The Lost Sons - Part 1 Series

The Lost Sons (Part 1)

Please stand as we read our newest memory Scripture together …

John 14:23-24

“Jesus said, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him.

“He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me.”

And our memory refresher verse(s) for today is(are) …

John 15:5-8

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.

“If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

“If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples.”

Please open your Bibles to: Luke 15:11-31

Over the past few weeks we have been looking at the return of Jesus that is found in two parables and a prophecy in Matthew 25. The two parables indicate that the time of Jesus’ return in unknown and that a time of judgment will take place when He does return. They also indicate that we must be prepared for His return because when it does happen, and it WILL happen, the time of choosing will be gone and our eternal destiny will be set.

And, then last week we started taking a look at the first two of the three parables found in Luke 15.

In the first two verses of Luke 15 we see the Pharisees and Scribes criticizing Jesus for allowing tax collectors and sinner to come close to Him and then actually teaching them!

In the first two parables that we looked at we saw Jesus giving examples of something that was lost, the search for the lost “item”, the rejoicing in the finding of the “item” and the fact that there is rejoicing in Heaven when a sinner repents!

And today we will be taking a look at the third parable found in Luke 15 that is normally referred to as parable of the Prodigal Son. This is probably one of the most famous parables found in the New Testament and today we will only be looking at the portion that pertains to the younger son.

With that in mind let’s read from God’s Word: Luke 15:11-31

May God bless the reading of His Word! (Prayer for help)

Luke 15:11-12

“Jesus continued: ‘There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, “Father, give me my share of the estate.” So he divided his property between them.’”

It is hard for us to even imagine the emotions that must have been going through both the father and the son when this exchange took place.

We have no idea how large the estate was but according to the custom of Jesus’ day the elder son would get twice as much as the younger son.

And, according to the custom of that day, that was what was due to him.

What was NOT according to the custom of that day was the inheritance being settled while the father was still alive.

It is almost as if the younger son is saying, “Hey, Dad, I know you’re still alive but since it is taking so long for you to die, I’d like my share of the estate now!” He didn’t even say, “please”!

When our children were still at home, Pastor Karenlee and her friend had a house cleaning business. One of their clients was a widow who had actually started two trailer parks on her own after the death of her husband.

The trailer parks were very successful, so successful in fact that one time she lamented to Karenlee that she had only been able to put $70,000 into savings that year.

But, in spite of being a wealthy person, this lady was a generous, faithful Christian. Great story so far, right?

Well, the story took a dark turn when her children hauled her into court and sued her for their portions of her estate!

I do not know whether they won the lawsuit or not but that is beside the point; dragging your own Mother into court for your inheritance while she is still very much alive is just beyond the comprehension of most people!

So, back to the Prodigal son …

What did the father do when the youngest son demanded his share of the estate? He divided the estate between his two sons.