June 20 2026: Elder Dale Bender, "Glorious and Inexpressible Joy

Luke 15 tells about a certain man who had two sons, and the younger son wanted his portion before his father had passed away. The younger son was basically saying he wanted his money, his cut, and he was going to go do whatever he wanted with it. The father divided his livelihood, and that probably meant more than just handing over cash. The father likely had to sell goats, cattle, sheep, or whatever was on the farm, because that was how the home made its living.

The younger son gathered his things, went to a far country, and wasted it all with prodigal living. That was not what he thought his life was going to be. He thought there would be a party, but when the money was gone and the famine came, the only work he could find was feeding swine. The son got so hungry that even the food for the pigs started looking good to him, and no one gave him anything.

The son came to himself and remembered that his father’s hired servants had bread enough and to spare. The son did not expect to come back as a son. He planned to say, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,” and to ask only to be made like one of the hired servants. The trip home must have had a lot of thoughts in it, because he did not know what his father’s reaction would be.

The father saw him a great way off, had compassion, ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him. The father could have said, “Yep, you’re right,” and sent him away, but that is not what the father said. The father called for the best robe, a ring, sandals, and the fatted calf, because “this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.”

The older son showed another danger. His anger said, “This son of yours,” not “my brother,” and his heart carried jealousy and entitlement. The father answered that all he had was already his, but it was right to be glad because the brother had come home. God gives the opportunity to come back, and God does not treat the returning child like a servant. God says it is as if the child never left.

John 15 brings the heart of it home. Christ says to abide in his love, keep his commandments, and love one another as he has loved. The father in heaven wants to give love, compassion, and eternal life, and the church should be happy like the father when someone comes back.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Coming home is still possible [02:18:22] The parable leaves the door open for the one who has made bad choices and wandered from God’s word. The son’s life was changed by his choices, but his return was also a real choice. God’s mercy does not pretend the far country was harmless, but it does make room for a hungry child to come home. [138:22]
• 2. The Father runs with compassion [02:11:37] The father saw the son while he was still a great way off, which means the father was looking. His first move was not a lecture, not shame, and not a list of conditions. His compassion moved faster than the son’s prepared speech, and grace reached him before he could finish asking for servant status. [131:37]
• 3. Entitlement can hide in obedience [02:16:00] The older son had stayed in the field and done the work, but his heart still missed the father’s joy. His words showed that duty can turn sour when it starts keeping score. Faithfulness is not meant to make a person cold toward mercy, because the father’s house rejoices when the lost is found. [136:00]
• 4. Do not begrudge returning sinners [02:20:16] The warning is plain for people who have been in church all their lives. A person can know the rules, stay near the house, and still let Satan weasel in with pride and comparison. The reward is not a private prize for the long standing servant, but eternal life offered by the Father who welcomes repentant sons and daughters. [140:16]
• 5. Abide in love and commandments [02:22:52] John 15 holds love and obedience together without tearing them apart. Christ’s commandment is not bare rule keeping, but abiding in his love and loving one another as he has loved. The joy Christ gives becomes full when love for God and love for others are not separated.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [118:17] - Morning Greeting and Luke 15
• [124:59] - A Childhood Card for Dad
• [126:10] - The Younger Son Asks Early
• [127:05] - The Father Divides His Livelihood
• [127:45] - Wasted Living in a Far Country
• [129:34] - Hunger While Feeding Swine
• [130:18] - The Son Comes to Himself
• [131:37] - The Father Runs to Welcome Him
• [135:21] - The Older Son Refuses the Party
• [137:24] - All That I Have Is Yours
• [138:22] - The Opportunity to Come Back
• [140:16] - A Warning Against Church Entitlement
• [142:52] - Abide in My Love
• [146:26] - Closing Prayer

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.’” [02:06:10]

Observation questions

1. What details in the passage show how low the younger son had fallen before he decided to return home? [02:09:34]
2. What did the younger son plan to say to his father, and what kind of place was he hoping for in the household when he returned? [02:10:18]
3. What actions did the father take before the son could fully present himself as a servant? [02:11:37]
4. What words from the older brother reveal his jealousy and distance from his brother? [02:16:23]

Interpretation questions

1. The younger son wanted the inheritance before his father had died. What does that request suggest about his heart and his view of life away from the father? [02:06:38]
2. The father saw the son while he was still a long way off and ran to him. What does that reveal about God’s attitude toward people who turn back to Him after wandering? [02:11:50]
3. The older brother stayed home and worked hard, yet he was angry when mercy was shown. How can obedience remain outwardly faithful while the heart becomes cold, resentful, or entitled? [02:16:50]
4. Jesus says, “Abide in my love,” and also says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.” How do love and obedience belong together in the life of a believer? [02:23:10]

Application questions

1. Coming home is still possible. Is there any area of life where someone has drifted from God’s word, gone distant in prayer, or started settling for the far country? What would it look like to arise and come back instead of staying there? [02:18:22]
2. The younger son came back ready to confess, not to defend himself. When sin is exposed, is the first instinct usually to justify, hide, compare, or repent? What would honest confession look like this week? [02:10:10]
3. The father welcomed the returning son with compassion instead of shame. When someone returns to church, to fellowship, or to obedience, what kind of response comes up first—suspicion, caution, relief, joy, or quiet judgment? How can the heart learn to welcome people the way the father did? [02:20:16]
4. Entitlement can hide in obedience. Has there been a time when faithfulness started to feel like keeping score with God or with other people? What signs show that service has become comparison instead of love? [02:21:39]
5. The older brother said, “this son of yours,” instead of “my brother.” Is there anyone who has been mentally pushed to arm’s length like that? What would it take to see that person again as a brother or sister rather than a problem? [02:16:27]
6. God does not receive the returning child as a servant only, but as a son or daughter. Is it harder to believe that God forgives sin, or harder to believe that He truly restores relationship? Why? [02:20:09]
7. Christ calls His people to abide in His love and love one another as He has loved them. What is one concrete way to practice that kind of love this week toward someone who is struggling, wandering, or trying to come back? [02:23:28]