Zion Union Baptist Church Sunday Service, June 21, 2026 Father's Day

The lesson from a godly father begins with a plain definition: a godly father is a man who loves God, leads his family by example, lives with integrity, and leaves a legacy of faith for future generations. The godly father is not a man who gets everything right. He is not perfect, but he is purposeful. He may stumble, but he keeps looking to God, learning from God, and pointing his family in the same direction.

God invites wounded sons and daughters to look beyond the failures of man and see the faithfulness of the heavenly Father. Hebrews 13:5 gives the promise that God will never leave nor forsake His children. The earthly father may not be present, and the earthly father may not have been everything a child needed him to be, but the heavenly Father is everything needed and will always be there.

The spirit of letting go also belongs to a godly father. Some parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts, and uncles have prayed, talked, corrected, and done all God called them to do, yet grown children still do what they want to do anyway. The burden of false guilt has to be turned over to God. The parent who has been faithful can stop blaming himself, go home, and get some sleep.

Luke 15:20 brings the next lesson into focus: a godly father never stops loving his child. The son arose and came to his father, but while he was still a great way off, the father saw him, had compassion, ran, fell on his neck, and kissed him. The father’s love looks down the road morning, noon, evening, and before bedtime, hoping to see the child coming back home.

The heavenly Father loves like that, only greater. God is concerned about every detail of every life. God sees those others overlook, and God cares for those who feel unnoticed. Jeremiah’s word says that before God formed a person in the belly, God knew that person.

God never stops loving His children. Wandering, failing, and falling short do not exhaust the reach of divine love, because while sinners were still sinners, God kept loving. Therefore, the command to love oneself is not pride, but agreement with God’s own workmanship. God does not make any junk, and the child made in His image has value. The father in Luke 15 teaches the son that leaving home is possible, but love does not close the door.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Godly fathers are purposeful, not perfect A godly father is not measured by flawless performance, but by steady direction. Failure does not cancel faithfulness when a man keeps looking to God and keeps pointing his family toward Christ. Purpose gives a father a holy center even when his steps are uneven. [66:03]
• 2. God outlasts earthly father wounds The pain left by an absent, limited, or disappointing father is real, and Scripture does not make light of it. Yet the heavenly Father does not share those limitations, and His promise is not seasonal or fragile. God’s “never leave” becomes the deeper word over every place where human fatherhood came up short. [67:04]
• 3. Letting go can be faithful The spirit of letting go is not neglect, and it is not coldness. It is the surrender that comes after prayer, correction, counsel, and love have already been offered. False guilt keeps a parent chained to what only God can carry, but trust hands the child back to the Lord. [70:10]
• 4. The Father watches the road Luke 15 shows a father whose love is already moving before the son finishes his return. Compassion sees from far off, runs without shame, and receives before explanations are complete. God’s love is not passive waiting, but active mercy looking for the child coming home. [74:26]
• 5. God does not make junk Self-hatred contradicts the Maker’s own testimony about His work. The image of God gives value before achievement, reputation, or public recognition ever enters the picture. Loving oneself rightly means agreeing with the Father who formed, knew, and still claims His child.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [25:06] - Morning Announcements
• [28:20] - Day of Healing Details
• [29:09] - Prayer, Counseling, and Clinics
• [30:13] - Pleasant Grove Thanks
• [31:18] - Thrive on Thursday Bible Study
• [32:27] - Community Meeting Announcement
• [63:16] - Neighborhood Development Concerns
• [64:36] - Luke 15:20 Scripture Reading
• [65:25] - Lessons From a Godly Father
• [66:03] - Not Perfect, But Purposeful
• [67:04] - The Faithful Heavenly Father
• [70:10] - The Spirit of Letting Go
• [74:26] - A Father Never Stops Loving
• [77:20] - God Cares for Every Detail
• [90:12] - The Door Home Stays Open

1. In Luke 15:20, what specific actions does the father take when he sees his son returning? How do these actions reveal his heart?
2. The sermon mentions that "God does not make any junk" and that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" [01:25:02]. What Bible passage supports this idea of inherent value in every person?
3. According to Hebrews 13:5, what promise does God make to His children? How does this contrast with the limitations of earthly fathers mentioned in the sermon? [01:07:04]
4. What does the father’s daily habit of “looking down the road” in Luke 15:20 teach about persistent love?

1. Why do you think the father in Luke 15:20 runs to meet his son before the son has a chance to apologize or explain himself? What does this say about how God responds to repentance?
2. The sermon states that "letting go can be faithful" after prayer and counsel [01:10:10]. How does this balance a parent’s responsibility to guide with trusting God’s sovereignty?
3. Jeremiah 1:5 says God knew and appointed Jeremiah before birth. How might this truth reshape someone’s view of their purpose or self-worth if they feel overlooked or undervalued?
4. The sermon emphasizes that God’s love is "active mercy looking for the child coming home" [01:14:26]. How does this differ from a passive or conditional kind of love?

1. If someone struggles to trust God’s promise to "never leave" them (Hebrews 13:5) because of an absent or disappointing earthly father, what practical step could they take this week to refocus on God’s faithfulness?
2. For parents or mentors: When have you felt "false guilt" about a loved one’s choices despite doing your best to guide them? [01:10:10] How can you release that burden to God today?
3. The sermon says, "Loving yourself rightly means agreeing with the Father who formed you" [01:25:02]. What negative thought about yourself do you need to replace with God’s truth this week?
4. How might you intentionally "watch the road" like the father in Luke 15:20 for someone in your life who is spiritually wandering? What would active compassion look like in that relationship?
5. The sermon mentions God sees those "others overlook" [01:17:20]. Who in your community might feel unnoticed, and how could you intentionally affirm their value this week?