God Running Down the Driveway: Come Home

Christmas movies are predictable, but we love them because they always end with home and reconciliation—and that ache points to something true inside us. Luke 15 is God’s answer to that ache: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and then a son who cashes out his inheritance, runs hard after “freedom,” and discovers famine instead. I resonated with the story in a new way as a dad. The betrayal stings, but the father’s grief reframes the whole thing: love is what makes the homecoming so staggering.

Here’s the twist we don’t always notice: the son received his inheritance before he left. In the same way, God gave us life, breath, gifts, and access to Himself first—before our wandering, before any wild living. Our problem isn’t that God withheld; it’s that we misused what He gave and then let shame write the script. Shame doesn’t make us holy; it just makes us hide.

The son’s turning point came when he discovered the grass isn’t greener—it’s just farther from home. We chase “happy” that only helps us forget we’re sad, or we numb ourselves by pretending we don’t even have a lawn to tend. I’ve done that. But hunger has a way of telling the truth we’ve been avoiding.

The best part? The father runs. He closes the gap before the apology is finished. That’s what Christmas is: God running down the driveway toward us in Jesus, closing the distance we created, not to lecture but to embrace, dress, and feast. If you need to come home, come. If you’ve been home a while, remember Jesus told this to disciples—because someone you love is still at the end of the driveway. This is the moment to invite, to risk a conversation, to let God’s joy over their return interrupt your comfort. Christmas is God’s move toward us; let’s move toward them.

Key Takeaways

• 1. You received grace before wandering God gave you gifts, breath, and access before you knew what to do with them. The story insists our problem isn’t scarcity of grace but our misuse of it. Repentance, then, isn’t earning a place—it’s returning to a place that’s still ours. That reorders our shame and rekindles hope. [34:41]
• 2. Shame isn’t a path to holiness Shame masquerades as conviction, but it isolates rather than restores. Holiness grows where presence is restored, not where distance is enforced. Come into the light; receive the embrace that lets you actually change. Hiding never grows fruit; home does. [37:41]
• 3. The grass isn’t greener away from home “Happy” that only helps you forget you’re sad is a counterfeit. When the son woke up hungry, he discovered desire is safest when it’s anchored in the Father’s house. Contentment isn’t passivity; it’s a fierce commitment to reality, where honest hunger leads to honest return. [41:09]
• 4. Christmas is God closing the gap The Father runs before the son finishes his speech; in Jesus, God interrupts our explanations with embrace. Incarnation is God’s pursuit, not our performance. He brings robe, ring, and feast to people still smelling like the far country. Let yourself be welcomed all the way in. [47:08]
• 5. Disciples carry the invitation home Jesus told this to followers because someone outside the room needs a way in. Your porch is a mission post—pray, invite, walk down the steps with the Father’s joy. Courage isn’t loud; it’s loving enough to risk awkward for the sake of eternity. [50:17]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:35] - Christmas Movie Confessions
• [03:10] - Why We Love Happy Endings
• [06:20] - Home and Reconciliation Theme
• [10:45] - Luke 15: Lost and Found
• [31:41] - Have You Felt Far From Home?
• [34:41] - We All Betray Our Inheritance
• [37:41] - A Father’s Heart and Our Shame
• [41:09] - The Grass Isn’t Greener
• [44:13] - Lies That Promise Happiness
• [47:08] - The Father Runs Toward Us
• [50:17] - This Story Sends Us Out
• [53:20] - Picture the Porch; Pray for Boldness

1. In Luke 15, what gets lost in each story, and what specific actions do the shepherd, the woman, and the father take to go after what is lost?
2. What easy-to-miss detail shows up in the prodigal story about timing—that the son received his inheritance before he left—and how is that stated? ([34:41])
3. In the far country section, what clues mark the turning point for the son (money ran out, famine, hunger, “came to his senses”)? What exact words does he plan to say when he returns (vv. 18-19)?
4. While the son was “still a long way off,” what did the father do first, and what gifts did he give (robe, ring, sandals, feast)? ([47:08])

1. If the inheritance came before the wandering, what does that teach about the nature of grace, and how might that reframe ideas about earning a place versus returning to a place that’s still ours? ([34:41])
2. What is the difference between shame and Spirit-led conviction, and why does shame tend to isolate rather than restore? How does restored presence (not distance) actually grow holiness? ([37:41])
3. “The grass isn’t greener; it’s just farther from home.” How does that challenge common views of happiness and desire today? What happens to desire when it’s anchored in the Father’s house? ([41:09])
4. The father runs and interrupts the apology with embrace. How does that shape a picture of Christmas as God closing the gap in Jesus rather than demanding performance? What does this reveal about God’s heart? ([47:08])

1. You received gifts, breath, and access before you knew how to use them. Where have you been spending that inheritance far from God lately? What one step of “returning” will you take this week? ([34:41])
2. Where has shame kept you hiding—from God or from people? What would “coming into the light” look like in the next 48 hours (confession to God, a call to a trusted friend, showing up to group, starting Scripture again)? ([37:41])
3. Name a “grass is greener” thought that’s been loud in your mind (more money, different relationship, new thrill). How will you practice contentment and honest hunger at home with the Father this week? Be concrete. ([41:09])
4. Which counterfeit “happy” has been numbing sadness (drinking, scrolling, porn, overspending, constant noise)? What truthful practice will you swap in for the next seven days, and who will check in with you? ([44:13])
5. If God is running toward you, how will you let Him embrace you? Pick one: receive communion with open hands, schedule an unhurried time of prayer, read Luke 15 slowly and answer Him in your own words. When will you do it? ([47:08])
6. Who is at the end of the driveway in your life right now? What specific invite will you make (service time, meal, ride), and when will you send it? Pray for courage together and plan the text before you leave. ([50:17])
7. Make your porch a mission post. What two names will you pray for daily until Christmas, and what act of love will you take toward them this week? Share names and commit as a group. ([53:20])