repentance, which led to restoration and rejoicing!
THE ROAD BACK HOME POINTS
• His return begins with a realization!
• “He came to his senses…” — This is the turning point. He saw himself, his situation, and his sin clearly.
• He remembered his father—not just the house, but the goodness of the father he left.
• Repentance always starts with honesty—about where you are and how you got there.
• You will not get back on the road home until you admit you left home in the first place.
• Next, the young man had to swallow his pride and return home.
• Verse 20 tells us he got up and went to his father!
• He did not just nt feel sorry, he took it one step further and heading home with a contrite heart!
• Repentance is not just regret; it is a reversal!
• The crowd had to be anticipating this young man going home and being rejected, but to the surprise of all there, the story goes in an unexpected direction.
• The young man’s journey back home is met with compassion!
• Verse 20 tells that when the young man was still far away, the father sees him and rushes to get to him!
• The fathers heart beat the father to the son!
• The father was watching and waiting—not angry, but eager.
• He ran to him, embraced him, and kissed him.
• This mirrors the way Jesus welcomes us with open arms!
• God doesn’t wait for you to clean up—He meets you in your mess with open arms.
Romans 5:8 NET 2nd ed.
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
CONCLUSION
• The story ends in the restoration of the son!
• “Bring forth the best robe… put a ring… and shoes…” (v. 22)
• He came asking to be a servant, but the father restored him as a son.
• Each item—the robe, the ring, the sandals—symbolized identity, authority, and belonging.
• Actually, the story ends in celebration!
• “Let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again…” (vv. 23–24)
• The father didn’t focus on what the son had done; he rejoiced in who the son had become—home again.
• Grace throws a celebration where the world would throw condemnation.
› God doesn’t just forgive you—He restores you. You don’t come back to a probation period. You come back to a party.
• How will your story end?
• Will you take the road back home or will you live your life in fear and regret?
• God loves you and is waiting for you to come back home!
• Will you get on the road?
