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Sermon Discussion Guide - 09/13/2026
Published September 12, 2026
A Better Story:
When Grace Feels Too Good
Sermon Recap
In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of two sons who are lost in very different ways: one through open rebellion and the other through resentful obedience. Yet the father goes out to both, showing us a better story about grace: our Father wants all of us to come home to Him.
Ice Breakers
- If you suddenly inherited enough money that you didn’t have to work for a year, what would you spend money on first?
- Who has it easier in a family - the oldest child or the youngest child? Defend your answer.
Discussion Questions
1. When have you wanted the benefits of something without wanting the responsibilities or expectations that came with it?
- Context: The younger son asks for his inheritance and leaves home, but his lostness began before he ever entered the far country. His deeper problem was wanting what his father could give him without wanting his father’s authority or presence (Luke 15:11–16).
- Application: Where are you most tempted to want God’s gifts while resisting His guidance over how you pursue or use them? (Example: security, relationships, success, purpose, provision, etc.)
2. What usually has to happen before you admit, “This isn’t working, and I need to change direction”?
- Context: In Luke 15:17–19, the younger son “comes to his senses” and begins the journey home. His repentance does not begin because he suddenly understands everything; it begins when he recognizes that the story he has been living is not working and turns toward his father.
- Application: Is there an area of your life where God may be inviting you to stop trying to sort everything out first and simply take the next step toward Him?
3. How do you normally respond when someone gives you something you feel like you haven’t earned?
- Context: The younger son rehearses a plan to return as a hired servant, assuming his relationship with his father must now be based on performance. Instead, the father runs to him, embraces him, and restores him as a son before he can earn anything back (Luke 15:20–24).
- Application: Where are you tempted to relate to God like an employee instead of living from your identity as His child? (Example: trying to prove yourself, repay Him, perform well enough to deserve His acceptance, etc.)
4. Have you ever watched someone receive forgiveness, recognition, or another opportunity and thought, “They don’t deserve that”?
- Context: The older brother had remained home, worked hard, and obeyed, but he became angry when his father celebrated the younger brother’s return. His reaction exposed that he had also turned his relationship with the father into a transaction: “I did everything right, so you owe me” (Luke 15:25–30).
- Application: Think about someone whose experience of grace is hardest for you to celebrate. What might your reaction reveal about the way you understand God’s grace toward you?
5. How has someone pursued you or stayed present with you when it would have been easier for them to walk away?
- Context: The father does not only run toward the rebellious younger son; he also leaves the celebration to plead with the resentful older son (Luke 15:28–32). One son was rebellious and the other resentful, but the father responded to both with mercy and invited both into relationship with him.
- Application: If the Father is moving toward you right now, what would “coming home” look like for you? (Example: turning from rebellion, releasing resentment, receiving grace, learning to enjoy God’s presence again, etc.)
Prayer
- Make sure to spend time in prayer as a group when you meet.
- Have group members share prayer requests, and pray for them.
- You could have one person pray for all the requests, or each member pray for one person.
- Keep a record of those requests and ask about them on a weekly basis.