The Father Who Runs: Dads, Pray for Kids

Luke 15 puts a father and two sons right in front of the church, and the younger son starts with a bad request. The younger son wants his portion, wants his freedom, wants to run off and see if the world is what it looks like from a distance. The young man does not know how good he has it in his dad’s house, at his dad’s table, on his dad’s farm. The world looks like drinking, dancing, big fun, and no rules, but its fun is short lived and has no future.

The father gives the boy what he asks for, but the father does not stop being a father. The father trains, corrects, and sometimes has to be hard, because a dad is trying to raise children into good adults. The father also carries compassion, because some children are going to try a dad’s heart and make him ask where he went wrong. The father’s love is not rebellion, even while the son is in rebellion.

The road becomes the place where the father’s heart shows up. The father goes down there, maybe every morning, maybe with coffee and eggs, and looks as far as he can see. The father is not looking for business, sheep, or hay farmers. The father is looking for his son. The father’s prayer is simple: God, bring that son back.

The son finally gets sick and tired of the world. The son learns that the best thing that ever happened to him was life in his father’s house. The father sees him while he is still a long way off, and the father runs. The custom said a man with dignity did not run, but the father runs anyway, because love is stronger than appearances. God is like that father. God does not tell the returning sinner that he has gone too far. God sends the Holy Ghost to woo and draw, and when one step is taken toward God, God runs straight in.

The older son stands outside the celebration with anger in his heart. The older son stayed home, but he never sought the blessing. The older son grumbles when mercy comes to somebody else. The father’s house is not meant to be full of grumblers who do not want anybody else blessed. The father’s house is meant to clean up the one who has had enough of the world, pray with him, and help him find refuge in Christ.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. A father keeps watching the road [38:31] The father’s love does not pretend the son’s rebellion is right, but it also does not quit looking for him. The road becomes a place of prayer, not bitterness. A godly father can be wounded deeply and still keep his heart pointed toward restoration. [38:31]
• 2. The world’s fun has no future [30:49] The world is not always boring or ugly at first glance, and the pull of it can feel real. Its pleasure is short lived because it cannot build a life, a name, a home, or a soul. The prodigal’s misery begins when the party ends and he has nothing solid under him. [30:49]
• 3. Training becomes a child’s reference point [46:10] A father’s correction may feel hard in the moment, but it can become the voice a child remembers when pressure comes. The words about work, character, and not messing up a name may come back years later. Discipline is not merely punishment when it gives a child something to stand on when the devil attacks. [46:10]
• 4. God runs toward returning sinners [50:28] The father running breaks the normal custom of dignity, and that is the point. God’s mercy is not slow, cold, or careful about appearances when a sinner turns home. No accusation from the devil is stronger than the Father’s willingness to run. [50:28]
• 5. Grumblers resist another person’s blessing [55:03] The older brother shows that staying near the house is not the same as sharing the father’s heart. A grumbling spirit can do the work and still resent mercy. The father’s joy calls the faithful son away from suspicion and into the celebration of grace.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [22:21] - Men’s Breakfast and Opening Remarks
• [24:01] - Luke 15 and the Lost Son
• [27:11] - The Trouble With Being Young
• [30:19] - The World Looks Fun But Fades
• [33:33] - The Father Lets the Son Go
• [37:29] - Watching the Road Every Morning
• [42:01] - Fathers Praying in a Wicked World
• [46:10] - A Dad’s Words Become a Reference Point
• [49:49] - The Father Runs to His Son
• [52:18] - The Older Brother’s Grumbling
• [57:02] - Coming Back to the Father’s House
• [58:36] - Retirement Announcement
• [59:45] - Prayer for Fathers and Needs

Bible Reading

Luke 15:11-32
And he said, "There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.' And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.' But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.'" [24:27]

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. [49:03]

Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Observation questions

1. In Luke 15, what do the younger son, the father, and the older son each do when the younger son comes back, and how different are their responses? [25:26]
2. What details show that the younger son did not understand how good he had it in his father’s house until he had lost everything? [57:28]
3. What are some of the ways the world is described as attractive at first but empty in the end? [30:49]
4. What signs in the story and in the father’s actions suggest that he had been watching and waiting for his son for a long time? [38:31]

Interpretation questions

1. The father gives the younger son his portion and lets him go. What does that show about the way love, freedom, and responsibility can all exist together in one relationship? [33:45]
2. The father runs to his son even though custom said a dignified man did not run. What does that action reveal about the heart of God toward a sinner who turns back? [50:28]
3. The older son stayed near the house but still stood outside the celebration. What does that suggest about how a person can be close to the things of God and still miss the heart of God? [52:49]
4. Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus sympathizes with human weakness. How does that truth help explain why returning to God is met with mercy instead of cold rejection? [49:03]

Application questions

1. Is there any area of life right now where the world still looks better from a distance than obedience to God? What is making that look appealing, and what fruit is it really producing? [30:58]
2. Who in this group is carrying someone in prayer like a father watching the road? What does it look like to keep loving, keep praying, and not let bitterness take over? [41:49]
3. Many people can remember hard words of correction that later became a reference point. What godly words from a parent, pastor, or believer have stayed with you, especially when temptation or trouble hit? [46:10]
4. Has there been a season when it became clear that life in the Father’s house was better than the far country? What brought that realization, and what changed afterward? [57:28]
5. When shame says, “It’s too late” or “You’ve gone too far,” how can a person answer that lie with the truth of this passage? [51:43]
6. Is there any trace of the older brother in the heart right now—resentment, comparison, or irritation when mercy shows up for somebody else? How would that show itself in church life or family life? [55:03]
7. If someone came in this week worn out from the world and ready to come back, what would it look like to welcome, steady, and help that person instead of standing back and judging? [55:41]