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The Love of a Godly Father
(Luke 15:11-32)
Yearly Theme: “Faithfulness Is…”
Series Title: “Father's Day”
June 15th, 2025

Something to think about:

The love of a father is powerful and needed. In a culture that has diminished the role of fathers and fatherhood, there is increasing crime, homelessness, poverty, and moral degradation. As fatherhood has weakened, so has society. However, where fathers are present, all of this significantly decreases.

This Father’s Day, let’s talk not about the problem of fatherlessness, but rather about the great benefits of having a godly, loving father. One of the best examples in the Bible is told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke in a parable commonly referred to as “The Prodigal Son.” Though Jesus is relating the love of God the Father to seek and save the lost, it’s also easily translatable as an example of a father’s love for his children. Let’s take a closer look this morning:

Sometimes children have to learn the hard way.

The Younger Son:

Luke 15:13-14 (NLT), 13 “A few days later, this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve.

The Older Son:

Luke 15:28-30 (NLT), 28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

Godly fathers are willing to look foolish to the world in their love for their children.

Luke 15:20-21 (NLT), 20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

Something to take home:

Fathers, you may not be perfect, but you are called to be loving. The examples of GOD’s love for His children are scattered throughout the Bible, and these examples are given to us not as impossible goals to achieve, but as reminders of the men GOD has called us to be. Like the Father in the story, men, we are called to love and lead those younger men to the Holy Father in Heaven by the way we live out our faith in Jesus Christ. As we love the way He first loved us, lives are changed, families are restored, communities become stable, and nations become strong.

Key Point: “The love of a godly father can restore a broken child.”

Read Luke 15:11-32.

The love of a Godly father can restore a broken child.The Parable of the Lost Son expresses this truth clearly.As we consider this parable, what did the younger son do that was a great disrespect to his father?What was the father’s response?

What happened to the younger son after he left home?Where did he end up before he came to his senses?

After he came to his senses, what plan did he concoct?

Jesus tells us that when the son was “still a long way off,” his father saw him and, filled with love and compassion, ran to him and embraced him.Why do you think Jesus chose to tell the story this way rather than have the father meet the younger son with disapproval and punishment instead?

Instead of taking him on as a hired servant, the father in the parable restored his younger son into the family with the same rights as he had before.Was this a foolish decision?Why or why not?

When the older son came home, he was incensed by not only the younger brother’s return but his father’s decision to allow him back into the family.What was the father’s response?

What does this story tell us about the heart of a Godly father?What does this tell us about the heart of our Heavenly Father?

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