The Road Back Home Series

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.