Today we celebrate Fathers. And who better to celebrate than our own heavenly father?

This sermon reminds you of the love God has for you; how you can rely on Him to help with your own kids; and that you can turn to him if your own father is a painful memory.

God has a heart of love and compassion; He rejoices when the lost are found. Your heavenly father is looking for you to turn to him. God loves you more than you can imagine.

He is all powerful, all knowing and ever-present and He is looking for you to come home, and to live under the blessing of being A CHILD OF GOD.

Find love, acceptance, and answers in God’s Arms

In this parable, the father is seen as having a heart of love and compassion for both sons. This is a beautiful picture of the heart of our heavenly Father.

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’” (Luke 15:1-32, NIV).

The son would never have fully known his father’s love and compassion if he had not chosen to return to his father.

• Do not doubt for a moment that God love’s you deeply.

• Do not think for a moment that your heavenly Father has turned His back to you. He is waiting for you to return.

• Do not allow anything—sin or lack of judgment on your part—to keep you from returning to your heavenly Father. His arms are wide open and His heart filled with compassion like the father in this parable.

• He is looking for you to come home.

No matter your past, God is waiting with open arms!

Living outside the blessings of God is a lonely, harsh reality.

• Sadly not everyone comes to their senses.

• Don’t remain in the pig pen and die a lonely death.

• Don’t be too proud to admit you might have been wrong.

• Don’t think you can never go back because you won’t be welcomed.

You may feel you’ll be rejected or be told you got what you deserved; but that was not the heart of the father in the parable. And that is not the heart of your heavenly Father.

Turn to your heavenly Father and He will welcome you

We all need the Father’s love and compassion.

We all have a lot to learn regarding the heart of the Father.

We all need to develop a closer relationship with our Father.

God loves you. But because of your circumstances or situation, the lessons you need to learn and experience might be quite different than another’s.

The son was asking his father to allow him to work as a hired hand; but the father wasted no time in restoring his son to a position of authority and having the whole house celebrate the return of his son.

This is exactly what the heavenly father will do when a sinner repents: Your heavenly father is looking for you to turn to him and when you do he will waste no time in welcoming you back as a son or daughter.

Maybe you are listening today and you question whether God loves you. Stop questing His love.

God loves you more than you can imagine.

How Do You Get Your Kids to Respond to You?

Dads, the father in this parable exemplifies how we are to love our children and our wives: Unconditionally and always equally and with respect.

Have a rebellious child?
Pray for them. Never give up on them. Look for them and welcome them home. Seek to mend any broken relationships - the first step really comes from you.

The father in this parable is a picture of the heavenly Father and is a model for us to follow. Be the best father you can. Do not hold something against another. Forgive as you would like to be forgiven. Love as you would like to be loved.

Is your relationship hard with your own dad?

Some of you may have grown up in a home where your father was not the best role model or father.

You do not have to be like them. You have a father you can look to as a model: The father in the parable; your heavenly Father. At times I have made some mistakes, we all have; but I have learned to always look to my heavenly Father. Your heavenly Father loves you and He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He loves you with an everlasting love.

As we have seen in previous studies, He is all powerful, all knowing and ever-present and He is looking for you to come home, and to live under the blessing of being A CHILD OF GOD.

My prayer is that you experience the love and compassion of your heavenly Father and learn to always enjoy the blessings of God in your life.

Suggested Praise and Worship

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This and other sermons brought to you by Faith Chapel, an Assemblies of God church in Pleasanton, CA.