{"id":20867,"date":"2020-03-15T16:53:38","date_gmt":"2020-03-15T21:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=20867"},"modified":"2020-03-18T15:41:20","modified_gmt":"2020-03-18T20:41:20","slug":"the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son\/","title":{"rendered":"The Parable of the Prodigal Son"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t<meta itemprop=\"url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Parable-of-the-Prodigal-Son.mp3\" \/><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-20867-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Parable-of-the-Prodigal-Son.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Parable-of-the-Prodigal-Son.mp3\">https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Parable-of-the-Prodigal-Son.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\t<p>by Wayne Fancher<\/p>\n\t<h2>I. The Prodigal Son Leaving Was His Fault Alone<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:20-21 &#8220;And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, <strong>his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him<\/strong>. 21 And the son said to him, &#8216;<strong>Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight<\/strong>, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Luke 15:13 And not many days after, <strong>the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country<\/strong>, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.<\/p>\n<h2>II. Going To A Far Country To Sin<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:13 And not many days after, <strong>the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country<\/strong>, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.<\/p>\n<p>Job 24:15-17 <strong>The eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, Saying, &#8216;No eye will see me&#8217;; And he disguises his face<\/strong>. 16 In the dark they break into houses Which they marked for themselves in the daytime; They do not know the light. 17 For the morning is the same to them as the shadow of death; <strong>If someone recognizes them, They are in the terrors of the shadow of death<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Proverbs 7:8-10 Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house 9 <strong>In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night.<\/strong> 10 And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.<\/p>\n<p>Mark 4:22 <strong>For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>III. The Way of the Sinner Is Hard<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:14-16 But when he had spent all, <strong>there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want<\/strong>. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16 <strong>And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Proverbs 13:15 Good understanding gains favor, <strong>But the way of the unfaithful is hard<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Proverbs 22:8 <strong>He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow<\/strong>, And the rod of his anger will fail.<\/p>\n<p>Proverbs 23:29-30 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? 30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.<\/p>\n<h2>IV. As Far Away As You Go From God Is How Far You Have To Come Back<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:13 And not many days after, <strong>the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country<\/strong>, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.<\/p>\n<p>Luke 15:20 &#8220;<strong>And he arose and came to his father<\/strong>. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.<\/p>\n<h2>V. No One Can Come Home For You<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:17-19 &#8220;<strong>But when he came to himself<\/strong>, he said, &#8216;How many of my father&#8217;s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 <strong>I will arise and go to my father,<\/strong> and will say to him, &#8220;Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.&#8221;&#8216;<\/p>\n<h2>VI. You Can Always Come Home To Our Loving Father<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:20-24 &#8220;And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, <strong>his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him<\/strong>. 21 And the son said to him, &#8216;Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.&#8217; 22 &#8220;But the father said to his servants, &#8216;Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24<strong> for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.&#8217; And they began to be merry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>VII. Restore Erring Christians With A Spirit Of Gentleness<\/h2>\n<p>Luke 15:28-30 &#8220;<strong>But he was angry and would not go in<\/strong>. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 So he answered and said to his father, To, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 <strong>But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots<\/strong>, you killed the fatted calf for him.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Galatians 6:1 <strong>Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness<\/strong>, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/survival\/\" target=\"_self\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSurvival\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Wayne Fancher I. The Prodigal Son Leaving Was His Fault Alone Luke 15:20-21 &#8220;And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[690,689,179],"class_list":["post-20867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-luke","tag-parables","tag-sin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":56047,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-elder-brother-of-the-prodigal-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":20867,"position":0},"title":"The Elder Brother of the Prodigal Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bob Myhan Many people fail to realize that the third parable of Jesus recorded in Luke chapter 15, is nowhere, in the inspired text, called \"the Parable of the Prodigal Son.\" In fact, the parable is given no name either by Jesus or by Luke. A more accurate designation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53495,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son-solely-about-gods-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":20867,"position":1},"title":"Is the Parable of the Prodigal Son solely about God&#8217;s grace?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you please speak on the parable of the prodigal son? I had a family member who has been in Christ's church her whole life saying that repentance has nothing to do with this parable. She focuses solely on the father's loving compassion as being the whole point of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61610,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-did-the-prodigal-sons-father-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":20867,"position":2},"title":"What did the prodigal son&#8217;s father do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 28, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am curious about the parable of the \"prodigal son\", probably one of the best-known of all parables. Nothing is said about what the father does or does not do after his son leaves and goes to a far country. He seems very comfortable with giving his son his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83472,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/our-choices-and-gods-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":20867,"position":3},"title":"Our Choices and God&#8217;s Choices","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Notably, the Prodigal Son makes two choices, and his father makes two choices (Luke 15:11-32). First, the son decides to leave home and travel to a far country. At this stage in the story, he is driven by his headstrong, pleasure-seeking mentality. In time, circumstances change. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/scan0017-4-278x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14879,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-point-of-the-prodigal-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":20867,"position":4},"title":"The Point of the Prodigal Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford I know that one should not have high expectations of religious memes, but the one below grinds my gears. Every time I saw it, I rolled my eyes a little bit harder, until I knew that either I\u2019d have to write about it, or my eyes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/prodigal-son-300x293.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16729,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/on-why-we-study-with-others\/","url_meta":{"origin":20867,"position":5},"title":"On Why We Study with Others","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Luke 15 shatters a sacred cow. It debunks a myth that I carried with me for a long time and many people I know still hang on to. It is the myth of \u201cJust me and my Bible.\u201d We like to think we just studied the Bible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Bible-Reading-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20867\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}